|
|
Monthly Newsletter
August, 2010
|
|
Dear , Welcome Back! If you can remember back to June, we  opened our final newsletter of the 2009-10 school year singing Alice Cooper's "School's Out." It's August and the tune coursing through our brains is none other than the jaunty opening theme song to the classic school sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter." Who can forget the Sweathogs, the lovable quartet of Horshack, Epstein, Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington, and their unofficial leader, Vinny Barbarino? They were unteachable, but history instructor Mr. Kotter, a former Sweathog himself, with his stories, humor and genuine concern for his students always got through to them. So, as the song goes, "Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. . ."
You might be getting ready for your own equivalent of the Sweathogs to descend upon your classrooms as early as next week or you might still have a few more weeks of rest and relaxation before the madness ensues. Regardless, we wish you the best for your upcoming year.
The SFLC team has not stopped working this summer. We have been busy reading books on schools and leadership and are thrilled to share one with you this month. Carla reviews a terrific book about teaching, parenting and leading, The Genius in Children, by Rick Ackerly. We have also spent time recruiting and selecting a highly experienced and talented board of advisors from schools and organizations all over the country. Tim is thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce "Los Sabios" to all of you and to tell you how they will benefit the SFLC and all of our schools with their expertise. Gary, perhaps has been the busiest of all of us, as he has taken on an exciting new venture as the Interim Head of School of Bosque School in Albuquerque, NM, a school where he served as the founding Head. He writes about the decision to take on another interim appointment. Finally, Head of St. James School in Corpus Christi, TX, and April Seminar participant, Patrick Roberts, offers some hopeful and wise words for a positive start to the new year.
And of course, we have been working on the details of the November Leadership Seminar which is filling with yet another amazing cohort of school leaders. They'll be heading to Santa Fe for an opportunity to challenge themselves, renew their commitment to effective leadership and to their personal mission and vision of leading in schools. We love this photo below because it resembles the experience we hope our SFLC seminar participants enjoy underneath the majestic expanse of New Mexico sky. The road and the journey are yours to explore.
Good luck in the first weeks of school and see you soon in Santa Fe!
Gary Gruber Timothy R. McIntire Carla Silver |
EAT
YOUR VEGETABLES.
EXERCISE.
HYDRATE.
WEAR SUNSCREEN.
There are many things you do each day that are
good for you. Be sure to nurture yourself professionally and
personally this year. The Santa Fe Leadership Center offers you a
dynamic opportunity to: - Grow
professionally and personally
- Recommit
to Excellence in School Leadership and Management
- Practice Leading more Effectively
- Connect with other Talented, Compassionate and
Spirited School Leaders
- Reflect
on Current and Future Leadership Experiences
- And, this November, meet our keynote speaker, Rick Ackerly, a 40 year educator, parent, and author of The Genius in Children.
Registration is limited.
Click here to learn more and to register.
|
|
Creative Discourse with Trusted Advisors: "Los Sabios"
Tim McIntire
At the heart of our work in schools, we enable students of every age and developmental phase to learn and to grow through relationships and through processes that we are privileged to determine. That is a mouthful, I know. Furthermore, this responsibility for our students' learning and growing is daunting, and it always occurs within distinct cultures. Fortunately, in our work overall, nothing proprietary exists that will hinder learning, obscure meaning, or prevent our teaming for the benefit of our school. It all can be shared. We work under the aegis of BBS. When we encounter an effective idea or method it is ours to Beg, Borrow, or Steal. We dwell among colleagues who possess an amazing generosity of spirit and an abiding willingness to share. Ask any true colleague, and she or he will respond. This model that invites our colleagues to stand ready for our questions is the genesis of "Los Sabios."
 "Los Sabios" are advisors who contribute to the discourse on leadership that informs the Center's professional development opportunities. Each sabio shares expertise and wisdom in order to advance leadership learning and practice. These "sages" are recognized as members of an international advisory board advising the directors individually and often working with seminar participants. While each of us who has worked with the Santa Fe Leadership Center in any capacity is among our trusted confidants, we want to identify specifically up to twenty-one colleagues -- school heads, teacher-leaders, writers, executive coaches, board officers or members, financial officers, advancement officers, association directors, higher education administrators, and professional leaders from law, medicine, religion, government, or non-profits - to serve as creative resources.
Who are your Los Sabios and for whom are you un sabio?
Here is a list of our Sabios. We thank them for their work with the SFLC on behalf of all of our schools.
- Rick Ackerly, Educational Consultant and Author, Decatur, IL
- Peter Branch, Head Emeritus, Georgetown Day School, Washington DC
- Paula Carreiro, Head of School, Beauvoir School, Washington DC
- Peter Cheney, Former Executive Director, National Association of Episcopal Schools
- Norm Colb, Head of School, Menlo School, Atherton, CA
- Lisa Darling, President, United World College USA, Montezuma, NM
- Philip Deely, Principal Consultant, Philip Sedgwick Deely & Associates
- Sandra P. Drew, Senior Development Consultant, Marts and Lundy, Sonoma, CA
- Richard Kassissieh, Director of Technology, Catlin Gabel School, Portland, OR
- Tony Gerlicz, Director, American School of Warsaw, Poland
- Coreen Hester, Head of School, American School of London, England
- Greg Papay, Partner, Lake Flato Architects, San Antonio, TX
- Mark Silver, PhD, Head of School, Hillbrook School, Los Gatos, CA
|
Another Interim Appointment
Gary Gruber
I have just accepted my 4th interim assignment and upon receiving this news, one of my esteemed colleagues wrote: "I am glad you're going to do it, but why would you want to work that hard?" I wrote back and said, "When you love what you're doing, it's not hard, it's a joy." My first interim headship was back in 1993 at The Hun School in Princeton, the second at The Harrisburg Academy in Pennsylvania and the third at The American School in London for two years, rather recently. I will tell you about the 4th in a few moments.
For the past eleven years I have also served as a senior consultant with Carney Sandoe & Associates doing mostly searches for heads of schools across the United States and so I have had the privilege and benefit of seeing many schools in operation. I have also enjoyed a great group of colleagues, many of whom are former heads of schools, some from the corporate world of search and consulting and it is very rewarding work. The hourly rate isn't great but few of us do this work for the paycheck.
Interim work is by its very nature, short term and, as the word suggests, it's the time between one period or process and another. I was always grateful when I was doing a search and there was an interim head in place either whom I knew or who had a successful track record as either a head of school or even a previous interim. Those folks brought a sense of stability and calm to the school and I would certainly hope that I have been able to do the same in my work. For many people, significant change is difficult and hard to embrace but an interim can facilitate that change of leadership by paying attention to what was in place previously and what needs there are that will greet the new head of school . . . (Click here to continue reading.)
|
Lessons From R.L. Stevenson
Patrick J. Roberts
Head of School
St. James Episcopal School, Corpus Christi, TX
During our recent time together in April my colleagues in our cohort at the Santa Fe Leadership Center and I wrestled to define and to articulate the challenging concept of "leadership." In our collaborative working sessions, I was incredibly impressed, a bit intimidated, and truly inspired by my talented fellow participants and their astute observations. While I do not claim to offer a complete definition of leadership, I share with you a few thoughts, stolen from the great British author, Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson offers lasting and practical wisdom for each of us, especially as we embark upon yet another exciting and always eventful new school year. 
Accordingly, as I have asked my Middle School students over the years to add this "working" list of nine simple suggestions to their "Leadership Portfolio," I hope that you will find these words to be helpful in your own approach to the incredibly meaningful work in which we are engaged. As educators, we have the unique opportunity and the important responsibility each day to impact our students in so many lasting ways. Oftentimes, in working so diligently to serve others, we often forget or choose not to take the steps so critical for our own health. Stevenson's advice is so seemingly simple, yet so critical for us to heed, as we model the behavior expected within our own learning communities and set the all important tone at our own institutions. . .( Click here to continue reading.)
|
|
|
| Click here to read and respond to the SFLC blog, Lead On! |
|
|
|
|
|
Book Review: The Genius in Children, Bringing out the best in your child by Rick Ackerly
Carla Silver
Rick Ackerly will be joining us at the November seminar as our keynote speaker and guest faculty member. Learn more about him and his work by checking out his blog.
At the annual meeting of the California Association of  Independent Schools in June, I found myself with a lively dinner companion and conversationalist, Rick Ackerly. In my years working in Bay Area schools, I had heard about Rick and followed his career as a school head of St. Paul's in Oakland and The Children's Day School in San Francisco. It was a fortuitous meeting; I made a new friend and colleague, recruited a first-rate keynote speaker for the November Leadership Seminar and discovered that Rick is the author of a new book, The Genius in Children: Bringing out the best in your child. What follows is a review of this important book.
Don't let the word "genius" in the title mislead you. Ackerly's book is not about children with "extraordinary intellectual power" - the definition you might find in the dictionary. He does not suggest that all children are geniuses. Instead, Rick returns to a lesser used definition of genius: "the tutelary spirit of a person, place or institution." He makes the case that each child has a genius, a spirit, spark, or as Rick call it, "a unique me that is becoming." By nurturing that genius, we can help children to "maximize their potential academically, socially, physically, and personally." . . . Click here to continue reading.)
|
|
|
|
|
About Us
We are excited to meet you. We are the Santa Fe Leadership Center team, Gary Gruber, Tim McIntire and Carla Silver. Click here to read more about our careers and leadership experiences.
Please visit the Santa Fe Leadership Center to learn more about our programs and our other leadership services and opportunities.
Santa Fe Leadership Center
17 Camino Redondo, Placitas, NM 87043
|
|
|
|
|
