For most parochial schools, it is time or nearly time to draft the next fiscal budget. Good stewardship implies finding ways to reduce expenses without cost cutting. [...]
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People seldom think of a nonprofit or parochial school as a business. However, in their simplest form they are businesses. They provide services and collect money for doing so. That is a business. [...] It is hard to find someone who thinks their board is the best it can be. When asked, there is usually a long list of desired improvements. Here is a way for you to make those improvements. [...] Everyone knows that parochial school enrollment is declining. Does closing a school that is in decline make sense? [...] One definition of an effective leader is someone who identifies a critical community need where an organization can make a difference by building partnerships based on its mission, innovation, and diversity. This creates sustainability if the partnerships are with outside groups. [...] Growth in both width and depth is important. We primarily think about this in terms of the organization we work for. For a parochial school, this would be adding students (width or horizontal growth) and providing each student with a deeper and more meaningful experience (depth or vertical growth). The organization’s speed of growth depends on the ability and willingness of the board, staff, and volunteers to grow. [...] In the past 10 years, the world has tried to teach us many things about education and the business of education. Before the year 2000, we thought we knew it all. There was a formula/algorithm/process developed by studying the successes of the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s the assumption was if you applied the formula with diligence, success would follow. For the majority of parochial schools that was true. [...] The best practice for setting the agenda for a board meeting is to have the chairperson and the senior professional (executive director, principal, administrator, etc.) collaborate. The agenda should be about the mission. Since the staff handles the operational issues they can be excluded from the agenda. The board committees, with the help of designated staff members, handle everything else. If it is that simple, why is it rare for a board to use that model? [...] There is no reason to waste a tragedy. Congress takes advantage of every one to pass legislation to protect us from the next one. Business learns from each lost sale, failed experiment, and product failure. In sports, loss is justification for training that is more intensive or new skill building. Why should parochial schools closures be different? [...] This is a great time to be alive. The first time I saw time-lapse photography it was impressive. Now it feels like the world around me is unfolding faster than the flower in the time-lapse photos. How great is that? [...] |
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