Board Governance And Strategic Planning

IN THIS ISSUE Where's HEG Working? In The News Solutions For Your School Are Your Board Committees Focused? Toolkits BUY & SELL SCHOOLS      HEG provides consulting services in connection with the sale of Private K-12 Schools, Language Schools, & Career Colleges, including:   1). Profitable Group Canadian Career Colleges offering health & technology programs. (Sch. No. 1075) 2). Growing Group of Canadian Language Schools. (Sch. No. 1037) 3). Solo Canadian-based Language School. (Sch. No. 1022) 4). Successful Western Canadian Career College specializing in business, healthcare, ESL, & IT.  (Sch. No. 1063) 5). Turn-key group of Western Canadian Career Colleges offering business-oriented diplomas & certificates. (Sch. No. 1019)    6). Unique Canadian Language School & Career College offering ESL, Work/Study, & Hospitality/Tourism Programs. (Sch. No. 1031)       6). Successful K-12 Asian private international school. (Sch. No. 1034)    7). Successful K-12 International school in S.W. USA (Sch. No. 1087)   Contact HEG by email or phone if you would like to find out more about these schools or would HEG to provide consulting services in connection with the sale of your school.   ONLINE STORE Visit Our Store For Helpful Toolkits TESTIMONIAL "HEG  is a very professional team that brings a myriad of talents to private schools and are quite focused and results driven. They work efficiently and are task-driven. As a start-up school we have so many items in our punch-list to complete and Doug and the HEG team came in and helped us with almost every aspect of the operations in a very short time frame. They are flexible and a joy to work with. I would recommend them to any group that wants to start a world-class international school or improve the performance of your established private school." -- Dr. Jorge Nelson, Head of Chadwick International School

I'm just back from a productive week in Mongolia working with the International School of Ulaanbaatar to assess the implementation of their strategic plan which our firm developed with them in 2010. I was extremely impressed by the interconnectedness of their board and senior administration with the implementation of their annual operational plan and monitoring process with their board  committees. The view wasn't too bad either from my hotel. Here's a picture of the Golden Buddha outside my hotel room door. I also had the opportunity to loop through Seoul to meet with clients interested in selling their private K-12 school as well a school formation project Today, I want to share with you what is involved in developing a more effective board committee model that will connect the dots between your board's overall function and the implementation of your strategic plan and CEO's operational plan. By doing this, you have all your key players on the same page in terms of the short- and long-term priorities and implementation of your strategic plan, ensuring a measurable model that guides your board's and senior administration's decision making, budget, staffing, and focus. As the great New York Yankee legend Yogi Berra said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."     To your success,  Doug Halladay President Halladay Education Group P.S. Don't forget to go to our secure Online Store to invest in our Strategic Planning or Start-A-School Toolkits.They're affordable and practical.    Where's HEG Working Right Now? Here's an update of what HEG's working on:    Board Governance Workshop for an International IB Non-Profit School in Mongolia Evaluate the implementation of a strategic plan for a K-12 Private International Non-Profit School in Asia Market Study and Business Plan for a new Faith-Based Non-Profit Private K-12 School in BC  Market Study and Business for a Private K-12 For-Profit International School in Angola  Market Study and Business Plan for a new Private K-12 Non-Profit International School in Oman Market Study and Business Plan for a new Private For-Profit High School in California  School Evaluation of a PreK-12 Non-Profit Preparatory School in British Columbia Strategic Plan/Action For a Private Non-Profit K-8 Adventist Preparatory School in Florida   Formation of a new Private K-12 Canadian For-Profit International K-12 School in Saudi Arabia    Providing consulting services to school owners in connection with the sale of their Canadian Career Colleges, Language Schools, and Private K-12 schools globally  If you're interested in our firm's consulting services, and would like to discuss your needs further, please contact Doug Halladay by email  or call directly at 1-604-868-0002.   In The News  Wealthy Parents Increasingly Seeking Financial Aid For K-12 Education Should parents be sending their kids to private schools they can't afford? The average cost of a year of private school is $21995, a figure that's ballooned 35 percent since the 2001-02... Can The Internet Save Education? The Internet can save everything, even education. At least that's what tech companies would have parents and government officials believe. Too bad it's not true. Incensed at the apparent lackluster performance of our students and our supposed lack of... What the US and Chinese School Systems Have in Common Here we often regard private schools as a cut above public ones (though the truth is far murkier), but most Chinese consider public schools to be superior. Americans view public education as a crucial equalizer for a democratic society,...  Public or Private School? And What's the Difference? There is no right or wrong answer regarding whether private or public school education is best for children. Many people are so polarized around the option of having a religious affiliation that this may be the only thing important to them. Solutions For Your School STARTING A SCHOOL Our experienced team can provide step-by-step 'turn-key' services to start your school in the USA, Canada, &  Internationally. Click here for more info.  STRATEGIC PLANNING  We're experienced developing Strategic Plans for schools globally. Our plan can focuses your school's mission, build consensus, donor confidence, & define priorities for your Board & Staff. No school should be without one. Click here for more info. BOARD GOVERNANCE WORKSHOPS Great schools have great boards. Can you afford not to ? Our governance workshops & online board performance surveys fine-tunes your board's & focuses your priorities. Click here for more info. SCHOOL EVALUATION Are you sure your school is doing the best it can? Our In-Depth Performance Review assesses your school's performance against benchmarks & provides snap-shot right away. Click here for more info. BUYING AND SELLING SCHOOLS  HEG provides consulting services in connection with the sale of K-12 Schools, Language Schools, & Career Colleges in Canada, US, and Internationally. Click here for more info. Are Your Board Committees Effective Or Unfocused? A non profit's board is responsible for: Defining the school's mission and providing overall leadership and strategic direction for the school Actively setting policy and ensuring that the school has adequate resources to carry out its mission Providing direct oversight and direction for the Head of School and evaluating his/her performance based on their implementation of their plan  Evaluating its own effectiveness as a governing body, as a group of volunteers, and as representatives of the community in upholding the public interest served by the school. One of the key functions of an effective board is to develop, implement, monitor, and revise an effective strategic plan. This shapes the board as both the leaders and stewards of the school for today and for the next generation of learners (and the mission!). The diagram below illustrates how this fits in with the big picture for board performance. The key once the board develops their strategic and action plans is to develop a process and system to implement the plan which brings into play the oversight of the plan's annual priorities along with the Head of School's operational plan, which will guide the implementation of the plan for the school year, and allow the board's sub-committees to monitor implementation. That's really the key. The board determining their annual priorities based on the five-year strategic plan, having the Head jointly develop the operational plan with the related board committees that are established specifically to monitor/review/revise the implementation of the goals/objectives/tasks via the Head of School's operational plan. This creates a structure to separate 'oversight' from 'operation' and ensure that the board observes appropriate boundaries and avoids micro-managing. The roles of the board committees is then to: Accomplish work needed to be done between board meetings  It's where the majority of board's work takes place; they're the workhorses  Enable sharing of time and talent, & provide for work and evaluation Addresses strategic priorities not day-to-day needs Ensures a quality control to monitor implementation    Some tips to consider when you form your board committees includes: Documenting responsibilities, guidelines, annual goals, and the review/revision process  Appointing an effective chairperson and members who support and compliment fellow members Documenting job descriptions for each member, expectations, and tasks Making timely reports based on action items  Being goal-driven and action oriented; ensuring board meetings are based on deliberating on action items not day-to-day matters  Having a written statement of committee membership, roles, goals, job description, meeting schedule, tasks, actions, and responsibilities Determining relationships and roles of board, committee, CEO, and staff Setting timelines for reporting on action items at Board meetings as part of the Board's calendar Procedures for monitoring and review process Deliverables and reporting cycle within the Board's annual agenda and calendar Committee reports provided prior to Board meeting with interconnected 'dashboard' presentation to support Board-related 'action items' Next Step If you would find out more about how we can help your board to your school's strategic plan or improve your school's board governance model, please contact Doug Halladay directly to find out more about our board governance workshops. Send an email to info@halladayeducationgroup.com or call directly at 1-604-868-0002. HEG Recommends Here are  2 of our most popular toolkits that will help you either  start your own school or develop your own strategic plan.   STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOLKIT  Learn how to develop your own Plan with step-by-step instructions contained in a detailed Workbook & Manual, along with $500 worth of bonus CD's. It's all here to help you develop your own plan. Click here for more details. START-A-SCHOOL TOOLKIT Are you still struggling with starting a school? Experienced school leaders share how they started their school from the ground up. You'll also receive our bonus CD ($150 value) on developing your strategic plan. Click here for more details. To your success, Douglas Halladay President Halladay Education Group Inc.   P: 604.868.0002 F: 868.472.8737 E: info@halladayeducationgroup.com www.HalladayEducationGroup.com   You are receiving this because you signed up at HEG's website or you told us you wanted to subscribe. We will never distribute your address to anyone. Period. We promise.