Rob and David, in different communities and in different ways, have shifted their schools toward more positive and clarified cultures since pandemic days. They will kick off this head of school community discussion on strategies and processes heads can use to further instill a desired school culture into the fabric of “how we do stuff around here.” From hiring practices to student/family/faculty retention strategies to clarifying school values, join to learn from and add to this dynamic conversation.

Rob Butler joined Forsyth as the head of school on July 1, 2021. He came to Forsyth from University Liggett School (MI), where he had been the assistant head of school and head of the middle school since 2017. Previously, Butler worked at Whitfield School (MO) in a variety of teaching, coaching, and administrative roles, ending his tenure there as the middle school director. He holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University and a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State University. He has served on the board of trustees for ISACS and participated in the ISACS Leadership Academy in partnership with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. In 2023, Butler joined the board of trustees for the Independent Schools of St. Louis (ISSL).

David Lee is entering his 6^th year as head of school at Daycroft School in Ann Arbor, MI a toddler through 6^th grade Montessori school serving over 200 students. During his tenure enrollment has doubled and teacher retention has been >90% over the past several years. Prior to joining Daycroft, Lee worked at Stuart Hall for Boys and Town School in San Francisco. Before entering the field of education, he spent 13 years in investment banking at firms like Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, and ISI Group.

We’ve all heard the quote – culture eats strategy for breakfast. But what does it mean? Why is it true?  What would it look like for culture and strategy to work together? How can you leverage culture to accelerate strategic progress?  In his new role as a strategic design consultant, Tim Fish has had the opportunity to dive deep with some schools to get at these questions. In this session he will share his insights and present a few frameworks and ideas for bringing culture and strategy together. 

Tim Fish is the founder and partner at Two Chairs Studio, a strategy and design firm focused on doing deep work with purpose-driven organizations. Before forming Two Chairs in 2024, Fish was the chief innovation officer at National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). He has worked with over 500 independent schools, conducted 200 board retreats, given hundreds of presentations, and talked with thousands of school leaders. While at NAIS, he led internal innovation efforts, was a member of the Strategy Lab team, and served as the host of the New View EDU podcast. He has deep roots in the independent school community and a long history at McDonogh School (MD) where he served as associate headmaster. In addition, Fish was the founding president and CEO of the FolioCollaborative and has served on six non-profit boards. He is the co-author of the book Leadership and Technology at Independent Schools. 

Two long standing independent school heads discuss how heads can facilitate the head-board relationship in ways that support strategic partnership and healthy governance. Discussion will include: mutual head-board approaches to annual and strategic goal setting and yearly assessment of the head and board leadership; shared agreements between the head and board leadership regarding appropriate role boundary management; and, how to help the board establish reliable processes and systems to support the head.

Daniel B. Frank, PhD has been principal of Francis W. Parker School in Chicago for over 20 years and is the founding executive editor of the international education journal Schools: Studies in Education. He also has served as the volunteer executive director of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations.Mike Riera, PhD has been a head for 20 years and is currently at the Brentwood School in Los Angeles. He has presented at NAIS and state conferences, more than 50 independent schools about children and adolescents and internationally with the Young Presidents Organization. He also was the on-air contributor for CBS News for eight years; hosted the daily two-hour radio show, Family Talk with Sirius Satellite Radio for two years; and is the author of six books on children and adolescents.

Infuse Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging commitments, strategies, and initiatives into your school's strategic plan to ensure that the promise of your school's mission is uplifted and delivered to students, families, and staffulty. Facilitated by Caroline Blackwell, this session will help you continue to make this work live and grow in the fabric of your community. 

Caroline Blackwell is the vice president of equity and justice at NAIS, where she leads the creation and implementation of products and services that support NAIS’s commitment to develop and sustain inclusive independent school communities. Prior to joining NAIS, Blackwell served as the executive director of the Metro Human Relations Commission in Nashville, TN. Before that, she worked as director of multicultural affairs for the University School of Nashville. She holds numerous certifications in mediation, conflict resolution, and facilitation. A long-time volunteer with NAIS, she is the lead facilitator for the Diversity Leadership Institute, has been a chair and now leads NAIS’ People of Color Conference, and is also a contributor to NAIS publications.