Governance Resources Archive
Board Chair & Head of School Partnership
- Daggett, C. Board chair & head of school partnership. Presentation at ISACS Trustee Day, 11/03/16.
- DeKuyper, M.H. The relationship between the board chair and the head. Trustee Handbook, 9th Ed. NAIS, 2007.
Board Roles, Responsibilities, & Best Practices
- 2018 NAIS governance study.NAIS, November 2019.
- The board/head partnership. NAIS, 8/13/13.
- Chait, R.P., Ryan, W.P., Taylor, B.E. Governance as leadership: Reframing the work of nonprofit boards. Wiley, 2004.
- Daggett, C. Don't go near the water. The Trustee's Letter, Educational Directions, May/June 2016.
- Evans, R. Why a school doesn’t run – or change – like a business. Independent School. NAIS, Fall 2015.
- Friedson, R. Why independent schools should use benchmarking. Independent School Magazine Blog, 7/07/15.
- Gifford, G. You're not the boss of me: Board chairs and CEOS. Cause & Effect, January 17, 2011.
- Honan, J. Balancing tradition and change in educational institutions in a disruptive era. ISACS Trustee Day presentation, 11/02/16.
- ISACS standards for membership. ISACS, 2017.
- Leading with intent: 2017 national index of nonprofit board practices. BoardSource, 2017.
- NAIS trendbook. NAIS. (annual publication)
- NAIS trustee handbook resources
- Orem, D. & Wilson, D. Trustee handbook, 10th edition. NAIS, 2015.
- Principles of good practice: Board of trustees. NAIS, 2012.
- Principles of good practice: Independent school trustees. NAIS, 2005.
- Role of the board chair. BoardSource, 6/07/16.
- Shahan, K. (Ed.) Board chair job description (and relationship with the head). Adapted from NAIS Trustee Handbook, 9th ed. March 2014.
- Shahan, K. (Ed.) Charges for board committees. Adapted from Bassett, P., 1997. ISACS, 2014.
Board Self-Evaluation
- Sample board chair evaluation. NAIS, January 21, 2013.
- Shahan, K. (Ed.) Board self-evaluation instrument – Individual board members. ISACS, 2014.
- Shahan, K. (Ed.) Board self-evaluation instrument – Whole board. ISACS, 2014.
Bylaws
- Better bylaws: Creating effective rules for your nonprofit board, 2nd ed. BoardSource, 2010.
- Peters, D. Bylaws, policies, and procedures. NAIS, 12/06/13.
- Wilson, D. Bylaws: Your school's corporate constitution. NAIS, 11/01/11. (NAIS-member password required)
Executive Sessions
- Weaver, R. Board room: What you need to know about executive sessions. Independent School, NAIS, Summer 2018.
Fiduciary Responsibility
- Endowment benchmarks. ISM & NAIS, 2010.
- Ormstedt, D., & Wilson, D.P. The trustee’s guide to fiduciary responsibilities. NAIS, 2016.
- See also: ISACS resources: Finance & operations.
Grievances
- Bassett, P. The grievance committee. ISACS, 1996.
Head of School Contracts & Compensation
- Head of school contract sample. Reviewed by Leo Athas, 2014.
- Journy, M.T. Paying for the best: Executive compensation for 501(c)3 public charities. Venable LLP, 2012.
- Kowal, V. Spousal travel and taxes. Athas, Foley, Koval, and Bridge CHTD.
- Littleford, J. Head’s compensation. Several articles on this topic, jlittleford.com.
- Shahan, K. (Ed.) Head of school contracts. Adapted from Bassett, P., 1997. ISACS, 2014.
Head of School Job Description & Evaluation
- Daggett, C. (Ed.) Evaluation of the head of school. Adapted from Bassett., P., 1997, and Shahan, K., 2013. ISACS, 2017.
- Littleford, J. Leadership of schools and longevity of heads. jlittleford.com, August 2015.
- Shahan, K. (Ed.) Head of school/president job description. Adapted from Bassett, P., 1998. ISACS, 2013.
Head of School Transition
Reading:
- Executive and leadership placement services. NAIS.
- Littleford, J. The search...the transition...and then the succession. www.jlittleford.com, 5/13/17.
- The NAIS head search handbook: A strategic guide for the search committee, 2nd edition. NAIS, 2018.
- Daggett, C. Out the door: What we can learn from abrupt departures from headship. The Trustee's Letter, Independent Thinking, June 2018.
- Principles of good practice - Head searches. NAIS, 11/13/12.
- Wickenden Associates. What's next? After the appointment, paving the way for your new head's successful transition. Winter 2007.
Sample Announcements of Appointments:
Strategic Vision & Planning
Mission Review & Revision
- Amabile, T. & Kramer, S. To give your employees meaning, start with mission. Harvard Business Review, 12/19/12.
- Jonker, K. & Meehan III, W.F. Mission matters most. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2/19/14.
- Regan, S. Strategic planning framework: The importance of mission. Becker Hospital Review, 10/05/12.
- Sinek, S. Start with Why. Website, book, TED Talk.
Making a Plan
- Daggett, C. Strategic process. ISACS, 2014.
Strategic Opportunities
- How to think about mergers and collaborations (with Nadya Shmavonian) Joan Garry Podcast, Episode 63