SAES NOTES - NOVEMBER 2024


Unbinding and Unbound


Amid the clamor and chaos of this highly contested and contentious election season, perhaps you missed the official “inauguration” of The Most Rev. Sean Rowe as The Episcopal Church’s 28th presiding bishop. At his sermon at his investiture ceremony on November 2nd, Bishop Rowe drew on the biblical account of the raising of Lazurus from the Gospel of John to remind us all of our sacred opportunity and duty to “unbind” that which Jesus has liberated from death and destruction:


“Jesus says to the gathered community, which must have been standing around terrified and bewildered, you do it. You unbind him, you liberate him, you set him free. Friends, as we serve together …, we will find ourselves again and again in this story. We will be the clueless disciples—I’ve got that mastered. We will be Martha, working so hard and so faithfully that we miss the point. We will be Mary, overcome with grief and sometimes anger. We will be Jesus, trying desperately to get people to understand. And I hope this doesn’t happen often, but I’m afraid at times we might be the religious authorities plotting to do what we should do with this troublesome Jesus. Because, if you stop and think, sometimes the problem in the church is just that we find Jesus inconvenient. But most of all, we will find ourselves, I believe, reflected in the crowd standing around Lazarus’ tomb. Over and over again, we will stand together, sometimes afraid, sometimes bewildered, looking for life, hoping for wholeness in all things. And over and over God will call us to finish the job, to wipe away the tears, to bear witness, to unbind the captives and set them free. To participate in the kingdom of God, to make it manifest in the world right here, right now.”


What if we, as Episcopal schools, are part of that gathered community who have witnessed this miraculous resurrection and are now called to begin removing the bindings of death and decay? Whether we identify as clueless, anxious, grief-stricken, angry, confused, afraid, bewildered, or all of the above, Jesus is calling all of us, as the gathered community of believers, to “unbind” and “liberate” that which Jesus has restored to life by uncovering and proclaiming God’s promise of love and grace and mercy. As Bishop Rowe points out, 


“this unbinding and liberating of ourselves and our structures and our hurting world will take all the resilience we can muster. It will require us to set aside our disbelief and our divisions, our attachments to the things of this world, and maybe our attachment to the way we think things ought to function. But if we can be faithful in this work of unbinding, we will find that we can become the stewards that God needs us to be… Because it is in these places—in the congregations, the institutions [schools], and ministries we have all over this church–that’s where ministry happens.” 


As schools, our Episcopal identity compels us to carefully attend to the unbinding of children's unrealized intellectual, social, emotional, physical, and spiritual potential through our ministry of education. Furthermore, we are also called to soothe the cares and tears of our community through our commitment to pastoral support. Of course, through his own death and resurrection, Jesus would go on to provide the ultimate opportunity for the unbinding of ourselves from sin, death, and destruction. For as Jesus explained to Martha in her distress following the death of her brother Lazurus, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”


LGLO,

Selected Resources for Reflection, Learning, and Growth

Top 6 Ways to Protect Your School from a Lawsuit

As a school leader, thinking about potential lawsuits sends chills down my spine. I don’t want to think about getting sued for wrongful termination or a slip and fall accident. I don’t want to think about sitting in court hearing about how we didn’t do enough to stop a child from being bullied or that I should have done a better background check on that teacher. I don’t like thinking about those things. But, do you want to know what is WAY worse? NOT thinking about those things, telling yourself, “it will never happen to us” and hoping for the best.


Four Ways to Understand People

The most important leadership idea is an imperative every leader must embrace – understand people. Learning that leadership is about people transforms leadership.



Exit Tickets - A Strategy for Better Board Engagement

“It's important to note here that although I used exit tickets as a teacher, I was never smart enough to see what a brilliant strategy it is for boards of trustees. It took a conversation with an old friend, Melissa Grubb, Head of St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin TX, who described how she uses the strategy with her board.” 


Engaging with Parents: From Conflict to Care

But what if we reframe how we think about and engage our parents, even when we have to disappoint them and tell them what they don’t want to hear? What if we move from conflict to care?


Turn Employee Feedback into Action

To manage the employee experience, leaders must deeply understand employees’ perceptions, feelings, and desires and respond thoughtfully. This is particularly crucial when immense resources are invested in gathering employee feedback through pulse surveys, town halls, and data scraping from internal communications. But leaders are often overwhelmed by the data and struggle to translate it into actionable insights. The authors conducted detailed interviews with executives and HR leaders from more than 20 multinational companies in sectors such as technology, financial services, and consumer goods. Their work reveals that although technology has simplified the collection of data, the real challenge lies in making sense of it and integrating it into a coherent strategy.


RESOURCE For Your Business Office: Election Impact: Preparing for the Year Ahead – 11/14 at 11am PST

Join SAES partner TriNet for a timely discussion as we explore the potential HR impacts following the 2024 election and the transition to a new administration. This event will provide insights into how evolving policies and regulations may affect small and medium-sized businesses, covering key areas such as compliance, employee benefits, and workplace trends. Whether you're navigating new employment laws or preparing for shifts in the workforce, our experts will offer practical advice on how to position your business for success in the year ahead.



Habits of Highly Effective Admissions Officers

As is often the case, the admission director or enrollment manager gets the cheers when enrollment goes up. They also get the stink eye when enrollment is on the decline. Some of those cheers and jeers are warranted, but not all.


Oh Captain, My Captain!

Whitman’s words may be as impactful today, as we search for captains in our own lives, businesses, and teams.


On Kindergarten Readiness: Getting Ready for Kindergarten

That job has become more difficult in recent years, according to numerous surveys, research studies, and EdSurge interviews, as the last few classes of kindergarteners have shown up lacking some of the basic skills and competencies that educators and school leaders had previously come to expect. 


On Parenting: Lighthouse Parents Have More Confident Kids 

Like a lighthouse that helps sailors avoid crashing into rocks, Lighthouse Parents provide firm boundaries and emotional support while allowing their children the freedom to navigate their own challenges. They demonstrate that they trust their kids to handle difficult situations independently. The key is learning when to step back and let them find their own way.


GALLUP Research - Parenting Gen Z - Navigating Boundaries, Complex Emotions and Tough Conversations 

When asked about the challenges they each face in their relationships with one another, Gen Z children and their parents are broadly aligned. Children want their parents to acknowledge and appreciate their often-changing emotions and give them more space and freedom to “figure things out.” Meanwhile, parents recognize that contending with their child’s emotions and balancing freedom with authority and structure are among the most challenging aspects of raising a child. 


“Do you want to be helped, hugged, or heard?”

Quoted by Charles Duhigg in his new book, Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection


Education Department releases highly anticipated AI toolkit for schools

Virtual Learning Opportunities


Prepping For The Spring Admission Season - What You Should Do Now


November 12, 2024

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm CST

 

Admissions is at the center of a successful enrollment management plan and a tremendous amount of planning is required for a successful admissions season! Join Rob Devlin and Mary Katherine Duffy as they welcome Dan Waage, Head of Enrollment Management and Jacquie Kennedy, Director of Admissions, at All Saints' Episcopal School, Phoenix, AZ, to talk about tips and tricks for prepping for a successful admissions season!

 

REGISTER NOW


Engaging in Difficult Conversations With Parents


December 5, 2024

10:00 am - 11:00 am CST

 

Polarization is a huge trend that continues to affect how schools engage with parents. Episcopal schools are known for their community and family feel, and yet there are and will always be difficult conversations that must take place. Join Mary Katherine as she welcomes a group of seasoned Heads who will talk about how they engage in difficult conversations with parents.

 

REGISTER NOW


ACCREDITATION NOTES

Have you reviewed your school’s bylaws recently?  Bylaws are probably not anyone’s idea of an exciting read, but they are central to the functioning of your school, so it pays to be familiar with them and to have your board review them periodically.  SAES Governance Standards require that accredited schools have bylaws that indicate how a school’s Board of Trustees is selected (C.1) and that the Vestry or Diocese has empowered the Board to be the governing body of the school (C.3). These two important Standards lead to what SAES often terms “functional independence.”  


SAES believes that the governing boards of accredited schools, whether or not the school is separately incorporated, must be able to exercise functionally independent fiduciary, strategic, and generative leadership to advance the mission of the school.  Practically speaking, this means that SAES supports bylaws which establish “advice and consent” relationships with the sponsoring vestry for matters such as the hiring of a Head of School or change of mission but do not involve the vestry in the general affairs of the school. For instance, bylaws which indicate that the Board of Trustees develops and approves a slate of new members which is then endorsed by the Vestry appropriately empower the Board, as opposed to a process by which the Vestry appoints school board members without input from the board on which those members would serve.  


Other issues that the bylaws normally address in addition to the selection of members include the total number of members and any quotas for parishioners, Episcopalians, or parents; the selection and duties of officers of the board; the frequency of meetings; committee structures; and the duties and role of the Head of School.  Bylaws should also include provisions for how they may be amended and may establish how budgets and financial policies are to be established.  


It is important for schools to review their bylaws regularly.  Are the procedures in the bylaws congruent with the actual practice of the board?  Are those procedures serving the school well?  Times change, and sometimes the bylaws need to change also.  A good timeframe for review of the bylaws is every three to five years.  If no changes are necessary, the Board can fully readopt them as of the review date and reflect that date in the document.  If the date of approval of your bylaws is more than five years ago, the chances are that most of your board was not serving at the time of approval, and many may not even be familiar with them.  Consider appointing a task force–which includes the Head of School, as well as the rector and/or a vestry representative–to review the bylaws and make recommendations to the full board of trustees.  SAES is happy to answer questions you may have as you undertake this process.  



Chris Carter

SAES SOLUTION PARTNER HIGHLIGHT

Contact: Clayton Crawley


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