side of Fred's post on heads of school rather than the compensation side. =
I'm going to argue that, for so many reasons, there is no connection betwee=
n the two. IMHO, the greatest constraint placed on the creativity of school=
heads is external constituencies, alumni and parents. The former want to r=
emember their school exactly as it was, and the latter want the school to b=
e exactly as they perceived it when they made the decision to send their ch=
ild. For us, that presents an interesting dilemma. As creative as our head =
might wish to be, parents want us to stick to the basics they believe will =
provide their children with the best opportunity for admission to a prestig=
ious college. While these parents (and alumni) do respond positively to inc=
reased integration of technology, curriculum innovation, improved facilitie=
s, and "co-curricular" enhancements to student life, these same parents are=
the first to complain about these changes whenever the roadmap for their c=
hild is altered and/or the desired outcome is not achieved. So, what does t=
he head of school do when he or she has a vision for the institution, but c=
annot realize that vision without losing key customers to the school down t=
he street that might be a bit less "creative?"
P.S. In Fred's defense, I know there are schools that are turning the heads=
of parents by helping them understand what a good 21st century K-12 educat=
ion is. I agree that the heads of those schools should be rewarded for prom=
oting paradigm changes if they are successful, and the rest of us should li=
sten carefully to what they have to say.
Joel
--
Joel Backon
Director of Academic Technology / History
Choate Rosemary Hall
333 Christian St.
Wallingford, CT 06492
203-697-2514
On Jan 10, 2010, at 12:05 AM, Phil Kassen wrote:
It might make sense to reserve 25% of a head's salary for a bonus, the
amount of which would be determined by risks taken and goals achieved. As =
a
head, one way in which I am able to take modest risks is that my board is
supportive. Creating agreement between board and head about manageable
risks would allow a school's leadership to move ahead with less worry about
job tenure.
On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 2:40 PM, Norman Maynard <nlm1@verizon.net<mailto:nlm=
1@verizon.net>> wrote:
There is an easy way to test this hypothesis. Headmasters could give
themselves a 25% salary cut this year (bringing them back into line with
recent salary increases of teachers) and we can all watch and see if we
have
a little bit more creativity from our leaders next year.
Fred,
I know you to be a smart guy, so - I'm assuming this is a rhetorical
suggestion.
; )
Norman Maynard
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