Introit

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge - TPACK

Here is a great article on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, or TPACK, which is the work of Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler, both associate professors of educational technology in the College of Education at Michigan State University.

It is a great follow-up to my previous post today.

Enjoy!

Hiring 2.0

It's time to revamp your interview process for hiring new teachers, especially candidates fresh from college.

The typical, new-hire independent school teacher has gone through a liberal arts program and gained an exceptionally strong formation in a particular subject area. What this typical teacher has not gained - usually - is a working knowledge of how to use multiple technological tools and Web 2.0 applications in the classroom.

That has to change.

Why?

College graduates coming out of colleges of education are being required to take coursework in educational technology and its integration into the curriculum. Graduates from liberal arts programs are not. Then, independent schools hire the liberal arts grads because we want folks with superb formation in a discipline (and we always will!), but we overlook their lack of formation in educational technology. What happens next? We place them with a "mentor" who doesn't know how to use tech in an integrated fashion (showing a DVD using an LCD projector and a SmartBoard is NOT using integrated technology; that's the equivalent of showing a film on a reel in the 1970s). The result? Non-use (or minimal use) of educational technology.

So, when you approach hiring season, you would do well to add a set of questions/interviews focusing on the use of educational technology and its integration. Also, you should ask what ed-tech the candidate used at the college level, and how s/he might incorporate that at your school.

Perhaps we should tell our placement service contacts that they should begin to highlight the importance of integrated educational technology to their candidates, suggesting that these soon-to-be graduates take a course on educational technology in order to make themselves more marketable to independent schools.

In most independent schools, we have candidates guest-teach at least one class as part of the interview process. Why don't we also ask candidates to incorporate two pieces of educational technology in this class? Demonstration and use is tell-all.

Once the new hire is in the school, though, the interesting work begins. The newest members of the faculty will have to take a significant role in educating the extant faculty in technology integration.

Just as we have Web 2.0....now we have Hiring 2.0, i.e. the 'new economy' of hiring, which will make our schools just as competitive as any other option out there.

Strategic Endowment

It seems that almost any posting for a Head of School search for July 2010 highlights endowment growth as a key aspect of the new Head's job. Granted, the Great Recession has made all of us think about our endowments (generally speaking) and the degree to which we rely on them to make budget (specifically).

From my perspective, to say quite simply that we need to focus on endowment growth is to suggest that we merely need raise dollars for the endowment. To be sure, that's accurate - we do need to raise dollars. However, the more challenging aspect of endowment growth, going forward, has to do with the strategy behind the composition of the endowment. In other words, does your school have a strategic endowment?

Endowment management was a growing phenomenon through mid-2008; returns were stratospheric for some, outstanding for others, and quite good for the remainder. It seemed as if all schools were moving to Common Fund or other "boutique" endowment management firms, and that none of them would lose.

Then reality hit. I won't go into the painful details; they are known to us all.

What I've been contemplating lately is, as we struggle through the aftermath of 2008, whether we should approach our schools' investments by thinking of them as a strategic endowment.

By strategic endowment, I mean a group of funds that is invested differently from pre-2008 models. Here is one question as an example: should our funds be majority-invested in American stocks, i.e. stocks that are traded on the American exchanges? In other words, how do we anticipate/plan for the effects of inflation on our endowment portfolios? Should we be invested not solely in "international stock funds" that are run by American financial firms, but invested directly in stock funds in other countries, by means of another currency?

Another way to pose the question might be: should our endowment holdings be in US dollars only? Should we hold several currencies so as to mitigate the risk of inflation inherent in one currency alone? Should we treat currencies as a valuable segment of our portfolios, just as we would address "diversification" as being important in an overall portfolio?

What would such a portfolio look like, and what would be the cost basis to have it managed? Could an American financial firm manage it, or should we look to small endowment management groups to manage such a portfolio? What level of service are we looking for now? Is a passive endowment portfolio appropriate for us, or should we seek out an active portfolio manager? Again, what are the cost implications of such a move?

Given the importance that all schools are attaching to endowment, it seems only logical that, first of all, we ought to determine how to mitigate the downside risks in our extant endowment portfolios before focusing on how to enhance their value. I submit here that the "investment model" approaches that firms have used in the past should be questioned rather vigorously before a board's investment committee gives the go-ahead for a strategy.

Taking Advantage of Transitions

When a Head/President leaves a school and a search process for a replacement is undertaken, it's a time of mixed emotions. For a well-tenured Head, there are connections that are almost as close as family (sometimes even closer!), and, for the community, those close ties and that level of familiarity translated into confidence and comfort. From many perspectives, the world can seem upside-down, and there is much anxiety about the leadership transition.

On the one hand, this is all fine and good, as we are human...and emotions are an important expression of who we are.

On the other hand, the transition provides a school with an opportunity to solidify (or create) a vision for the immediate future. The time that the search committee will spend with various constituent groups will be well-spent, and there should be a feeling of inclusiveness that stems from the process itself. Although the community can celebrate the outgoing Head, the community can also begin to dream about the future (i.e. the strategic position of the school) in a way that is brought about almost exclusively through such a transition. In other words, such a transition can be a good and healthy thing for a school.

So, plan to celebrate, but also plan for the future. Given how much has changed in our world of independent schools (and as a society) in the last 12 months, there is much planning to be done!

Free Pre-K

For those schools that offer pre-kindergarten, why not consider making the tuition FREE?

• It creates buzz in the community
• Buzz is good marketing
• It will increase the number of families coming to see your school - and talking about it
• It will create full enrollment at one of the earliest levels
• It creates an opportunity to raise dollars from Pre-K parents in the form of tax-deductible gifts to the school, rather than as tuition payments
• Those dollars raised could be directed by the Board to support other needs - endowment, for example
• Creative financial modeling could allow for the "disruption" in tuition-generated cash flow, considering that the buzz created by this program is the strongest marketing push you might have
• In other words, you might make it your goal to raise more money from these families than what the tuition would have cost, anyway! However, you're going to have to connect the families with programs that matter in your school. If you don't have those programs, you'll have to create them in order to attract families...
• To your free Pre-K program

It's an aggressive strategy, but is that such a bad thing? Why not schedule some Board time to conjecture on the upside and downside of the "free" approach? Perhaps the marketing impact is worth it.

The 21st-Century Leader

Who is this person? What qualities, characteristics, or backgrounds does the 21st-century leader need to possess in order to lead an independent school?

I'd like to contribute to that discussion, which is occurring in many circles as schools are looking for new heads for next year - or perhaps thinking about looking for one in the next few years. It used to be that the model was to work one's way up the ladder from an academic perspective: teacher, department chair, division head, then Headmaster. I would argue, however, that many other talents are needed today, apart from the academic side of life (although it remains pertinent).

The 21st-century leader of an independent school:

• engages constantly in strategic listening
• communicates effectively on a variety of levels: face-to-face, in crowds, in front of audiences, by email, by blog post, and, potentially, by means of several social networking media
• articulates a vision for the school and sticks to that vision, while allowing for unexpected detours that various crises may bring about; has the courage to recognize when the vision needs to be tweaked
• is financially savvy, seeking new business opportunities or models that are increasingly effective, without compromising the school's sense of mission
• is oriented toward building a sizable endowment, and working with the board to minimize the risks inherent in endowment management
• connects with the larger community in service roles (relations with town/city, other non-profit organizations, etc.)
• has in-depth knowledge of educational technology and its potential to affect (positively or negatively) independent school enrollment, student performance, and socialization
• focuses faculty professional growth on areas that will create growth for the school, whether in revenue or reputation
• raises money almost daily, whether for the Annual Fund, programs, or endowment
• has a high comfort level talking about money, investments, and global markets (not just the US market)
• seeks ways to collaborate with other institutions (non-profit, for profit) as a means of building not only brand reputation, but educational connections with social relevancy
• has tremendous empathy
• understands generational differences/perspectives in fundraising for education, from Depression-era grandparents to baby boomers to Generation X and millenials (Generation Y)
• can 'bring down the hammer' in a timely manner, eliminating inefficiencies and ineffective personnel who hinder the school or place it in a precarious position
• understands the importance of asset protection for institutions, in view of a litigious society
• loves kids and loves the craft of teaching (some things never change, thankfully!)
• deals well with constant uncertainty and tension
• thinks in a marketing-oriented fashion
• exudes warmth and a sense of humor
• believes in the positive power of levity
• is grounded morally and ethically

To be sure, this list is not exhaustive, nor is it meant to be prescriptive. However, a study of the list should demonstrate that many boards seeking a new head are looking for "the Messiah on a good day," to borrow a frequently-cited expression. Boards need to have a realistic perspective on the needs of their school, and realize that it is probably impossible to find all these characteristics in one leader.

But how many can they find?

Time to Get the Debt Under Control

For many independent schools, debt service and reduction/elimination of debt are among the greatest challenges, going forward. Many years of seeming prosperity coincided with many years of lending, usually via a bond issue. Schools whose debt relies on a low variable rate of interest are about to find themselves managing far higher costs of debt service, unless they renegotiate the bond issue at a fixed rate. It's a waiting game for the moment: the variable rate is lower than a fixed rate, but at some point in the near future, that variable rate will increase. The key will be to recognize that upward trend, and to move quickly to lock in a fixed rate, if the lender is willing to consider it. Letters of credit that support credit default swaps will also need to be renewed, and that's yet another fee for schools. If credit markets continue to be tight, a number of schools may find themselves in tight spots for years to come.

Debt reduction and elimination will be of capital (pun intended) importance, moving forward. Some schools may find themselves in a position of having to reduce costs everywhere else simply in order to support an aggressive debt reduction strategy. If faculties are seeing their salary increases shrink as a result, you can bet that the Head will be hearing about it! This pressure will necessitate a new degree of "salesmanship" on the part of the Head, who will have to do much more internal marketing than in the past in order to keep the troops happy.

Banks/lenders who tell you that you should simply follow your lengthy amortization schedule are to be ignored. Instead, work with your Finance Committee and Board to implement an aggressive approach that allows you to eliminate your school's debt. As such, you will be able to regain a robust financial life that allows you to focus on the heart of your school's mission: the human element.

Virtual School - Reality and Opportunity

Prediction: by 2019, schools will have to come up with "virtual schools" as part of their crisis management plans.

The Reality
Whether it's H1N1 or some other crisis, schools will need to be able to continue schooling from outside the traditional brick-and-mortar setting, when there is no chance of returning to the physical setting within a reasonable time frame. Click here to watch a video covering what schools in Hong Kong are doing.

The Opportunity
Crises aside, a virtual school could be a tremendous new business opportunity for independent schools who are willing to explore learning beyond bricks and mortar. It may replace the physical school or it may serve to complement it. There is exciting flexibility with business models here.

What's Your Position on Homework?

The Great Homework Debate...to give it - or not to give it - is always a popular question in interviews and a frequent conversation among teachers and parents, not to mention students!

Cathy Vatterott's recent book on this topic, Rethinking Homework, goes a long way in engaging this debate openly and fairly aggressively. Here is a thoughtful review of her book by educator Jason Flom.

The questions we should always ask (as parents and educators) is this: is the homework meaningful?

Malcolm Gladwell on Meaningful Learning Environments

Here is Malcolm Gladwell in June 2009, talking about meaningful learning environments, based largely on the research he undertook for his recent book, Outliers.

What are the implications for your curriculum?