#NESAWEBINAR

NESA Good Governance

Six Stand-Alone Webinars for Teams of Trustees and School Heads

With David Chojnacki & RICK DETWILER

THIS EVENT HAS PASSED - THANK YOU

STRAND: LEADERSHIP Learning

	6 STAND-ALONE Sessions Sep 9 - OCT 14, 2021
	4:00-5:30 PM (GMT+3)

	OPEN TO NESA MEM/AFF
	NO COST

	FOR TRUSTEE & SCHOOL HEAD TEAMS
	ZOOM WEBINARS

ABOUT THE WEBINAR SERIES

The six-session NESA Good Governance Series presents an opportunity for Trustees and Heads of School to engage in action-oriented webinars addressing the seven Modules of the AAIE Board Development Curriculum.

Rick Detwiler and David Chojnacki will lead the six sessions with a short presentation, and then school-based teams will meet in breakout rooms to discuss relevant issues at their schools that need attention and begin to develop an action plan. At the end of each session, school teams will reconvene and share what they developed in their breakout rooms.

*NOTE*: Each webinar is a 'stand-alone' session. Participants may attend all or as many sessions as they choose.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

School-based teams of trustees and their head of school will:

understand concepts and strategies related to essential responsibilities of the Board.
reflect on how their own board practices align with these principles and develop/update action plans for their school related to the critical issues addressed.
share innovative ideas for meeting the governance challenges ahead, in particular those related to the pandemic.

WEBINAR SESSIONS

SEPT 9

SESSION 1: Roles and Responsibilities

SEPT 9, 4:00-5:30pm (Athens GMT+3)

Presenter: DAVID CHOJNACKI

How does the Board perform the roles and fulfill its responsibilities of both governance and leadership?

Participants will:

explore the meaning and relevance to their Board of the NAIS Principles of Good Practice.
understand the respective roles and responsibilities of the Board and the Head of School.
acknowledge why policies are useful and examine criteria of effective policies.
examine the role of Board officers with particular attention to the effective performance of the chair.

SEPT 16

SESSION 2: Fiduciary Practices

SEPT 16, 4:00-5:30pm (Athens GMT+3)

Presenter: RICK DETWILER

How does the Board meet its fiduciary obligations and serve as a good steward?

Participants will:

explore a variety of practices that help fulfill the Board’s fiduciary responsibilities.
reflect on the Board’s role in risk mitigation.
review Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest protocols and discuss ways to prevent and if necessary, resolve such breaches.

SEPT 23

SESSION 3: The Board-Head of School Relationship

SEPT 23, 4:00-5:30pm (Athens GMT+3)

Presenter: DAVID CHOJNACKI

How does the Board build and sustain the school’s leadership?

Participants will:

explore ways of supporting the Head of School, including conduct of a collaborative, growth-focused performance evaluation.
explore the relationship between the Board/Board Chair and the Head of School, identifying the perspectives and practices that make this critical relationship serve the best interests of the Board, the Head of School and the School.

SEPT 30

SESSION 4: Growing and Sustaining the Board

SEPT 30, 4:00-5:30pm (Athens GMT+3)

Presenter: RICK DETWILER

How does the Board build and sustain its own membership?

Participants will:

review strategies for identifying, recruiting, selecting, and inducting the right Board members, and consider the role of the Governance Committee in coordinating that process.
affirm the importance of periodic (at least annual) appraisal of the Board as a whole, the Board Chair, and individual Trustees and review a sample instrument for self-appraisal of the Board.

OCT 7

SESSION 5: Optimizing Board Operations

OCT 7, 4:00-5:30pm (Athens GMT+3)

Presenter: DAVID CHOJNACKI

How does the Board conduct its business?

Participants will:

examine protocols and practices that maximize efficiency and effectiveness in conducting its work at and between Board meetings.
understand the difference between committees and task forces and examine criteria for effective use of standing committees.
review sample “Essential Agreements” and understand the importance of articulating norms for Board operations.
review research-based proven practices of high-performing Boards.

OCT 14

SESSION 6: Being Strategic and Accountable

OCT 14, 4:00-5:30pm (Athens GMT+3)

Presenter: RICK DETWILER

How does the Board establish and sustain a strategic direction for the school?

Participants will:

recognize the importance of clear, consistent, carefully crafted foundational statements that define the character of the school and guide decision making, from the Board room to the classroom.
explore mechanisms that promote the Board’s strategic work.
recognize the importance of integrating strategic, financial, and facilities planning.

How does the Board monitor progress and success in regard to fulfilling the school’s mission, vision, values, educational objectives, and strategic intent?

Participants will clarify the Board’s responsibility for "accountability"; measuring the school’s performance.

Reference: David Chojnacki and Richard Detwiler. The International Trustee Handbook: A Guide to Effective Governance for International Schools 2nd edition. National Association of Independent Schools. 2019

MODEL

ZOOM UTILIZATION (participants connecting individually from their locations).
PROCESS:
FOLLOW-UP – consultant available for limited email consultation.

David Chojnacki

CONSULTANT, GOVERNANCE & SCHOOL BOARD TRAINING

David Chojnacki has had a lifetime of engagement in, leadership of and networking with independent schools around the world, most recently focusing on school governance. He has been the head of four international schools: International School of Ouagadougou; Karachi American School; the American Embassy School in New Delhi; and Cairo American College.

In 1996, David was named the executive director of NESA, leading the organization to international prominence and serving the member schools by providing valued services in networking, professional development, executive coaching of school leaders, and governance. He served in that capacity for 21 years. Currently, he focuses on guiding school boards in effective school governance.

David has served on multiple non-profit boards and has been trained in governance by BoardSource, in facilitation by Thinking Collaborative (“Adaptive Schools”) and in coaching by the Newfield Network. He co-authored the international version of the NAIS Trustee Handbook and the curriculum for Leading Together, a project to enhance the effectiveness of the board chair/head of school partnership.

Rick Detwiler

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL GOVERNANCE CONSULTANT

Rick Detwiler has worked with school boards as head of five international schools, in Israel, Bangladesh, Hungary, Brazil, and Nepal over a 21-year career overseas, and more recently as a governance consultant.

Born and raised in upstate New York, Mr. Detwiler earned his BA degree from Dartmouth College, MA from Tufts University, and CAGS from the University of Vermont. Before joining the international school community in 1988, he was a Naval officer, a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana, and for ten years, a teacher and principal in Vermont.

Mr. Detwiler is married to his wife of 49 years, Sandi, a retired ESL teacher, and they have three grown children, all educated at international schools. Rick and Sandi now live in rural Vermont.

Currently, Rick consults with Boards of Trustees in international school governance, having conducted board training, policy review, and strategic planning workshops for over 60 schools and regional organizations throughout the world over the past eight years.

Most recently, Rick and colleague David Chojnacki developed the AAIE-sponsored “Leading-Together” project, focused on empowering Board Chairs and Heads of School to work effectively leading their boards in good governance practice.

Finally, Rick and David authored the NAIS International Trustee Handbook, 2nd edition, published in January 2019. Rick’s particular interest in board development lies in developing school board training experiences that are action-driven and individualized for the specific needs of the client school.