Defining Greatness
25 Factors Great Schools Have in Common
Patrick F. Bassett
Bassett@HeadsUpEd.com
Bassett’s 25 Indicators of Great Schools
Great schools…
1. Create and perpetuate an intentional
culture shaped by the adults, rooted in
universal values of honesty and caring, and
relentlessly oriented toward achievement.
•
•
•
“To inspire each girl to fulfill her promise and to better the world.” (“Purpose helps a girl to
understand she is not the only star in the firmament, nor is she a tumbleweed being blown
through life.”)
Culture provides motivation, structure, and guidance. Motivators for adults vs. kids: Dan
Pink’s “Drive” three motivators vs. Christensen & Horn’s research on drivers for adolescents
Strategic & programmatic focus on character, “the hidden curriculum” revealed.
Great schools…
2. Eclectically capitalize on the best ideas about
what works in schools, those gleaned from the
past as well as those deemed best for the future.
Are you a 21st C. school “in the news” for innovation? Are you attuned to “disruptive innovations”
– those that by definition increase access and decrease cost?
3. Manifest a coherent philosophy of
learning for students, be it constructivist,
Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, Montessori, strengthsbased, progressive, traditional, 1:1, IB, or
whatever — so long as it remains open to ongoing
discussion, assumption testing, and constant
refinement.
What’s your “differentiator”? Do faculty talk pedagogy?
4. Make a substantial commitment to
professional development for faculty,
expecting teachers to grow as learners
themselves and to develop mastery in the art and
science of teaching.
Seriously invested in professional development? Need not be expensive: could be time. Too much
freedom to choose?
5. Develop collegial means to
professionalize the profession, such as
rounds, lesson study, digital faculty portfolios,
and the like, adopting professional development
strategies that are prevalent in high-performing
schools and countries around the world.
Faculty portfolios of their flipped class videos & their students’ exhibitions
6. Adopt a big vision, one that continually
refreshes itself in order to sustain the enterprise
along the five most strategic continua:
demographic, environmental, global, financial,
and programmatic.
What’s your vision statement? The “postcard of your destination?”
7. Define the school’s “playground” in
expansive ways, beyond the school’s borders
into the local community, the region, and the
world.
Your experiential-ed track?
8. Demonstrate the public purpose of
private education locally, nationally, and
globally through a variety of means, including
modeling experimentation to improve schooling
and partnering with the public sector at the school
and university levels.
Do you participate in Horizons/Prep for Prep programming? Joining the NNSP?
9. Embrace stewardship of the school and
its resources, renewing and growing the school’s
physical, financial, and human resources to
achieve financial equilibrium.
Does your physical, intellectual, social, & financial capital all grow every year?
10. Enable constituents to donate their
time and treasure consistently by providing
the metrics on school volunteerism, financing, and
eleemosynary benchmarks, and by telling the
school’s story in powerfully moving ways.
Do you benchmark using NAIS StatsOnline “Markers of Success data?
11. Pay it forward by building endowment
and thereby sustaining intergenerational equity
so that the next generation of families will be
at least as well served by this generation as the
current generation of families has been by its
predecessors.
Adopt a “giving” financial discipline and culture? Allocate portion of all giving to endowment?)
12. Commit to diversity of all kinds
and at all levels to create the conditions and
school culture so that students learn how to
appreciate & map differences, then navigate &
ride the waves of change.
Diverse teams at the faculty, management, and board levels: Scott Page’s Diversity &
Complexity; Cosmopolitanism & Culture GPS; Research on value of introverts & neurotics on
one’s team
13. Redefine the ideal classroom
setting as one of intimate environment,
not small classes, since the former can occur in
schools or classes of any size and even online,
and the latter can miss the point of intimacy.
Does the students:staff ratio have room to grow?)
14. Create a financially sustainable future
by means other than persistently large
annual tuition increases, recognizing that
being the best value, rather than the highest price
in town, offers the strongest value proposition.
Learn from the for-profits? Refine the value proposition of your school?)
15. Achieve extraordinary parent and
alumni participation in annual giving,
reflecting superb volunteer organization and
execution and a grateful constituent base.
Organize to seek 100% trustee & parent participation
16. Adopt and fund “3 Rs” talent
strategies that position the school to
recruit, retain, and reward the best and
brightest teachers, school leaders, and board
members.
Seek Teach for America candidates?
17. Compensate staff members fairly and
competitively related to performance and
contributions to the well-being of the school
and in acknowledgment of the staff’s tremendous
responsibility for and impact on students.
Reward attitude and performance?
18. Provide leadership paths for teachers
wishing to stay in teaching, rather than jump to
administration, by creating a host of academic
and task- force leadership roles.
Offer career & leadership track for teachers?
19. Track student outcomes over time,
beyond the years in one’s own school, seeking
data on how well the school prepared its
students for the next legs of their life
journeys — be it the next levels of education
or life beyond.
Employ the NAIS Young Alumni Survey?
20. Seek data to make data-rich (not
opinion-rich) decisions, embracing former
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings’s
observation, “In God we trust; all others, bring
data.”
Employ the NAIS Trustee Dashboards? Survey constituents?
21. To avoid unnecessary distractions,
educate the board and parents
thoroughly about “how schools work,” and
about what student and parent needs a
school can and cannot meet.
Parent and board education? Role Play Difficult conversations)
22. Market their schools with “sticky
messages” that tell a compelling story.
Know your market segmentation? Your school’s best stories? “Sticky messages+ that tell a story
with data that backs it? Marketing features or outcomes? Reinforcing the value proposition with
stories + data)
23. Know their priorities when making
difficult decisions, ranking first “what’s best
for the school,” then “what’s best for the
student,” then “what’s best for all other interests.”
Use the Institute for Global Ethics 4-way test: gut, legal, front page, role-model?
Great Schools…
24. Know that mission-match with a
prospective student (on the intake) and
matriculating students (on the outtake)
is the controlling factor in admissions and
secondary school or college placement.
Define the sweet spot of the ability range you serve? Create “schools with in a school” and
“centers of excellence” to expand reach?
Great Schools…
25. Find the right balance for the drivers
of financial aid to achieve school goals of
diversifying the school, managing enrollment,
and attracting a talented class of students.
Know your financial aid “Sophie’s Choice” profile?
Great Schools…
All schools have the capacity to become
great schools. All they need is the focus and leadership to create
the proper conditions for the board, school leadership team, staff, and
constituents to do so.
All they need is the focus and leadership to create the proper conditions for the board, school
leadership team, staff, and constituents to do so.
The End!
Choose to be Great by Choice
• Roald Amundsen vs. Robert Falcon Scott, in their
efforts to lead their teams to be the first to the South
Pole in October 1911
• Adopt the discipline of “the 20 – mile march”
• Empirical creativity vs. intuition
• First “shoot bullets, not missiles”
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25 Factors Survey
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Factors Exercise – Great Schools
Instructions: Pat Bassett's Independent School magazine column (Spring
2013) "25 Factors Great Schools Have in Common" identifies many
attributes of exceptional schools. For the workshop breakout sessions he
will conduct with our community, he has asked that participants read this
article and then submit their top five to eight factors in each column:
Top Factors that are Important and
that our School Does Well
1.
Top Factors that are Important and
that our School Does Less Well
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
5.
5.
6.
6.
Creativity, Robotics, Teaming and STEM
…and wearable,
functional art
Grant Wood’s Victorian Survival
Smithsonian Podcast
interpretation by Katy
Waldman, Holton
Arms School
Demonstration of Learning
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Trend #5: Market Segmentation as
the New Marketing Imperative
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Cf. Audubon Society; National Geographic;
The Value Proposition Equation
Perceived Outcomes = Value
Perceived Price
A six year old’s perspective?
Compete on brand, price, or uniqueness
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1. Difficult Conversations: How to
Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas
Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen
You’re
holding
me up.
How’s the
project
coming?
You’re a jerk.
I hate you.
Fine,
thanks.
Levels: Stated vs. Implied. Business at hand vs. Threats to my image.
Difficult Conversations: How to
Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas
Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen
She doesn’t
get what my
work
demands..
The Spouse/Partner Version
. it wait?
Can
I’m busy
You think you’re only
busy one?
You don’t love me.
Fine.
Irate Parent Version: Mishandled conversations create the very outcomes
we dread.
Expeditionary Learning
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NOLS-based Leadership Basics:
Taking Care of…
1. Yourself…
2. Your Stuff…
3. Your Responsibilities to the
Team
In the context of real-world
project-based learning and
problem-solving
Measured
by Tech
CWRA
criticalThe Future of Teaching: Hybrid Learning,
High
+ High
Touch
thinking
assessment.
See Christensen & Horn article on “hybrid
disruptive
innovation”
The HONOR CODE
 Woodberry Forest School alums have highest alumni
participation in the country - 64%. Higher than highest colleges.
 Charlotte Latin Honor Code testimonials from graduates:
– “I see cheating at every turn in college – in the weight room,
on the volleyball court, and in the classroom…. I want to
thank you and the school for making being honest a habit for
me.” -Aristotelian insight.
– “Mr. Wall: I wrote my first English paper in college on my
experience when I was caught cheating in 9th grade on a
physics quiz and how helpful you were to me as a mentor
from that point forward – and how that turned me into the
young man I now am.” - Mark Twain on good judgment.
– “Honor above All.”
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3rd Marker of Success: Giving (Day) (1)
Generous giving measures constituent loyalty (generosity as a proxy for high support and
attributed effectiveness)
Parent
Avg Gift
Trustee
Average
Gift
Alumni %
Parent %
Trustee %
Alumni
Avg Gift
Percentile(25)
4%
50%
95%
$135
$577
$2,041
Percentile(50)
9%
66%
100%
$250
$895
$3,699
Percentile(75)
16%
81%
100%
$420
$1,462
$5,929
Percentile(90)
27%
93%
100%
$639
$2,399
Parent
Avg Gift
$11,195
Trustee
Average
Gift
2010-11
Alumni %
Parent %
Trustee %
Alumni
Avg Gift
Percentile(25)
4%
53%
96%
$142
$575
$2,031
Percentile(50)
9%
69%
100%
$264
$890
$3,922
Percentile(75)
16%
82%
100%
$434
$1,494
$6,664
Percentile(90)
26%
95%
100%
$668
$2,527
$12,111
2011-12
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
3rd Marker of Success: Giving (Day) (2)
Generous giving measures constituent loyalty (generosity as a proxy for high support and
attributed effectiveness)
Parent
Avg Gift
Trustee
Average
Gift
Alumni %
Parent %
Trustee %
Alumni
Avg Gift
Percentile(25)
4%
53%
96%
$142
$575
$2,031
Percentile(50)
9%
69%
100%
$264
$890
$3,922
Percentile(75)
16%
82%
100%
$434
$1,494
$6,664
Percentile(90)
26%
95%
100%
Alumni %
Parent %
Trustee %
$668
Alumni
Avg Gift
$2,527
Parent
Avg Gift
$12,111
Trustee
Average
Gift
Percentile(25)
4%
45%
93%
$136
$567
$2,002
Percentile(50)
8%
68%
100%
$269
$901
$4,055
Percentile(75)
15%
84%
100%
$438
$1,537
$6,779
Percentile(90)
28%
94%
100%
$714
$2,635
$11,707
2011-12
2012-13
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
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Growing endowment: measures commitment to financial security (a
proxy for inter-generational equity and long-term stability).
2010-11
Endowment Value
Endowment per Student
Value
Percentile(25)
$1,200,000
$3,267
Percentile(50)
$4,347,851
$10,787
Percentile(75)
$13,282,500
$22,929
Percentile(90)
$30,167,411
$43,826
2011-12
Endowment Value
Endowment per Student
Value
Percentile(25)
$1,284,688
$3,559
Percentile(50)
$4,984,805
$11,112
Percentile(75)
$14,759,884
$25,630
Percentile(90)
$33,645,414
$49,112
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
th Marker of Success: Endowment- (Day) (2)
9Growing
endowment: measures commitment to financial security (a
proxy for inter2011-12
generational equity and long-term stability).
Endowment Value
Endowment per Student
Value
Percentile(25)
$1,284,688
$3,559
Percentile(50)
$4,984,805
$11,112
Percentile(75)
$14,759,884
$25,630
Percentile(90)
$33,645,414
$49,112
2012-13
Endowment Value
Endowment per Student
Value
Percentile(25)
$1,280,671
$3,747
Percentile(50)
$5,360,647
$12,303
Percentile(75)
$16,047,328
$28,010
Percentile(90)
$33,813,080
$48,876
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
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Comparatively high student:faculty and student:total staff ratios
(percentiles): measure high workload productivity (a proxy for
institutional efficiency); low productivity/ratios (a proxy for
competing on brand or program not price)
Students : FTE
Faculty
Students : FTE ALL
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.8
4.6
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.2
Percentile(75)
10.4
6.1
Percentile(90)
12.1
Students : FTE Faculty
7.0
Students : FTE ALL
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.8
4.6
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.2
Percentile(75)
10.4
6.1
11.9
7.1
2010-11
2011-12
Percentile(90)
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
Comparatively high student:faculty and student:total staff ratios
(percentiles): measure high workload productivity (a proxy for
institutional efficiency); low productivity/ratios (a proxy for competing
on brand or program not price)
Students : FTE
Faculty
Students : FTE ALL
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.8
4.6
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.2
Percentile(75)
10.4
Percentile(90)
2012-13
Students11.9
: FTE Faculty
6.1
Students : FTE ALL
7.1
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.7
4.5
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.1
Percentile(75)
10.6
6.0
12.2
7.1
2011-12
Percentile(90)
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
Comparatively high student:faculty and student:total staff ratios
(percentiles): measure high workload productivity (a proxy for
institutional efficiency); low productivity/ratios (a proxy for
competing on brand or program
not price)
Students
: FTE
Students : FTE ALL
2010-11
Faculty
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.8
4.6
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.2
Percentile(75)
10.4
6.1
Percentile(90)
12.1
Students : FTE Faculty
7.0
Students : FTE ALL
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.8
4.6
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.2
Percentile(75)
10.4
6.1
Percentile(90)
11.9
7.1
2011-12
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
Comparatively high student:faculty and student:total staff ratios
(percentiles): measure high workload productivity (a proxy for
institutional efficiency); low productivity/ratios (a proxy for
competing on brand or program not price)
Students : FTE
Faculty
Students : FTE ALL
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.8
4.6
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.2
Percentile(75)
10.4
6.1
Percentile(90)
11.9
Students : FTE Faculty
7.1
Students : FTE ALL
Staff
Percentile(25)
7.7
4.5
Percentile(50)
9.0
5.1
Percentile(75)
10.6
6.0
12.2
7.1
2011-12
2012-13
Percentile(90)
(Years mentioned are data collection years)
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The Good News: Data To Use
Diversity & Complexity - Scott Page
• In any and all systems (nature, corporate,
educational, disease), the more diverse
the system, the stronger and more likely
to persist and succeed.
• Mathematically demonstrable: a formula
to predict the higher likelihood of success
of diverse systems
• If you assemble the 100 “smartest” people
you can find in one group and a random
and diverse set of people in a second
group, the second group outperforms in
decision making every time.
The Good News: Data To Use
The Good News: Data To Use
Culturally Competent Leaders
 Accepting of a lack of full closure, of ambiguity and ambivalence
 Recognizes there is much denial about diversity challenges
Don’t
Miss
the
Boat
on
– classroom experience richer;
– the
faculty Benefits
problem-solving isof
more innovative;
– demographic imperative is addressed
– Diversity!
benefits all: in some ways benefits white students most (IHE)
 Articulates well why diversity is mission-critical:
in terms of growth of critical thinking
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Problem Solving via Strategic
Governance (cf. Dick Chait’s Governance as
Leadership)
Needed: Three Levels of Trusteeship
 Level One: Fiduciary (oversight and assessment of
mission & finance)
 Level Two: Strategic (“less management/more
governance” via scanning and planning)
 PFB’s
Level3Three:
visioning,
R&D
lenses:Generative
oversight, (shared
foresight,
and insight
orientation for imagining and experimenting).
Use the power of setting the agenda to build a strong process
Developing the Board & Admin Team
(Board Member, May 2004, Chait et al.)
The SAT Analogy:
Our board is to our organization
as
is to
.
Three Levels of Board Governance
Source: Bill Ryan, AISNE Governance Workshop, Oct 23. 2007
Analogies revealing some level of dysfunction:
“Our board is to our organization as…”
 Loose steering wheel is to auto
 Fingernail is to blackboard
 Hamster is to wheel
Board as Control
Mechanism
Three Levels of Board Governance
(Adapted from Board Member, May
2004, Chait et al.)
Board as Direction
Board as Meaning
Setter
Maker
Dam : River
Compass : Navigation
Inspiration : Poet
Curbstone: Road
Headlights : Auto
Values : Choices
Border Collie : Herd
Guidance System :
Satellite
Designer : Work of Art
Traffic Tower: Pilot
Governor: Engine
Landlord: Tenant
Anchor: Ship
Fiduciary Oversight:
“Doing things right”
Periscope : Submarine
Spirit : Higher Purpose
Lighthouse: Ship
Flight Planner : Pilot
Rudder : Ship
Strategic Foresight:
“Doing the right things”
Generative, Visionary
Insight: “Leave a legacy”
Move from micromanagement to macroengagement. Employ the 3 lens rubric
to problem-solving: Rising benefit costs? Adding Chinese or Hindi? Immersion?
“Leaders are people who do the
right thing; managers are
people who do things right.”
~Warren G. Bennis
Examples of a board doing “things
right”?
What Leaders Really Do
~ John Kotter
Management:
Leadership:
Manages Complexity by…
• Planning & Budgeting
• Organizing & Staffing
• Controlling & Problemsolving
• Producing predictability,
order, and consistency
Leads Change by…
• Setting a direction
• Aligning people
• Motivating and inspiring
• Producing useful and
dramatic change
(i.e., “doing things right”)
(i.e., “doing the right things”)
Examples of a board doing “the right thing”?
The Perfect Head of School (Walter
Ebmyer, ISM, 1980)
The Perfect Head of School always has the right thing to say…wears
good clothes…buys good books…is 29 years old with 40 years of
experience…smiles all the time…visits 15 classes per day and is always
in the office to be available for instant parent conferences…etc.
The Perfect Head of School is always in the next nearest school (not
yours).
If your head does not measure up…
 Send this notice to six other schools that are tired of their heads, too.
 Bundle up your head and send him or her to the school on the top of the
list.
 In one week you will receive 1643 heads--and one will be perfect: Have
faith in this letter.
 One country day school broke the chain and got its old head back in
less than four months.
Evaluating Leadership
Evaluating Leadership
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SAT InfoGraphic
Source: CAPE Outlook 10/13
PFB Note: 1550 of
2400 Benchmark
Score for 3-part SAT
(math, reading,
writing) = floor
where academic
success in college is
likely
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