The State of the Union
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Philadelphia, PA
Report from the NAIS President, Patrick F. Bassett
NAIS State of the Union Report: Patrick F. Bassett, NAIS President
2012/13: Patient ambulatory, and off the respirator
5-year trends: 2008; 2009 or 2010; 2012 or 2013
(Year of the ………..…car crash…………....EMT…………………...…recovery)
• Apps:Enroll: Day = 2.4/2.2/2.3 Boarding = 3.1/2.9/3.4
• Attrition:
Day = 7.2/8.6/7.2 Boarding = 8.9/9.5/8.4
• Parent Gifts: Day = 67/65/70 Boarding = 46/47/46
• Endow/Debt: Day = 1:1
Boarding = 2.4:1
• Achieved by Massive Infusion of Morphine:
• Financial Aid: Day = 21/24/25 Boarding = 37/41/45
(% of students on need-based financial aid)
The average patient has largely recovered, except those with
“pre-existing conditions”: Those schools must innovate
themselves out of a slide.
The Culture/Climate
Forecast
What Films Forecast about US
Landscape Lessons from the Movies
• Silver Linings Playbook: about a manicdepressive
• Les Miserables: about class warfare & the greed
of the 1%
• Lincoln: about a divided Congress and country,
forced into acting on what’s right by a strong
deal-making president (about to by martyred)
• Twilight Series: about vampires (half human/half
beast, “shape-shifters”)
Landscape Lessons from the Movies
Popular Media reflects a landscape that is…
• Dangerous
• Schizophrenic
• Punishing
 We tell stories about impotent and conflicted authorities
or create nostalgia for heroic but doomed leaders
 Our films project the psychological angst and uncertainty
of the culture.
 At some level, we all, especially leaders, feel as if we are….
Landscape Lessons from the Movies
…hung out to dry.
In such a climate, people seek for
themselves and especially for their
kids…
1. Physical Safety
2. Psychological Security
3. Emotional Support
4. Certainty: a trajectory that is
predictable and preferable.
Schools should reinforce and promote
their climate & document their
outcomes to increase their value
proposition.
What’s New from NAIS
A New Website
New Online Communities
NAISdc YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/NAISDC/videos
Click on “Playlists”
The Question for our
Time:
How much MANAGEMENT
vs.
How much LEADERSHIP?
Thinking Big/Thinking Great = More Leadership/Less Management
Derived &Modified from Alex Goldfayn http://www.evangelistmktg.com/
Thinking Big
Thinking Conventionally
Creative
Procedural
Relentless focus on value and value added Relentless focus on process, approach,
events, editorials, accreditations
Systemic creation of big ideas
Paralysis by analysis (killing creativity &
dreams)
Driven by messaging around value
Driven by fear, caution, politics (“Who
will be upset?”)
Constantly initiating action & experiments Constantly delaying action as seek
perfection
PFB’s Question: Which column is more like Apple & Amazon? Which more like schools?
Seen in the News
Inside Higher Ed
(and for school leaders)
Schoolzilla
We just won the lottery
Quick Takes
Our version of doing
well by doing good
Monday, January 7, 2013
The School Cliff: Student
Engagement Drops With Each
School Year
By Brandon Busteed, Executive
Director of Gallup Education
Many Americans are relieved that
government leaders in Washington
avoided the fiscal cliff. However,
there is another cliff to be aware of,
one with implications that are far
more frightening for the future of
our country: the school cliff.
Your public school
competition not
delivering what works
Academic Jerks
Another mailing
from the head’s
office