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Mike Vachow
Jul 302 min read
Outlook: 2024 - 2025
Predictions of the themes that will dominate the independent school conversation in the year ahead.
219 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Jul 23 min read
First 90 Days
Some frank counsel for new heads of independent schools.
108 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Mar 43 min read
Turning Down the Job
Our customers come to schools with jobs to be done, but some of them we can't do or can't do well.
208 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Jan 303 min read
Arcane Expertise
Heads often become expert in unusual subjects. Mine was neighbors.
102 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Nov 13, 20233 min read
High Touch
Leverage the high touch moments/locations of the school day--arrival, lunch, dismissal--by being present in them as often as possible.
246 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Nov 5, 20232 min read
Conference Recap
A collection of my discoveries at the 2023 ISACS Annual Conference.
111 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Aug 31, 20232 min read
Conflict and Care
Until the adults can respond productively to conflict in schools, the kids will not be all right.
172 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Jul 31, 20232 min read
Forecast
A forecast of the issues that will resonate through the 2023 - 2024 school year.
247 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
May 15, 20235 min read
Head's Goals
The creation of a shared understanding of the head's work is one of the most important exercises on the board calendar.
207 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
May 1, 20232 min read
Head's Report
The head's report on the board agenda holds enormous potential for heads to build political capital.
440 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Mar 29, 20233 min read
Firsthand
Very few jobs in an independent school can accommodate alternative work schedules.
150 views1 comment
Mike Vachow
Dec 24, 20223 min read
The Year in Review: 2022
A brief review of the top story lines for independent schools in 2022.
187 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Nov 29, 20222 min read
Simple Gifts
A list of simple gifts heads can give themselves during winter break to boost second semester initiatives.
303 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Nov 2, 20223 min read
Break a Leg
Shared experiences, shared challenge are the return path to joy in the schoolhouse. Performing arts people know this.
84 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Sep 30, 20223 min read
Boomerang Carrot
To retain students and faculty, independent schools should remove uncertainty when and wherever possible.
303 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Sep 2, 20224 min read
Work
"Quiet quitting" might work in some occupations. Education is not one of them.
142 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
May 16, 20222 min read
Communication and Recruitment
A lasting change from the pandemic: schools will need dedicated communication and recruitment leaders.
267 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
May 2, 20222 min read
Tighten Up
Next fall, schools will focus on re-integrating the structures they relaxed in the course of the pandemic.
91 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Apr 14, 20224 min read
Reader's Notes: Community, Culture, Discernment
More than ever, schools should be countercultural.
179 views0 comments
Mike Vachow
Feb 25, 20223 min read
Using Consultants
Some counsel on hiring independent school consultants. . . from a consultant.
270 views0 comments
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