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Forecast 2025 - 2026: Vanishing Point
A forecast for the independent school year to come.

Mike Vachow
Jul 152 min read
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Coming From Inside the House
Challenges to independent schools' values will come not from executive orders but from inside their own communities.

Mike Vachow
Apr 23 min read
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Speak by the Card
In writing, just as in chemistry, knowing the parts and how to put them together is invaluable, especially if you want to blow something up.

Mike Vachow
Feb 123 min read
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Exit Ticket
Exit tickets are a powerful strategy for boards of trustees.

Mike Vachow
Nov 1, 20243 min read
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Outlook: 2024 - 2025
Predictions of the themes that will dominate the independent school conversation in the year ahead.

Mike Vachow
Jul 29, 20242 min read
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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.

Mike Vachow
Mar 3, 20243 min read
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Forecast
A forecast of the issues that will resonate through the 2023 - 2024 school year.

Mike Vachow
Jul 31, 20232 min read
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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.

Mike Vachow
May 15, 20235 min read
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Head's Report
The head's report on the board agenda holds enormous potential for heads to build political capital.

Mike Vachow
May 1, 20232 min read
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The Strategic Planning Conundrum
What constitutes strategy in schools is unique to the enterprise.

Mike Vachow
Feb 28, 20233 min read
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The Year in Review: 2022
A brief review of the top story lines for independent schools in 2022.

Mike Vachow
Dec 24, 20223 min read
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Simple Gifts
A list of simple gifts heads can give themselves during winter break to boost second semester initiatives.

Mike Vachow
Nov 29, 20222 min read
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Top 5 Reasons Why Now is the Time for Strategic Planning
It's a great time for independent schools to consider reviving or creating a strategic plan.

Mike Vachow
Apr 1, 20222 min read
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Handle with Care
Independent school headship was enormously complex before the pandemic. Boards must plan more carefully for the support that heads need.

Mike Vachow
Jan 18, 20224 min read
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Boundaries
Setting boundaries will be one of the signature challenges for heads and boards in the 2021 - 2022 school year.

Mike Vachow
Jul 16, 20212 min read
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Board Reset
After the past year, boards should do some simple planning to set off on the right course next fall.

Mike Vachow
Jun 8, 20212 min read
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Keep it Real
Next year, schools will weigh convenience and intimacy when organizing how adults will work together.

Mike Vachow
May 24, 20214 min read
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Bridge
A practical approach for independent schools for strategic planning in a pandemic.

Mike Vachow
Mar 23, 20212 min read
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Farewell to (Facility) Arms (Race)
It's time to develop a realistic understanding of the long and short term needs of your facilities.

Mike Vachow
Dec 8, 20203 min read
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Exposed
The pandemic has revealed anew a great number of truths about education.

Mike Vachow
Aug 25, 20204 min read
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