Looking to become a head of school (or other senior leader)? Here are some things to keep in mind as you think ahead (pun possibly intended).
Be aware
Ara Brown will emphasize that he doesn't have the magic recipe. His research pulls out characteristics common to heads of color who were first appointed to a headship between July 2006 and July 2011, where those characteristics showed a statistically significant difference from their white counterparts. It does not mean that if you have all of the same characteristics, you will be offered a headship (ta-da!). But you probably want to know.
Percentage of heads in the sample who...
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Heads of color
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White heads
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Graduated from an independent school
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56%
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35%
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Have a master’s degree
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100%
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97%
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Have a master’s degree from a highly selective graduate institution*
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88%
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50%
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Have a master’s degree from the Klingenstein Center at Teacher’s College, Columbia University
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44%
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10%
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Have or were in the process of completing a terminal degree (at time of survey)
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40%
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15%
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Served as assistant head prior to becoming head of school
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70%
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35%
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Had never worked at an independent school prior to becoming head of school
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0%
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12%
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*”highly selective” as based on data from Barron’s and US News & World Report
Numbers for thought, no? So what can you do to put yourself in those numbers? Ara's research also supported a commonly-held jobhunting maxim: networking matters. Multiple presenters expanded on this with particular advice and recommendations.
Some specific networking and professional development activities to look for:
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Attend conferences. Not just PoCC, because some of the people who may be most helpful may not be at PoCC.
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Leadership programs. Attend leadership programs, e.g., NAIS's Fellowship for Aspiring Heads, Kingswood Oxford Leadership Institute for Educators of Color, and the Interschool Leadership Institute for Educators of Color, among others. Aside from the content, these programs are also valuable for the networks and lasting mentoring relationships they provide.
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Professional organizations, such as in your field of study or expertise. Join and network, but also look at taking leadership roles within these organizations.
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Serve on a board. More on this below, but the short story is that while the board of an independent school would be fantastic, another school or organization would be good too.
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Leverage your alumni networks: secondary school, undergraduate, graduate.
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Find mentors/advocates. This could be someone within your school (e.g., your head, an assistant head or division leader) or outside the school. If you have at least one mentor in each category, so much the better - one can give you insider tips while the other can provide more objective, 'outsider' advice. Ara Brown prefers to refer to a 'sponsor' or 'advocate' more than mentor, to encompass someone who, even if they don't have time to do real mentoring, is willing to promote you to others in their network. Other presenters also urged attendees to be proactive with people who may not have the time or energy to be mentors -- ask questions; they may be willing to provide information or advice.
In addition to the above discrete activities, there were also some suggestions for habits to practice (aside from doing your job well, of course):
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Be upfront about what you want. Go above and beyond your specified responsibilities in your current job, but then also ask for the compensation, title change, or other indication that you are moving along (up) a path, not just adding to a static position.
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Listen and learn. Have a growth mindset, particularly before you become an administrator. Constantly pay attention, ask questions, be a sponge - absorb everything.
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Stay informed. Keep up on research relevant to schools and leadership, and fill your reading list (Elizabeth Brown and Lavette Coney recommend The 8 Dimensions of Leadership for starters).
To circle back to the advice on board service: for your personal career trajectory, it’s not necessarily important that you sit on an independent school board; another type of nonprofit organization would also give you valuable skills, experience, and perspective. But at independent schools, boards are the ones charged with hiring the head of school, and with people of color woefully underrepresented on the boards… you can see how the cycle is perpetuated. So if you can help diversify an independent school board, it’s an added boost for the cause.
And be heartened – change is happening! A large number, perhaps two-thirds, of heads will be retiring over the next 5 ~ 8 years. Openings mean opportunity.