Tom Bonnell Outlines Four Essential Pillars for School Administration
adminTom Bonnell, Head of School at Savannah Country Day School for five years, talks about the four pillars that are essential for a successful first year as a new head of school. Mr Bonnell advises new heads of school to concentrate on four key elements during their first year of tenure in order to establish a strong foundation for their succeeding years of leadership.
The first pillar Tom Bonnell advises new Heads of School to concentrate on is to build trusting relationships with key people such as trustees, administrators, faculty, students, and parents. The second pillar is gaining essential knowledge of the school including the curriculums for each division, major policies of each division, the history of the school as well as its financial workings. The third pillar of success lies in having a significant presence in school since the Head of School is the symbolic representative of the school as a whole. The fourth and final pillar is effective communication and establishing a pattern of communication that will work best for the school.
These four pillars outlined by Tom Bonnell gives new Heads of School an idea of things to focus on in order to establish a good first year in office and to set the stage for a long and successful tenure.