Kay Mason is Head of School at St. Andrew’s School in Richmond, VA and Michael Molina is Head of School at The Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys in Washington, DC.
This spring during our monthly chats with heads of school who are People of Color, we had the opportunity to learn from two of our colleagues who are leading schools that are a part of the Episcopal Urban School Alliance (EUSA). What emerged from their interviewing each other and the subsequent conversation were insights, perspectives, and ideas that resonated with all the heads of school on the call and compelled us to ask Kay and Mike to share their experiences with our NAES community.
How does being “relieved” of the pressure of tuition economics impact your headship?
Kay: The parent relationship/collaboration has been the most significant difference thus far. While I have been able to establish strong relationships in my previous PreK-12 independent schools, I have found that the parents at ST. Andrew’s are appreciative and supportive of our expertise as educators. They know that we truly know their child and are meeting each one wherever they are academically, socially, and emotionally. Children are also held accountable for their behavior. The extended day/year (we begin in early August and end the second week of June and the day begins at 8:00 a.m. with dismissal at 4:00 pm) calendar also is well received and this also allows us to plan for PD days and ‘Head and Heart’ days with no push back from parents.
Mike: We frame our value proposition in terms of parent partnership and community connection. We aim to be an “excellent vs. elite” school. Our goal isn’t to gate-keep for elite status (academically, socio-economically, or athletically), but to create an environment where any student can excel to their highest potential. As a head of school and lead storyteller, no tuition means the mission and values we speak about have a concrete and irrefutable manifestation in the way we admit and retain students with no regard to financial status.
What other pressures/considerations do you experience that tuition-based schools might not have?
Kay: Fundraising is the primary source of our revenue, therefore the pressure to sustain and surpass the level from the previous year is constant. We have an incredibly talented Advancement team that actively is looking for new revenue sources. Another pressure we face is student attrition due to attendance concerns, often due to reliable transportation issues…and what striking the balance in our admissions selectivity
Mike: Fundraising and generating diverse, broad investment from the surrounding community and beyond are perpetual challenges. It keeps us up at night knowing that we have to raise the operational budget every year. Without an endowment, we are on a “hamster wheel” of sorts when it comes to fundraising. This also leads to a delicate balance between the type of board & donor stewardship required of a non-profit community-based organization and being a school.
How does a fundraising governance board differ from a typical tuition-based school board?
Kay: Our board is charged with increasing the revenue sources through the introduction and cultivation of current and potential donors in order to support the efforts of our Advancement team. This year we had a number of coffees with tours for ‘friends’ of the Board to build the pipeline.
Mike: We must perpetually balance gratitude with speaking truth to power. We must also accept the active participation of the board in some of the minutiae of the work (particularly around development and, at times, finance), without inviting the board to engage in decision-making that is actually the responsibility of school leadership. For some supporters, we are their favorite charity, though we must never define our students by what they lack or need. The board must define our students and their families as worthy of investment. We invite investment in student potential and possibility. We must also acknowledge that some who support us want to serve needs, address what is lacking, and fight inequity. It’s delicate storytelling and philosophical balance.
How can outsourcing firms or partnerships for staff and/or classroom teachers impact the school’s operation?
Kay: One tremendous difference for me has been the outsourcing of our CFO and bookkeeper, emphasizing the importance of a solid relationship with the firm. The consideration of outsourcing core programming for our specialist areas (PE, Art, Music, World Languages, and Library). The key considerations are to decrease the impact on salaries and compensation while not compromising the scope and sequencing of our curriculum. Additionally, we have considered the potential “loss” of connections and/or decreased opportunity to build long-lasting relationships when a teacher is not a member of the faculty. However, the combination of finances and scarcity of teachers may make this a viable option. We will have to become intentional about integrating these outsourced members into our community and ensure that our norms are practiced.
Mike: We engage community partners for school counseling, P.E., aftercare, arts instruction, and school counseling. We conserve resources and get a sense of where we need to increase investments in upcoming years. Next year, we will employ a full-time counselor to meet our community need after seeing the positive impact of having a counselor for a full day once a week.
What dimensions of diversity (within being a mostly BIPOC space) most impact your work?
Kay: St. Andrew’s was founded in 1894 and was a neighborhood school. There was a significant shift in the demographics of the school in the last 20 years, and now St, Andrew’s student population is predominantly students of color. Today’s ongoing mission is to provide quality education to the whole child. The school culture is to provide our students a sense of belonging, to know they are respected and loved, and to experience ‘learning and growing with grace every day and every way’. Our students can bring their whole selves to school and know that it will be our norm. Our families interact with each other and the faculty with ease. It is a welcoming, supportive community that allows me to lead with a focus on decisions that reflect the mission that we live each day.
Mike: Positive identity development may be one of the most important and lasting impacts on our K-5 students, who are 98% African descended with two students from Afghanistan. We have generationally D.C. families, families who have migrated from different parts of the US, first-generation immigrants from different countries of West Africa, Afro-Latino, and Caribbean BIPOC students and families. We also have a small number of middle and upper-middle socioeconomic-class Black families. All of this creates the opportunity for us to root unity in what our families have in common—that they believe in their children and are willing to invest time and energy in their success. Reflecting all of this in the “windows and mirrors” of the art on the walls, books in the library, curriculum, our namesake Bishop John Walker, and, most importantly, the staff in the building means that our work is both the cause and the effect of our beautiful BIPOC diversity.