Leading Your International School

Author and Skills Consultant

Nova Academy

I teach AP European History, AP World History, AP Psychology as well as Honors History and Honors Literature. On top of that I guide Model UN and AP History tutoring while supporting Debate and Speech.

Vice Principal | AP Curriculum Specialist | Psychology & History | Social Thought Analyst

BASIS International Schools

I taught AP Psychology, Neuroscience and Intro to Psychology to students from G8-G12 as well as advising Model United Nations. In addition I taught AP World History and worked to develop an Eastern Civilizations course beforehand.

Psychology and Social Studies Teacher

Prince Edward County High School

I taught AP US History, VA/US Government, VA/US History, and Psychology as well as advising Model United Nations.

High School Social Studies Teacher

New Vistas School

I taught World History/World Geography, Virginia and United States History, and US Government to 22 High School students from G9 to G12. All had IEPs from Virginia Public Schools. I also advised Yearbook.

I help teachers go where they're appreciated / Turn curriculum and practice for schools into skills as Consultant and Vice Principal / AP History and Psychology Teacher and Tutor

As the Vice Principal at Nova Academy, I advocate for the educational journey of students from China to the United States, which sets them on a path towards successful careers, further studies, and a fulfilling societal role.

Parallel to my administrative role, I'm an Author and Consultant at "Leading Your International School". Our philosophy? Everyone in the educational spectrum, from students to leaders, can grow and evolve. Contrary to the belief that roles in education are interchangeable, I believe that each individual brings unique value to the table – a belief I stand by staunchly.

With 13 years of experience under my belt as a U.S. (Virginia) Certified Social Studies teacher, I've specialized in AP Psychology, AP US History, and AP World History. Notably, in my prior role, all my AP Psychology students achieved an average score of 4.3, but what resonates most is the transformative impact on their lives, evident from heartfelt feedback.

Beyond my main subjects, I've taught VA/US Government, World History, World Geography, and Eastern Civilizations. My approach combines simulation, discussion, and dialogue, which enables students to empathize with historical decisions and better equip themselves for the future.

At the heart of my teaching philosophy is the support for student evolution. It's not just why I teach – it's the essence of what I offer to any educational team. If you're passionate about global education and collaborative growth, I'm eager to connect.

🫷I WATCHED A GREAT LEADER GET PUSHED OUT BECAUSE THEY STOOD UP FOR TEACHERS.

Corporate replaced them with someone who only cared about their job.

The school changed overnight.

Teachers no longer trusted leadership. 

Good teachers left. 

Corporate micromanaged every decision.

Budgets got tighter. Salaries froze. 

Parents demanded more, but leaders did less.

The new head promised change, but nothing changed.

Discrimination grew. Women and locals were ignored for top jobs.

People whispered about corruption and favoritism.

The best teachers felt alone. The worst ones stayed.

Culture clashed. No one dared speak up.

The school lost its soul.

Leadership is not about power or position.

It is to protect your people, even when it costs you.

It is to fight for what is right, not what is easy.

It is to build trust, not fear.

A strong leader stands up to the board, supports teachers, and puts students first.

A weak leader protects themselves and lets the school fall apart.

International schools need leaders with courage, not just credentials.

They need people who care more about the mission than their own comfort.

When leaders do the right thing, schools thrive.

When they don’t, everyone suffers.

Never let fear or politics decide what kind of leader you become.

The future of every school depends on it.

What kind of leader are you?

🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Grant Ferguson Barry Cooper Vincent Chian Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. Rizky Tielman - Strategic Leader in Global Education Vishal Ganguli

Conan Magruder

Run schools on evidence, not ego | International School Vice Principal | AP Psychology & AP History

🪤A SCHOOL THAT NEEDS ITS FOUNDER EVERY DAY IS NOT A BUSINESS. 
It's a trap.

The most valuable schools run on systems, not superheroes. There's a reason Grainne O'Reilly can travel.

If you want your school to grow, here’s the blueprint:

1. Time Study & Task Inventory

Principals waste over 40% of their week on work that could be handed off or automated.

Start with a one week, 15 minute log for every senior leader: academics, admissions, finance.

Tag each task:
• Project – one off jobs like an accreditation report.
• Process – repeat work like weekly timetables.
• Person – find or hire someone to own it.

Traffic light the list:
• Green: hand off now.
• Yellow: needs a clear SOP.
• Red: needs a new hire or tech.

Use a cloud matrix or MIS to track & automate repeat tasks. Modern school tech stacks now do this out of the box.

2. Trade Do for Manage

Stop being the bottleneck.

Replace 50 hours of classroom observation with 10 hours to coach your division heads. Then hire a deputy and cut down to two hours a week to review scorecards.

Each cycle gives you 10× more leadership leverage.

High potential deputies learn faster than old hands. Research shows the speed you learn beats years of experience for international heads.

Set decision guardrails:

Let deans approve issues under $500, change bus routes, or grant fee waivers without you. Cap their monthly spend. This shrinks approval queues but still flags oddities in monthly reports.

3. Recruit & Retain A Players

Keep a live funnel of academic leaders. Track “time to fill” & “90 day two-way fit” like companies track customer churn.

Volume interviews sharpen your eye. One EdTech firm screened 600 developers for a CTO. Watch how Josh Czupryk works with Josh’s K12 Jobs Blast. Use the same discipline for HODs.

Incentivize test coordinators with stretch goals. The best people want to win.

4. Remove the Founder from Marketing

Charisma is not a system. If your school’s brand is you, you’re stuck. 
Melissa McBride 🚀 could not log in. Barry Cooper could never come in. Could you?

Break the “key person” risk:

• Parent generated content: Screenshot weekly WeChat or WhatsApp praise and turn it into ads. Prospective families trust testimonials and free trials most.

• Lifecycle ads: Stitch together student arrival, classroom moments, and graduation into a 60 second reel. These boost inquiry conversions by 30% or more. You can see examples from folks like Tom Rogerson or Howard Stribbell, PhD,.

• Support team bounty: Give a voucher to every frontline staff member who logs a positive parent chat. This is the humanity 🔸 David Ardley 🔸 talks about.

Pair these with free trial micro courses or holiday camps. 

5. Founder Sabbatical

Take two weeks off. Then a whole term.

Track your KPIs: net enrollment, staff retention, net provider score. Anything that drops becomes your next SOP.

🚪Comment how you got out.
♻️ Most schools never escape. Repost to help someone to.

I'VE HEARD THE TRUTH FROM INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENTS

No filter.
No perception survey provided by corporate.
Pure qualitative research from students in my psychology class.

It changed how I see global education forever.

If you want to know what’s broken, listen to the kids:

➟ Language barriers set them up to fail before they start
➟ Vague “central ideas” leave them lost, not inspired
➟ Teacher turnover means new faces, new rules, no trust
➟ Assessment overload crushes motivation
➟ Coursework feels miles from real-world needs
➟ Support for learning differences is missing in action
➟ Rigid tracks squeeze out culture and creativity
➟ Admissions chase fees, not fit, so misplacement rises
➟ Social circles vanish overnight; friends leave faster than flights
➟ Western lens, local stress and wellbeing gets ignored

This is not theory.
This is what students live, every day.

What does it look like to fix it?

It’s not to add more meetings or more paperwork.

It’s about:

✅ Multi year English growth maps, with real data before course picks
✅ “Witness Tasks” anchoring every unit. One performance proof per student, or we reteach
✅ 1 page Playbooks for every unit, so new teachers don’t bring chaos
✅ Two heavy assessment weeks, then one recovery week so we have a rhythm over grind
✅ Daily “3 Meal” lessons: knowledge, application, reflection
✅ Annual “progress photos” so growth is visible to kids and parents
✅ Entry diagnostics and wellbeing surveys before placement so we have a velvet rope, not open door
✅ Weekly 10 minute boarding advisory: sleep logs, stress checks, local-lens projects

Here’s what changes:

EAL students read class texts without drowning.
Assessments become milestones, not minefields.
Staff changes no longer derail learning.
Sleep averages rise. Stress drops.
Projects solve real host country problems, not just textbook hypotheticals.

This is what students want.
This is what they need.

Every student seen.
Every student heard.
Every student growing.

What can you do Monday so every student will feel seen by Friday?

Ryan Kachold, EdD 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Howard Stribbell, PhD Andy Homden Grainne O'Reilly Tom Rogerson Grant Ferguson Susan Fang

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☢️NUKE BARRIERS TO TEACHERS

If you work in school leadership, read this:

(thanks to Heads of School and Mark Sayer for these)

10 proven fixes:

1. Cut the Marking That Doesn’t Move Learning  
↳ Marking every piece of work drains time & energy.  
↳ Charles Dickens Primary freed up 10 hours per teacher each week by switching to live, in class feedback.  
↳ Focus on feedback that actually helps students grow.

2. Share the Load to Lower Pressure  
↳ High pressure burns out even the best teachers.  
↳ Nord Anglia puts every teacher on an online coaching pathway.  
↳ This keeps retention & exam results steady across 84 schools.  
↳ Transformational leaders share the load, not just the vision.

3. End Contract Traps  
↳ Hidden clauses and passport holding destroy trust.  
↳ Schools using the CIS model ban passport holding & list all break-fees up front.  
↳ Transparent contracts slash grievances and build loyalty.

4. Build Real Support Systems  
↳ Teachers need more than words they need time.  
↳ St. Columba's College paired rookies with mentors and protected collaboration time.  
↳ Retention jumped from 68% to 87% in one year.  
↳ Support is not a perk, it’s a must.

5. Replace Surveillance with Trust  
↳ Cameras and micromanagement kill morale.  
↳ Dulwich College Beijing replaced CCTV with a staff led Wellbeing Charter.  
↳ Engagement scores rose.  
↳ Trust is built by action, not talk. I'm lastingly impressed.

6. Teach the Language of Wellbeing  
↳ Mental health starts with understanding, not just therapy.  
↳ The Decode Program taught wellbeing language to all.  
↳ Anxiety scores dropped 18% in Australian partner schools.  
↳ Literacy in wellbeing is the first step to real support.

7. Break Down Cultural Barriers  
↳ Miscommunication is a hidden tax on productivity.  
↳ Cross-cultural workshops for local and expat staff lowered conflict in Asian universities.  
↳ Clear communication saves time and builds stronger teams.

8. Pay What Talent Deserves  
↳ Low pay drives talent away.  
↳ OECD says match salaries to at least 1.3× GDP per capita.  
↳ In the UAE, 70% of firms now give separate housing allowances to offset rent spikes.  
↳ Better pay means better recruitment and retention.

9. Protect Work Life Balance  
↳ Time is the new currency for teachers.  
↳ Colorado’s four day week pilots cut sick days & helped recruitment without hurting scores.  
↳ More time off means healthier, happier staff.

10. Build Financial Safety Nets  
↳ Unpaid staff crises destroy trust and reputation.  
↳ Texas charter schools with 90 day payroll reserves avoid these disasters.  
↳ Cash reserves are cheaper than reputational damage.

10 solutions to help teachers.

How have you handled these problems in your schools?  
Grant Ferguson Barry Cooper Grainne O'Reilly Dr. Tassos Anastasiades Alissa Gouw Nick Hart Patrick O'Shaughnessy FRSA
Comment below to share with others.

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NUKE BARRIERS TO TEACHERS

♨️6 FRICTIONS THAT KILL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS?

I talk to international schools every week that look perfect on paper.

But under the surface, 6️⃣tiny frictions wreck their results.

🥷It starts with secret salary scales.
-> HR keeps pay hidden, & hopes to avoid drama.
-> Instead, it breeds mistrust, gossip, and quiet exits.
-> One school lost three star teachers in a year. All left for “transparency.”

Then comes Visa Chaos.
-> Every August, new hires get stuck in paperwork limbo.
-> One school built a war room: daily check ins, real time tracking, and a single point of contact.
-> They cut onboarding chaos in half & saved the semester.

⚠️Your inbox hides a 15% funnel lift.
-> Admissions teams drown in emails.
-> One school set up auto responders and tracked every lead.
-> Their conversion rate jumped 15% in one term.

A 0.5% wellbeing line paid back 10×.
-> Staff burnout is real.
-> One school added a tiny budget for mental health support.
-> Absences dropped, and teacher retention soared.

Monday morning AP gap bursts spiked pass rates.
-> Data sits in AP Classroom, Albert dot io, and gradebooks.
-> A new routine: every Monday, teams review AP gaps.
-> Our pass rates climbed, and students felt seen.

🌿Grow Your Own pipelines crush shortages.
-> Teacher shortages hit hard.
-> Train TAs (like us) and trailing spouses as future teachers.
-> Fill every open role from within.

These frictions look small.
But left unchecked, they drain talent, trust, and results.

When I first worked in schools, I thought big problems needed big solutions.
Now I know: fix the tiny frictions, and everything changes.

You don’t need a huge budget.
You need to spot the silent killers and act fast.

👇 Share one real tactic (or horror story) you’ve seen on campus.

🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly David William Sheehan Adrian Quester Howard Stribbell, PhD André Double 安德烈   杜布勒 Amy Zhang张远远 Tony Atkinson

♻️ Pass this post to a school leader who needs a win.
➕ Follow me to push towards school success.

6 FRICTIONS THAT KILL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS?

🔟HARSH TRUTHS INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS FACE

If you teach abroad, read this:

(thanks to the teachers for their shared stories)

10 realities you cannot ignore:

1. Crushing Workload and Overwork  
↳ International teachers often handle heavy workloads, endless admin, and unpaid extra hours.  
↳ Many spend most days they teach with little support, which leads to exhaustion and stress.

2. High Pressure and Expectations  
↳ School leaders and parents expect top results, perfect lessons, and constant communication.  
↳ Frequent meetings, evaluations, and parent demands make the job even tougher than public schools.

3. Contract Traps and Job Insecurity  
↳ To break a contract can mean you pay back visa fees, lose benefits, or lose a passport.
↳ Some teachers are fired with no warning, even days before school starts, which leaves them stranded.

4. Lack of Support and Training  
↳ Many teachers get little or no training on curriculum, school culture, or admin tasks.  
↳ Few schools offer mentors or proper induction, which makes it hard to adapt to new countries and systems.

5. Toxic Work Culture  
↳ Some schools monitor teachers with CCTV and micromanage every move.  
↳ Bullying, distrust, and staff cliques create a hostile environment, especially for foreign staff.

6. Mental Health Strain  
↳ Burnout, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion are common.  
↳ Schools often blame teachers for their own wellbeing, ignoring the real causes of stress.

7. Cultural and Language Barriers  
↳ Language gaps and poor cross cultural understanding make teamwork and daily life harder.  
↳ Miscommunication and lack of respect for foreign staff add to the pressure.

8. Low Pay and Poor Benefits  
↳ Many teachers feel underpaid and undervalued, especially in expensive cities or tough regions.  
↳ Pay rarely matches the workload or cost of living.

9. No Work Life Balance  
↳ Long hours, constant monitoring, and afterhours demands eat into personal time.  
↳ Many teachers struggle to find time for themselves or their families.

10. Unpredictable Job Market  
↳ Sudden staff cuts, new owners, and shifting policies create constant uncertainty.  
↳ Planning a career or even a year ahead feels impossible.

10 hard lessons every international teacher should know.

Which of these impacted you?
How can we stop these from impacting others?
Let me know in the comments⬇️ 

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International School Vice Principal | AP Psychology & AP History

👀YOUR OLD SCHOOLS WON'T SAVE YOU. YOUR EYES MIGHT.

The way you see the world shapes what you build.

Schools love to talk about “pioneers” and “trailblazers.”
Russell John Cailey know how rare they are.

That language hides a lot.

It hides who gets left out.
It hides who pays the price for change.
It hides the real cost of progress. Don Lamison knows too.

The “frontier” myth is everywhere in global education.

It sounds bold and exciting.

It makes it easy to forget the hard truths:

→ Some students and teachers are still pushed to the margins.
→ Some voices are still missing from the story.
→ Some wounds from the past are still open.

Tech is the new railroad.

It cuts through classrooms, fast and loud.

UNESCO says we need human centered rules, not just more gadgets. 🔸 David Ardley 🔸

Big partnerships promise equity, but schools must stay alert.
You need real advice. Talk to Andrew Elias.

On the ground, teachers feel the weight.

→ More admin.
→ More stress.
→ More tools, less time.

International surveys show teachers are among the most overworked people in the world. ISC Research

Burnout is the new violence.

Poor teacher wellbeing leads to more quitting and more learning loss.

Leadership is not black and white. Leading Your International School

School leaders face a storm of values. Grainne O'Reilly

Market numbers pull one way.
Moral purpose pulls another.

Research shows that in “performative times,” the lines blur.

During COVID-19, leaders felt deep moral pain when rules clashed with what their communities needed. Oliver Kramer

Owning the mess, not hiding it, opens the door to honest talk and shared choices.

Redemption is a loop, not a finish line.

Just like in revisionist stories, schools can build “redemption arcs.” 

Continuous improvement is not a buzzword.

It means:

→ Plan.
→ Test.
→ Reflect.
→ Adapt.

Do it again. And again.

When schools look hard at their own blind spots, both students and teachers grow stronger.

Lifelong learning is for everyone, not just the young or the elite.

Here’s how international schools can start:

→ Use local case studies to show the real impact of frontier myths & colonial footprints.
→ Let students question global north stories through their own lens.
→ Audit workload vs. teaching time. Cut the busywork.
→ Set up crisis support and peer mentoring, especially in unstable regions.
→ Hold “moral lab” sessions where staff face tough choices together.
→ Train teams to test small changes fast, not just once a year.
→ Publish honest reports. Share failures and comebacks. Show what redemption looks like.

Facing the truth is hard.

But it’s the only way to build hope that lasts.

The world is shifting. Schools can shift with it.

Not by clinging to old myths, but by writing new stories together.

What’s one myth your school is ready to rethink this year?

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🧟‍♂️DON'T PRETEND TEACHER BURNOUT IS A MYSTERY

You know it isn't. You need a network too though:

🖐️ Join Leading Your International School so you're not alone in international school leadership. You can go so wrong out here. With a network of others who've done it already you don't have to. Get the 🛡️LYIS-Q. 

Every year, schools lose thousands of great teachers to the same broken cycle:

• Sudden contract non renewals
• Pressure to inflate grades
• Endless policy changes with zero clarity

The result is a profession in crisis.

After work with districts, review of landmark cases, and study of retention data, I see the same root causes everywhere:

Teachers are set up to fail by systems that reward opacity and punish honesty.

The Real Solutions for Teacher Retention:

1. Transparent Evaluation Cycles

No more “gotcha” firings. Every teacher deserves clear, term-by-term feedback, written growth plans, and a real chance to improve.

2. Impartial Appeals Panels

Decisions about jobs must be based on observable evidence, not vague “fit.” Appeals panels anchored in student growth protect against mistaken non-renewals.

3. Academic Integrity First

Separate achievement from compliance. Audit grade distributions for sudden spikes. They are supposed to be normal curves. Create confidential channels so staff can report unethical directives without fear.

4. Robust Mentors

High quality mentors change everything. Up to 92% of first year teachers with strong mentors return for year two. Schools that invest in coaching see retention jump by double digits.

5. Climate Surveys and Shared Governance

Regular climate checks and shared decisions build trust. When teachers help shape policy, they feel safe to speak up and innovate.

6. Integrity Focused Professional Development

Ethics and transparency education aligns accountability with real learning, not just numbers on a spreadsheet.

The Expensive Mistake:

Schools spend millions on compliance paperwork and PR campaigns, but ignore the core drivers of trust and safety.

Consider:

• Staff “leveling” layoffs with no warning: Hundreds of careers upended overnight
• Investment in transparent feedback and mentoring: $0
• Cost in lost talent and morale: Immeasurable

The Truth:

You can’t fix education if you hide problems or punish honesty.

You build strong schools with due process, rewards for integrity, and designed so that teachers get the support they need to thrive.

If you want to keep your best teachers, start with trust and transparency.
 
Everything else is noise.

Follow me Conan Magruder🧠 for more on habits and leadership.

I work at Nova Academy, a microschool that became boutique education.

♻️ Repost this if you think it can help someone in your network!

Grainne O'Reilly Martin Crozier Timothy John Glare John Woodberry Rowena Minney 🚀 and Oliver Kramer are in ours.

Lecture ≠ Learning

See the real winner 👇

(15 Minute Professional Development Example)

Most students think quiet lectures help them learn more.

To sit still, listen, and take notes feels easy.

But, to feel easy does not mean to learn more.

Active, noisy classrooms win.

That’s what over 100 studies show.

Meta-analyses prove it: 

📈 Flipped and active classes boost learning.  
Gains are small to moderate (g ≈ 0.20–0.50), but real.  
Works in K-12 and college.  

Randomized trials back it up:

➡️ West Point cadets learned more math in flipped classes.  
Economics students saw no loss if support was strong.  

The biggest gains show up in STEM and skills based classes.

Higher order thought grows fastest when students work, not just watch.

Students cheat less, too.

“In flipped classes, the graded thought happens right in front of you.”

Engineering professors saw fewer plagiarism cases after switching from take home sets to in class board work.

So why do students still ask for lectures?

It’s the illusion of fluency.

A polished lecture feels smooth. Students think they get it, even when they don’t.

Parents push back, too.

They see more work, or worry about device access.

✅Here’s how to calm the resistance:

1. Keep videos short (under 10 minutes) and add quizzes.  
2. Drop the homework load. AI tools are allowed.  
3. Guarantee offline access with USBs or loaner tablets.  
4. Let students work together.  
5. Show how classwork matches AP exam tasks.  
6. Host a parent Q&A night. Clear info cuts complaints in half.

Don’t just teach for comfort.

Teach for real thought.

Which side are you on?
Quiet or active?

Howard Stribbell, PhD 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Akshada Kamat Ian Kang Matt Jessop Grainne O'Reilly Patrick Dempsey Jessica Maddry, M.EdLT

♻️Repost if you found this useful.  
🫵And follow me for more.

Which Class Learns More? Flipped Classroom PD

IF YOUR SCHOOL FEELS STUCK IN CHAOS READ THIS👇 

🔸 David Ardley 🔸and Marcellino D'Ambrosio got me to think about friction.

The best schools focus.

They move with purpose.

Most schools chase too many goals at once.

They launch new programs every year.

They burn out teachers and lose sight of what matters.

But real progress comes from discipline.

One clear purpose. One big goal. One campus, all in.

Forget the noise.

Here’s what works:

Pick one goal for the year. Early reading. School culture. College math. Make it the north star. Every project, every meeting, every dollar must serve that goal.

Scatter your focus, & you scatter your results.

Passion, chance, & reason shape every day.

Passion comes from students & families. Motivation drives grades & wellbeing. You can see it in the halls and hear it in the classroom.

Chance is the daily chaos. Absences, tech glitches, surprise schedule changes. These things can wreck your plans if you let them.

Reason is the leadership backbone. Schedules, budgets, & assessments keep things moving. But too much control kills creativity.

Great principals read all three. They adjust every week. They keep the ship steady, even in rough water.

Friction is real.

Paperwork, trauma, new policies slow everyone down. Build buffer blocks into the day. Streamline forms. Have backup Wi-Fi. Protect teaching time at all costs.

Data is never perfect. Don’t wait for annual test scores. Use 8 week feedback cycles. Act fast, check results, & pivot. 

Every school has a hinge factor.

It’s the one thing that unlocks everything else. Usually, it’s teacher expertise. Sometimes, it’s student belonging. Sometimes, it’s parent trust.

Pour your resources into that hinge. Coaching, time, money, attention. Track morale & budget. Stop projects before staff burn out. Protect your people.

Protect your culture.

Psychological safety & trust matter more than class size tweaks. Celebrate growth. Keep decisions transparent. Follow through on promises. Build trust every day.

Hire & grow adaptive teachers. The best teachers spot problems mid lesson and pivot. Agility beats rigid scripts every time.

Here’s a checklist:

• State one purpose every action must serve.
• Map passion, chance, & reason as they show up.
• List friction points; design quick work arounds.
• Set 8 week feedback loops for fast, data light decisions.
• Name your hinge factor & shield it with time & money.
• Monitor staff energy. Stop before reform fatigue hits.
• Nurture trust & safety through daily culture work.
• Hire & coach for adaptability, not just compliance.
• Compare ideal & real conditions each quarter.
• Say “no” to distractions that don’t move the needle.

Your school isn’t a machine.

It lives.

Want more strategy for schools that want to win?

📌 Drop a comment to cut through the chaos & focus on what matters.
♻️ Repost to help other educators protect their teams for change.
🔗 Follow to build strong schools, one clear goal at a time.

🐣PRINCIPALS LIVE & DIE BY 5 NUMBERS

A principal is NOT just a manager.

People often think the job is to run a school day to day.

Thank you to every leader who faces these numbers directly.🔥

Principals live and die by five numbers. These numbers shape the future of every school:

- It’s the new students and teachers you bring in each year.
- It’s the number of students and staff who stay, not just who arrive.
- It’s the exam scores that show if learning is working.
- It’s the university offers that prove your school opens doors.
- It’s the parent Net Promoter Score that tells you if families trust you.

Every number tells a story. Every number has a cost.

- When enrollment drops, every empty seat means lost revenue. Visa backlogs can cut new intakes by 30%. That is a budget crisis, not just a headcount.
- When teachers leave, culture resets. One in five teachers plans to leave within five years. Replacing them costs more than money. It costs trust and stability.
- When exam scores stall, the board still wants headlines. IB means drop. AP pass rates freeze. The pressure to perform never stops.
- When university offers dry up, parents notice. F-1 visas to the U.S. are down 19%. Global competition is up. The acceptance list is your report card.
- When Parent NPS falls below +50, trouble spreads faster than your newsletter. Low trust is contagious.

Boards set these KPIs. They rarely set the fixes. Principals juggle holes unless they address these numbers from the start.

The best leaders stay two steps ahead.

- Weekly data. Seven day reports on attendance, formative assessments, and wellbeing. Spot trouble before it grows.
- People first contracts. CPD cash, inflation linked pay, visa concierge. When teachers stay, scores rise.

This is the real work. This is what separates leaders from managers.

It’s much more than just to run a school.

✍Comment your fixes to the numbers. 
🫴For each one you make I'll trade you one. 

Dr Henry Skupek PhD Ryan Kachold, EdD Sophie Brandsar M.EdLead Barry Cooper Siobhan Brady Melissa McBride 🚀 🔸 David Ardley 🔸 Grainne O'Reilly

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PRINCIPALS LIVE AND DIE BY 5 NUMBERS

☄️YOUR SCHOOL IS A DINOSAUR. IT JUST FORGOT THE ASTEROID?

6️⃣Points of Life.

👯Differentiation: Differentiation can be a danger without process. We added Japanese, Philosophy, coding, and gamelan yet some of our classes ran like assembly lines. Complexity can punish us with burnout and parental dissatisfaction.

🫎Organism: School is an organism. When the systems of the school do not talk none of us can communicate. Parents yelled, teachers blamed HR. When one organ starves, the body lurches.

🧪Militant vs Industrial: What is your inquiry mindset? Zero tolerance rules drill silence, not discipline. More labs in every science flipped power and grades climbed. The bazaar beats the barracks.

🫶Altruism: Without altruism we have no moral purpose even if we explicitly teach philosophy or theology. G11 rebuilt village water tanks and taught culture, English, and math. Absences dropped 22%. Cooperation rewires brains faster than lectures ever did.

🧬Complete Living: We are not to prepare students for college but full adult life. We replaced rote math with computer builds and lots more engineering physics. Grads fixed drones and family budgets. Life skills outlive test scores.

👨‍🦽‍➡️Equal Liberty: I've seen schools all over the world, outside of the US, with zero handicap access. A wheelchair ramp cost us $4,000. It freed one child and 174 minds. Freedom scales only with equal access.

Would you trade your setup for a six point upgrade?

✍️ Reply with KEEP or SCRAP and why. I'll share sources and notes if you request it. 

John Todd FRSA, FCCT Sophie Brandsar M.EdLead André Double 安德烈   杜布勒 Euan MacLean 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Grant Ferguson Ryan Kachold, EdD

🗽FREEDOM ISN'T A SLOGAN IN SCHOOLS. (IT'S THE FOUNDATION FOR EVERY DECISION.)

The truth is simple:

Every rule, lesson, and policy must honor each learner’s dignity.

Look at any school that prepares students for the real world.
You’ll see the same six principles at work.

1. Shape experience with clear cognitive frames

➟ Start every unit with the mental “lenses” students already use: space, time, cause, and number.
➟ Use graphic organizers, timelines, and causal-loop diagrams to lock these frames in place.
➟ Build concept-based units and visible-thinking routines that help students transfer ideas across subjects and cultures.

2. Test rules with a universal rule check

➟ Before adding a new policy, ask: If every school used this rule, would learning thrive for all?
➟ This check stops favoritism and short-term fixes.
➟ Anti-bullying codes that protect every identity pass this test and are now global standards.
➟ In class, let students write a planned action, swap with peers, and see if others would endorse it for everyone. This builds real moral reasoning.

3. Safeguard dignity and autonomy

➟ Give students a voice in curriculum reviews and leadership councils.
➟ Require informed consent for any data use beyond core teaching, following global privacy laws.
➟ Audit AI tools for bias and publish clear, honest reports for the whole community.

4. Build global competence for peace

➟ Teach students to examine issues, interact across cultures, and act for the common good.
➟ Make Model UN, service projects, and bilingual debates core assessments, not extras.
➟ Align units to global frameworks like PISA and UNESCO’s human-rights literacy.

5. Practice public reason

➟ Make decisions with explanations any reasonable parent can accept.
➟ Publish meeting minutes, host open forums, and model evidence-based argument in advisory.
➟ Open, participatory processes build trust and safety on campus.

6. Foster aesthetic insight

➟ Let students create across the arts: digital storytelling, kinetic sculpture, world-music labs.
➟ Beauty unites minds and hearts, crossing language barriers and boosting motivation.
➟ Research shows that aesthetic experiences drive engagement and deep learning.

A policy roadmap for real change?

➟ Add elective slots in middle school to boost student autonomy.
➟ Review all handbook clauses with peer panels for fairness.
➟ Publish an annual privacy report to protect data dignity.
➟ Align at least one unit per semester to the PISA global competence framework.
➟ Stage a cross-arts exhibition each term to foster aesthetic insight.

It’s never about control.
It’s about respect.

Choose wisely.

Be the school that sets every learner free.

♻️Repost if you believe in education that respects every student.
✅Follow Conan Magruder for more.

🔸 David Ardley 🔸Howard Stribbell, PhD Jacques Malan Russell John Cailey Grainne O'Reilly Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. Vincent Chian

👆👇SCHOOL THAT TWEAKS OR SCHOOL THAT TANKS?

You built a school

Now build a system that learns

A massive shoutout to every leader who dares to move faster than the rest.

I see schools everywhere that say they “innovate.”
But most just add a new program or tweak a lesson plan.

That’s not real change.
That’s not how the best schools win.

The best schools move sooner.
They collect real world data sooner.
They adjust sooner.

Assessment is not for the sake of paperwork.
It’s for leaders to get data, fast.
Think in days and weeks, not semesters.

The first time you try a new idea, it might flop.
But by the tenth time, you’re ahead of every school that waited for perfect.

Speed matters more than polish.

Cut deadlines.
Cut paperwork.
Cut meetings.
Cut friction.

Comfort is a danger signal.
If things feel easy, you need to find where to push harder.
You need to be different.
You need to evolve.

If you can do any task fast, do it now.
Any task you put off will take too long.
Momentum is all.

Love your goals.
But know the steps will change.
The game will change.
Stay ahead.

When I started in leadership, I waited for the “right time” to launch new ideas. We missed our window.
Now, I act, assess, and change faster than ever.

The best schools are not the ones with the best plans.
They are the ones that learn the fastest.

Done right, a school that tweaks:

-> Grows culture
-> Builds trust
-> Starts innovation
-> Attracts talent
-> Delivers results
-> Stays relevant
-> Inspires students
-> Empowers teachers
-> Wins the future

As I look back I see it clear:
If you want a school that thrives, build a system that learns.

The world moves fast.
Your school must move faster.

How do you start and assess and move quickly? 

Edikan Umoren Tom Rogerson Michael Doherty Juan Yedra Aviña 🔸 David Ardley 🔸Grainne O'Reilly Amy Zhang张远远 André Double 安德烈   杜布勒

🫳Share this post to help a leader who needs to hear this.
🫴Follow me for more insights on building schools that last.

SCHOOL THAT TWEAKS OR SCHOOL THAT TANKS?

🤸‍♀️BALANCED SCHOOLS FAIL AP?

3s impress nobody. 
Only 5s fill seats.
Only 14% of global AP exams hit a 5.
Some China campuses already go far past that.
Concordia hit 96% pass.
The gap is SD (standard deviation) math, not luck.
Problem Based Learning + PD adds up to 0.46 SD.
AP Summer Institutes contribute another 0.11 SD.
Five scored mocks/term = 0.14 SD uptick.
Year long periods protect 0.30 SD vs. any block schedule.
Veteran AP teachers add 0.20 SD per decade.
AP Potential data pinpoints future 5 score seats.
Stack them = >+1 SD → median scorer becomes a 5.

Comment one SD lever you’ll yank by Monday. 👇

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