NBOA President and CEO
So much has happened this calendar year, and it’s only February — it feels hard to keep up with the pace of change around us. One arena facing rapid change is diversity, equity and inclusion programming, some of which was established a few years ago and some much earlier than that.
Our independent schools by and large do not receive federal funding — and to be clear, our nonprofit status does not equate to federal funding, a matter of law settled as recently as spring 2024 — but even so, the charged environment cannot be ignored.
My hope is that your school communities are able to have thoughtful conversations that include all perspectives no matter how divergent they may be. That continues to be the goal of NBOA: that our members, coming from different types of schools in different parts of the country and with different backgrounds, can share freely and collegially to support each other through the challenges and opportunities they face with the singular goal of delivering world-class learning undergirded by world-class business operations. A new tool from NBOA can help business leaders do just that!
The Inventory
Today, NBOA has released an Operational Equity and Inclusion Inventory for NBOA members. The tool is comprised of 13 checklists that cover different areas of business operations, from mission and governance, to finance and accounting, to human resources and development to operations and technology. It includes clear guidance on how to prepare and what actions school leaders might take upon completing the inventory.
Leaders of school business can make their own assessments and regroup collectively as it makes sense for each school.
The inventory is organized so that this work can be spread across departments. Leaders of school business departments can make their own assessments and regroup collectively as it makes sense for each school. Translation: You don’t have to bite off all chunks at one time, making the work more feasible.
For those seeking hands-on guidance and live conversation with subject matter experts and other school leaders, NBOA is offering a live online workshop on this tool led by Jen Cort, equity and inclusion consultant and school administrator, and Amber Stockham, NBOA’s senior director of human resources programs, who together developed this tool based on work by A Step Up Academy.
Role of the Business Office
When the NBOA Board of Directors affirmed NBOA’s commitment to DE&I in February of 2020, the role of business officers in inclusion work was unclear to many. Commonly, the head of school alongside academic and student life leaders are charged with improving campus culture. However, in the intervening years, it has become more evident that business leaders do have distinct roles to play in these efforts, and our new inventory helps clarify those roles. As independent schools, each and every one of our schools remains empowered to make its own independent choices.
Coming off President’s Day weekend, when we celebrate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s leadership, I think the timing of this new tool is fitting. Their greatest strength was, arguably, their ability to bring people with very different viewpoints together to accomplish great things. That’s what leaders do. However you go about doing it at your schools, I hope you are able to lean on each other and work together while keeping in mind your school’s mission and culture, which is paramount to the type of educational institution your school strives to be.
Follow NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields on LinkedIn.
