In the spring of 2018, Vance Wilson was stepping down after 19 years as head of St. Albans School in Washington, D.C. So too was Rick Melvoin, after 25 years at Belmont Hill School outside Boston. Longtime friends and colleagues, their conversation started something like this: “What are you going to do next?” “I don’t know, but I still feel I have plenty of gas in the tank.” “Me too. Let’s keep talking.”
What the two men shared was a commitment to keep working in schools, though in a new way. They got excited in thinking about the challenges that heads face, especially new heads, and they started pushing around the idea of working in what was then the nascent arena of executive coaching for school leaders – or as they termed it, working as “thought partners.” They formed Strategic School Leadership, put out a shingle, and…
Five years later, SSL has seven partners – all former successful heads of school, with an average tenure of almost 20 years – and has worked with over 50 independent schools. Our experience spans from PK through 12th grade; we have a national presence, with partners in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Rhode Island, Nashville, and New Orleans. While Vance and Rick originally thought that coaching would focus on new school heads, it turns out that many veteran heads have also sought this type of support. SSL has also worked with boards of trustees – on governance, strategic thinking and planning, and head of school transition – as well as on some one-off projects. The work can be intense, but it is also intensely rewarding, following SSL’s mission to “serve school leaders so that their schools can thrive.”