Head of school update, 9/1

Dear Odyssey Community,

Last Wednesday, we welcomed four new Board members, who represent the span of ages of students at Odyssey. Jonna Humphries-Valente is a PreK parent, Ava Cole is a Kinder parent, Kristina Louie is an Elementary and Middle School parent, and Darcy Beeman is a High School parent. The four of them bring knowledge and experience that will enrich our work and the Odyssey community for years to come. We are so grateful that they have joined us!

Serving on a non-profit board is a thankless task. It is a volunteer position and, unless there is controversy, the work of the board is largely invisible. However, Odyssey could not operate without an effective board and it will not thrive into the future without their thoughtful leadership. Specifically, the Board is responsible for high level management of our goals and strategic plans and for the hiring and evaluation of the Co-heads of School.

We have four schoolwide goals, in the areas of financial stability, academic programs, school culture and climate, and our physical site. The Board meets monthly to review progress, make policy decisions, and to discuss emerging topics that come from the school community. In addition, Board Committees (like the crucial Finance Committee) meet more frequently to engage in topics in more depth.

Unlike some boards that follow rules of order that lead to voting on topics, the Odyssey Board of Trustees operates under a decision-making model called Circle Forward. The goal of that model is to have 100% consent. In practice, this means that when a decision is to be made, a proposal is offered and members all have the authority to give feedback and offer amendments. Proposals can move forward when no members have principled objections. The key features of this model are equity and inclusion, consent not consensus, encouraging objections, and forward momentum. Circle Forward sometimes leads to longer meetings; better decisions take time and the combined wisdom and values of each individual member.

Saturday September 27, our Board will have its annual day-long retreat to organize our work for the year. Our agenda includes reviewing our strategic plan, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and learning about Odyssey fundamentals, including the Integral Model, the Six Strands, and our school’s evolution over the last 18 years. Our monthly meetings are open to the public and community members can attend in person or on-line. If anyone has a question for or about the board, please contact either Co-Head of School, or our Executive Committee (Chair Lauren Milling, Vice-Chair Rush Battle, and Secretary Erin Bowman) at boardofdirectors@odysseycommunity.org.

With Gratitude,

Anne and Peter