Independent School Moonshot Podcast

This episode of the Independent School Moonshot Podcast is sponsored by Searchality . Designed exclusively for K-12 education, Searchality makes hiring easier for schools and job searches smoother for teachers, both in the US and internationally Why do well-intentioned school initiatives stall, even when everyone agrees that change is necessary? In this episode, executive coach and former school l...

What happens when a new head of school steps into a moment of transition and chooses to make strategic planning a community-building exercise rather than a compliance task? In this episode,  Katie Titus, Head of School at  Moses Brown School  in Providence, Rhode Island, shares how the school reimagined its strategic planning process through deep listening, internal leadership, and...

This episode was originally released in May 2025 and remains one of the most relevant conversations I’ve had about how boards think about advancement today. With the holidays here, I’m re-releasing a couple of earlier episodes that continue to spark strong conversations with heads and board members alike. In this episode, Mattingly Messina, Founder of Throughline and MoonshotOS Advisor , breaks do...

This episode was originally released in May 2025 and remains one of the most relevant conversations I’ve had about how boards think about leadership today. With the holidays here, I’m re-releasing a couple of earlier episodes this week and next that continue to spark strong conversations with heads and board members alike. In this episode,  John Farber, former head of school and current manag...

What happens when a school with a fifty-year legacy discovers that its business model can no longer sustain its future? In this episode, former New Morning School head  Pauline Nagle  offers a look at what it means to confront the possibility of school closure with clarity, compassion, and professionalism. Her story challenges independent school leaders to think proactively about viabili...

How do schools thrive in a world defined by uncertainty, accelerating complexity, and the rise of intelligent machines? In this episode,  Jared Colley ,  Chief Innovation Officer at the  Mount Vernon School , shares insights from the latest MV Ventures research report,  The Flow of Perpetual Learning . He connects this work to last year's  Imagine Then Act Now  report...

What signals should independent school leaders be paying closest attention to right now, and how should those signals reshape strategy? In this conversation, Ann Marsh Rutledge, Director of Strategic Design and Innovation at SAIS , breaks down the clues pointing toward the future: from faculty attrition and retiring educators to declining birth rates, rising operational costs, and shifting parent...

Independent school leaders face a perfect storm: rising operational costs, fierce competition, and families who want savings without sacrifice. In this conversation with Christina Dotchin, VP of Member Relations at the  Enrollment Management Association , we unpack the newly released report  Independent School Education: Family Perceptions of Value and Affordability  and explore wha...

How do families really decide to hire your school? This conversation with Tim Fish, Founder and President of  two chairs studio , cuts through assumptions and offers a clear framework any school can use to understand parent motivation and sharpen strategic priorities. Tim shares the origins of Jobs to Be Done research by the National Association of Independent Schools, explains the four core...

What happens when a teacher changes your life, and that story becomes the blueprint for leading schools through the age of AI? In this episode,  Kalyan Balaven , Head of  Dunn School  in California, discusses his new book,  Speaking Truth, Teaching Humanity . He shares how his mentor, Mr. Lindsay, shaped his philosophy of seeing every student for who they truly are, and how tha...

What if the Golden Rule is not enough to build truly healthy independent school teams? In this conversation, executive coach and organizational psychologist  Dr. Karl Hebenstreit  of   Perform & Function   explores how understanding the " why"  behind behavior through the lens of the  Enneagram  can transform leadership and team dynamics in independent school...

Can a school truly shape its own word of mouth? That's the challenge Head of School  Torsie Judkins  and strategist  Barbara Egan ( StoryScape )  tackled at  Wingra School  in Madison, Wisconsin. When enrollment lagged and perceptions didn't match campus reality, they partnered to uncover the  real  story the community needed to hear. Through market research...

Visit the episode page for complete details: https://www.moonshotos.com/how-to-build-an-enrollment-driven-strategic-plan What if every program, schedule tweak, and staffing choice first answered one question: what is the enrollment and revenue impact? Former heads of school Doreen Kelly, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer,  The Creds Group , and Tom Sheppard, Founder,  20 More...

Visit the episode page for complete details: https://www.moonshotos.com/what-if-you-could-reclaim-time What if AI could give independent school teams back hours each week without adding a single staff member? This episode features  Brendan Schneider , CEO of  SchneiderB Media  and long-time independent school marketer, exploring how AI is reshaping school marketing workflows. Brenda...

Visit the episode page for all of the details! ➡️ https://www.moonshotos.com/why-every-head-of-school-needs-a-personal-brand What does it look like when a head of school builds a personal brand that amplifies the school’s reputation? In this episode,  Josh Clark, Head of School at  Landmark School , shares how he has amplified the school’s visibility by intentionally developing his own p...

Visit the episode page for full details. Across independent schools, leaders are grappling with how to approach AI, with some banning it outright and others embracing it wholeheartedly. In the middle lies a growing interest in shared exploration and careful experimentation. This episode examines Vail Mountain School’s collaborative approach, where students, faculty, and parents were all invit...

Visit the episode page for full details: https://www.moonshotos.com/a-strategic-plan-without-funding-is-just-poetry What's the difference between a strategic plan that inspires and one that actually changes a school? In this episode,  Mattingly Messina, advancement strategist and founder of  Throughline , returns to the podcast and makes the case that the answer is money. A plan without...

Visit the episode page for full details: https://www.moonshotos.com/everyone-in-your-school-should-be-a-strategist What if strategic planning in independent schools wasn’t a one-off exercise but a living, breathing practice woven into daily culture? In this episode,  Alanna McKee ,  founder and CEO  of  Scarlet Oak Consulting , challenges schools to move beyond glossy one-pager...

Visit the episode page for full details: https://www.moonshotos.com/what-moves-independent-school-families-to-enroll What if your school could attract families not by being everything to everyone, but by understanding what truly moves them to enroll? In this conversation with Adam Olenn, CEO of Rustle & Spark and former Director of Communications at Moses Brown School, we explore "The Emotion...

What does it really take to grow into leadership in independent schools? Denise Musselwhite, former CIO at Trinity Prep and founder of Tech and Thrive, examines the traits, habits, and strategies that enable aspiring leaders to move forward with clarity and confidence. Drawing on her journey to senior leadership, she shares practical ways leaders can identify gaps, practice new skills, and avoid b...

Visit the episode page for full details: https://www.moonshotos.com/the-changing-role-of-headship What does it truly mean to be a head of school today? In this episode, guest  Mark Crotty , former Executive Director of NWAIS and now  Consultant and Partner  at   Educators Collaborative , explores how the role of headship has evolved. He unpacks the shifting expectations for hea...

Visit the episode page for full details on today's show! https://www.moonshotos.com/creating-exceptional-employee-experiences-in-schools What if the secret to solving teacher turnover isn’t just pay and benefits, but experience design? In this episode,  Suzette Parlevliet and David Willows, co-founders of  Yellow Car , share how schools can rethink the employee journey using the same int...

In this episode, we go inside the successful merger that created  Steamboat Mountain School , the only K–12 day and boarding school in Colorado. Head of School Samantha Coyne Donnel and Board Chair Mona Gibson  share the story of how a collaborative relationship between two small schools grew into a complete merger during the height of COVID. They reveal the trust-building steps, governa...

Is AI disrupting your school, or are you intentionally shaping how it fits into your future? In this conversation,  Eric Hudson, independent consultant  and author of the Substack,  Learning on Purpose , digs into what schools are doing as they navigate generative AI. His recent article, " 25 Observations About the State of AI in Schools ," serves as the foundation for this discussi...

What if sports gambling becomes the next unspoken crisis on your campus? In this compelling episode, Arty Smith, a longtime independent school educator and founder of the Gambling Awareness Initiative, unpacks the growing influence of sports betting among teenagers, especially senior boys. Drawing on his background in statistics and data science, Arty outlines why sports betting is uniquely hard t...