COVER STORY How did the Saltus job come about? What have been the biggest issues so far? ‘A huge part of the job is getting the right people in the right seats moving in the same direction’ After12yearsoflivingandworkingatanall-boys’ boardinganddayschool,St.Andrew’sCollege,I waslookingforwardtoretirement.Butstrangely enough,thesearchconsultantforanewHeadat St.Andrew’swasthesameasforSaltus.Soin casualdiscussionsrelatedtotheSt.Andrew’s search,thequestion,‘Wouldyoueverbeinterested ingoingtoBermuda,becauseyouwouldfitthebill atSaltus’wasposed.Initially,Isaid‘no’—butshe wasveryconvincingandkeptatit,andonething ledtoanother,andhereIam. What changed your mind? Ienjoychallenges.I’mnotsureIhadthiskindof challengeinmind,buteachschoolI’vebeenat— BalmoralHall,LowerCanadaCollegeandSt. Andrew’s—allhaduniqueissuesandit’sthesame here.ButIrelishthethoughtofachallenge.Itis alwaysagroupeffort,however,andtheSenior ManagementTeamatSaltushasbeenagreathelp. Itstruckmeafterbeinghereashortwhilethatthe wholeadministrativemodelwasoutmoded.That isoftenthecasewhenyousucceedalongstanding Head.Administratively,Ibelieveinutilisingthe strengthsofeachandeverymemberoftheSenior ManagementTeam.So,theyallsetpersonal objectivesfortheirdepartmentsinSeptember whichwerealignedwithSaltus’sstrategicgoals, andcollectivelywehavemadeconsiderable progressinoneacademicyear.newheadsbring differentmanagementstyles,differentexpectations. Ibelieveinmakingeveryoneaccountable.If everyonepullstheirweight,mostofthedifficult issuesdisappear. Aswell,Saltus’smissionandvisionhadn’tbeen succinctlydefined;wehavenowdonethat.Ithink thesizeoftheschoolisanissue;1,068students maybetoolarge.Iffeasible,Ithink900students wouldbemoreappropriate—abetterenvironment forstudentsandstaff.Also,wedidn’thavea strategicfinancialplaninplacethatwouldindicate theresourcesrequiredtodrivethestaffand programmesoverthenextfivetosixyears.So, thehiringofanewdirectorofFinance& Administrationandimprovingtheefficiencyof theSchool’sAccountsOfficewerecriticalinthe achievementofbetterfinancialstrategicplanning. CreatingavisionfortheCentreforLearning isalsoatoppriority.Wehaveatalentedand experienceddirectorandawonderfulbuilding andfacility,sothisissueshouldbeeasytosolve. Thereisn’tadaythatgoesby,however,whenthere isn’tamultitudeofnewissuestodealwith. Describe your biggest goals and achievements Theorganisationthataccreditsschools,the CanadianEducationalStandardsInstitute(CESI) leftaconsiderableshoppinglistofrecommendations initsMay2008report,includingtheneedfora performanceappraisalprogrammeforfaculty. WetackledthisissuerightoffthebatinOctober, mysecondmonthin,andnowall92teachers havebeenobservedandappraisedinwritingina comprehensivedocument.Forthemostpart,ithas beenalearningexerciseonbothsides;Ithinkthe staffhasappreciatedtheinformalaspecttothe 18 S A LT U S M A G A Z I N E