Anne-Marie Balzano contributes introduction to new governance book for small schools

Anne-Marie Balzano, Mission & Data’s Senior Governance Strategist, has contributed the forward to the newly released book “Governing the Small School: Strategies for Boards” by author E. Brooke Carroll.

As Anne-Marie shares, “Independent schools are complex systems, and just because a school is small, does not mean it is any less complex. Brooke Carroll highlights the nuances of small school governance, giving small schools permission to embrace those difference while allowing trustees to govern and support in meaningful ways.”

Governing the Small School: Strategies for Boards is available on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle download.

Dr. Anne-Marie Balzano is Mission and Data’s Senior Governance Strategist. . A former teacher, head of school, associate professor, and most recently, Director of Leadership and Governance at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), she possesses a unique and multi-leveled perspective of the educational landscape and the complex demands of supporting leadership and governance development across multiple contexts. Dr. Balzano is a trusted advisor to schools across the country, facilitating board retreats and educating boards of trustees on effective governance practices and trends, supporting resiliency in heads of school, and building a positive board culture. Independent school trustees and heads of school know Dr. Balzano as the chief editor of The Board Chair Handbook and the host of NAIS’s governance podcast, The Trustee Table.

Mission & Data is a firm dedicated to the effectiveness, health, and vitality of educational institutions and other organizations that make the world a better place. We are committed to enhancing mission-driven, data-informed leadership and governance by:

• Consulting to improve organizational effectiveness and facilitate organizational transformation.
• Developing custom data products, visualizations, and dashboards to highlight progress, identify trends, and leverage actionable insights.
• Auditing current practice and analyzing organizational data to recommend process efficiencies and strategic improvements.
• Coaching leaders and boards of trustees to enact institutional vision and build a culture of inquiry-based decision making practices.