Articles – By Topic
These articles are presented by Littleford & Associates in an attempt to provide relevant and important information to those who are concerned with providing an effective, efficient and economical educational atmosphere and experience.
We hope they are helpful to you.
Below are articles written by Mr. Littleford and grouped into topics. Please click on a link to go to that article topic. You can also view the list of articles in chronological order.
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Article Topics:
- Head / Executive Compensation
- Faculty Compensation and Evaluation
- Board Governance
- Strategic Planning
- Financial Management and Marketing
- Executive Searches
- School Climate
HEAD / EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
- Head Compensation: The Race to the Top (November 2011)
- The Importance Of The Head Compensation Process (February 2011)
- Surprising Facts And Figures About The Head Compensation Process (August 2010)
- Tools to Recruit, Retain and Reward Heads of School: Why They Are Even More Important Now (December 2008)
- THE BIG DIG: Digging Your Way Through the New Form 990 (January 2008)
- Ties That Bind or Wound: The Power of the Contract and the Contract Process (September 2007)
- Executive Compensation: The Process, Pitfalls and Opportunities (September 2006)
- The Need To Focus On The Intermediate Sanctions Act And Conflicts Of Interest (September 2005)
- Head Compensation: Understanding The Changing Rules (January 2005)
- Head Compensation: The Process, The Product and the Reporting (June 2004)
- In Defense Of Head Compensation (April 2004)
- The Truth About Statistics: Why Head Compensation Information Fails to Deliver (September 2003)
- The Intermediate Sanctions Act: The "Next Level" of Compliance (January 2003)
- Income Opportunities In Tight Economic Times (September 2002)
- The Safe Harbors Act: The Necessity Of Demonstrating Annual Compliance (September 2001)
- What Is "Deferred Compensation?" And Why Do So Many Heads Have It Or Want It? (September 2001)
FACULTY COMPENSATION AND EVALUATION
- Faculty Salary System Designs: Tradition and Innovation (November 2011)
- Recent Trends In Faculty Compensation - And Some Cautionary Notes (February 2011)
- Performance, Compensation And Evaluation: They Are Always Related (December 2009)
- Mission Based Compensation and Flexible Pay: The Challenge Confronting Boards, Heads and Teachers (April 2010)
- In an Economic Downturn: Intelligent Ways to Make Compensation Go Further (December 2008)
- Persistence Pays Off? (November 2007)
- The Latest In Faculty Compensation: Allocating Resources Among Your "Buckets" (November 2007)
- Faculty Salaries: Doing More Than Talking About It (April 2007)
- Yes: A Successful Model of Teacher Evaluation - The Importance of Leadership, Culture, Attitude and Training (November 2006)
- The Explosion of Extra Pay (June 2006)
- "Fuzzy" Salary Systems (January 2006)
- Teacher Evaluation And Accountablity: When Entitled Parents Meet Entitled Teachers (November 2005)
- Update on Performance Pay: Gaining National Attention (June 2005)
- Designing a Politically Safe Process of Changing Faculty Compensation Systems (September 2004)
- Mission and Money: OR How to Make the Most with What You Have (November 2003)
- When and Why Teachers Decide to Organize (June 2003)
- The Faculty Salary Challenge: Not Just How Much, But How? (January 2003)
- Trends From The Trenches II - Patterns in Faculty Benefits (June 2002)
- The Professional Growth "Trap" (April 2002)
- Faculty Salary Systems: Rapid and Systematic Changes in Schools Worldwide (September 2001)
- Performance Pay Can Work In Independent Schools (November 2000)
BOARD GOVERNANCE
- Why Board Chairs Serve? (2011)
- Drama in the School House and the Board Room (April 2011)
- Elephants in the Board Room (November 2010)
- THE BIBLE OF GOVERNANCE: The Five Key Rules (April 2010)
- Succession Planning: The Time Has Come (September 2009)
- Managing The Errant Trustee (September 2009)
- Intelligent Governance In Challenging Economic Times (February 2009)
- The View From 50,000 Feet: The Perspectives Of Executive Directors Of Independent And International Associations Of Schools (June 2008)
- Developing Healthy Board Governance: What to Do about the Parent Driven Board (January 2008)
- The Value Of Age Induced Wisdom (September 2007)
- The Boards You Should Not Emulate (June 2007)
- The "Ji Huey" Moment: Turning A Crisis Into An Opportunity (April 2007)
- Transitions, Strategic Planning and….. Failure: How to Avoid the Trap (January 2007)
- Board Governance: Where is the baby elephant? (November 2006)
- "Extreme" Board Behavior But Sometimes The Norm (September 2006)
- Problem Trustees ( And How to Help Them): Part II (November 2005)
- Dealing with Problem Trustees (Or Their Problem Spouses) (September 2005)
- Making (Or Breaking) The Chair/Head Partnership:Some Key Ingredients For Success (June 2005)
- The Longevity Of Heads And The Effectiveness Of Schools: What the Latest Research Tells Us (February 2005)
- The Role of the Chair: The Promise and the Price (January 2005)
- The Risks and Stress of Transition (September 2004)
- Strong and Stable Boards: Wise, Committed and Loyal! (November 2003)
- Fortress Head, Fortress School: Attacks from Within and Attacks from Without (December 2002)
- Leadership Transitions: Strategies To Support A New Head And Maintain School Stability (December 2002)
- Head Evaluation: The Risk of Not Doing it or Doing It Poorly (April 2002)
- Evaluation of Boards: Self-Reflection in a Healthy School (April 2002)
- Board Structure: The Plight of the International School (January 2002)
- The Governance Game IV: Board Subcommittees Their Role In Supporting The Mission and Stability of the School (September 2001)
- The Governance Game III: The Importance of Transitions (2000)
- The Governance Game II: The Role of Change in School Instability (January 2000)
- The Governance Game I: What's At Risk For Independent Schools (1999)
- Leadership of Schools and the Longevity of Heads (April 1999)
STRATEGIC PLANNING
- Efficient And Effective Strategic Planning (February 2011)
- Strategic Planning: A Wise Political Investment (August 2010)
- Strategic Planning And Why The Process Generally Frustrates Boards (April 2009)
- Transitions, Strategic Planning and...Failure: How to Avoid the Trap (January 2007)
- The Strategic Decision: Choosing a Planning Process that Fits the School's History and Culture (January 2006)
- Protecting Our Schools Through Strategic Planning (April 2004)
- The Strategic Planning Process (January 2002)
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING
- Beneath the Surface: Trends in International Schools (April 2011)
- More Marketing Bang For The Buck (November 2009)
- Beneath The Surface: What The Numbers Reveal (November 2009)
- Compensation And Tuition Setting: The Message Is Mixed (April 2009)
- A Mission That Resonates in a Soft Admissions Market (February 2009)
- The Nine Sacred Cows of Financial Management (December 2008)
- A Mission That Resonates in a Soft Admissions Market (June 2005)
- Managing The Bottom Line: The Impact of the Finance Committee, Financial Audits and Marketing the Mission (November 2004)
- Profit Centers: Has Your School Tapped These Revenue Sources? (December 2002)
- Income Opportunities In Tight Economic Times (September 2002)
- The Nine Sacred Cows Of Financial Management (January 2002)
EXECUTIVE SEARCHES
- The Core Principles Of A Successful Search: Advice For Boards And Heads (November 2010)
- The Head Search, School Culture and Trust in the Consultant (April 2008)
- Fascinating Facts About Internal Succession (January 2007)
- The Search and the Departing Head: Valued or Forgotten? (June 2006)
- Doubts At The Altar: When Searches Fail (April 2006)
- Retirement Planning For Heads Of Schools: Some Useful Tools To Get There (November 2004)
- Powerful Elements of the Head Search Process: The Risks of Transition (September 2003)
- The Next Generation of Heads (April 2003)
- Is It "The End"? And If So, Then What? (September 2002)
SCHOOL CLIMATE
- Unhealthy School Climate: Common But Seldom Improved (August 2011)
- Improving Faculty Cultures: Touching The Heart And Soul Of Schools (January 2004)
- Understanding Faculty And School Cultures (June 2002)
- Managing School Climate-And Not Letting It Manage You! (August 2000)