Lately, several independent school heads and board members have contacted this Consultant about a similar crisis they are facing. It relates to the actual or rumored harassing of middle and upper school students either on social media or in the hallways of schools. Students have also been using AI to place the heads of classmates on AI generated bodies. These issues may occur at home but there is a dramatic impact on the schools that these children attend. This issue has been gathering momentum among parents nationwide.

Heads have been caught off guard. Whether these rumors may be unfounded or based in fact, the head and senior leadership team seemed to have been the last to know. In some cases, faculty also claim to be unaware of these alleged behaviors. These allegations could be serious and true or magnified and exaggerated.

Given that current parents dominate most of our boards, those whose own children are experiencing these traumatizing experiences are quickly blaming the head and taking off their board “hats” and wearing their parent “hats.”

Parents are demanding meetings with boards, often asking to bypass the head of school. Some heads have recently been fired over the perceived or actual mishandling of the issue. However, the real cause of the dismissals may have been the fact that the boards lost their way, boundaries were crossed, and board members were engaging inappropriately with agitated parents.

Following poor board governance protocols is probably what is exacerbating these very unfortunate situations. What should occur is a forensic investigation of the facts and the players involved. This should be done quickly and with the best professional outside assistant available. This should not be undertaken by a board member’s own law firm.

Following that investigation, the school should implement the recommended changes to policies, protocols, disciplinary standards and procedures, whether or not a culture of harassment has been found to exist.

Wearing the parent “hat”, the tendency to blame the head immediately, and the tendency to listen to other parents and friends first and to engage with them in rumor mongering are dangerous behaviors. When a board faces a crisis, it should stand together and not break ranks, keep the confidences of the board room, and support the head. Boards must act with wisdom not emotion.