What Makes Schools Great

It was my absolute pleasure to give a keynote remarks at the 2021 Principal Transformation Conference – West Africa.

Each year, educational visionaries and school leaders come together to explore and collaborate on opportunities to tackle challenges in education and take back to their schools’ new thoughts, and ideas to implement for improvement.

In my remarks, I shared what makes schools great. These are lessons I learnt on the road, working with 10+ educational institutions over the past two decades in various roles, which included being a dorm master in an A-Level School and a member of the leadership faculty on an MBA program. These experiences taught me 3 key ways to make schools great again.

First, establish a leading cause: we need to be clear about the mission that drives every activity in the school. Every school must offer its pupils the tools, skills, and confidence to fulfill their highest potential.

Secondly, develop a learning culture: a culture where everyone including, faculty and staff engages in continuous learning and are curious about their community and context.

Lastly, create a living community: a vibrant and engaged community that celebrates the unique contributions and achievements of every student, and the school being actively engaged in the wider community they are part of.

Robert Marshall Bennin, CFA, CPTD, FIoD

(Founder & Chief Learning Strategist, TEMPLE Advisory Limited)