The New Year brings exciting news from NCEA. The NCEA Executive Mentoring and Coaching Initiative, which has been a pilot program for the past eighteen months, is now ready for its formal launch. This new NCEA service is in direct response to members’ requests for a mentoring and coaching program targeted to principals, presidents, heads of schools and school boards.
The nine schools that were part of NCEA’s pilot program offer enthusiastic endorsement of the benefit of a formal and individualized program that addresses the specific challenges and demands of Catholic school leadership. Each client was paired with an NCEA mentor/coach that worked with him or her to address his or her unique needs. Mentor/coaches were selected from across the country and brought to the pilot program years of experience, expertise and anecdotal wisdom.
The issues that were addressed included but were not limited to president-principal relationships, board development, enrollment management, branding, strategic visioning and day-to-day operational issues. Each client and mentor pairing established a communication plan and worked together throughout the past year.
The feedback suggests that mentoring and coaching is a gift that is deeply appreciated by new or newly assigned Catholic school administrators. This new NCEA initiative confirms that together we can do good and great things for Catholic education and the young people that we are called to serve by mentoring and coaching the leadership that lights the way.
NCEA is pleased to provide this professional service for our members and is currently accepting inquiries of interest for the 2017-2018 academic year. For further information, please contact Heather Gossart, director of Executive Coaching and Mentoring Initiative at 240-304-8255 or Lucy Shufflebarger at 571-257-0029 or visit our website.
