Neil Mufson’s career in independent schools spans over four decades, during which time he gained successful experience in just about every facet of school operations. After graduating magna cum laude from Brown University, he taught English and ESL, coached, and was a dorm parent at Worcester Academy in Massachusetts. He then went to graduate school, earning an M.Ed. in Education and Counseling at Tufts University. Following that he taught middle school English and was an administrative intern at Princeton Day School in New Jersey.
What were you doing before you joined The Education Group?
For the past 30 years I was Head of The Country School, a 300 student PK-8th grade school in Easton, Maryland. As the Head of a small school, I was intimately involved with every aspect of the school’s operation -- from faculty hiring to finance, from development work to curriculum creation. Of course to spend 30 years as Head of one school is highly unusual, but it gave me the extraordinary opportunity to see through transformational changes at the school -- its culture by emphasizing innovative means of faculty recruitment, development, and retention; its campus and facilities by forming meaningful ties with diverse constituents; and its standing in the community by nurturing authentic relationships with students, parents, grandparents, alumni, and area leaders. I worked with scores of trustees and 10 board chairs, and so I am well aware how crucial sound governance and strong board-head relationships are to the long-term success of a school.
What drew you to consulting?
I wanted to put all of my experience and lessons learned to work for the good of a broader group of schools. I have always enjoyed collaboration, strategy formation, creative problem solving, and the building of institutional capacity. I know that a school cannot reach its potential and mission if it doesn’t find exceptional, versatile leadership that is highly attuned to the school’s needs and moment.
What drew you to working with The Education Group?
I was positively impressed by the personal attention and care that TEG devotes to each of its clients. I could sense that the culture of the firm was based on highly valuing each school and every assignment, no matter the size. TEG consultants devote whatever time is required to reach success, and the consultants doing the actual work were themselves highly successful school leaders. I like that TEG consultants cut no corners and do not hand off critical work to “back office” staff. Careful, personal attention from highly experienced and competent individuals defines The Education Group’s work model.
What unique competencies do you believe you bring to TEG?
Applying 30 years of experience to the novel circumstances brought on by the global pandemic and its aftermath. Independent schools will never be the same. The challenges schools were already facing are being exponentially compounded by the impacts brought on by the pandemic, and many new fissures – and opportunities -- have been revealed. Finding and retaining the right leadership, strengthening governance practices, and supporting the Head of School with strong counsel are now absolute essentials, not wish list items to be implemented if the budget allows. Heads, boards, and faculties are more stressed than ever before.
How can schools best meet these extraordinary challenges?
By engaging the outside wisdom, perspective, and counsel of TEG. It is critical that Heads have coaches with whom they can talk frankly, brainstorm creative solutions, and talk through the challenges of leadership. But we also are rolling out new services. Recognizing that leadership teams are stretched in unprecedented ways, we now offer project management services that make available our experienced independent school leaders to get specific projects done that are critical to a school’s success but which they don’t have the time or capacity to achieve.
Can you give an example?
Let’s say a school needs to develop new ways to effectively market its expanded capabilities and value proposition brought on by the pandemic. TEG consultants can take that on and do all the leg work the schools decides it needs help with in order to get a program up and running to bolster enrollment. Or perhaps a school needs to revise its strategic plan now that the world has changed as have families’ needs and expectations. A TEG consultant can design, lead, and execute a process that is responsive to the school’s needs at the moment. TEG staff can continue to work with the school to implement and finetune the vision over time or just lead the development of the blueprint for future success.
So TEG can embed a consultant – an experienced administrator -- to ensure that critical work gets done in a timely way for or with the school’s leadership team?
Yes, that’s the idea: to build schools’ capacity to accomplish important work that it might not have the administrative time for but that it needs to get done – in this climate more than ever. We would be happy to talk with schools about the breadth of projects and involvement we can undertake. The school can define the tasks it needs to accomplish and the extent of help it desires to get the goals achieved. TEG’s consultants can roll up their sleeves to get those jobs done within the context of any school’s culture, practices, time constraints, and budget.
What does TEG call these services that go beyond its core Head and key administrator search, executive coaching, and governance offerings?
Our working name is HOST services – Helping Our Schools Thrive. After all, that’s what TEG is all about.