Welcome, New Subscribers - and an Update
Hello and welcome!
Please come in and make yourselves at home.
I’m Julie, a former head of school, senior administrator, and English teacher. I live in CT by the shore. I have two dogs, am renovating a really old house, have an ongoing battle with neighborhood raccoons, spend a lot of time with my 92 year old mom and love writing this newsletter.
When my friend and former colleague Lauren Castagnola and I put our heads together to create the “Design for Success” post last week, we wrote honestly and openly - and it is so gratifying to see that it resonated with so many people! It has now become the most viewed Talking Out of School article, by a lot. And it led to a significant burst of subscriptions.
Thank you for this big vote of confidence. The goal is to keep providing quality content/food for thought around comms and all things school and nonprofit management.
And a big welcome to the folks who have joined us from higher ed. Over the years, I have come to find out that although I always thought of higher ed as having “figured it all out,” it is not the case. People lead complicated lives; budgets are finite. This stuff is hard!
So - thank you! Lauren and I are currently scheming over the next chapter in the Mission Critical Communications series. I will be adding a tab to the top of the Talking Out of School homepage where all the MCC series posts will be hanging out.
Now that you’re here, please take a look around the archives.
This post has a summary of the subscriber demographics as of mid-December and a list of the most popular posts of 2022.
TL; DR Powerful senior admin teams was the most popular post previous to “Design for Success”
Three urgent issues for 2023 was a close second.
Two less popular posts of which I am fond and that people I really respect gave me positive feedback are these two - one on navigating the projection screen of leadership and another on reference checking. I’ve used the checking references post in my coaching practice and it has been appreciated. I’ll take this opportunity to signal boost them:
Projection screen of leadership
The comments are currently turned off but will be added back again soon. I am exploring with Substack the possibility of having “sheltered” comments sections, so spaces designed for subscribers who are in different professional roles to interact with their peers.
Also welcome to Stony Creek Strategy
Specializing in leadership development
I originally aimed to get a firm website with offerings this winter, but I’m in the process of getting clarity on professional opportunities/partnerships.
SCS will be offering the upcoming leadership development programs:
23-24 HOS/senior leader small cohort programming, including a cohort designed for Directors of Communications
Facilitation: Senior admin team workshops to reflect on and improve decision making (customized to your team)
Continued coaching offerings
A summer 2023 virtual writing workshop on the personal statement (statement of educational philosophy/statement of leadership philosophy)
I would also love to hear more from the comms professionals about your needs as Lauren and I continue to develop our thinking in this area.
Please take a minute to fill out this form to share your thoughts AND to let us know if you want more information about any of the above programs. What would please me most is to be of genuine assistance to mission driven people doing difficult jobs, so the more info, the better!
This form does not require a sign-in and does not automatically collect emails.
I’m also happy to answer any questions now, before the website gets up and running, about any of the above offerings or you just want to connect. I’d be delighted to talk to you about participating in a cohort, facilitating a workshop, how 1-1 coaching works or how SCS can be of help in the communications realm.
Feel free to reach out to me at any time at jfaulstich@stonycreekstrategy.com.
So glad you are here!
Julie