A few minutes with…

David Faus, Head of School

Falmouth Academy (MA) 7 years

What is the best thing about being a Head of School?

I really enjoy the variety of the work and the unpredictable nature of what’s coming next. Our work keeps our fingers in all areas of school life, which means that things rarely get repetitive or boring. I especially like working with the various constituents of the school: faculty, parents, alumni and trustees. I have had the good fortune of working with some remarkable individuals. The best thing about my job is working with kids – I still try to teach and coach (though not every day). I get great rewards from building relationships with students.

How and when do you find personal time to keep things balanced?

This is a big challenge for Heads of School and requires constant attention and effort. I try to keep a routine of regular exercise. I try to make sure a “date night” with my wife is on my calendar. I try to attend my children’s activities, and I have always been a volunteer coach for their teams. Particularly, I try to get away to a place where I am unknown, where I can be anonymous – even if it is for a day or two.

Do you have a role model for your work as a school leader? Talk about one.

I have had the good fortune of working for some remarkable school leaders and have tried to learn something from each of them. But if I where forced to talk about just one role model, I would choose my high school geometry teacher and wrestling coach, Tim Harris. He is the reason I wanted to become a teacher: his sincere care and concern for his students were transforming for many of us. I remember thinking that if I could have that kind of impact on my own students I would be a fortunate man!

What characteristics, in your experience, distinguish great teachers from good teachers?

Great teachers have the ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of individual students and then create a plan for each student to be successful. Great teachers are passionate about working with their students as well as their subject matter. Great teachers continue to hone their skills and are life-long students of their craft! They are good role models. And the very best of them work with their colleagues to make sure they are learning from them, both about ways to teach and about the best ways to reach the students they all work with.

Talk about a project or innovation at your school or in your professional life that you’re excited about.

Five years ago a couple of colleagues and I started the National Small Schools Conference, which Falmouth Academy hosts each June. This is the only conference with a specific agenda to support conversations about small school issues. The conference has attracted small-school leaders from around the country including Hawaii, Washington state, California and, this year, a school from Ontario, Canada. One of the results of the NSSC has been the establishment of an ongoing, informal network of Heads of small school. (One participant refers to this group as the “small heads.”)

How have your school community and programs been affected- and reacted to – the current economic environment?

Falmouth Academy has certainly felt the repercussions of the current recession, and we have had to make some tough decisions about right-sizing our staff. Fortunately, we have been able to protect our program from any real financial constraints. There have been significant demographic shifts on Cape Cod as a result of this economic down turn and the school now has to pay close attention to these outside influences. The good news is that by staying clear about our mission and by increasing our communication with our parents, we are seeing positive signs in our overall enrollment and some optimism in general. However, I don’t think we are out of the woods yet and we all need to continue to be as nimble as possible.

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If we can spend a few minutes with you for an upcoming issue of headsUpdate, please let us know.