Dr Stephen Codrington
Email: stephen@optimalschool.com, scodrington@gmail.com
Website: optimalschool.com
Area of expertise provided as part of the CIS Affiliated Consultant Network:
- Leadership Training and School Governance
- Appraisal and Professional Development
- Strategic Planning
Dr Stephen Codrington brings the wisdom, insights and practical experience of four decades’ work as an educator, author, board trustee, public speaker, school leader and evaluator to his work as Founder and President of Optimal School Governance, a specialist consultancy service that focuses exclusively on supporting school leaders and boards globally from its home base in Sydney (Australia).
Stephen established Optimal School Governance after serving as the Head of five IB schools in four countries – Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the United States – over a period of 25 years. During that period, in addition to serving on the boards of his own schools, he also worked with the boards and leaders of many other schools across the world (including as an accreditation officer), helping with board reviews and restructuring, developing strategic visions, conducting appraisals, and observing boards at their best and at their worst. Stephen’s work with boards draws consistently positive feedback.
As a result of his diverse experiences, Stephen developed a deep appreciation for the fundamental importance of effective governance in international schools. He wrote a 208-page handbook for school boards and leaders on effective governance that has become a standard in its field.
Stephen’s work recognises that the culture of schools is markedly different from the corporate sector, or even other non-profit enterprises. This is reflected in the comprehensive, practically-focussed 360-degree (and other) appraisals he conducts for Boards, Trustees, Principals, and Senior as well as Middle Managers. This educationally-focussed philosophy also informs Stephen’s work in supporting boards to develop distinctive, mission-focussed strategic visions that provide a foundation to transform the future of their schools.
Stephen’s workshops emphasise ‘best practice’, drawing from the real-world experiences of an experienced Head, board member, board chair and board evaluator. His highly interactive board workshops cover a wide range of areas including ‘board operations’, ‘fiduciary and other duties’, ‘creating and sustaining healthy boards’, ‘dealing with crises’, ‘governance and management’, ‘mission, vision and strategic thinking’, ‘overcoming governance challenges and minimizing risk’, ‘the board’s role in directing change’, ‘the board-head relationship’, ‘board meetings and dynamics’, ‘board composition and succession’, ‘future-focussed board leadership’, and more.
The author of some 69 books, Stephen is a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (ACE), a former Chairman of the Heads of Independent Co-educational Schools (HICES), former Vice-President of the Association of Executives of Christian Schools (AECS), and he continues to hold executive positions on the boards of several academic associations and independent schools. His public speaking and research interests have taken him to almost 170 countries.
In addition to his work supporting school boards through Optimal School Governance, Stephen serves as Chair of the Board of Djarragun College, a K-12 dual-campus school which is the largest educational institution for Indigenous students in Australia. He maintains a personal website at www.stephencodrington.com.