This article explores the urgent need for trust-based leadership within today’s polarized educational climate. Drawing on research from TrustED: The Bridge to School Improvement (Travis, 2021) and contemporary scholarship, this article argues that trust remains the most reliable indicator of school success, particularly amid ideological division. The article concludes with actionable strategies for school leaders and teachers, as well as a faith-based reflection for Christian educators.

As everyone in the international school space knows, we are witnessing the rapid rise of owned, for-profit schools—a trend that has accelerated since the early 2000s. Where the international school sector was once dominated by non-profit, community-based, and embassy-affiliated schools, ISC Research confirmed in 2020 that the balance shifted, reporting that for-profit schools had become the global majority. 

In September of 2017, Wayne Lynch, Toby Travis, and I shared a vision to establish a consulting group composed of professionals with diverse competencies, yet united by a shared commitment to serve with Passion, Integrity, and Excellence. From that vision emerged the GLOBAL School Consulting Group, a cohort of nineteen Consultants and nine Partners in Excellence who provide world-class service to international, bilingual, and national schools across the globe.

Hundreds of schools and educational organizations around the globe have been well-served by the GLOBAL School Consulting Group since its inception in 2017.  Despite this notable success and the recognition this brings to the Group, we continue to take steps to better serve schools and their leaders by enlisting outstanding Consultants and Partners who provide world-class services to our clients.  We are very pleased and proud to announce the most recent additions to the Group:

"What is not measured cannot be improved. What is not improved always deteriorates." This quote, attributed to British physicist and mathematician William Thomson Kelvin, underscores a fundamental truth: measurement and evaluation are essential steps in any process of continuous improvement.​

I met Carlos in 1978, a few months after his first birthday.  Lois and I were embraced and loved by his family shortly after arriving in San José for language study.  Since that time, we have remained close, with special times together, including a visit by Carlos and his mother visiting us in Puerto Rico and many family and business trips to Costa Rica.  In recent years, Carlos worked for McKinsey & Company in various consulting capacities, building a stellar personal and professional profile.