Administration / Board

Administration

Board of Trustees, 2009 - 2010

The Board of Trustees has the responsibility, in consultation with the Administration, for setting school policy, maintaining the school's financial health and selecting the Head ofSchool. Its ongoing challenge is to manage the present needs of the school while at the same time planning for the future and remaining faithful to the school's mission as expressed in the Goals and Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools in the United States.

While 91st Street's Board of Trustees plays an active, strategic role in the affairs of Sacred Heart, the school's daily operations are in the capable hands of the administrative team.The board can sometimes provide a means of liaison to the administration or answer policy questions, but board members are not the appropriate resource to resolve operational matters.The board operates through a series of standing committees, and occasionally, ad-hoc committees are created for particular needs. Each board member serves on at least one board committee and most members serve on more than one. The full board meets five times during the school year and each committee meets at least three times per year, but most meet more frequently. There are typically at least five trustees on each committee, and some also include administration members, non-trustee parents and others.

The board of trustees is composed of no less than fifteen members, with the Head of School and presiding officers of the Alumnae Association and Parents Association included as ex officio members during their respective terms of office. Members serve one or two three-year terms. At least three members of the board must be members of the Society of the Religious of the Sacred Heart. As is usual in independent schools, the board is self-perpetuating. This means that the trustees select their own successors. Criteria to be considered includes diversity of talent and background, willingness to serve and perform the duties required, prior efforts on behalf of Sacred Heart and conformance to the guidelines for makeup of the board as set forthin the bylaws. The board is diverse in terms of talent, background and stage of life. What trustees have in common is a devotion to Sacred Heart and its mission as expressed through hard work and generosity.