CHA has a fourteen member Board of Trustees. Most of the Trustees are parents at the school.  They bring a wide range of experience, education and expertise to the work of the Board and endeavor to govern wisely and in the best interest of the school by planning for the future, monitoring our success in present, and preserving the best traditions of the past.

 

Our Board of Trustees serves as the guardian of our school's mission. It is the Board's responsibility to ensure that the mission is relevant and vital to our community and to monitor the success of the school in fulfilling its mission. The Board and the Head of School work in partnership in this undertaking.

 

In fulfilling its responsibilities, CHA’s Board of Trustees observes the following 12 Principles of Good Practice, as established by the National Association of Independent Schools:

 

1. The Board adopts a clear statement of the school's mission, vision, and strategic goals and establishes policies and plans consistent with this statement.

 

2. The Board reviews and maintains appropriate bylaws that conform to legal requirements, including duties of loyalty, obedience, and care.

 

3. The Board assures that the school and the Board operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, minimizing exposure to legal action. The Board creates a conflict of interest policy that is reviewed with, and signed by, individual trustees annually.

 

4. The Board accepts accountability for both the financial stability and the financial future of the institution, engaging in strategic financial planning, assuming primary responsibility for the preservation of capital assets and endowments, overseeing operating budgets, and participating actively in fund raising.

 

5. The Board selects, supports, nurtures, evaluates, and sets appropriate compensation for the head of school.

 

6. The Board recognizes that its primary work and focus are long-range and strategic.

 

7. The Board undertakes formal strategic planning on a periodic basis, sets annual goals related to the plan, and conducts annual written evaluations for the school, the head of school, and the Board itself.

8. The Board keeps full and accurate records of its meetings, committees, and policies and communicates its decisions widely, while keeping its deliberations confidential.
  
9. Board composition reflects the strategic expertise, resources, and perspectives (past, present, future) needed to achieve the mission and strategic objectives of the school.
 
10. The Board works to ensure all its members are actively involved in the work of the Board and its committees.
 
11. As leader of the school community, the Board engages proactively with the head of school in cultivating and maintaining good relations with school constituents as well as the broader community and exhibits best practices relevant to equity and justice.
   
12. The Board is committed to a program of professional development that includes annual new trustee orientation, ongoing trustee education and evaluation, and Board leadership succession planning.