• School Startup

A veteran educator with a proven track record in founding, building and leading schools, Danny Hollinger provides expert guidance to individuals and groups interested in starting schools. Recognizing that all schools operate in unique circumstances, we tailor our services to address the relevant challenges and issues for the school to be successful. Our school startup services include feasibility and market studies, curriculum development, faculty and staff recruitment and training, marketing and public relations, board development, architectural design, procurement and more. We are available to work in partnership with our clients at all stages to ensure a successful launch.

• School Improvement

Unengaged students, disruptive students, poor student performance, low faculty morale, burned out teachers, stuck-in-a-rut curricula, dissatisfied or over-involved or under-involved parents, enrollment challenges and a myriad other problems plague public, charter and private schools. Dr. Hollinger engages with schools to tackle critical issues, determine the best solutions, implement programs and systems to improve, and manage change.

• School Turnaround

Dr. Hollinger offers consulting services for school turnaround projects. The significant and seemingly intractable problems that ultimately require turnaround services are, of course, at the heart of a school. From student performance to governance, Danny Hollinger brings over 25 years of experience dealing successfully with complex problems in classrooms, student performance, boardrooms, leadership teams, faculty and school culture, teacher training, evaluation and performance, parent involvement, community relations and more.

• Dual-Language and International Baccalaureate Program Design and Implementation

Schools interested in dual-language immersion and/or International Baccalaureate Primary, Middle and/or Diploma Years Programmes will find that Daniel Hollinger offers a unique set of skills, knowledge and experience. An innovative educator, Dr. Hollinger designed and implemented dual-language, International Baccalaureate Programmes in Arabic, English, French, Greek, Mandarin and Spanish.

• Executive and Head Coaching

Heads of school and executives, both new and experienced, often benefit significantly from the opportunity to discuss the challenges they face with a coach. As a coach, Danny Hollinger utilizes an inquiry methodology that helps heads and executives arrive at solutions to complex problems and strengthen leadership skills. The coaching process begins with clients’ realization that they need assistance improving leadership, solving an problem or modifying behavior. Schools’ and organizations’ boards sometimes initiate and often pay for head and executive coaching.

Approximately eighty percent of school heads are fired. Yet, heads’ longevity is often vital to schools’ growth and development and to the heads’ ability to be effective leaders. Heads face many complex demands from their boards, faculty and staff, parents and students. Coaching can help heads manage the demands and improve leadership.

Danny Hollinger provides coaching services on-site and by teleconference.

• Leadership Development

Leaders need to communicate their vision, and help people to embrace and execute it. Learning to be a persuasive writer and speaker helps leaders accomplish their goals. Danny Hollinger offers on-site leadership development workshops focused on persuasive public speaking and writing skills.

• Executive Searches

Hollinger International conducts searches for heads of independent, international and charter schools. In considering the political, cultural and budgetary sensitivities of searching for a new leader, we work in partnership with schools to:

1. Identify experienced and new talent for school leadership
2. Form search committees and communicate with the school community about the search and leadership transition
3. Provide support to help the new head transition successfully

• Board Governance

Recognizing the significant governance challenges and complicated histories, relationships and cultures within schools, Dr. Hollinger assists boards through on-site visits and workshops. He gathers information confidentially through questionnaires and meetings, and offers workshops based upon the results.

• Organizational Climate and Faculty Culture Improvement

The nature of relationships among adults in schools is the single greatest determinant of students’ academic and social success. Unfortunately, many schools and nonprofit organizations suffer from low faculty or staff morale. Low morale can have devastating effects on an institution and its ability to achieve its mission. Conversely, high morale, teamwork and collaboration will ensure growth and success. Yet, for a variety of reasons, heads and executives are often reluctant to address the issues that cause low morale. Hollinger International works with schools and organizations to transform relationships, develop high morale and create collaborative teams at all levels. The results are remarkable.

• Team Building

As Roland Barth articulates so well, “All too often, the adult relationships are (in that wonderful phrase from preschool education) parallel play. For hours at a time, two- and three-year-olds in a sandbox can be so engrossed in themselves, in their own work and project and tools, that they are oblivious to anybody else in the sandbox. This is thought to be a stage of development through which two- and three-year-olds soon pass on their way to far more sophisticated forms of human interaction. But I’d say that parallel play characterizes most of what I see going on in schools. The self-contained classroom is parallel play. The English department that doesn’t interact with the math department is parallel play.”

Yet we know that when teachers work in teams to develop the curriculum, integrate teaching and learning across disciplines, share information about students, and serve as mentors for each other, student performance improves. In addition, building and nurturing faculty and staff teams reduces burnout and turnover, and creates a collaborative and supportive environment in which to work. Who doesn’t want that?

• Crises and Change Management

Most likely, you have been involved in a crisis at your school or organization. Managed poorly, crises and change can have long-term, devastating effects. During 22 years of school leadership, Danny Hollinger experienced and managed the full range of crises that face school leaders and boards. He now offers guidance for boards and heads to help manage crises and change.

• Faculty Evaluation, Professional Development and Compensation

Hollinger International assists schools with the development of effective teacher evaluation, professional development and compensation systems. These systems, designed with the participation of faculty, staff and board members, improve teaching and learning, support teachers with effective professional development and link compensation to performance. The compensation systems incorporate “bands” that reflect performance, longevity and faculty leadership. Having developed and implemented innovative and highly successful Faculty Evaluation, Support and Compensation Systems Dr. Hollinger has the requisite experience and expertise to assist schools and organizations in this sensitive and critical area.

• Strategic Planning

Hollinger International helps schools and nonprofit organizations develop strategic plans to improve education, increase enrollment, add grades, and raise funds for campus improvement and endowments. To determine the best approach to strategic planning, Dr. Hollinger helps schools assess the advantages and disadvantages of various strategic planning models before proceeding.

• Marketing and Branding for Competitive Advantage