The Independent School DEFCON Scale
Event Details
A Three-Hour Virtual Deep Dive for School Leadership Teams
Monday, March 23, 2026 | 1:00–4:00 PM Eastern
Independent schools are operating in an increasingly complex and volatile environment. Enrollment pressures, rising discount rates, demographic shifts, leadership transitions, deferred maintenance, and shifting parent expectations are creating both new opportunities and real existential risk.
In this climate, intuition is not enough.
The Independent School DEFCON Scale, created by MISBO and ExploElevate, provides a structured, holistic framework for diagnosing institutional conditions and responding strategically. Adapted from the U.S. Department of Defense readiness model the scale defines five institutional states—from DEFCON 5 (Flourishing) to DEFCON 1 (Critical Failure)—across ten core domains of school health.
This three-hour interactive session moves beyond theory. Participants will assess their own institutions, examine real composite school case studies, explore national data trends, and develop practical strategies appropriate to their school’s current level.
This is not about fear - it is about clarity!
Why This Matters
Research into institutional distress and school closures shows that decline is rarely sudden. It is gradual, visible, and often misread. Schools frequently overestimate their condition. Without a shared language and disciplined framework, leadership teams fill gaps with assumptions.
The DEFCON Scale provides:
- A common vocabulary for boards and leadership teams
- A structured self-assessment across ten domains
- Clear strategic responses aligned to institutional condition
- Leadership postures appropriate to each stage
- A pathway from panic to purpose
Who Should Attend
This workshop is designed for school leadership teams, including:
- Heads of School
- CFOs and Business Officers
- Division Heads
- Trustees and Board Chairs
- Advancement Leaders
- Enrollment Leaders
Schools are strongly encouraged to attend as teams to maximize strategic alignment.
Review the Event Registration and Cancellation Policies here.
For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint, refund, and cancellation, call the office at 404-921-3812 or please view the MISBO Webinar Administrative Policies.
For More Information:
What You Will Experience
This session is highly interactive and designed for leadership teams to attend together.
We introduce the five DEFCON levels and what each truly looks like across:
- Enrollment demand and yield
- Net tuition revenue and discounting
- Fundraising and endowment strength
- Financial sustainability
- Faculty health and retention
- Governance alignment
- Mission delivery
- Campus condition
- Data quality
- Parent and community trust
Participants will see rich institutional portraits of each level, not just financial snapshots.
Using the official 10-domain DEFCON worksheet , school teams will:
- Score their current condition
- Identify lowest-scoring domains
- Reflect on blind spots and assumptions
- Discuss how their board would interpret the results
This is structured reflection, not public disclosure.
We will share anonymized aggregate data from schools that have piloted the DEFCON instrument and examine where perception aligns with measurable indicators such as:
- Enrollment trajectory
- Net tuition revenue trends
- Discount rate movement
- Fundraising performance
- Operating margin and liquidity
Participants will explore where institutions commonly misread their condition and why.
Each DEFCON level requires a different kind of leader :
- DEFCON 5: Visionary / Legacy Builder
- DEFCON 4: Operator / Systems Thinker
- DEFCON 3: Change Agent / Transformation Architect
- DEFCON 2: Wartime CEO
- DEFCON 1: Shepherd / Crisis Communicator
We will examine what that means for:
- Governance strategy
- Messaging
- Financial management
- Enrollment response
- Capital planning
- Community trust rebuilding
Being well-intended does not save a school. Alignment between condition and response does.
Participants will analyze composite schools and determine:
- What DEFCON level is this school?
- What signals matter most?
- What response is appropriate?
- What leadership posture is required?
Realistic scenarios highlight how institutions drift from stability to distress, and how some recover.
The session concludes with a focused strategy sprint:
- Identify one priority move that would elevate your school one level in the next 60 days
- Clarify ownership
- Define immediate actions
Participants leave with clarity and a practical next step.
Schools are strongly encouraged to attend as teams to maximize strategic alignment.
This virtual workshop is presented by Dr. Damian Kavanagh, MISBO and Ross Peters, ExploElevate.
