MISBO & exploelevate @ nais 2026
Join us in Seattle to hear all about this topic and resource.
And if you can't make it, join us for the follow up session on March 23.
And if you can't make it, join us for the follow up session on March 23.
Damian Kavanagh from MISBO and Ross Peters from ExploElevate are teaming up to give a rock star presentation at the NAIS conference in Seattle.
The DEFCON Scale for Independent Schools:
Strategic Response Through Clarity
Independent schools operate within a rapidly evolving educational ecosystem marked by demographic shifts, economic pressures, and mission drift. While some schools are thriving— with strong enrollments, generous fundraising, and excellent outcomes—others are teetering on the edge of crisis. This session introduces the Independent School DEFCON Scale, a strategic framework for evaluating institutional health and guiding leadership response. Inspired by the national defense readiness model, this scale translates complex school conditions into five clear operational levels, ranging from DEFCON 5 (Thriving) to DEFCON 1 (Crisis).
The framework evaluates key indicators such as enrollment trends, fundraising performance, debt load, campus maintenance, mission delivery, college placement success, parent satisfaction, faculty quality and retention, and leadership stability. Participants will learn how to assess where their school lands on the DEFCON scale and how to align leadership action with each level—from long-term investment and innovation to emergency stabilization and managed closure.
This session builds on the thought leadership of Ross Peters, whose work on “Zombie Schools” offers a compelling metaphor for schools that appear operational but are functionally adrift, and Jim McManus, who has examined what we can learn from the painful but important stories of schools that ultimately closed. These perspectives reinforce the necessity of honest institutional self-assessment and strategic agility—before it’s too late.