When the Bell Rings | Episode 8a
The Maricosta International School board, comprising four self-perpetuating members and three elected members, had now held one meeting since the retreat at the start of the school year. Dr Dahlia Potts, the Principal, was cautiously optimistic after the retreat that there was a clear understanding of the respective roles of the board and the Principal. While the September meeting had gone well, Dahlia learnt in late October that one of the newly elected members, Daniel Ruiz, had been positioning himself as the “voice of the parents.” Convinced he had a mandate, he had begun chatting in the community and, according to several teachers, appeared concerned about cultural bias in the school. This was confirmed by Epiphany Curtis, the PTA President, who reported that he had approached her about the events this term and was promising to “bring this up with the board,” referring to Christmas and other cultural observances as well as curricular issues.
Dahlia called Daniel and asked if he was free to meet after school to discuss cultural matters. During the meeting, Daniel outlined his concerns and insisted he was simply “doing what parents expect.” He felt that certain holidays, particularly Christmas or other Western-centric celebrations, received more emphasis than others. He also felt that there was bias in the curriculum. Dahlia listened carefully, allowing him to reveal underlying beliefs: a conviction that the school should model cultural equity, a fear that children from minority backgrounds might feel marginalised, and his desire to ensure the school avoided privileging any particular tradition. He referred to the mission on several occasions. Dahlia then spoke.
For Discussion
- What do you think Dahlia should say?
- What do you think she should do?
When the Bell Rings | Episode 8b
Dahlia listened to Daniel calmly. She acknowledged the importance of inclusion and thanked him for caring about all students and upholding the school’s mission. She then clarified the distinction between operational decisions—such as designing the cultural calendar and curriculum—and the governance responsibilities of the board, reminding him of the norms reaffirmed at the retreat. She referred him to board policies on member roles, conduct, and cultural equity, noting that while wording might be improved, any changes required proper process. Dahlia explained that the leadership team reviews cultural observances annually, consults staff, ensures a balanced curriculum, and works to uphold the mission. She reassured him that if parents had concerns, the school had established channels—through the PTA and parent forums—to gather perspectives systematically. She gently emphasized that speaking publicly as “the voice of the parents” blurs governance boundaries and creates confusion, and she reiterated that board members serve the whole school, not particular groups..
Dahlia then outlined her next steps: she would take his comments to her leadership team to discuss; she would send him the school’s cultural events framework; and she would attend the next PTA meeting to listen to parent perspectives firsthand. Without promising more, she thought about whether to set up a small working group of parents and staff to review current practices. Their thoughts could be taken to the Board Policy Committee for discussion. She then informed Daniel she would update the Board Chair, Hugo Grün, about their conversation—not as a reprimand, but to ensure transparency and support healthy governance practice. She ended by mentioning again that the most effective way to serve the community was to uphold the agreed-upon roles and channels. Daniel thanked her for the opportunity to express his concerns. He said he appreciated her understanding and acknowledged the clarification. He apologised for taking the wrong approach. Dahlia felt the meeting had gone well yet realised that a retreat may not be enough to help orientate new board members. She thought about what else could be done.
For Discussion
- Do you think that with a pushback on the so-called “woke agenda” this would play out differently in international schools in coming years?
- What more could Dahlia do to help new board members?