The Lincoln Center Audubon, PA President & CEO July 2017 www.thelincolncenter.com
Misson of TLC The mission of The Lincoln Center is to teach children, adults, and their families the values, processes, and life skills essential to a successful life journey – one filled with caring, contribution, and commitment.
Introduction The Lincoln Center (TLC) is a comprehensive alternative education and social services agency serving upwards of 2,500 to 4,500 at-risk youth and families per year. The Center provides supportive interventions for children, youth, and families. Its programs and partners are vital to their communities, serving child welfare agencies as well as the juvenile justice population and at-risk public school students. TLC is held in high regard by its community partners and stakeholders. An independent educational and human services provider with extensive presence in Montgomery and Chester counties, TLC has been serving its constituents with distinction for 33 years. The Board now seeks an entrepreneurial leader with passion for the TLC mission and a desire to take this fine organization to the next level, further extending its reach and impact. This is an exceptional opportunity for a leader looking to make a difference for families, individuals, and entire communities.
Background The academic, psychological, and social support that The Lincoln Center provides youth and families in Pennsylvania’s third most populous county is unmatched in both breadth and quality. Since its establishment as an independent educational nonprofit in 1983, TLC has honed its trademarked Transformational Education methodology—a hands-on, individualized approach to instruction designed specifically to engage nontraditional learners, typically at the middle and upper school grade levels. TLC’s expansive programming includes progressive alternative education, mental health counseling, crisis response, drug and alcohol prevention, victim abuse counseling, and family support services. The Lincoln Center seeks a new President & CEO to raise the profile of the organization, expand its reach in the community, and further the development of its effective The Search Group | CS&A
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approach to alternative education, while also maintaining its mission-driven culture. The current chief executive has announced his plans to retire following twenty-one years of dedicated service. He will remain until the position is filled, hopefully no later than July 2017, and preferably sooner. The President will report to a seven-member elected board and oversee an operating budget of approximately $2 million and endowment of $17 million. S/he will lead an exceptionally passionate and devoted staff of 19 full-time faculty and staff, 10 part-time employees, and four interns.
History & Regional Focus The Lincoln Center was first established in 1968 as a branch of the community-based services offered by Philadelphia’s Eagleville Hospital. By 1976, TLC was leading the way in progressive education, opening one of the nation’s first alternative schools to support a population of students whose needs were not being met in the traditional public school system. TLC became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization in 1983. Over three decades later, TLC continues as one of Montgomery County’s largest organizations providing alternative education (including special education), crisis counseling, and drug and alcohol prevention to local school districts, as well as multiple human services for families and communities in the region.
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TLC’s Trans Ed® combines pro-social values, life skills, and academic knowledge to teach successful living through the natural learning processes of cultural immersion, personal mentoring, and problem based learning.”
While TLC has focused its services in the Montgomery County region, the organization’s financial stability, dedicated staff, and proven methodology positions it to establish partnerships and expand its services into new areas of Pennsylvania and beyond.
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Transformational Education At the core of The Lincoln Center’s philosophy is the concept and practice of Transformational Education. TLC recently formalized a comprehensive definition of this methodology, which has long defined their approach to helping children, adolescents, and adults tackle life’s academic, familial, and personal challenges: “TLC’s Trans Ed® combines pro-social values, life skills, and academic knowledge to teach successful living through the natural learning processes of cultural immersion, personal mentoring, and problem based learning.” The term “Transformational Education” itself emphasizes TLC’s unique approach. Rather than seeking to remove or eliminate a discrete problem, Transformational Education calls for a fundamental shift in one’s perspective, values, and beliefs to bring about a permanent change in behavior. Recognizing that each student learns differently and possesses unique talents, the Trans Ed approach seeks to engage non-traditional learners according to their specific learning styles and educate through real-world experiences that incorporate better decision-making into the learning process. Transformational Education consciously creates an authentic learning environment in which students absorb the values central to self-improvement, connect with compassionate, non-judgmental mentors, and acquire academic knowledge through project-based learning (PBL). The goal is to guide students toward successful living— defined by TLC as the gradual transition from the selfishness of youth to the selflessness of adulthood.
Fast Facts • • • • • • • • • • •
Established in 1983 as an independent 501(c)(3) corporation Primary Regions Served: Montgomery & Chester Counties, PA Educational Approach: Progressive # of Staff: 19 full-time, 10 part-time, 2 interns Avg. Tenure: 7 years (FT), 2 years (PT) % of TEACH/FRC faculty w/ Advanced Degrees: 100% Annual Operating Budget: Fluctuates between $2 and $4 Million Students & Families Impacted: Between 2,500 and 4,500 annually Endowment: $17 Million in restricted cash and investments Licensed PA State Private Academic School State-approved Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth (AEDY) provider
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TLC Programs School budget cuts in recent years have prompted TLC to restructure its offerings and focus on its brand identity. Building on the Trans Ed Model that has proven successful in their TE Academies, TLC implemented a formalized TE training program at its administrative headquarters in Audubon and expanded its in-school and communitybased programs. The organization offers expansive on-site school services as well as a Family Resource Center (FRC) to provide impactful educational and social services to youth, families, and the elderly throughout Montgomery County.
Trans Ed Academies (TEAs) TLC’s Trans Ed Academies (TEA) represent the organization’s founding ambition—to offer an alternative learning environment for non-traditional learners struggling, for any reason, within the formalized structure of our nation’s public school systems. State-approved, research-based, and staffed with talented and certified teachers, Trans Ed Academies provide students in Grades 7-12 with a 10-month, full-day academic program. These schools are licensed by the state of Pennsylvania and characterized by their project-based curriculum, life skills education, and emphasis on character development. TE Academies hold students to high standards while providing the additional social and emotional scaffolding missing or insufficient at their public schools. This includes special education, drug and alcohol programming, bullying awareness and prevention, victim abuse counseling, and more. More recently, recognizing public schools’ growing need for effective mental health treatment programs, TLC has integrated a clinical mental health component within its Trans Ed Academies, called TE Academy Plus, that has greatly strengthened the value it can provide students, and by extension, school districts.
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TEACH TLC also offers expansive on-site school services, collectively referred to as TEACH (Transformational Education and Counseling Help). Independent of county support, TLC’s unique TEACH programs provide support for teachers and administrators struggling to help “challenging” students while minimizing disruption to their mainstream curriculum and instruction. They also help schools manage costs by treating students’ academic, emotional, mental, behavioral, and substance-abuse issues in-house rather than arranging for external partners to take on this work. And because TLC guarantees improved outcomes, school districts experience security with TLC that they may not even experience with direct hires. The TEACH curriculum includes character development and life skills, as well as crisis intervention and counseling, drug and alcohol prevention, relationship management, bullying prevention, and abuse victim counseling. TEACH Educators—100% of whom hold advanced degrees in related fields—become fully imbedded into the schools, working one-on-one with students on a daily basis. In a typical year, TEACH educators serve upwards of 2,700 students across five school districts.
Family Resource Center (FRC) Supported by Montgomery County’s Office of Children and Youth, and Adult/Aging Services, TLC’s Family Resource Center (FRC) applies its Trans Ed model to a range of individual, family, and community challenges. Serving 129 individuals and 52 families, the FRC provides in-home counseling services. The scope of these services is significant, ranging from managing depression and treating addiction, to family relationship counseling and support through separation, divorce, and child-custody disputes; to inhome elder care/counseling and senior victimization prevention.
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Qualifications and Qualities of the Next President/CEO of TLC: The Board of Directors seeks an entrepreneurial chief executive, someone with passion for the TLC mission and core values, who can take the organization to the next level and impact more youth and families. We welcome candidates from the following backgrounds: • Educational leaders from public, charter, or independent schools—including proven leaders, sitting heads, or rising stars with exceptional upside leadership potential. • Educational leaders with expertise in special education or learning differences (LD) programs in a variety of institutional settings. • High-performing leaders from social service agencies with particular emphasis on families and at-risk youth. Knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations governing this sector would be particularly helpful but not critical. • Non-traditional candidates from other mission-driven career platforms. This may include non-profit service agencies, for-profit corporations, foundations, associations, charities, or higher education. • Strong leadership and passion for mission are the qualities most desired by the TLC board at this time. Regardless of career background, candidates will be expected to be outstanding “relational leaders” who can establish and expand community partnerships and build and sustain win-win strategies. S/he should also be a high profile, visionary leader and exceptional communicator and institution builder who can seize this moment to grow the organization and take it to the next level. The board is excited to raise the profile of this organization and impact more families and communities. This is not growth for growth’s sake, but rather a genuine desire to use the extraordinary resources, expertise, platform, and reputation of the organization to make a larger difference in the lives of families. This is truly an exceptional leadership opportunity, and we welcome your interest.
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Application Process Candidates should provide the following materials as soon as possible to CS&A search consultants Bob Regan and Robin Tweedy: • Cover letter aligning your skills and interests with the leadership needs of TLC; • A current résumé with all appropriate dates; • A statement of educational or leadership philosophy discussing how you might lead TLC during this exciting period of growth; • A list of five references including contact information. Candidates deemed to be a good fit will be contacted promptly to schedule an interview. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Prompt submission of materials is encouraged to ensure adequate consideration. All inquiries, nominations, and application materials should be emailed in confidence to: Bob Regan | Robin Tweedy Bob.regan@carneysandoe.com | Robin.tweedy@carneysandoe.com Senior Search Consultants Carney, Sandoe & Associates 55 Bromfield Street, Boston MA www.carneysandoe.com
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