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We are living in an age of acceleration. 

In our lifetimes, there will never be a moment when things will be moving as slowly as they do now.

 

From attracting and retaining top talent, to balancing strong and competing viewpoints from parents and the public, to supporting increasing needs in student mental health and well-being, to providing more options and innovative programs. All of this must be done with increasingly limited resources and an eye for ensuring long-term sustainability.

The hard news and the good news are the same in independent schools today. It has never been more imperative to provide extraordinary student learning and deep, engaging experiences, and we are taking on that challenge against a backdrop of world change that will only continue to accelerate. 

At Elevate, we know schools can do better.

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Whether the issue is creating a new schedule or a new strategy, we know schools can do better. 

At Elevate, we like the challenge of meeting this demand with creativity, determination, focus, and confidence. At times, independent schools have been repositories of "how we used to do it" or "we tried that before and it didn't work." The demands on schools are too great to stand still in the face of them. 

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Elevate exists to help schools face the future, not with a crystal ball, but with a set of tools and habits.

We believe schools must not imagine the world will reach a new normal or stasis, but rather that we create a new normal regarding how we respond to an ever-changing world. 

We call this Progress Culture.

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We help schools build the skills to become more adaptable and resilient. 

At the heart of every project EXPLO Elevate takes on is a commitment to helping schools become stronger as a result of engaging in our process. We focus both on the specific work ahead and on developing a school's skills to take on future work successfully—the work it cannot yet see coming. Our approach is scalable, replicable, inclusive, and transparent. We create healthy processes and build institutional resilience to face the future.

Our Mission

Curiosity is our engine.

We challenge assumptions, pursue understanding, and activate minds and voices to help schools and the associations that serve them navigate strategic complexity and enrich teaching and learning.

Our Approach

Our approach is rooted in deep, extended relationships and a belief that change management requires mechanisms for ongoing reflection and a keen awareness of the short list of things that should never change about a school.

We immerse ourselves in your school's culture to understand its goals and challenges to align our approach with your school’s unique mission and vision. We help you activate your school’s mission and vision.

What We Do

Strategy Development, Strategic Plans

Schedule Design

Governance

Executive + Leadership Coaching

Middle Management Professional Learning

Audits, Assessments + Recommendations

Institutional Research + Analytics

Branding + Enrollment Marketing

EXPLO Elevate News

Should schools be helping young people develop a life of psychological richness? And if so, how?

We pursue achievement, purpose, and meaning, but these pursuits can leave us exhausted. Emerging research is revealing that an important component of the Good Life is psychological richness, something Dr. Lorraine Besser calls “The Interesting.” Besser is a founding investigator of these studies and author of The Art of the Interesting: What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life.

Online Webinar
January 11, 2025  8 PM - 9PM

 

Register here
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Powerful Partnership: Skills and Tools for Effective Head/Board Collaboration
 

Moira Kelly, President of EXPLO and Julie Faulstich, Principal of Stony Creek Strategy 

Nashville, TN  February 26-28, 2025
Richmond Virginia-1-2

Leadership Studio: Vision Driven, Outcome Focused

Leadership Studio: Vision Driven, Outcome Focused
June 11-13, 2025 at The Collegiate School, Richmond, Virginia

Our Leadership Studio is a dynamic experience designed to elevate educational leadership teams beyond traditional team-building. This immersive program offers tools for continual improvement, aligning your team with a determined purpose and clear focus on both mission and strategic goals.  

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Resonant and Relevant

Ross Peters, Managing Partner, EXPLO Elevate

It’s not enough for independent schools to be “defensible” in the larger context of education.  They must show they are purposeful and necessary contributors to the lives of students, families, and communities.  Schools need to be able to name their shared purpose – or else they will continue to be disappointed by how others define them.

Our Clients

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"I have been extremely impressed with the high quality of EXPLO Elevate from our very first encounter. I needed help defining a strategic new signature program for Inly, and EXPLO Elevate responded with the right team, the right approach, and a network of expert advisors that guided us to an outcome which will have an enduring impact on our future. I'm forever grateful!"

 

Donna Milani Luther
Head of SchoolInly School
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"The partnership…has been invaluable in my growth and development as a colleague and a school leader. Since leadership roles in schools can be unintentionally isolating, Ross encouraged connection and built perspective while also serving to reflect and consider the impact of a range of approaches and decisions. Ross’ depth of experience allows him to understand and appreciate a range of school systems and a broad set of situations that are encountered by school leaders. Through a willingness and ability to ask challenging yet supportive questions, Ross created the necessary distance to step back and take the necessary time to reflect. In addition to the one-on-one work that forms the foundation of the Riverbank Colleague program, I also found incredible value in being connected to the larger team at Explo Elevate with their talented staff and amazing educational resources."

 

Brian Palm
Assistant Head of School
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Our Clients
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