Name: Andy Goodwin

Title: CEO

Organisation: Covenant Christian High School

Dr. Andy Goodwin (CEO) has devoted nearly 30 years to excellence in Christian education. He has served on various community and education-related boards and has held the positions of teacher, coach, Department Chair, Student Travel Coordinator, Academic Dean, Principal, and CEO. In each role, he has concentrated on fostering cultures of professionalism, long-term sustainability, innovation, and growth, resulting in high staff and faculty retention and effectiveness. Andy has guided teams in strategic planning for culture setting, immersive pedagogy, innovative programming, faculty and staff development and retention, sustainable financial modeling, and crisis management. He has also overseen multiple accreditation cycles, most recently achieving a rare Exemplary Accreditation from the Association of Christian Schools International.

He believes that for an organization to be healthy and successful, it must possess a clear and embraced identity that is defined, understood, embraced, and lived by every program and every team member. This approach to organizational culture has led to his team being recognized as a Best Christian Workplace - Flourishing Level.

Andy has been awarded multiple honors, including the Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship, the Battey National Educator Award, and Teacher of the Year for the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association. He holds advanced degrees in pedagogy, business, and educational leadership and various certifications in non-profit leadership, fundraising, and Christian education.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Educational Leadership!

I hope Andy's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as an Educational Leader?

The most challenging (and exciting) thing is mission articulation and permeation across all departments and programs. It is a collaborative, invitational, lengthy, and ongoing process that cannot be rushed or faked for achievement's sake. But it is the most rewarding and enduring thing for a leader and a team to do.

2. How did you become an Educational Leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I am on my second never-gonna, as it were. In high school and college, I found my voice through acquiring the Spanish language and being immersed in Spanish-speaking cultures. After my undergrad years, I wanted to travel around, speak Spanish all day, and get paid for it. I had nowhere to go, nothing to say, and no reason anyone would pay me to do anything related to that. However, I did know that I did not want to teach.

But when the founding CEO of a fledgling school invited me to an interview and asked me to "tell [him] about Andy," I found myself in a unique, entrepreneurial environment. I would be allowed to establish an immersive learning environment, speaking Spanish all day, and traveling to Spanish-speaking countries with my students. It was a dream.

After accidentally falling in love with teaching, I declared that I would never be an administrator. I had seen what it could do to a person and his or her family. But as my current role slowly developed, I fell in love with writing a new story of organizational culture for the benefit of each student, family, team member, and program, for the advancement of our mission and the realization of our vision.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

During the work week, I get up just after my wife and just before my boys. I listen to Scripture or a podcast as I get showered and dressed. And then I kiss my wife, start the coffee, and wake up the boys with soft music and a tousle of their hair. We have breakfast together, prepare lunches, and then we all head to work and school in a shared commute. Once at work, I read some more, usually Scripture or a devotional-like text, and review the day's schedule. My daily schedule varies quite a bit, but it mostly consists of 1:1 meetings, podcast interviews, writing, and team strategy sessions.

My evenings are a combination of school events, soccer practices and games for our boys, and cooking and walks with my wife. As the weather allows, I also try to squeeze in a brisk 20-mile bike ride before supper with the family. Weekends are for working out, watching Premier League and NFL games, walking in parks, doing chores, and church.

4. What's a recent lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of as an Educational Leader?

Everything moves at the speed of trust. When an organization's good culture gets noticed by others, it can seem like it's something that has happened all of a sudden, or else has always been and always will be. But a flourishing culture takes a long time to build and requires everyday, conscientious, mission-aligned habits to nurture and protect.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your journey as an Educational Leader so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted you?

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Among so many things that Doris illustrates is the central theme of creating a team of those who are best at their work, even though they are prideful and selfishly want to be in charge themselves. Lincoln knew his presidential candidate rivals were as good at what they did as they touted they were, so he asked them to serve on his cabinet.

All but one ended up deeply respecting and loving him, and they did amazing work together. Additionally, Lincoln never publicly spoke ill of anyone on his team, even though most of them and the press did not reciprocate that habit. He preferred to speak with, not about, his teammates, and when he could not, he would write them a searing letter, fold it up, and then put it in the top drawer of his desk and never send it.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young educator who aspires to be an Educational Leader, what would you say to them?

Remember that you don't teach whatever subject is your area of expertise; you teach boys and girls. Personhood over performance, always!

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as an Educational Leader, so far?

Accomplishments are great. We celebrate them. But we try to keep them in their right place of being natural results of working in harmony with God and with one another toward a shared and embraced mission. So, the most meaningful story always is when people say that it is clear that we know who we are and that we really live out what we say exists to do.