IBSC Aspiring Leaders' Colloquia
A 10-Month Program Focused on Leadership in Boys’ Schools
Starting June 30, 2027
Join the third cohort of this unique leadership program for educators aspiring to lead boys’ schools. Facilitated by Tom Batty, IBSC executive director, and Chris Post, headmaster of The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland (United States), participants will collaborate with a small group of peers and build connections as they prepare for the next step in their careers. Through in-person and online learning, the cohort will deepen their understanding of personal leadership strengths, explore effective leadership practices, and refine their educational philosophy.
This 10-month program launches with a leadership assessment, followed by an in-person seminar at The Scots College in Sydney, Australia, on June 30, 2027 (immediately preceding the 2027 IBSC Annual Conference), and a series of virtual learning modules via Zoom. Sessions will be led by experienced heads of boys’ schools from around the world, providing participants with diverse perspectives and practical insights into leadership in boys’ education.
Topics include:
- Know Yourself: Leadership Strengths and Growth Areas
- Leadership in Boys’ Schools: Boys’ Education, Culture, Structure, and Belonging
- Educational Philosophy and Boys’ Schools
- Get the Job
Virtual module topics include (exact dates shared later):
- The Partnership: Healthy Governance and Board Relations
September 2027, 4:00 PM ET - Understanding School Finances
October 2027, 4:00 PM ET - Relationships with Parents and Parent Culture in a Boys’ School Environment
December 2027, 4:00 PM ET - Enrollment Management, Development, and Fundraising
February 2028, 4:00 PM ET - Strategic Planning, Organization, Structure, and Culture for Boys’ Schools
April 2028, 4:00 PM ET
Each member of the cohort will create a personal educational philosophy composed of school narrative, four strategic intents, and three implementation strategies for each intent to ensure delivery.
Who Should Attend?
Everyone considering senior leadership or their first headship in a boys’ school.
Format
Available exclusively to IBSC members, the 10-month program includes:
- An online leadership inventory
- Four in-person modules on June 30, 2027, at The Scots College immediately before the 2027 IBSC Annual Conference starts
- Five 120-minute online meetings on Zoom at 4:00 PM ET in each of these months. Exact dates emailed upon acceptance:
- September 2027
- October 2027
- December 2027
- February 2028
- April 2028
Application Process
Submit your application by January 15, 2027. IBSC will accept 15 individuals into the cohort. If a school submits more than one application, we ask the head of school to work with us to prioritize the applicants. To be considered, each application must include a completed Statement of Support from the head of school. The applicant must notify their head of school of their interest in this program and share the Statement of Support link. The link does NOT get emailed to heads of school automatically.
IBSC will notify all applicants with the status of their application by January 30, 2027.
Cost
If accepted, the program fee is US$2,500 per person. Also, cohort members must pay their registration fee for the 2027 IBSC Annual Conference and cover all travel expenses.
Financial Aid
The IBSC offers limited financial assistance to support participation in the program. If you wish for the applicant to be considered for financial aid, please include a detailed justification for the request within the head of school support statement.
Please note that financial aid is highly competitive, with a maximum of two cohort members selected for support each year. Priority is given to applicants from schools that do not charge tuition, and awards are limited to one school per region.
Recipients of financial aid will receive a reduced program fee of US$500. However, all cohort members—including financial aid recipients—remain responsible for their registration fees for the 2027 IBSC Annual Conference and must cover all personal travel and incidental expenses.
Questions?
Please contact Amy Ahart at ahart@theIBSC.org.
Facilitators
Tom Batty, executive director, IBSC
Chris Post, headmaster, The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland (United States)
Tom Batty
Educated in the United Kingdom and after a flirtation with financial services, Tom Batty headed south to start teaching in New Zealand at Thames High School. He commenced his career in boys’ education at St. Patrick’s College, Wellington (New Zealand) before heading to Australia above the Bondi waves at Waverley College (Australia).
Returning to the UK, Batty taught mathematics and served as a house master at Eton College (United Kingdom) before his appointment as the ninth principal of Scotch College, Melbourne (Australia) in 2008.
While at Eton he was introduced to the work of IBSC through Roxbury Latin School (United States) former Headmaster Tony Jarvis. Batty attended his first IBSC Annual Conference at Lindisfarne College (New Zealand) in 2009, and Scotch College hosted the 2012 IBSC Annual Conference. After the conference Batty joined the IBSC Board of Trustees, serving as chair from 2018–21.
Of his 35 years in education, he has spent 32 in boys’ schools. Across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, as teacher and most recently principal, and through courses, conferences, trips, tours, and friendships in the United States, South Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America, Batty has observed different cultural and systemic approaches to the common thread of growing good men.
He believes that by connecting boys’ schools and their teachers to all IBSC has to offer, IBSC connects schools, teachers, and boys to each other, advancing the cause of boys’ schools and those they serve.
Batty is interested in the relationship between the micro and the macro, the judgement that rests between awareness and action, the interface between social and economic enterprise, and parallels to mathematical pattern in the social world. He is married to Lee and they have two daughters, Poppy and Anna, both of whom, to differing degrees, share his lifelong passion for Brentford Football Club.
Batty started his tenure as IBSC executive director in 2022.
Chris Post
Beginning his tenure in 2008, Chris Post is the 14th headmaster of The Boys' Latin School of Maryland (United States), a K–12 day and boarding school for boys in Baltimore, Maryland. He has taught in and led boys' schools for 30 years.
Post’s relationship with Boys' Latin began in his final year of undergraduate studies when he served as an intern in the middle school. Watching master teachers engage boys in meaningful work helped him envision how relational teaching can transform the life of a young man. To this day that remains central to the work of Boys' Latin—forging enduring personal relationships that empower each boy to strive for academic and personal excellence. Post says returning to Boys’ Latin as headmaster has been the privilege and honor of a lifetime and that his experience with IBSC has been a bedrock for him and for his school.
His experience with IBSC began as a delegate to the 1997 IBSC Annual Conference at Landon School (United States), exploring the theme The Wonder of Boys. In a room full of educators from around the world who were passionate about boys and boys’ school, Post says, “I experienced the hospitality, curiosity, and collaboration that are hallmarks of IBSC. It drew me in, put me at ease, and encouraged my participation. Through this, it helped me find my home in boys’ schools.”
He first presented a workshop on the lessons of leadership at the 2002 IBSC Annual Conference hosted by Collegiate School (United States) in New York and has subsequently presented or facilitated workshops and programs for the coalition over the past 20 years. These efforts culminated in organizing and hosting the 2017 IBSC Annual Conference at Boys’ Latin in Baltimore to explore the theme Beyond Innovation.
Since 2015, Post has served as a trustee of IBSC. During his tenure he served as secretary of the board, led two strategic planning efforts, and in his three years as board chair, led the search to name a new executive director.
From 2003–08, Post served as principal of Loyola Blakefield, an all-boys Jesuit school in Baltimore, and he chaired the New Principals Academy for the Jesuit Secondary Education Association (now the Jesuit Schools Network of North America). He has also served as secretary of the Board of Trustees for the Association of Independent Schools of Maryland and Washington, DC (AIMS), and he is a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust (BEST).
Post earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and his graduate degree from Boston University. He and Amie, his wife, have three children and one young grandson, who has all the exuberance and energy of a model boys’ school student (someday). He and Amie live in Baltimore with their beloved, faithful doodle-dog companions, Lucy and Zeke.