Leadership Letter
Friday, November 21, 2025
Happy Holiday!
First, thank you to the more than twenty facility and operation leaders who attended last Friday’s DMV Independent School Alliance Meeting at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. Most important, thank you to our host Shelton Higgins & his team for the gracious hospitality. The historic campus looks dynamite, Shelton. It was a treat.
For the half dozen new directors arriving on various campuses, four of whom were in attendance last week, the intention of the Alliance is to share with contemporaries on other independent school campuses best practices and common purpose.
Welcome and thanks for all that you do!
Returning to our next meeting, Elizabeth Barnes at Our Lady of Good Counsel will host the next meeting, which is slated for Friday, February 6, 2026, from 11 am-1 pm. We will send an additional notice as the date approaches. In the meantime, save it — and thank you, Elizabeth.
Open Forum Discussion:
- Staffing- growing teams, developing culture, recruitment & retention
- Facilities staff professional development training and cross training
- With severed spikes in cost, further discuss incentives to manage campus electricity and natural gas. Balancing peak days, while managing energy consumption throughout the year
Our Lady Of Good Counsel
Elizabeth Barnes
Executive Director Business Operations
Friday, February 6, 2026, from 11 am-1 pm
17301 Old Vic Blvd
Olney, MD 20832
Olney, MD 20832
Lunch provided by Boland
For more than sixty years, Boland has provided sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings. The leading intelligent building technology and energy services provider in the DMV, and our more than four hundred highly-trained associates include 160 CFC certified, 9 PE (Professional Engineer), 9 CEM (Certified Energy Manager), and 11 LEED® Accredited Professionals. We are proud to be an ENERGY STAR® Product and Services Provider, and the exclusive Trane Commercial Systems, Services, and Solutions representative in the region.
Safe travels!
Neal Helm Program Chair |