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Roles and Responsibilities for:
Board of Trustees
Individual Trustees of the Board of Trustees
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Director
Board of Trustees
The Board is the guardian of Hong Kong Academy's Mission. It is the Board's responsibility to ensure that the Mission is relevant and vital to the community it serves and to monitor the success of Hong Kong Academy in fulfilling its Mission. As such, it is hereby understood and agreed that it is the role and responsibility of the Board of Trustees of Hong Kong Academy to:
1. Guide the school's long-term strategy;
2. Establish strategic goals for the school and to supervise the Director's ability to successfully achieve those goals;
3. Be responsible for the monitoring of organizational and managerial performance, ensuring appropriate stewardship of Hong Kong Academy's financial resources as well as it's ability to execute its' Mission;
4. Adopt a clear statement of the schools' mission, vision, and strategic goals, and to establish policies and plans consistent with this statement;
5. Review and maintain appropriate bylaws that conform to legal requirements, including duties of loyalty, obedience, and care;
6. Assure the school community that the school and the board operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, minimizing exposure to legal action;
7. Create and maintain a conflict of interest policy that is reviewed with, and signed by, individual trustees annually;
8. Recognize that it's primary work and focus are long range and strategic;
9. Undertake formal strategic planning on a periodic basis, set annual goals related to the plan, and conduct annual written evaluations for the school, the school Director, and the Board itself;
10. Accept accountability for both the financial stability and the financial future of the institution, engaging in strategic financial planning, assuming primary responsibility for the preservation of capital assets and endowments, and overseeing operating budgets and fundraising activities;
11. Select, support, nurture, evaluate and set appropriate compensation for the school's Director;
12. Keep full and accurate records of its meetings, committees, and policies;
13. Be transparent and honest to the Hong Kong Academy community, and to communicate its decisions widely, while keeping its deliberations confidential and to respect the confidentiality of individuals and matters as appropriate;
14. Ensure that appointed board members reflect the strategic expertise, resources, perspectives (past, present and future) needed to achieve the Mission and strategic objectives of the school;
15. Work to ensure that all board members are actively involved in the work of the Board and it's committees;
16. Ensure that as the leader of the school community, the board engages proactively with the Director in cultivating and maintaining good relations with school constituents as well as the broader community and exhibits best practices relevant to equity and justice and a commitment to the Founding Principles of the school;
17. Be committed to a program of professional development that includes annual new Trustee orientation, ongoing Trustee education and evaluation, and Board leadership succession planning;
Individual Trustee of the Board of Trustees
The following principles of good practice are set forth to provide a common perspective on the responsibilities of individual members of Hong Kong Academy's Board of Trustees. As such, it is hereby understood and agreed that it is the role and responsibility of the individual Trustee on the Board of Trustees of Hong Kong Academy to:
1. Actively support and promote the school's mission, vision, strategic goals, core values and policy positions;
2. Be knowledgeable about the school's mission and goals, including its commitment to the Founding Principles, and represents them appropriately and accurately within the community;
3. Stay fully informed about current operations and issues by attending meetings regularly, coming to meetings well prepared, and participating fully in all matters;
4. Understand and accept that the Board sets policy and focuses on long range and strategic issues. An individual Trustee does not become involved directly in specific management, personnel, or curricular issues;
5. Take care to separate the interests of the school from the specific needs of a particular individual, group or constituency;
6. Accept and support Board decisions. Once a decision has been made, the Board speaks with one voice;
7. Keep all Board deliberations confidential;
8. Guard against conflict of interest, whether personal or business related, whether perceived or real;
9. Accept the responsibility to support the school and its Director and to demonstrate the support within the community;
10. Accept that authority is vested in the Board as a whole. A Trustee who learns of an issue of importance to the school has the obligation to bring it to the Director of the school, or the Board Chair, and must refrain from responding to the situation individually;
11. Contribute to the development program of the school, including strategic planning for development and financial support;
12. Accept that each Trustee, not just the Treasurer and Finance Committee, has fiduciary responsibility to the school for sound financial judgment;
Chair of the Board of Trustees
The following principles of good practice are set forth to provide a common perspective on the responsibilities of the Chair of Hong Kong AcademyÕs Board of Trustees. As such, it is hereby understood and agreed that it is the role and responsibility of the Chair of the Board of Trustees on the Board of Trustees of Hong Kong Academy to:
1. Take the lead in areas of Board leadership and management. The Director, serving as equivalent of the school's Chief Executive officer, takes the lead in curriculum, school operations, etc. As a team, the Chair and the Director model a leadership partnership in action;
2. Speak for the Board unless the task is delegated to someone else for a specific purpose;
3. To accept the responsibility of representing the Board, which is the school's ultimate authority;
4. Serve as the leader and manager of the Board and ensure the following:
a. The Board operates in a manner that is both efficient and effective;
b. The Board does not micromanage;
c. Agendas for the Board and committee meetings are developed in consultation with the Director and sent out in a timely manner;
d. The Board observes proper channels of communication and respects confidentiality;
e. Issues are researched as appropriate and considered in a thoughtful manner;
f. All discussions are open, purposeful, and on point;
5. Ensure that the annual Board self-assessment and the evaluation of the Chair take place;
6. For appointees to the Board the Chair participates in the process of Trustee selection and ensures that the Director also has an opportunity to participate and to review potential candidates and officers;
7. Ensure that incoming Trustees are welcomed and provided with an appropriate orientation to the Board and its operational procedures;
8. Organize the Board and the Standing Committees to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency;
9. The Chair, with the Director and Finance Committee, provides formal oversight and direction to the management of the school's finances, resource management, and business operations;
10. When giving up leadership of the board, the Chair involves his / her successor in ensuring a smooth transition;
11. Accept responsibility as disciplinarian of the Board when necessary, are willing to help counsel unproductive, disruptive, and counterproductive Trustees of the board.
Director
The following principles of good practice are set forth to provide a common perspective on the responsibilities of the Director of Hong Kong Academy. The Director's responsibilities are specifically stated in his/her contract with Hong Kong Academy and further amplified in annual goal setting as put forward by the Board. The Director is the professional, institutional, and educational leader of the school and he/she is authorized to oversee all administration. In addition, the following are put forward to further clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Director vis-à-vis those of the Board of Trustees. As such, it is hereby understood and agreed that it is the role and responsibility of the Director of Hong Kong Academy to:
1. Ensure that the Board's policies are implemented via administrative procedures;
2. Be in charge of day-to-day operations of the school;
3. Be responsible for keeping the Chair updated on school operations and critical issues through regular formal reports, frequent conversations, and in a number of informal ways;
4. Share with the Chair the responsibility for maintaining an effective working relationship between and among themselves and the Board;
5. Plan and implement strategies for the ongoing growth and development of the school;
6. Provide strong leadership skills for the development and implementation of school-wide policies, processes, and procedures in education, financial management, and community relations;
7. Work effectively with all groups in the school community to build community spirit and involvement;
8. Lead and manage the development of school facilities and resources;
9. Recruit, retain and inspire talented teachers and administrators;
10. Oversee and support the development of a standards-based curriculum in line with the Founding Principles of the school
11. Supervise the implementation and development of an effective technology program in line with the school's vision and beliefs regarding technology;
12. Develop support for the school and its programs, through the promotion of the school's mission and beliefs;
13. Develop a strategic plan in conjunction with the Board and oversee the implementation of the plan;
14. Oversee the CIS/WASC accreditation and IB authorization process;
15. Provide leadership in assessment and development of the instructional program;
16. Manage the daily operation of the educational program and facility;
17. Develop academic metrics to evaluate the school's performance against standards and develop corrective action plans to address areas where performance does not meet standards;
18. Ensure that leading edge educational thought and practices are sought out and implemented;
19. Develop staffing plans that support and build the school's programs;
20. Directly supervise and evaluate other school leadership personnel and specialist teaching personnel. Provide, maintain and oversee appropriate evaluations for faculty, administration and staff;
21. Develop community service and community outreach programs;
22. Pro-actively support advanced professional study/development for all staff including direct links with tertiary institutions;
23. Oversee the scheduling of personnel;
24. Maintain open and consistent communication with the school community, and other constituencies with an interest in HKA;
25. Act as the key spokesperson for the educational programs of HKA, locally, nationally and internationally;
26. Establish and maintain a program of public information to facilitate a positive, productive and cooperative working relationship between all members of the
HKA community and the larger community;
27. Oversee the physical plant of the school and be responsible for issues related to teacher housing, teacher registration and visas;
28. Work with the Board of Trustees to regularly assess the plan to meet the school's future needs;
29. Develop and maintain an ongoing facility usage/development plan that supports and enhances the school's programs;
30. Oversee development of annual budget for approval by the Board of Trustees;
31. Ensure that sound fiscal practices together with efficient and effective allocation of resources are applied in every aspect of school expenditure;
32. Ensure that school policies are effectively monitored and enforced;
33. Identify areas where new policies are required or existing policies need revision, and develop policy for Board of Trustees approval;
34. Advise the Board of Trustees on all matters that are relevant to the smooth operation of the school;
35. Work with the Board of Trustees to develop a long-term capital improvement plan;
36. Work with the Board of Trustees to develop guidelines and procedures for a scholarship program;
37. Operate as the Executive Officer of the school, appointed by the Board;
38. Oversee admission of students in line with the Founding Principles of the school;
39. Oversee discipline of students with a sensitivity to the Founding Principles of the school;
40. Assume other duties assigned by the Board of Trustees.