The Experience

Two and a Half Days. 90 Days of coaching. A Network That Continues.

Every engagement is designed around the specific challenges of higher education leadership — not adapted from corporate frameworks, but built from the ground up for provosts, deans, and chief academic officers.

CAO Academy — Learn. Align. Execute.

your experience includes:

Two-Day CAO Academy

Immersive executive learning & facilitated peer consultation.

Hotel + Meals

Hotel accommodations and all meals during the Academy are included.

Tools + Materials

Practical frameworks and resources designed for immediate district application through your personalized digital workbook.

90 Days of 1:1 Coaching

Dedicated individual coaching to help translate Academy learning into executive action.

CAO Fellows Network

Ongoing access to a national community of academic executives and peer Fellows.

01

cao academy cohort learning

Concentrated immersive days of executive learning, problem-solving, and application. Return to your system with action plans ready to execute as soon as you're back.

CAO Academy was built specifically to support CAOs and other Executive Teaching and Learning leaders by strengthening the leadership capacity to sustain systemic change. We focus on the work that increasingly sits with academic leaders beyond instructional expertise itself: systems leadership, organizational alignment, data-informed decision making, execution, and developing other leaders.

  • Clarify your instructional vision, priorities, and approach
  • Develop strategies for managing up, across, and down
  • Build confidence in high-stakes decision-making

Format

2 and 1/2 Days onsite with a limited access cohort of peers from across the nation.

Ideal for

Chief Academic Officers, Associate/Assistant Superintendents, Principal Supervisors, and Executive Directors

02

Executive coaching

90 days of executive coaching by experts who have been in your position and are trained in executive coaching methods.

Facilitated strategy work that moves your academic agenda from vision to disciplined execution across the system.

  • Build coherence across academic departments
  • Translate strategy into actionable implementation plans
  • Align schools and staff around shared academic priorities

Format

Virtual sessions and on-demand support

Ideal for

Individual coaching and virtual team development workshops

03

cao fellows membership

A national community of executive academic leaders who continue learning, collaborating, and solving problems together.

Structured development for academic leadership teams — building shared language, trust, and collective capacity to lead.

  • Establish shared norms and decision-making frameworks
  • Improve communication and conflict resolution
  • Develop distributed leadership capacity across the team

Format

Virtual sessions and peer-to-peer connections

Ideal for

Perspectives beyond your system, confidential problem solving, and those seeking a true instructional network

our executive arc

Learn. Align. Execute.

01

Learn

We begin with deep listening — understanding your institution's history, culture, and the specific challenges you are navigating.

02

Align

We work with you to build shared understanding and commitment across your leadership team before moving to action.

03

Execute

We support disciplined implementation — turning strategy into concrete action with clear accountability and measurable outcomes.

"
“The strongest executive leaders don't lead from a distance. They stay connected to schools, listen to the people doing the work, and use what they learn to make better system-level decisions.”

Shameka Washington

Chief Administrative Officer, Berkeley County School District

Come for the Academy. Leave as a Fellow. Stay for the Network.

Ready to strengthen your institution?

Individual Leader: $6,500 District Team of Three: $18,000