Wildwood School Board of Trustees Becomes First in the Nation to Earn Middle States’ Governance Mastery Endorsement

Los Angeles school’s board earns the Platinum Standard, the endorsement’s highest level.

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES, October 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Wise change in independent schools begins in the board room. Today, the Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools announced that the Board of Trustees of Wildwood School in Los Angeles is the first board in the nation to earn the Governance Mastery Endorsement in Independent School Governance. Wildwood earned the Platinum Standard, the highest of the endorsement’s three levels.

Wildwood’s trustees completed the endorsement while managing both a head of school transition and advancing campus planning. This is exactly the kind of high-stakes school change Governance Mastery helps boards navigate with clarity and confidence.

Wise change means improving schools thoughtfully, deliberately, and in service of mission. Boards have a central and crucial role in moving such change forward to meet the many demands on 21st century schools.

“The strongest, healthiest schools have the strongest, healthiest boards,” said Christian Talbot, the President of Middle States. “Yet 38% of independent school accreditation visiting teams cite the need for stronger governance fundamentals. Wildwood’s trustees have shown what excellence looks like as a whole system, which you can’t accomplish with a single annual retreat.”

Most boards invest in governance through an annual training or attending a governance conference. These experiences are valuable, but they rarely produce lasting change on their own. Governance Mastery takes a different approach. It is both:

— An implementation framework that helps boards adopt research-based best practices across five layers of their governance system: Culture & Identity, Governance, Infrastructure, Program, and Practices; and
— A public credential that gives families, faculty, donors, and accreditors independent, third-party confirmation of a board’s excellence.

Boards choose the level they want to achieve: Silver, Gold, or Platinum. A team of at least three leaders, including the Head of School and Board Chair, begins with a design sprint to draft strategic assets such as a Profile of the Ideal Trustee, a Head Support & Evaluation Model, and a Shared Point of View Statement on Change. The team then works with the full board to refine those assets for Middle States review. Most boards can complete the process in three months, and subsequently receive two full years of support.

Governance Mastery is open to any independent school board, whatever the school’s accreditor. Wildwood, for example, is accredited by WASC.

Wildwood School’s results are a testament to the board’s commitment to excellence. The Platinum Standard requires all 18 strategic assets in the framework, from mission and bylaws to succession plans, a risk matrix, and quarterly financial monitoring. Wildwood’s board met the standard on every one.

Middle States reviewers singled out three Wildwood practices as exemplary:

— A Profile of the Ideal Trustee paired with a signed, one-page Trustee Covenant, which the board uses for both recruitment and ongoing trustee development.
— Conflict of interest declarations that reviewers called the strongest they have seen.
— A “no surprises” annual timeline for supporting and evaluating the Head of School, with data tied directly to school priorities.

The work began under Landis Green, who led Wildwood for 19 years through June 2026 and guided the board through the endorsement process.

“At the encouragement of our former Head of School, Landis Green, our trustees pursued this endorsement to hold ourselves to the same standard of excellence we expect for our students,” said Susan Olsen, Wildwood’s Board Chair at the time the board undertook the endorsement process. “The process pushed every member of our board to examine how we make decisions and why. We are proud to be the first board to complete this work, and we are even prouder of the stronger board we built along the way.”

“A great partnership between a head and a board does not happen by accident,” offered Matt Levinson, Wildwood’s current Head of School. “Wildwood’s trustees have built clear systems for supporting school leadership, planning for the future, and staying grounded in our mission. Our students and faculty benefit every day from that work.”

For Wildwood families, the endorsement confirms that the school’s trustees govern with discipline, foresight, and fidelity to Wildwood’s mission: “to cultivate reflective scholars, bold innovators, and compassionate leaders equipped with the skills, ethics, and inspiration to transform their world.”

In April 2026, The Edward E. Ford Foundation awarded Middle States a grant to support the Endorsement in Governance Mastery. A national advisory team guides the program: Amber Berry, VP of AI & Strategy, Middle States; Bethany DiNapoli, Executive Director, ISCA; John Gulla, Executive Director, The Edward E. Ford Foundation; Ayanna Hill-Gill, President, ADVIS; Diego Merino, Search Consultant, RG175; Amanda Riegel, CEO, Excelle; Christian Talbot, President, Middle States; and Debra Wilson, President, NAIS.

Independent school boards interested in pursuing the endorsement can contact governance@msa-cess.org.

About Wildwood School

Founded in 1971, Wildwood School is a progressive, independent K-12 day school serving 638 students on two campuses in West Los Angeles. Wildwood is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), and is a founding member of the Mastery Transcript Consortium. Learn more at wildwood.org.

About the Middle States Association

Since 1887, the Middle States Association has served as a gold standard in K-12 accreditation. Middle States includes over 3,300 accredited member schools in more than 115 countries. It is the only accreditor to offer endorsements for independent school boards of trustees (Governance Mastery) and artificial intelligence (Responsible AI in Learning). Middle States’ purpose is to inspire wise change in schools. Learn more at msa-cess.org.

Carolyn Gilberti
Middle States Association
+1 267-262-8777
cgilberti@msa-cess.org
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