Jenifer Fox Disclosure Statement
As an educator I wear two hats. I am
the President of the Purnell School, where I
have been under contract continuously since
2003. I also do public speaking, based on my
second career as the author of a book,
Your Child's
Strengths, and as a leader and spokesperson
for the educational reform effort known as the
Strengths Movement. Over the past four or five
years, I have given talks to corporations,
conventions of one sort or another, schools
think tanks, etc. For some of those
engagements, I have been paid. In receiving
payment, I also return funds in the form of
charitable giving to Purnell School. My
contributions, made public in the school's
Annual Report, demonstrate my unwavering
commitment to the mission of the school as I am
one of the top ten donors to the annual
campaign of the school. Additionally, a large
portion of my (meager) estate has been
designated as a planned gift to the school.
Purnell also enjoys a free home on the
Strengths Movement Island in Second Life as per
my personal donation.
Most of the time, my two hats complement each other. It was because of my work as the President of Purnell that I was able to get a contract to write my book. It is because of my book that I have gotten speaking engagements, and it is, in part, because of my books and my speaking that some people have discovered and supported Purnell School. But I recognize that there is also the possibility that these two roles can come into conflict, as is always the case when someone has to serve two different constituencies. This note is an attempt to talk about that possibility, and to think through its implications. I take both my roles seriously and want to approach with equal integrity and transparency.
The majority of my time and effort is given to my job at the Purnell School. I have a contract with the Purnell School which includes targets to raise a certain number of endowment dollars each year. The school is young and while it is unique, it has not raised the funding needed to survive in perpetuity. With revenue streams at maximum, I was faced with developing a plan to bring needed extra attention to the school. The Strengths Movement was the perfect fit, combining my passions with a real and natural curricular fit for the school.
Since joining Purnell, I have twice taken my vacation time to travel on an extensive book tour. As the tour with Marcus Buckingham in March of 2006 did, my tour for Your Child's Strengths in March of 2008 will occur during a interim time known as Project Exploration and will coincide with the school's spring break. Both the book and the Affinities Program were written during my vacation time. My contract with Purnell School is not a top paying Head position. My contract negotiations included retaining copyrights and trade and service marks for any the Affinities Program and everything invented and trademarked or copyrighted for it. Purnell enjoys lifetime perpetual licensing to use all these programs and curricula.
As you will see, most things on the website are open source and free. My aim is to deliver as much content free of charge to as many people as possible while advancing the Strengths Movement. My goals and my intentions are to change the way we educate children. My views begin as apolitical and any political associations made to these views are without my intention and cannot be associated with Purnell School. That said, I do have my own political views, and those views, as well as my overall educational views are not the implicit philosophies or views of Purnell School. Purnell School is an independent, not-for-profit school governed by a Board of Directors. Any financial decision I may have to make where there could be an overlap between my and the school's interests is also fully examined by a member of the Purnell Board. My intention is to have both the Strengths Movement and Purnell be successful, as well as for me to be healthy and secure enough to continue to lead both at a high level of commitment and engagement.
Most of my speaking engagements are given for free with the hosts paying for travel expenses. Over the past five or six years, I have also occasionally given paid speeches. This is not unusual. Writers have become, in the past few years, regulars on the speaking circuit. A number of independent school educators are represented by speaking agents. I am one of them.
Most of the time, my two hats complement each other. It was because of my work as the President of Purnell that I was able to get a contract to write my book. It is because of my book that I have gotten speaking engagements, and it is, in part, because of my books and my speaking that some people have discovered and supported Purnell School. But I recognize that there is also the possibility that these two roles can come into conflict, as is always the case when someone has to serve two different constituencies. This note is an attempt to talk about that possibility, and to think through its implications. I take both my roles seriously and want to approach with equal integrity and transparency.
The majority of my time and effort is given to my job at the Purnell School. I have a contract with the Purnell School which includes targets to raise a certain number of endowment dollars each year. The school is young and while it is unique, it has not raised the funding needed to survive in perpetuity. With revenue streams at maximum, I was faced with developing a plan to bring needed extra attention to the school. The Strengths Movement was the perfect fit, combining my passions with a real and natural curricular fit for the school.
Since joining Purnell, I have twice taken my vacation time to travel on an extensive book tour. As the tour with Marcus Buckingham in March of 2006 did, my tour for Your Child's Strengths in March of 2008 will occur during a interim time known as Project Exploration and will coincide with the school's spring break. Both the book and the Affinities Program were written during my vacation time. My contract with Purnell School is not a top paying Head position. My contract negotiations included retaining copyrights and trade and service marks for any the Affinities Program and everything invented and trademarked or copyrighted for it. Purnell enjoys lifetime perpetual licensing to use all these programs and curricula.
As you will see, most things on the website are open source and free. My aim is to deliver as much content free of charge to as many people as possible while advancing the Strengths Movement. My goals and my intentions are to change the way we educate children. My views begin as apolitical and any political associations made to these views are without my intention and cannot be associated with Purnell School. That said, I do have my own political views, and those views, as well as my overall educational views are not the implicit philosophies or views of Purnell School. Purnell School is an independent, not-for-profit school governed by a Board of Directors. Any financial decision I may have to make where there could be an overlap between my and the school's interests is also fully examined by a member of the Purnell Board. My intention is to have both the Strengths Movement and Purnell be successful, as well as for me to be healthy and secure enough to continue to lead both at a high level of commitment and engagement.
Most of my speaking engagements are given for free with the hosts paying for travel expenses. Over the past five or six years, I have also occasionally given paid speeches. This is not unusual. Writers have become, in the past few years, regulars on the speaking circuit. A number of independent school educators are represented by speaking agents. I am one of them.