Wildwood School has become the first school in the nation to earn the Middle States Governance Mastery Endorsement, achieving the Platinum Standard—the program's highest level—for excellence in independent school governance.
Board of Trustees achieves Middle States' Platinum Standard, the highest level of recognition for excellence in independent school governance
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Wildwood School, a premiere K-12 college preparatory school in Los Angeles, has become the first school in the nation to earn the Governance Mastery Endorsement in Independent School Governance from the Middle States Association (MSA-CESS).
Wildwood earned the association's Platinum Standard endorsement, its highest level, recognizing the Board of Trustees' commitment to strong, effective, and mission-aligned governance.
The recognition comes during a significant period in Wildwood's history. Over the past year, the Board has helped guide a successful Head of School transition while advancing long-term campus planning and other strategic priorities.
"This recognition reflects the thoughtful, sustained work of our trustees and their deep commitment to Wildwood," said Head of School Matt Levinson. "Strong governance creates the conditions for a school to thrive. Wildwood's trustees have built clear systems for supporting school leadership, planning for the future, and keeping our mission at the center of decision-making. Our students and faculty benefit every day from that work."
A rigorous review of governance practices
As part of the endorsement process, Middle States evaluates independent school boards across five areas of governance: Culture & Identity, Governance, Infrastructure, Program, and Practices.
To earn the Platinum Standard, Wildwood's Board demonstrated mastery across all 18 strategic assets included in the framework, ranging from mission, bylaws, and trustee development to succession planning, financial oversight, risk management, and Head of School support and evaluation.
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 strongest, healthiest schools have the strongest, healthiest boards," said Christian Talbot, President of Middle States. "Wildwood's trustees have shown what excellence looks like as a whole system."
An investment in continuous improvement
The work began under former Head of School Landis Green, who helped initiate the Board's pursuit of the endorsement as part of its ongoing commitment to reflection and continuous improvement. The process asked trustees to closely examine not only the structures of governance, but also how the Board makes decisions, supports school leadership, and plans for Wildwood's future.
"Our trustees pursued this endorsement to hold ourselves to the same standard of excellence we expect for our students," said Susan Olsen, who served as Board Chair while Wildwood 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."
For Wildwood, the endorsement provides independent confirmation of a longstanding commitment to thoughtful stewardship and continuous improvement. It also reflects the critical role strong governance plays in supporting the school's mission to cultivate "reflective scholars, bold innovators and compassionate leaders equipped with the skills, ethics and inspiration to transform their world."
About Wildwood School
Wildwood School is a K-12 independent college preparatory school serving a diverse student body across two campuses in West Los Angeles. Wildwood's student-centered educational approach creates passionately inquisitive students who are reflective scholars, bold innovators, and compassionate leaders equipped with the skills, ethics, and inspiration to transform their world. Learn more at www.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 3300 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 www.msa-cess.org.
Media Contact
Hunter Hackett, Wildwood School, 1 2023742592, [email protected], www.wildwood.org
SOURCE Wildwood School
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