Henry Contant

Biography

Henry’s 46-year commitment to education began as a high school teacher and curriculum writer (first decade), then as a school principal (second decade), and director of development (third decade).  He then served as Executive Director of the Society of Christian Schools in British Columbia (SCSBC) for 12 years, retiring in 2015.  SCSBC is a group of 45 Christian schools, 15,000 students, 1000 teachers & support staff and 100 principals and assistant principals committed to working together in community. 

Henry remains passionate about school leadership development evidenced by his decade of involvement as a faculty member in the Christian Schools International Emerging Leader Development Institute (ELDI); an adjunct instructor teaching within Trinity Western University’s M.Ed. Leadership program since 2009; and joining Calvin University’s Van Lunen Center- Executive Management in Christian Schools faculty in 2014.  

For the past 37 years Henry has also served the Ministry of Education in British Columbia inspecting independent, faith-based, and offshore schools.   To date, he has inspected over 325 schools in British Columbia, China, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, and Thailand.  He has also worked for about 18 months among Christian schools in Australia and South Africa and has done consulting for Lutheran Schools, ACSI, CSI and Christian Education National, a national Christian School association in Australia.     

Serving on several boards including Christian Schools International, Christian Schools Canada, Federation of Independent School Associations-BC, Christian Stewardship Services and Dordt University (USA) has also shaped Henry’s perspective on board governance.  He continues to lead seminars and board retreats on Board Governance, School Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Parent Partnerships.  Henry has recently co-authored the book entitled Guiding Schools to Flourish: Board Governance and School Leadership first published by SCSBC in 2021.  

In order for schools to flourish, Henry believes a strategic visionary board and a healthy relationship between the Head of School and the School Board are paramount.  Henry sees his current work as one of supporting schools in their leadership journey towards faithful excellence in board governance and school leadership.