2023 Fundamentals Conference | Schedule

Speaker: Stephanie Rogen, Principal & Founder, Greenwich Leadership Partners

Pre-work: Leadership Self-Assessment and Reflection (to be shared later)

Building on your pre-work, each participant will work through a guided reflection to first center their leadership on their values, intentions, and developmental needs. We will then explore the intersection of the essential mindsets, abilities, and behaviors of effective leadership, the evolving demands facing independent schools, and the practical experiences we need to focus on in order to thrive, serve, and succeed – so you can build a plan!

Learning outcomes:

• Deeper understanding of our leadership preferences, strengths, and blindspots
• Clear intentions for leadership growth grounded in the practical realities of leading schools
• A road map for our work over the next two days and beyond

Speaker: Debra Wilson, President, SAIS

Risk management and a basic understanding of key legal issues are two areas that all school leaders need to understand. What is risk management and what are the key liability areas schools should be thinking about? How do you know where there is “liability,” and how do you address it without bubble wrapping your school? We will tackle these issues and provide participants with ways to proactively think about risks and understand some of the more frequent legal issues that arise in schools.

Speaker: Palmer Ball, President, Palmer Ball Consulting

This overview of independent school finance will address budgets, financial aid, net tuition revenue, general financial and miscellaneous information, tips and recommendations, benchmarking, and more. We’ll try to avoid getting too much in the weeds and focus on the big picture of schools and explain all the things you haven’t understood or have wondered why it was done that way!

Participants will gain:

• Familiarity with independent school finance
• Knowledge about budget drivers
• Knowledge about net tuition revenue, inflation for schools (HEPI), etc.

Speakers: DuBose Egleston, Head of School, and Ken Hyde, Director of Admission and Enrollment, Porter-Gaud School

We will discuss the strategic partnership of the admissions office with the head of school and it’s role in fulfilling the mission of the school.

Participants will understand:

• The head of school role in enrollment management
• What admissions office needs from the school administration
• The joint partnership in supporting the board of trustees

Speakers: Penny Abrahams, Senior Consultant & Advancement Department Head, and Phil Higginson, Consultant, ISM

Does this sound familiar? Your school’s board has just approved an exciting – yet ambitious – strategic plan. Yet, the operating budget is insufficient to pay for all the desired programs, facilities, and initiatives. How, then, to turn these dreams into reality? The answer lies with philanthropy.

This interactive session will explore how to translate your strategic plan into fundraising priorities. We will discuss how to identify the right type of fundraising effort for each element of your plan and how to develop a philanthropic menu of items to share with prospective donors. You’ll gain an understanding of the link between strategic plans, master plans, and endowment master plans. In addition, you’ll have the chance to immediately put what you learn to work as you engage in a strategic conversation with a colleague.

Participants will:

• Discover how to translate your school’s strategic plan into fundraising priorities
• Understand the differences between strategic plans, master plans, and endowment master plans
• Apply what you learn through a strategic conversation with a colleague

Speaker: Sonja Taylor, Assistant Head for Academic Affairs, Charlotte Latin School

The equity and inclusion landscape is ever-evolving. Therefore, the most effective independent school leaders are consistently working to build their own cultural proficiency and create a culture of belonging within their schools. This session will explore how current and aspiring independent school leaders can promote the best practices in equity, inclusion, and belonging (EIB) in the classroom and the broader school community.

Learning outcomes:

• Reflect on one’s personal readiness for EIB work
• Demystify the places and spaces where EIB work belongs within schools
• Identify one or more action steps to positively influence your school setting

Speaker: Chris Lukach, CEO, AKCG – Public Relations Counselors

Even as independent schools have resumed typical activities in a post-pandemic environment, community relations have become increasingly strained over the past several years – in some cases, downright fractured. Moreover, the call for increased social justice from families has forced school leaders into a heightened — and for some, new — role as advocates. During this session, participants will be guided through a presentation and exercise simulating a community mired in discontent, exploring practical ways in which schools are transforming their communications programs to deepen engagement and rebuild community bonds during times of upheaval.

Participants will:

• Learn practical ways in which they can navigate challenging interactions with their communities
• Learn to redefine the concept of success in community relations in 2023
• Understand the process through which schools evaluate, consider, and address burgeoning crises

Speaker: Georgy Ann Peluchiwski, Partner, Greenwich Leadership Partners

The landscape for independent schools is increasingly complex and uncertain and many opportunities and challenges that lie ahead resist simple or ready-made solutions. Adaptive boards and leaders don’t have all the answers, but they know how to ask the right questions – and they are transforming governance and the traditional school-board partnership. While there is no one right way to organize, strategy can provide a powerful context for adaptive leadership, aligning leaders. Through the development of a shared vision for the school, they can focus on intentional, inquiry-driven dialogue as a pathway to successful decision-making. Together we will consider new frameworks, practices, and structures to support doing the work that matters most.

Participants will leave with:

• A new framework for adaptive leadership and governance
• A deeper understanding of strategy as a critical context for leadership and governance work
• Tools and frameworks to guide the process at school

Speakers: Glyn Cowlishaw, Head of School, Providence Day School, and Derrick Willard, Head of School, Augusta Preparatory Day School

This session, led by a “real life” mentor-mentee pair, will involve a deep dive into the head’s role in cultivating leaders within the organization and for the larger profession. Attendees will leave with strategies for assuming or assigning sponsor, mentor, or coach roles within their sphere of influence.

Learning outcomes:

• A complete understanding of the difference between sponsors, mentors, and coaches
• Strategies for assuming or assigning sponsor, mentor, or coach roles within their sphere of influence
• Information on the International Coaching Federation

Speakers: Stephanie Rogen, Principal & Founder, & Georgy Ann Peluchiwski, Partner, Greenwich Leadership Partners

Our closing session is a capstone to the two days of reflection, learning, and relationship building. We will participate in a final guided reflection to assess progress, identify new insights or understandings, and revise or recommit to intentions for leadership development.

Learning outcomes:

• Practical skills for reflection and self assessment
• Articulation of new knowledge or skills acquired and/or needed
• Next level goals for leadership development

Working independently and in cohorts, participants will consolidate their learning and conference experience to build an actionable plan to guide their work upon returning to school.

Learning outcomes:

• Practical and personal planning skills
• Strategies for ensuring accountability, feedback, and support
• New insights/knowledge/resources for self-directed leadership development