* Denotes session is being recorded.
8:00 AM-8:45 AM
Speaker: Grant Lichtman, Chief Provocateur, Future of K-12 Education
This session will be recorded.
The Wisdom Road journey provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel slowly, meander, and find, sit with, and listen to people with an extraordinary variety of life experiences. In a highly interactive session, Grant will facilitate the attendees in a mini-Wisdom Road experience, finding and listening to “the other” using a new protocol he has created that would help any organization see its members and the group in new ways. We will dive into the concept of diversity in ways that most of us have never thought about. We will also dive into the concepts of listening, civility, and civil discourse as attendees share their successes and frustrations about integrating these foundational skills into our daily school routine.
Speaker: Marsha Little, Senior Consultant; Director of Professional Learning & Development; Carney Sandoe & Associates
If you are like most school leaders, you spend much of your day participating in and leading meetings. How often do those gatherings feel purposeful, delightful, joyful, and productive? Do you leave overwhelmed or inspired? In this session, we will talk through the basics of structuring meetings consistent with the principles of adult learning, share tools for fostering emotional safety for participants, and think about how to leverage the unique strengths of your colleagues. Drawing on the work of Elena Aguilar and Priya Parker, in addition to experience as a school leader, leadership coach, and team coach, this session will provide practical tools that you can implement immediately. This will be a highly participatory session and should prove useful for any educator who wants to make the most of their time with the adults they lead.
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Speakers: – Patrick Schuermann, Founder, Strategic Compensation and Coaching Partners – Amber Stockham, Senior Director, HR Programs; NBOA
Independent schools are in the ultimate people business, with up to 80% of operating budgets devoted to salaries and benefits for the faculty and staff who deliver your mission every day. For this reason, a compensation system capable of attracting and retaining mission-driven employees is critically important to the health and stability of your school. Each school is unique, and the challenges and opportunities they face based upon their size, demographics and geography will all affect their compensation strategy.
This session will share the results of NBOA’s recent analysis of compensation systems within independent schools and explore the innovative ways schools are aligning their compensation systems with their missions and strategic priorities. Discover essential factors that must be considered when making changes to your school’s compensation and begin to explore the possibilities available to your school based upon your unique needs.
Speaker: Brink Fidler, President, Defend Systems
Multiple acts of violence have taken place in K-12 schools across the nation and around the world, and they continue to raise the issue of safety and security at educational institutions. While schools continue to be targeted, forward thinking school administrators are looking at safeguards that can be taken to protect our children. But what is truly effective? Utilizing specific case studies, details of truly effective violence mitigation strategies emerge. This workshop will explore ways to make existing facilities safer as well as how to: increase emergency preparedness, understand critical response, embrace lessons learned from tragedy, identify pre-attack indicators, retain actions that increase survivability, and more.
1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Speaker: Debra Wilson, President, NAIS
Join this engaging breakout session where we’ll delve into the trends shaping the workforce in independent schools. This session will provide analysis of current data and highlight key patterns and shifts within our industry.
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM
Speakers: – Nicole Hager, Director of School Partnerships, Authentic Connections – Nina Kumar, CEO, Authentic Connections – Susan Perry, Associate Head of School for Wellness & Belonging, Forsyth Country Day School
Results from surveys administered to over 120,000 students and 20,000 educators, including over 60,000 students and 10,000 educators at schools in the South, show that rates of clinically significant depression and anxiety among students continue to be concerning. Educators, as well, continue to struggle with high rates of burnout. In this workshop, we will describe the modifiable aspects of school life that are most closely tied to student and faculty well-being and underscore areas of strength and areas for improvement commonly found across schools. Specifically, we will explore how aspects of diversity, equity, and belonging, as well as other general aspects of school life, influence mental health. We will share how Forsyth Country Day School has used data collected from students and staff to implement wellness programming, and we will discuss best practices gleaned from schools that have succeeded in creating welcoming, supportive environments.
Speaker: Michael Ebeling, Head of School, Summit School
The single biggest variable in student success is the quality of our educators. How do we attract, hire, retain, and develop this precious resource? We are implementing a Highest Point of Contribution Map – a simple yet high impact approach we have developed (and continue to innovate on) to document qualitative data on each employee’s passions/interests/commitments, skill sets, and community networks/connections in the service of our strategic priorities. Development and implementation of the model itself are specified in our strategic priorities, so not only are our faculty, staff, and administration aware of the model, they are instrumental in making the most of it. We believe the model can easily be adapted to any school or organization.
4:30 PM – 5:15 PM
Speakers: – Sam Borkovic, Director of Student Athlete Well-Being, Ravenscroft School – Kendra Varnell, Associate Head of School for Student Affairs, Ravenscroft School
During this workshop, you will learn about Ravenscroft School’s institutional structure centered on student well-being. We believe physical, psychological, and emotional development is deeply intertwined with intellectual growth. Guided by this value, the associate head for student affairs oversees a team of strategically placed clinicians and health providers throughout the organization. The importance of a systematic approach to well-being was further solidified following increased student mental health needs from 2020-2022. Rooted in early identification and prevention strategies, our model aims to equip all members within the community, including students, families, and employees, to support the well-being of students and guide them to appropriate resources. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in case study scenarios, handbook policies, and institutional procedures that showcase our clinical services. Participants will leave with an understanding of this framework and steps for implementation.
8:00 AM – 8:45 AM
Speakers: – Michelle Bostian, Consultant, NCAIS – Stephanie Keaney, Executive Director, NCAIS
How often do you find yourself in the position of needing to “coach” an employee? Do you ever feel like you are working harder than your employee for their success? How effective are you really when it comes to inspiring action and accountability? This workshop will equip your toolbox with some essential skills you need to have the desired impact with employees. In this fast-paced session, learn the skills of presence, inquiry, discovery, and accountability-to-action that executive coaches leverage for success.
Speaker: Anna Moore, Head of School, The Howard School
In today’s fast-paced world, student anxiety is a growing concern that impacts academic performance, social interactions, and overall well-being. This breakout session is designed to equip independent school leaders with practical strategies for addressing student anxiety through effective parent partnerships.
