9:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Speaker: Zakaria Sherbiny, Founder and Principal Coach, First Rodeo Coaching
Open to administrators in their first two years of leadership, this group coaching workshop will offer the opportunity to learn alongside your peers who are going through a similar professional transition. Facilitated by a certified executive coach.
Registration fee: $95 – lunch will be provided Registration can be completed here – select the First-Time Administrators Workshop Ticket.
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Registration / Exhibits Open | FOYER
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Keynote
Speaker: Jennifer Bryan, Founder, Re-Set School
For the past four years administrators, educators, and school communities have contended with a long list of challenges. The list itself (pandemic, structural racism, climate volatility, political upheaval) never feels complete nor does it fully capture the extremity and unpredictability of these many stressors. While the 2023 – 2024 school year brought some measure of relief and predictability, many students and adults continue to search for equilibrium and seek a sense of proportion and purpose. In our current quasi-unsettled condition––and with plenty of questions about all that lies ahead––centering well-being is both a practical and profound strategy for providing care, promoting learning, and fostering resilience in our educational communities. This interactive keynote will offer a holistic view of well-being and highlight the critical components for determining direction and meaning in your school.
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Break
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Breakouts
Speaker: Alex Koenig, Executive Director, AC Groups
Faculty and staff burnout is an ongoing and concerning problem facing both teachers and education systems. Teachers do not often think of themselves as caregivers. However, they tend to care for not only their students, but their partners, children, parents, friends, and colleagues. Caregivers, such as teachers, are at an increased risk for burnout and associated symptoms like depression. Resilience can help to buffer against burnout, but it needs to be fostered through meaningful relationships. Resilience is best promoted by ensuring well-being both at home and at work through ongoing dependable support people. In this session, learn strategies for how to foster authentic connections among faculty members.
Speaker: Jeff Edmonds, Assistant Head of High School for Academics, University School of Nashville
Speakers: Kristin Bouldin, 9th Grade Dean of Students, and Zay Kittredge, Upper School Counselor, Christ Church Episcopal School
Join this interactive session where we’ll delve into adapting our model for smoother transitions, especially between 8th and 9th grades. The emphasis will be on fostering acclimation, building a strong sense of community, and nurturing meaningful connections within schools. Through engaging small group discussions, participants will have the opportunity to collaborate, share insights, and brainstorm innovative strategies. It’s a chance to explore how our model can be tailored to optimize the transitional phases, creating a supportive environment and strengthening ties within the educational community.
Speaker: Blake Ware, Head of Upper School, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School
Autonomy is often overlooked in consideration of mental and emotional wellness. Understanding students and faculty as people needing healthy autonomy and discovering how the importance of autonomy can influence wellness has been the subject of interesting research, yet not often discussed in school settings. Incorporating peer-reviewed research and clinical best practice recommendations, this session will share what we’ve learned about autonomy and helpful communications with students’ families. We’ll also use this time to brainstorm how we might seek more healthy autonomy for our school communities.
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Reception | PATIO
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Breakfast Buffet | PATIO
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Exhibits Open | FOYER
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Speaker: Pascal Losambe, Chief Content Officer, Synergy Consulting Company
In an era where our schools face profound uncertainty, particularly with the 2024 election looming, educational institutions are seeking pathways to support students through transitions and empower them to thrive in the face of uncertainty. This session aims to equip educational leaders with strategies to guide young minds and become embodiments of anti-fragility. Through this lens, we will address how to navigate the uncertainties of the current socio-political climate, ensuring that our organizations not only adapt but also seize opportunities for growth and innovation.
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
10:30 AM – 11:45 AM
Speaker: Esohe Roland, Educator, Teacher Retention Specialist
This session will address the pressing issue of retaining educators within our educational system. It will delve into the challenges that schools face in keeping teachers, including burnout, lack of support, and inadequate resources, highlighting the crucial role that teachers play in shaping the minds of the next generation and emphasizing the need for concerted efforts to support and retain them. Drawing on research and real-life examples, the session underscores the importance of investing in teachers’ well-being, professional development, and work environment. Practical strategies and solutions for improving teacher retention, such as providing administrative support, reducing workload, producing effective mentorship programs, and fostering a culture of appreciation and respect within schools will be shared. Participants will be engaged with powerful anecdotes, statistics, and calls to action, compelling them to recognize the urgency of the teacher retention crisis and to commit to taking concrete steps to address it.
Speakers: Trish Bogdanchik, Head of Upper School; and Jared Colley, Head of Learning & Innovation, CBE Specialist; The Mount Vernon School
This session will guide educational leaders through using the school schedule to prioritize flexible and personalized learning strategies. We will present a case study of how the upper school at The Mount Vernon School promotes individualized learning paths by leveraging technology for adaptive education and fostering environments that cater to the unique needs and pace of each student. We will share actionable insights and practical tools for integrating student-centered approaches, including how to effectively use data to tailor instruction, strategies for incorporating student choice and voice, methods for creating flexible learning spaces, and how to adjust your schedule to maximize impact for your students based on your school’s mission and vision.
How often is the school counselor called in to “take care of” a problem that could (or should!) be addressed by someone else (teacher, coach, dorm parent, administrator, parent)? Under these circumstances, adopting a consulting framework enables you to be helpful without always taking on the responsibility of being the direct service provider. We will cover a few basic consulting principles and apply them to case scenarios. Bring your dilemmas, what’s left of your energy, and a sense of humor!
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM
Lunch Buffet | PATIO
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Speaker: Susan Perry, Associate Head of School for Wellness & Belonging, Forsyth Country Day School
People are a school’s most important resource. Designed with the identified needs of many educational leaders in mind, we will identify a specific polarity that can assist in navigating the highly relational context of receiving and offering feedback, which is essential, if we want to learn and grow, and to get the results that matter most as a professional. A guided discussion about the ways in which we hope to be seen in the workplace versus the ways we are often actually seen will be a focus of our small group work. Come prepared to engage in a lively opportunity to learn and reflect. Walk away with directly applicable tools that affirm, develop, and amplify the need for effective feedback that supports healthy culture and conversation, and the mission aligned qualities of our school communities.
Speaker: Evan Harris, President, Pathos Consulting Group
In this dynamic session, participants will be guided through a comprehensive exploration of AI integration in schools. A three-pronged approach will be showcased focusing on faculty development, staff automation, and student engagement. Participants will engage in targeted workshops: crafting AI-enhanced authentic assessments, reflecting on systemic change, and identifying automation opportunities. This session is designed to empower educational leaders with the knowledge and strategies to implement AI thoughtfully, fostering a culture of innovation and ethical practice in their institutions.
Speakers: Jennifer Baccus, Head of Lower School, & Erin Cole, Assistant Head of Lower School for Student Learning, Ravenscroft School
Changing your division’s curriculum can be a challenging and daunting task under normal circumstances, but how can you manage such change when the approaches to teaching and learning are polarized? In the wake of the “Reading Wars” and media spotlight on the Science of Reading, independent schools across the country are swiftly working to adjust their instructional approach to teaching literacy to align with current best practices. In this session, you will hear a first-hand account of how one school managed to collectively “shift gears” without stepping too hard on the gas and leaving key stakeholders behind. Curriculum leaders at Ravenscroft School will help you find your tribe, create a plan to move forward, and keep students at the center of your process – starts, sputters, and all.
Speakers: Suzanne Billips, Lower School Learning Support Coordinator & Learning Support Department Chair; Bridget Gwinnett, Upper School Counselor & Counseling Department Chair; Linda Register, Director of Health Services; Greensboro Day School
Supporting our students requires a whole-health focus. Learn how to structure a student support team that integrates counseling, learning support, the health center, and division leadership to address emotional, academic, physical, and behavioral needs of students. Topics covered will include:
Attendees will learn strategies for proactive collaboration among staff members, tips for communicating unified support plans to families, and program models for division-specific needs ranging from preschool through upper school.
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Speaker: Renée Prillaman, Coach & Consultant, Renée Prillaman Coaching & Consulting
As school leaders, we begin the school year with aspirational goals and zest for new horizons. Often, we sail right over those initial bumps in the road, but somewhere after those first months of school, a zinger we didn’t expect comes our way. Everything from a particularly challenging family to an unexpected teacher resignation to an all-school crisis threatens the fulfillment of those aspirational goals. It’s easy to lose our centered focus and feel overwhelmed when we look at the mounting demands and experience the thwarted expectations of what we wanted to accomplish. There are ways through the morass, though, and in this interactive workshop, we will explore strategies for returning to solid ground and a centered presence so that we can fulfill the goals and visions we embraced with such enthusiasm at the beginning of the year.
Speaker: Helen Kiser, Head of Lower School, Hammond School
Unlock trapped potential in your division by looking at traditional structures through a creative, design-thinking lens. Learn from the examples of one lower school division head how design thinking leadership led to achieving strategic goals over time. Learn about and experience how to use design thinking as a leader. We will identify solid traditions or foundations in our divisions worthy of an iteration and how to effectively design next steps. Practice the design process with your division or department in mind and take away resources, examples from the group, a potential plan to roll out your design, and greater confidence to achieve strategic goals creatively and successfully through design thinking leadership.
Speakers: Stephanie Dwyer, World Language Department Chair (PK-8), and Jennifer Ragsdale, Head of the Middle School, Randolph School
Creating a community that focuses on belonging has a direct impact on our students’ emotional well-being, sense of pride, and academic success. Learn how to foster a deep sense of belonging among students through the establishment of a house system. Discover how to create a house system and keep it sustainable, from two leaders who have seen 15 years of system success. Besides focusing on belonging, this session will also talk through ways to keep the house system student focused, and student led. Learn about the power of student leadership and how turning the house system over to the students has encouraged student ownership, accountability, responsibility, and school spirit. By nurturing a sense of belonging within the houses, schools can enhance overall student well-being, engagement, and school spirit.
Speaker: Jon Kleiman, School & District Partnership Manager, Challenge Success
In a high-stakes, high-pressure culture, parent and school expectations may have unintentional but damaging effects on students. Increasing demands on students may lead to unhealthy stress, resulting in burnout, disengagement, or debilitating physical and mental health symptoms. This workshop examines the tension that parents, students, teachers, and school counselors often experience over issues such as homework, grades, and the culture of competition, and offers tools for creating a healthier school climate.
8:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Speaker: Bradley James Davies, Founder, Falkor
Within a complex context where school communities are comprised of constituents from across all spectrums of thought, belief, and background, to be successful, leaders need to be the best listeners in the room. Moreover, when navigating the current, nuanced political environment, engaging with upset parents, and seeking to model civil discourse across the campus, leaders need to be tremendous listeners, next-level listeners. In this hands-on, interactive keynote, participants will learn and practice listening strategies and approaches. As a result, participants will emerge equipped with an understanding of a skill set strong enough to transform any school, organization, home, or relationship, and prepared to better honor challenging conversations, model civil discourse for child and adult alike, and navigate the multitude of competing priorities presented each day.
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Insatiable staff. Prickly parents. Board-head dynamics. Strained budgets. Another event to attend. A “few” emails to reply to. And that’s just a typical Tuesday. These days it is challenging to lead a school. Why? Considering the complexities and strong opinions associated with the current political and social landscape, the role of primary peacekeeper, and the torchbearer of civil discourse that school leaders now play is beyond difficult to master. It should be no surprise that more and more school leaders are struggling with the ever-expanding expectations and associated stressors of the role. As a result, legions of educational leaders are limping into work every day—or worse, walking away altogether. Neither option helps move the educational excellence needle in the right direction. And, school leader burnout isn’t just bad for schools, it is also bad for the school leader and their loved ones. But there is good news, great news, actually, with the appropriate wellness practices, approaches, and mindset in place, leading schools well while also honoring one’s well-being need not be as rare as a copy machine that never breaks down. In this part how-to and part how-not-to workshop, we will explore how to lead well without losing your way. Together we will reflect, laugh, and maybe even cry a bit.
Participants will emerge with the tactics and tools to ensure they remain well for themselves and their loved ones as they seek to do good on behalf of the students, families, and staff that they serve.
Speakers: Marc Frankel, Senior Consultant & Partner, and Judy Schechtman, Owner/Senior Consultant, Triangle Associates
Leading well is a daily challenge as expectations, needs, and unexpected demands often clash. In a time of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and fast-moving change, thriving necessitates flexibility and skill. Determining your strengths and marshaling them to move beyond the immediate into a thoughtful plan for how you lead is critical to your personal long-term sustainability. Self-care, boundary-setting, and modeling flexibility are critical skills that go beyond the day-to-day demands. Using concepts and tools from this session, you will be able to hold a more wholistic perspective on the critical nature of your work.
Speakers: Sarah Armstrong, Middle Learning Principal, and Candace Bell, Middle Learning Assistant Principal, The Galloway School
Most educators understand that for a student to experience success in the classroom, there needs to be a balance of effort and action by the student, the parents, and the school, hence…the three-legged stool. This concept starts with leadership and trickles down to the teachers, parents, and students. Through intentional and proactive communication and targeted parent events throughout the school year, school leaders can cultivate a school community that fully grasps this team approach and strengthen the school’s relationship with parents. In the end, the true gift is that through the intentionality and work of the adults, the students grow from their increased accountability and advocacy and from attending a school where they are seen, heard, known, and fully supported by their team: their school and family.
Speaker: Danielle Vallas, President, D&G Wellness Consulting
This session will explore some of the challenges school counselors are facing today. We will address seeing an increase of students with mental health needs, effective interventions to use at school, and communication strategies with parents. We will also discuss educating the faculty and staff about their own mental health, the mental health of the students, and how the counselors can take care of themselves during this trying time. Many school counselors report feeling overwhelmed and alone in their work. This workshop will be an opportunity for participants to connect with others in the field, leave the workshop with new tools for their toolbox, and feel inspired for the upcoming school year.
11:30 AM
Adjourn
