JANUARY 2025 SIGNALS

Hello there! Happy 2025.

While this is not the beginning of the year for us educators, it is a moment where we begin to plan for the following year — re-enrollment & tuition, admissions, staff contracts, course registration, schedules, and much more. Quite often, there is little room for strategic thinking and capacity-building. Yet, we are caught between the pressures of what’s urgent and what’s truly important.

Looking for a way to gain clarity in the messiness? With your team, consider utilizing the Urgency Matrix, a framework from the Actionable Futures Toolkit that can help prioritize and navigate competing demands.

• Outline possible future projects, initiatives, or scenarios that are key to your school’s vision. These are the futures you believe have the highest potential to shape your school’s direction, growth, and standing in your market space.
• Evaluate where each of these “futures” falls on the Urgency Matrix. Consider both the urgency (how soon they need to be acted upon) and importance (how critical they are for your school’s success).
• Assess with your team…Which of these futures align most directly with your organization’s core mission and values? Which futures would differentiate you in the market space?
• See what emerges and begin to prioritize the most impactful and feasible futures, balancing both immediate needs and long-term vision, while also maximizing value and minimizing cost.

Urgency Matrix

In the midst of gaining clarity about prioritizing the future, explore January’s Trend Tracker.

In this month’s Trend Tracker, we are highlighting the following signals and trends. Within each area, a number of clickable resources are available to research with your team. 

01 Skills 2030
02 Feedback Culture
03 Talent Development
04 Competency-Based Grad Requirements
05 Transformation Landscape
06 Teen Social Media Use
07 Growth-Mindset & Stress
08 AI & Philanthropy

Trend Tracker, January 2025

Finally, take a deeper dive in the trends discussed by registering for the upcoming webinars SAIS has designed to build capacity for you and your team. 

January 16: Leading the Future — Insights for Aspiring Leaders
January 28: Practical Strategies for Accelerating Your Annual Fund with AI

Looking forward to partnering with you in 2025,

Dr. Brett Jacobsen
SAIS President