January 2026 Signals

Hello there,

I hope your well-deserved break allowed for moments of rest and meaningful time with family and friends.

Before enrollment agreements, staff contracts, and budget planning come fully into view, I invite you and your team to pause and complete Nordkapp’s Vision of the Future prompt:

In 2026, we will __________________ for __________________ because __________________.

This is not a resolution, but a simple exercise to create space to anchor near-term tactical decisions for fulfilling long-term strategic targets. 

Additionally, I encourage you to explore this month’s Trend Tracker and Pulse Perspectives, offering timely insights and practical context to help translate future-focused thinking into clear, actionable objectives.

In this edition of the Trend Tracker, we highlight the following signals and trends. Within each area, a number of clickable resources are available. 

01 State of Tutoring
02 Human-Centric Skills
03 AI Agency & Efficiency
04 Work Shifting
05 Team Dysfunction
06 Leadership Insights
07 Social Media Use
08 Brand Storytellers

Trend Tracker, January 2026 Web Version

Reflecting real-time perspectives representing the voices in our association, we solicited feedback from SAIS Academic Support Directors and Inclusion & Belonging Practitioners to complete a pulse survey focused on priorities, alignment, and challenges. Some key findings include the following:

• Demand is outpacing capacity, as both academic support educators and inclusion & belonging practitioners cite limited staffing, time, and resources as top challenges, while simultaneously prioritizing program expansion, improved assessment, and stronger collaboration with faculty.
• Academic support is expanding and increasingly complex, with schools using a mix of push-in, pull-out, stand-alone classes, and study halls across divisions, and a growing percentage of students (often 10–30%+) receiving services, especially for executive functioning and reading/math intervention.

See slide deck for full results.

Pulse Perspectives, January 2026 Web Version

To build capacity for your team, check out our February professional development opportunities. 

February 8-10: Academic Support & Student Well-Being Conference
February 10-11: TransformED: Teaching & Learning Conference
February 11-12: Independent School Brand Summit
February 11-12: Designing Inclusion: A Mission-Centered Institute

Grateful for your participation, collaboration, and connection. 

Happy spring term,

Dr. Brett Jacobsen
SAIS President