May 2026 Signals

Hello there!

Entering the final sprint, congratulations! Hope all the end of year parties, celebrations, and post-planning meetings allow for a time of deep reflection. You have a great deal to be proud of. 

At the same time, it is realistic that challenges remain pervasive throughout all of our communities, especially the leaders who serve in integral positions. In this year’s monthly Pulse Perspectives, SAIS has asked a consistent question, regardless of role, “What are the major challenges you are navigating in your community?” Check out the synthesized results.

Top Challenges, 2025-2026 (Web Version)

As you look ahead to the coming year, take a moment to analyze with your team. The insights shared highlight common challenges and capacity-building needs across roles, but how they show up in your school is uniquely yours to explore. Use the following questions to guide a purposeful conversation about where you are now, where you want to go, and what it will take to get there.

• Which challenges identified in your role or context most directly affect your school’s ability to grow or adapt, and how might you prioritize them for action?
• Where are your professional development efforts most misaligned with the challenges you face, and how can you recalibrate to build true capacity?
• What would it look like for you to lead with intention next year, balancing daily demands with long-term strategy across your team and culture?

As you consider this analysis, I also encourage you to explore this month’s Trend Tracker and Pulse Perspectives, offering timely insights to your opportunities and challenges.

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 Skills Reckoning
02 Leadership Design Choices
03 AI Patterns & Protections
04 College Prep Redefinition
05 (Social) Well-Being
06 Workplace Engagement
07 Transition Strategy
08 Alumni Voice

Trend Tracker, May 2026 (Web Version)

The SAIS Pulse Perspectives report reflects findings from a counselor survey conducted in April 2026. The data offer meaningful insight into the trends, challenges, and strategies shaping student well-being across SAIS schools. Some key findings include the following:

• Anxiety remains the dominant student health concern, cited by approximately 85% of counselors in 2026, consistently the top issue across all three years of data. It most commonly shows up as anxiety around academic performance (64%), fear of failure (57%), and physical symptoms (47%).
• Counselor caseloads are trending more challenging over time. In 2026, 38% of counselors rated their caseload as “somewhat challenging” or “overwhelming,” up from 35% in 2024, while the respondents rating it “manageable” declined from 39% to 34%.
• One-on-one counseling is by far the most effective support strategy (76.7%), yet counselors cite enhancing family engagement (40.7%) and balancing crisis response with planned programming (38.4%) as their top challenges, suggesting a gap between what works and what the role allows.

See slide deck for full results.

Pulse Perspectives, May 2026 (Web Version)

As you plan for the upcoming school year, SAIS offers in-person events and courses specifically designed to support the onboarding of new teachers, trustees, and heads of school.

• New Onboarding Trustee Course
• Institute for New Teachers
• Institute for Early Career Heads 
• New Teacher Public to Private Onboarding Course

On behalf of everyone at SAIS, we wish a restful and restorative summer.

Take care,

Dr. Brett Jacobsen
SAIS President