Transitions & Future Planning

Speakers: Lane Abrams and David Johnstone, Christ Church Episcopal School

Discover how Christ Church Episcopal School transformed its approach to student
support in the lower school through a reimagined tiered intervention model. This session will
delve into the strategies and collaborative efforts that have reshaped how we address the
diverse needs of our lower school students. Learn about our three-tiered system, designed to
provide targeted and effective support—from universal classroom practices to intensive,
individualized interventions.

Participants will gain insights into the implementation process, challenges faced, and the measurable successes that have emerged from our commitment to fostering an inclusive learning environment for our lower school students.

Speaker: Dr. Erica Carswell and Katie Walker, LMFT, Fort Worth Country Day School

A narrative about what students “cannot do” has slowly become louder than their epic potential and opportunities for growth, as competitive college admissions and a hyperfocus on GPAs take center stage. Often, to the potential detriment of students, support can be mischaracterized as removing challenges or believing that students cannot do “hard things”. While the intent of support (both providing and seeking) is genuine, the impact of “oversupport” can have unintended consequences. We must find a balance.

Join this session to focus on how to empower students and encourage self-advocacy, enabling students to take charge of their learning. We’ll explore how we can define support through the lens of interrupting deficit thinking and fostering a growth mindset that promotes resilience and self-efficacy.
Participants will learn to navigate the delicate line between providing support and inadvertently fostering learned helplessness. Additionally, we will discuss a collaborative, vertically aligned approach to student support, ensuring that strategies are age and developmentally appropriate across grade levels to create a nurturing environment that
promotes student agency and growth.

Speaker: Dr. Heather Ramsey, The Fletcher School

Dive into the transformative world of AI-powered assistive technologies and their
potential to revolutionize academic support in independent schools.

This session will provide the following:

• An overview of AI assistive technologies and their practical applications in education.
• Strategies for seamlessly integrating AI tools into classroom environments of diverse
  learners.
• Hands-on demonstrations of popular AI assistive tools.
• Discussion of best practices for implementing AI technology to support students with
  various learning needs.
• A list of immediately applicable AI resources for academic support professionals.

Speaker: Dr. Shelley Moore, Outside Pin Consulting

The Inclusive planning process is aiming to situate disability as an identity, not a deficit, and so to determine what supports and strategies students require, teams are shifting to look at needs, instead of disabilities, as a reference point. In this way, planning for inclusive classes can be universal and anticipate needs of everyone in a community.

In this session, we will connect to Universal Design for Learning principles and look at how we can plan for a student with a disability in ways that can support many students in a classroom.

Speaker: Jessica Kulp, Cannon School

As independent schools increasingly adopt research-based strategies in mind, brain, and education for teaching and learning, questions often arise about how these new practices align with the concept of rigor. Administrators, faculty, and families may worry that these relational approaches could produce a generation of learners unprepared for the “real world.” How accurate is this concern? How can we assess the validity of this narrative from a student’s perspective? Moreover, how can independent schools reconcile these differing views and strike a balance between providing support and fostering independence?

Discover the power of auditing classes to gain a deeper understanding of the student experience. In this session, we’ll explore how independent schools can use class auditing to balance research-based
teaching strategies with academic rigor. By stepping into students’ shoes, you’ll uncover
how relational approaches affect their readiness for the real world and challenge the idea that
these methods compromise rigor. Through reflective discussions, participants will learn how
auditing classes can provide valuable insights into fostering both support and independence in
your students. Participants will leave with practical strategies they can implement in their own
schools to ensure collaborative approaches that support students and faculty while also challenging them in meaningful ways.