Idea Exchange Following Jim Collins’ Remarks

Join the NAIS Institute for New Heads and Summer Diversity Institute faculties to explore the ideas Jim Collins presents, share your reactions, and discuss ways these ideas apply to your respective communities. Process your thoughts and reactions as you network with colleagues who seek new and innovative ideas to bring back to their schools.

PRESENTER(S): NAIS Institute for New Heads and Summer Diversity Institute faculties

Communications and Advancement

Cultivating Community Beyond Campus: Social Media Isn’t Enough

Well-crafted messages alone are insufficient to reinforce positive impressions of your school or challenge negative ones. Effective messaging requires authentic, face-to-face interactions that exemplify your school's character and mission. Learn how to utilize wired communication in combination with in-person communication to cultivate community.  Cultivating Community (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Matthew Taylor and Tim McKenna, Durham Academy (NC)

Donor Relations: Ways to Approach Donors in the Current Legal / Tax Rate Climate

How you approach donors about planned gifts in this low-interest rate environment can impact fund-raising. The results of the 2012 elections may potentially impact donor giving. Identify the types of gifts and techniques that encourage giving while offering the greatest benefit to your donors in the current national environment. Donor Relations (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Dan Hudacek and Michael Collins, TIAA-CREF (DC)

Small School. Small Budget. Big Results! eMarketing to Admission Success

On a tight budget, Quest Montessori School more than doubled its admissions inquiry results in less than a year through strategic online advertising and website initiatives. We’ll help small schools (less than 200) learn to use the same tools Quest did to achieve similar results. SmallSchoolSmallBudget.pdf

PRESENTER(S): Michael Barclay and Paul Raymond, Quest Montessori School (RI)

Sustainable Social Media

Social media is fun and channels are relatively simple to set up, but it takes work. Learn to be strategic in curating your content, and engaging your audience for admissions, marketing or advancement. This workshop for current social media users will teach you how to plan, execute, and track social media efforts. Sustainable Social Media (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Amanda Darling, Lakeside School (WA); Martin Jones, Oregon Episcopal School (OR); Sergey Smirnov, Hamlin Robinson School (WA)

Governance

The Eight Key Rules for Healthy Boards

The healthiest, most sophisticated independent school boards fall into unproductive governance behavior, such as poor transition planning for new heads, failure to build institutional memory or reactive "incident-based" governance that occurs when a crisis causes a board to abandon its generative thinking. Learn the eight most frequent patterns of unhealthy board governance behavior and how to avoid and correct them.

PRESENTER(S): John Littleford, Littleford & Associates (LA); Ann Laupheimer, Agnes Irwin School (PA)

There's No Business Like School Business

Schools seek trustees who bring business acumen to the board table, but it isn’t always clear when business principles fit the school world and when they don’t. Rely on the work of contemporary management icons and this group’s experience in school leadership to make connections and distinctions between the business of schools and the business of business. CEO Succession.pdf   The Customer.pdf There's No Business Like School Business (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Richard Barbieri, Facing History and Ourselves (MA); Thomas Price, The Branson School (CA)

Leadership Development

21st Century Leadership: Creating Value Through Empowerment

21st century schools require 21st century leaders. What does that mean? How can such leaders create value for parents, faculty, and students beyond blended learning and flipped classrooms? Explore a systematic, deliberate plan at a K-8 school to create value and effect change through strategic planning, curriculum, and professional development initiatives. 21st Century Leadership (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Nishant Mehta, Alexandria Country Day School (VA)

Manage up and Manage down: (R)Evolution in Middle Management!

Join an experienced assistant head and head of school to discuss the challenges and joys of leading from the middle, including strategies for “zooming in” and “zooming out.” For division heads and other middle level managers, this conversation will let you laugh, share, and renew.

PRESENTER(S): Kathleen McNamara, Tuxedo Park School (NY); Barbara Kraemer-Cook, Marin Country Day School (CA)

Recasting Diversity: Essential Skills for Rising Leaders

We recast our diversity charge around a pragmatic assertion: that understanding and respect for difference are essential to new models of leadership. Transcending the moral arguments for diversity, we focused on our chief responsibility as educators: to prepare our students to be fluent and facile with all aspects of human difference.

PRESENTER(S): Erik Wilker and Elizabeth Grumbach, Moses Brown School (RI)

Reflection and Renewal: Centering Ourselves in Our Work

In today's fast moving world, it’s difficult for educators to find time for reflection and renewal. An experienced Friends school teacher/administrator/endurance athlete uncovers ways to use writing, literature, reflection, and exercise in school and professional life as a means to center ourselves in our work and promote a shared sense of purpose.

PRESENTER(S): Andy Jones-Wilkins, Tandem Friends School (VA)

The Global Consortium: What Is It and How Can It Serve You?

Have you ever wondered what the different global organizations do and what they could accomplish by thinking big together? Leaders from various global education organizations met at the 2012 NAIS Annual Conference to explore these questions and develop a plan for collaboration. Find out how to access the resources and get involved with this newly formed Global Consortium. Global Circles Presentation (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Vicki Weeks, Global Weeks (WA); William Fluharty, Cape Henry Collegiate School (VA); Matt Nink, Global Youth Leadership Institute (WI); Ross Wehner, World Leadership School (CO)

Management

Balancing Mission and Market: How Schools Survive Tough Economic Times

What happens to independent schools in tough economic times? Drawing on a recent study completed for NAIS and Vanderbilt University of the effects of the recession on independent schools, hear about research and lessons gleaned from data and site visits with a focus on how NAIS schools worked to balance increased financial demands with school culture and mission.

PRESENTER(S): Barry Gilmore, Hutchison School (TN); Matt Rush, Cannon School (NC)

Building a Positive Culture of Evaluation and Growth in Schools

How do you create a healthy culture of evaluation in your school? Focusing on both teacher and program evaluation, Episcopal Academy has built a growth-oriented evaluation system. Every teacher is evaluated annually and every area of the school is reviewed on a six-year cycle by an outside team. Learn how to frame evaluation as a reward rather than a punishment. Building a Positive Culture (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Catherine Hall and Doug Parsons, The Episcopal Academy (PA)

Educating for Global Competence: CIS International Certification

What are the essential elements of a relevant education in today’s world? Discover an innovative process for schools to earn international certification, a standards-based, peer-review protocol that enables schools to address, promote, and affirm their commitment to global citizenship, one of the most powerful trends in education today.

PRESENTER(S): Jane Larsson and John Heard, Council of International Schools (NETHERLANDS)

Higher-Income Families and Financial Aid

​The fastest growing segment of the SSS filing applicant pool is families earning more than $150,000 annually. This new face of financial aid creates more complexity for schools to manage, from trickier tax returns to more demanding mindsets and attitudes. Discuss the new dynamics, trends, and realities this group brings to the financial aid environment and how to manage them to meet your school’s mission.

PRESENTER(S): Mark Mitchell, NAIS (DC)

Homestay Programs for International Students at Day Schools

Delve into the advantages and disadvantages of the various options available for homestay programs for international students at day schools. Learn about practical steps for minimizing legal risks associated with homestay programs for international students and best practices for documenting the obligations of all program participants.

PRESENTER(S): William Hannum, Schwartz Hannum PC (MA); Steven Lisk, Lancaster Country Day School (PA)

Take AIM! Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism

Explore  the goals and process of AIM, a tool that promotes action, meaningful dialogue, and strategic planning toward building and sustaining diverse, equitable, and inclusive school communities. Hear a two-time coordinator share AIM experiences in schools with beginning and well-established diversity programs. Take Aim! (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Christel McGuigan, Lakeside School (WA)

To Admit or Not to Admit: Ethical Dilemmas for Admission Officers

Do you wonder how to reconcile ethical priorities with departmental goals? Come investigate realistic ethical dilemmas faced by admission officers. Following a tested step-by-step method, uncover how, when faced with difficult ethical situations, admission department efforts can remain both mission-based and effective for your school. To Admit or Not to Admit (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Kimberly Coelho and Karen Rezach, Kent Place School (NJ)

The Classroom Experience

“Unplugging” the Digital Natives (a Mental Recess)

School age children live in an accelerated culture in today’s modern society. These “digital natives” are always plugged in and on the go. A “mental recess” during the school day is the solution. Discover how to find the balance and maintain the harmony for both students and yourself. Unplugging the Digital Natives (PDF)

PRESENTER(S): Greg Graber, Lausanne Collegiate School (TN)

A Return to Play: A Counter Revolution

Despite all the benefits of play, most children have less time to play to make room for more academics. This year, MSD led a counterrevolution, focused on a return to play. Hear how we explored the importance of play from class curriculum to integration with the arts, development of service projects, field trips, science fair projects, faculty development, and more.

PRESENTER(S): Julie Bragdon, Stephanie Flanigan, and Christopher Imhof, Montessori School of Denver (CO)

e-Portfolios: Teaching Students to Curate and Manage Their Digital Footprints

Preparing students to curate and manage their own e-Portfolios is critical in this era of digital footprints. Join us as we share how we initiated our e-Portfolio project in grades 1-12, providing teachers with a tool for assessing work, students with a place to showcase their best projects, and parents with a new perspective on student achievement. Digital Handouts

PRESENTER(S): Christine Shriver, Renee Hawkins, Lindsay Kelland, and Stacie Muñoz, Garrison Forest School (MD)

Expansive Traditions — From Classroom to Globe

Hundreds of schools from Alaska to Florida and from Nepal to Rwanda have connected their students’ dreams in a 10-year-old tradition called The Dream Flag Project. See what has captured the hearts and thoughts of more than 70,000 K-12 students from suburban, urban, rural, independent, and public schools. Find out how your school can get involved and what makes it work. DreamFlagProject_About.pdf DreamFlagProject_Definition.pdf DreamFlagProject_CumList-S2012.pdf

PRESENTER(S): Jeffrey Harlan and Sandra Crow, The Agnes Irwin School (PA)

Hook ups and Hang ups Revisited: Sexuality Education as a Force for Good

Students are naturally curious about sexuality issues and may ask for guidance. Learn how to respond competently in these moments, including specific strategies to communicate developmentally appropriate information to students about healthy sexuality both through classroom content and in the advisory setting. Genderbread Person.pdf Hook-ups and Hang-ups.pdf Scenarios.Hook Ups and Hang Ups.pdf

PRESENTER(S): Susan Perry, Ravenscroft School (NC); Al Vernacchio, Friends' Central School (PA)

Lights, Camera, Action: Bringing Global Issues Alive in Student Films

Coming out of the annual Global Issues Film Fest at WIS, discover the philosophical and practical advantages of using film/media production as a vehicle for deeper understanding of critical global issues. Uncover best practices, actual films, and links to “how-to” videos on various aspects of film and festival planning.

PRESENTER(S): Kate Meenan-Waugh, Richard Anderson, Carole Geneix, and Jim Reese, Washington International School (DC)

Schools of the Future: Creating 21st Century Cultures of Ethical Excellence

In 2010, NAIS published A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future, featuring seven sets of “essential capacities.” Join leaders from two national organizations to outline practical steps schools can take to nurture the ethical capacities the 21st century so needs.

PRESENTER(S): David Streight, Center for Spiritual & Ethical Education (OR); Matthew Davidson, Institute for Excellence & Ethics (NY)

Wellness: Not Just Child's Play!

Hear a diversity director, a PK-12 administrator, and an employment attorney examine a holistic approach to wellness programs for children and the adults in their lives, both at school and at home. Focus on what makes a successful program work, what doesn’t, and the positive health, financial, and community-building advantages for the whole school. Wellness: Not Just Child's Play (Presentation)

PRESENTER(S): Benedict Chant, The Mandell School (NY); Christopher Brigham, Updike Kelly and Spellacy, P.C. (CT); Cynthia Chalker, Friends Seminary (NY)