Thursday, February 25, 8:00 - 9:00 AM
Block 1 Workshops

COMMUNICATIONS AND ADVANCEMENT

Building School Sustainability through Outreach
This presentation explores the outreach model used by Wildwood School. The Outreach Center supports the development of learner-centered schools through coaching, mentoring, and professional development workshops. Participants will learn about the Center's business model and the value of outreach, and begin to consider marketable opportunities within their schools.
PRESENTERS: Colleen Pundyk and Deb Christenson, Wildwood School (CA)
Click here to download the first PDF and here to download the second PDF for this workshop.
  
Exploiting the Internet’s Vast Promise – Like a Game of Tic-Tac-Toe
Ink and paper may be our bread-and-butter, but as participants of this presentation will learn, a simple interface between Twitter, website, and alumni Facebook pages has increased the Berkeley Carroll School’s visibility and legitimacy among its many constituencies — and it was easy to achieve.
PRESENTER: Jodie Corngold, The Berkeley Carroll School (NY)

GOVERNANCE

Lessons Learned after the Crisis: A Head of School's Perspective
In the wake of the financial crisis, many headmasters, trustees, and staffs are wondering what real lessons can be learned. Or are we left to flounder in economic tides we can hardly fathom or anticipate? We shall review the crisis, distill the lessons, and bring a little clarity to the often murky financial and investment processes that keep the scholastic ship afloat.
PRESENTERS: Christopher Fide, Mangham Associates, Inc. (VA); David Lourie, St. Anne's-Belfield School (VA)
Click here to download the PDF that accompanies this workshop.

Nonprofit Secrets for Independent School Boards
Independent school boards are often riddled with political and functional challenges that creep into the running of the school, conflicting with operations and inhibiting efficacy, despite everyone’s devotion to the same set of goals. Based on the new book The Nonprofit Secret, you will learn secrets from the nonprofit world that can unlock your board’s potential.
PRESENTERS: Jonathan Schick, GOAL Consulting (TX); Arnold Holtberg, Saint Mark's School of Texas (TX)
Click here to download the PDF for this workshop.

The Importance of Dissent and How to Make the Best Decisions for Your School
How can we make better decisions as trustees? Learn some concepts and techniques concerning good decision-making process. Hear how to encourage debate and dissent, not just tolerate them. Then find out how to take a diverse set of viewpoints and reach a consensus that all board members can support. A number of real world examples will be given, as well as a bibliography.
PRESENTER: Gary Campbell, The Pike School (MA)
Click here to download the PDF for this workshop.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Brain Research as a Foundation for Strategic Planning: Designing Healthy Schools
The emerging body of research on the human brain has tremendous implications for the learning of every demographic in our schools. Can this research lay the foundation of your school's strategic directions, influencing curriculum, organizational structures, and even facility planning? Come to breathe deeply, engage the senses, and stimulate neurons.
PRESENTER: Michael Walker, Punahou School (HI)
  
Long-Range Financial Planning: A Five-Year Model for Schools
Hear our efforts to educate our constituents in matters related to long-range school financial planning. We shall review a model that allows planners to focus on financial variables such as tuition rates, salary rates, endowment and investment returns, and others. By manipulating these variables planners can forecast overall operating surpluses/deficits as well as project multiyear school budgets.
PRESENTERS: Stephen Uhr, Katherine Lott, and Stephen Stackhouse, Fort Worth Country Day School (TX)
Click here to download the PDF for this workshop.
Click here to download the first spreadsheet and here to download the second spreadsheet for this workshop.
  
The Educator's Field Guide to Unleashing the Innovators Within
Independent schools must innovate for their communities to thrive. Today academic leaders must know how to identify, develop, and support internal visionaries, thus bringing new ideas into the lifeblood of their schools. North Carolina Association of Independent Schools Innovate technology conference team members Jason Ramsden and Sarah Hanawald will present one model and lead a discussion focused on encouraging school-based innovation. This is one of six workshops in the Schools of the Future workshop sequence. 
PRESENTERS: Jason Ramsden, Ravenscroft School (NC); Sarah Hanawald, Greensboro Day School (NC)
Click here to access the presentation for this workshop.

The Independent School Experiential Education Network (ISEEN)
Experiential education has become a staple within many schools, through outdoor education, sustainability efforts, global travel, and service learning. How do these programs fit into the larger curriculum? Are they adding value for the cost? Are they safe? How do leaders develop professionally and stay on top of industry trends? Join leaders of ISEEN for this discussion.
PRESENTERS: Joshua Hahn, The Hotchkiss School (CT); Jessie Barrie, Albuquerque Academy (NM); Meghan Brown, The Westminster Schools (GA); Vicki Weeks, Lakeside School (WA)
Click here to download the PowerPoint presentation for this workshop.

MANAGEMENT

Data-Driven Demographics: A Market Assessment of School Enrollment
Schools cannot understand demographics with a high altitude assessment. We require precise predictions of population growth and family income to target marketing initiatives effectively. Staten Island Academy partnered with an economist to obtain fine-tooth comb demographic data, and we have built detailed forecasting and modeling assessments for sound decision-making.
PRESENTERS: Diane Hulse and Linda Shuffman, Staten Island Academy (NY); Regina Armstrong, Urbanomics (NY)
Click here to download the PDF for this workshop.

Shared Voices, A Documentary on the Experiences of Faculty of Color
Explore the experiences of faculty of color at independent schools in this groundbreaking documentary that examines the daily hardships and triumphs of faculty of color. Through a discussion of the film, a panel of educators who made the film will explore the obstacles and best practices needed to create an inclusive and diverse faculty.
PRESENTERS: Pascale Musto, Millbrook School (NY); James Greenwood, Northfield Mount Hermon School (MA); Ara C. Brown, The Williston Northampton School (MA)
  
Using Dynamic Systems Modeling in Support of Financial Sustainability
Systems modeling in the pursuit of fiscal sustainability promotes transparency and supports data-driven decision-making. We will explore financial modeling approaches including sensitivity analysis, worst-case scenario analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, and scalable multivariable integrated dynamic systems modeling (designed for various levels of technical expertise).
PRESENTER: Ari Betof, George School (PA)
Click here to download the PowerPoint presentation for this workshop.

THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE

How Far Must You Travel to Go Global?
The word "global" has two meanings: worldly AND comprehensive. It is easy to lose sight of the latter for the former, focusing on the trees of incidents and activities while missing the forest of interconnectedness. How do we help students, especially younger students, balance connecting to broader perspectives while being responsible participants in our local environs?
PRESENTERS: Robert Greene, Marin Country Day School (CA); Carl Hobert, Axis of Hope (MA)
  
How to Be the Type of Teacher They Make Movies About
If you’re looking to become the type of teacher movies are made about, this presentation is for you! This motivational session highlights strategies and movie clips to help teachers go from “good” to “great.” This is an excellent presentation for educators who believe that teaching involves much more than the curriculum itself.
PRESENTER: Mike Roberts, Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, Middle School Campus (UT)
  
Survive, Thrive, Imbibe, and Ingest
At Redwood Day School we have a commitment to project-based learning throughout our program. Cooking, integrated into the curriculum, is a superb tool to enhance learning, promote environmental awareness, and engender student responsibility to self and the global community. Learn how through images, anecdotal testimony, discussion, and a resource rich CD.
PRESENTER: Thelma Lancaster, Redwood Day School (CA)
Click on the following links to download the PDFs from this workshop: Content Resource CD and Food Curricululm.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact acdirector@nais.org or (202) 973-9700.