Swing Hall, 100 Level
Independent schools have always been good at encouraging and maintaining an identity based on tradition. How will you build on what you have while stretching to adapt what’s new? How will you find the common glue to create a mosaic out of diversity? There is a battle on for the soul of education — one that wants to put standards over spirit, that forgets the enduring legacy that one teacher can leave in the hearts and minds of thousands of students. Independent schools have always operated with a sense of a nobler purpose, but how will you balance the competing needs for results and relationships? How will you grow into the future?
Presider: Wanda Speccle Franklin, head, Cambridge Friends School, Massachusetts
Speaker: Terrence Deal, author and professor, University of Southern California, California
Ballroom III, 400 Level
Dubbed “the Demographic Detective,” Michael J. Weiss is an award-winning journalist, author, lecturer, and market analyst, who specializes in American lifestyles and popular culture. He has been a frequent contributing writer to national magazines on this topic. He is the author of three books, including The Clustering of America, which takes a fascinating look at sixty-two lifestyle “clusters” that define America. His newest title, The Clustered World, expands on the previous title by unveiling how businesses and bureaucrats use clustering systems to influence our opinions and choices in life.
Presider: Dane Peters, head, Mooreland Hill School, Connecticut
Speaker: Michael J. Weiss, author
Room 323, 300 Level
No need to be a legal or tax expert. This session will provide you with the basic concepts, along with vehicles and situational strategies to make planned giving “friendly.” By the conclusion of this session, you’ll be confident in knowing what to do when a donor says..…
Presider: Barbara E. Wagner, head of school, Marlborough School, California
Speaker: S.C. Haskins, Jr., assistant head of school, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, Massachusetts
Room 322, 300 Level
Women donors are different from men. Learn more about the particular kind of information women want to hear about your fund-raising goals — information that will convince them they should support your school’s programs.
Presider: Kiki Johnson, managing associate, The Consulting Group, Carney Sandoe, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Speaker: Tracy Savage, director of development, National Cathedral School, Washington, D.C.
Room 347, 300 Level
How do we make our schools more diverse? Whose job is it? Discover ways in which we can all accept the responsibility of making independent schools more inclusive. Find out from the example set by one school how we can build bridges with families of color and live the mission of NAIS schools.
Presider: Geordie Mitchell, director of admissions and financial aid, St. Paul’s School, Maryland
Speaker: Karen S. Hallowell, director of admission, The George School, Pennsylvania,
Room 331, 300 Level
Join other directors of development and annual giving to discuss ways of making your school’s annual report get the attention it deserves.
Presider: Thomas Evans, director of annual programs, The Bryn Mawr School, Maryland
Room 348, 300 Level
A school’s founding principles are its best guide to future reform. This session will compare the progressive education tradition with distincitve principles of the Academies of the Sacred Heart and Quaker education, illustrate the importance these principles have in institutional planning, and suggest a model for participants to use.
Presider: Beverly Sgro, head, Carolina Day School, North Carolina
Speaker: David Drinkwater, head, Metairie Park Country Day School, Louisiana
Room 321, 300 Level
A new head has been appointed after a year-long search, and everyone wants to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. What needs to be done and who’s involved in making this happen? Key steps and issues will be reviewed.
Presider: Judy Mosedale, head, Hunter McGuire School, Virginia
Speakers: James H. Carney, president, Carney, Sandoe and Associates, Massachusetts; Rachel Phillips Belash, managing associate, The Search Group, Carney, Sandoe and Associates; Gregory Zeigler, headmaster, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, Georgia
Room 324, 300 Level
How do we educate students to promote actions that are ecologically sound, socially just, and economically viable? This session will introduce the concepts of education for ecological sustainability and offer arguments for integrating these ideas into the curriculum, operations, and culture of our schools.
Presider: Stephanie Fisher, head, Ruxton Country Day School, Maryland
Speakers: Frederick C. Calder, executive director, The New York State Association of Independent Schools, New York; Wynn Calder, program manager, The Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF), Washington, D.C.
Room 329, 300 Level
Hear how one school head encouraged the inclusion of gay and lesbian issues in school dialogue. The results of a Klingenstein project exploring the current climate in schools, as well as beliefs and fears of trustees and parents will be presented. The results offer an understanding of NAIS school culture and governance regarding these issues and how schools can be made safer for gays and lesbians — and thus better communities.
Presider: Scott Reisinger, head, Bancroft School, Massachusetts
Speaker: Matthew Stuart Bielaczyc, head of performing arts, The Spence School, New York
Room 325, 300 Level
Women leaders in independent schools will describe the internal and external barriers they have had to face, and offer advice to other women seeking leadership positions. The session will also highlight research about women and leadership in independent schools, and compares leadership issues for women in independent schools to ones in corporate and public school sectors.
Presider: Peter McDonald, head, Eaglehill School, Massachusetts
Speaker: Jan A. Scott, executive director, Ohio Association of Independent Schools, Ohio
Room 318, 300 Level
What does it mean to be an educated person in the 21st century? What does it mean to be a teacher in the 21st century? What role should technology play in education reform? This session will explore the past ten years of technology’s relation to education and what it suggests about computer integration, faculty education, and classroom teaching in the coming years.
Presider: Mark Bistline, president, Schoolyard, Rhode Island
Speaker: Stephen Quinn, senior technology administrator, The Seven Hills School, Ohio
Room 345, 300 Level
Learn how the NAIS workshop, Governance Through Partnership (GTP), helps a board work more effectively in partnership with the head to lead a school. Meet with GTP facilitators, learn about workshop elements, and discover how GTP can be adapted to meet the specific needs of any board.
Presider: Caroline Tringali, director of Governance Through Partnership, NAIS, Washington, D.C.
Room 346, 300 Level
An opportunity for people thinking about starting an independent school to meet with founders for an exchange of information and support.
Presider: Laura Hathway, director/founder, Pegasus School, California
Room 338, 300 Level
Independent schools are not immune to the growing problems of peer harassment and violence in schools. Guidelines for implementing effective policies in independent schools to deal with these issues will be provided — reflecting recent court decisions that change the ways schools schould approach policy and practice.
Speakers: Andrew J. Smith, assistant head, St. Christopher’s School, Virginia; Richard Vacca, professor of education, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia; Beth Wolffe, managing partner, The Wolffe Law Firm, LLC, Virginia
Presider: Jen Liggitt, director of admission and financial aid, The Hockaday School, Texas
Room 337, 300 Level
Gain insights into marketing to and teaching adolescents. This presentation will explore teens’ consumer power, how the media presents and manipulates teens, what’s in and what’s out, the attitudes and values of teens, and the meaning of “cool.”
Presider: Christina Drouin, director of institutional marketing, St. Andrew’s School, Florida
Speaker: Robert Sevier, vice president for research and marketing, STAMATS Communications, Inc., Iowa
Room 342, 300 Level
It’s crucial to create an effective partnership for effective financial aid management between the head of the school and the financial aid administrator. Come learn how such a partnership can be established. The focus will be on professional development, time management, policy setting, statistical reporting, and establishing expectations and goals.
Presider: Lawrence Sampleton, director of admissions, St. Stephen’s Episocpal School, Texas
Speakers: Sandra Oliver, director of finance, The McCallie School, Tennessee; Robert Kirk Walker, Jr., head, The McCallie School
Room 336, 300 Level
Learn how to outsource to experts many of your most time-consuming and painful tasks. Issues discussed include payroll, workers compensation, human resource management, and employee benefits with emphasis on health care. Many schools are outsourcing services. Should you?
Presider: Dale Cermak, business manager, St. Andrews-Sewanee School, Tennessee
Speaker: Daniel A. Cacchione, senior vice president, CNA/Unisource, Illinois
Room 349, 300 Level
Learn how to save your school money by joining or forming a group purchasing consortium.
Presider: Terry Armstrong, associate head of school for planning, management and finance, Sage Hill School, California
Room 341, 300 Level
Where do you go to re-energize, refresh, and revitalize yourself? This session will: 1) help you identify where you can find self-renewing qualities in your personal life; 2) determine ways of recreating similar environments in your professional life; 3) get feedback from you about the NAIS conference and the ways that it can promote the 3 R’s; and 4) leave you feeling re-energized, refreshed, and revitalized.
Presider: J. Robert Shirley, head, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, South Carolina
Speaker: Sandra Morgan, professor, University of Hartford, Connecticut
Room 340, 300 Level
Three heads will share successes and failures from their first year. Hear about the board member who threatened to sue, the $5,000 bill for a faculty snack, the memo that shouldn’t have been written, and the naked trustee. Sharing unexpected triumphs and fascinating struggles, we will help you consider the position and its impact on your family, sleep, and weight.
Presider: Don Berger, head of school, Cary Academy, North Carolina
Speakers: John D. Fixx, headmaster, The Lexington School, Kentucky; Barbara Groves, head of school, Louisville Collegiate School, Kentucky; J. Woody Rutter, headmaster, Beaufort Academy, South Carolina
Room 339, 300 Level
The focus on new teachers is often centered on such issues as classroom management and instructional strategies. But we should also consider how to acclimate new teachers to the culture of school? This session introduces you to a successful year-long program specifically created to acclimate teachers new to teaching and/or the school. Discussion will include gender, financial planning, parent interaction, and diversity.
Presider: C. Mark Borkowski, director of studies, Durham Academy, North Carolina
Speakers: Joan Ogilvy Holden, head, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, Virginia; Sherley Osgood Keith, middle school English teacher, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School
Room 350, 300 Level
All educators write, but only some write for the pleasure of it. Come and compare notes with other closet poets, budding novelists, journal-keepers, misunderstood memorists, and passionate scribblers.
Presider: David Mallery, director of professional development, NAIS, Pennsylvania
Room 343, 300 Level
Feedback is the key to learning. But educators are surprisingly unclear about what feedback is and how to design efficient and effective systems. In this session, you’ll learn how feedback differs from praise, what to do to ensure that feedback is heard, and how to design powerful feedback systems that minimize the need for one-to-one tutorials.
Presider: Evelyn McClain, middle school head, Browne Academy, Virginia
Speaker: Grant Wiggins, president and director of programs, The Center on Learning, Assessment, and School Structure (CLASS), New Jersey
Room 344, 300 Level
Learn about a new research-based curriculum developed to prevent girls from developing eating disorders through strengthening girls’ relationships with themselves, each other, their bodies, boys, and the culture. The program involves three generations of women — teachers, teenage girls, and elementary school girls — working together to address these pressing issues.
Presider: Gretchen T. Spencer, head of lower school, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School, Washington, D.C.
Speaker: Catherine Steiner-Adair, consultant, Massachusetts
Room 326, 300 Level
The role of the psychological consultant or counselor is growing in independent schools. This session addresses the counselor’s role in schools and how he or she can best serve your community. It also addresses mental health settings, and how a psychological consultant can best serve your community, and offers specifics of adolescent depression, symptoms and treatment. It includes a short film produced by Johns Hopkins Medical School Deaprtment of Continuing Education specifically for use in schools.
Presider: Diane I. McEldowney, upper school department head, National Presbyterian School, Washington, D.C.
Speakers: Helen M. Landry, psychological consultant, Cranbrook Kingswood School, Michigan; Sally Mink, R.N., Johns Hopkins University, Maryland
Room 328, 300 Level
In September 1998, Convent of the Sacred Heart, a pre-K-12 day school for girls, distributed 250 laptops to students in grades 7 through 12. This session will highlight experiences with the first year of the laptop program and will address such issues as communication with parents, faculty development, laptop rollout evenings, technical support, modification of classroom space, and integrating the use of laptops into the curriculum.
Presider: Gareth Vaughan, upper school head, The Washington International School, Washington, D.C.
Speakers: Gail Casey, director of educational technology, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Connecticut; Mary Musolino, curriculum coordinator, Convent of the Sacred Heart