2026 SAIS Annual Conference

Are you a team member responsible for administering your school’s upcoming accreditation process? This workshop includes an overview of the accreditation process and offers the opportunity to ask questions in an informal setting.

Pre-registration required. Add this workshop when registering for the annual conference.

National datasets don't always reflect the realities of our region, and, for nearly half of SAIS member schools, access to truly comparable data has been a persistent gap. Meridian changes that.

Developed exclusively for SAIS member schools, Meridian is a regional benchmarking platform built to give school leaders a shared point of orientation and direction. Explore regional compensation data across teacher and administrator roles. Help your board assess governance organization in a regional context. Learn how to configure comparisons by size, school type, operating budget, and more.

This session will present preliminary insights from the 2026–27 data collection, with an early look at administrator compensation, tuition remission, and board structure.

Meridian isn't just a data tool; it's a resource built on the collective network of SAIS member schools. Whether you're preparing for a compensation review, a board self-study, or a strategic planning process, Meridian gives your school a reliable, regionally grounded foundation for comparison, conversation, and confidence.

Kick off your experience with a brief overview of SAIS, a chance to meet other attendees, and practical tips to make the most of your conference. Content is geared toward those new to SAIS, but all are welcome.

Your students’ learning pathways are not limited to time, place, or space. The question for schools is how we intentionally set the conditions today for deep and transferable learning in an evolving educational landscape. Engage with the SAIS Future Ready Teaching & Learning Framework, centered on the student competencies of creative reasoning, relational intelligence, and empowered action and accelerated by the cross-cutting themes of digital literacy and well-being. Examine how a school’s systems and instructional practices can support meaningful learning and walk away with practical examples from SAIS Innovation Fellows.

Your parent community remembers less about the beginning or end of their experience and more about the journey in between – the decisions they make, the emotions they feel, and the impact your school has along the way. In this interactive session, work through a journey mapping methodology and process to uncover the key moments that shape how families experience your school. Engaging with other leaders, utilize these insights to reimagine how your communication strategies, marketing efforts, fundraising campaigns, and volunteer engagement can improve or scale the school’s parent partnership.

Your teachers love the mission and the work and care deeply about students and community. But many are quietly asking, “Can I keep doing this and have a life?” In this session, go deeper with the research and data collected from SAIS motivation & engagement surveys and focus groups. Unpack what's driving burnout and attrition in our schools. Bring your toughest challenges into the conversation and learn from colleagues who are finding real solutions around workload, compensation, and sustainable career pathways.

Designed exclusively for heads and trustees, this forum examines SAIS sectorwide data and emerging signals shaping the independent school landscape. Together, explore what these signals reveal about the pressures, opportunities, and choices facing heads and boards today. The session also offers space to step back from daily demands, connect with peers who understand the work, reflect on the broader challenges shaping our schools, and leave with sharper insights to guide governance conversations and strategic priorities.