2026 SAIS Annual Conference: Full Schedule

arrow_back View All Dates

10:30am EDT

2026-27 National and Regional Financial Aid Trends

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Independent schools face a rapidly shifting financial aid landscape. Using data from over 160,000 Clarity applications and more than 1,250 schools, we will analyze trends in family financial profiles and demonstrated-need patterns both nationally and within SAIS boundaries. Together, we will explore how financial aid methodology adjustments have a direct and measurable impact on awards, enrollment, and budget. At the end of the presentation, attendees will have a better understanding of how school choices impact calculated family contributions.

Speakers

Jackson Marvel

Client Success Manager, Clarity

Jackson has served as a client success manager at Clarity since the summer of 2023, where he partners with a broad portfolio of schools to help them achieve their financial aid goals and objectives. Prior to joining Clarity, Jackson spent 18 years at The Hotchkiss School, including... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Leadership & Governance

10:30am EDT

From Avoidance to Action: A Practical Framework for Leading Difficult Conversations in Independent Schools

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

School leaders and educators often face challenging conversations but may struggle with avoidance or uncertainty. This interactive session presents a practical, three-step framework for approaching difficult dialogues with confidence and clarity. Participants will engage in guided practice using real-world scenarios common in independent schools, developing strategies for preparation, communication, and follow-up. Attendees will leave with actionable tools to foster constructive conversations, strengthen community trust, and address sensitive issues effectively, including sentence starters for each step.

Speakers

Tosha Arriola

Head of Upper School, Providence Day School

Tosha Arriola is a mission-driven educational leader currently serving as head of upper school at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. She oversees a dynamic learning community of nearly 800 students and more than 100 faculty and staff, guiding strategic initiatives that advance... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Community & Connection

10:30am EDT

Growing Leaders From Within: Cultivating Leadership Through Intentionality

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Strong schools are built on strong leadership, and that starts with the people already in your building. Explore how school leaders can intentionally develop their teachers' leadership capacity through three key strategies: building authentic relationships, valuing teachers' time, and truly knowing your people. Gain practical ideas to spark leadership interest, create safe spaces for growth, and elevate teacher voice in meaningful ways. Walk away with actionable steps to foster a culture where leadership is nurtured, shared, and celebrated.

Speakers

Lauren Rodgers

Director of Upper School Curriculum and Instruction, UMS-Wright Preparatory School

Lauren Rodgers is a dedicated educator with fourteen years of experience in the field of education. She earned her degree in English Education from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master’s in Instructional Leadership from the University of West Alabama. Throughout her... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Leadership & Governance

10:30am EDT

Leading Campaigns and Construction Successfully: Avoiding the Risks and Reaping the Rewards of Campus Development

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Independent schools that undertake campus capital improvements face both opportunities and risks. A capital campaign and resulting construction can elevate your mission or compromise your future. This session will offer an integrated, sequenced framework designed to reduce risk and strengthen decision-making while ensuring that a campus improvement initiative builds brand equity, financial sustainability, and donor and community confidence.

Speakers

Keith Evans

President (Retired), The Westminster Schools

Keith Evans retired from Westminster Schools in 2026 after 12 years as president. Prior to that role, he was the head of school at Collegiate School in Richmond, VA, for 15 years. In both settings, he led a series of campaigns and campus development initiatives that spanned a range... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Leadership & Governance

10:30am EDT

Strategic Plans Don't Fund Themselves

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Independent schools regularly adopt ambitious strategic plans that include new programs, facilities, initiatives, and expanded financial aid. But many schools discover too late that the plan didn’t include a realistic strategy for funding those priorities.

This session explores the gap between strategic ambition and financial sustainability. Designed for heads of school, trustees, and senior leaders, the conversation examines how a school's philanthropic capacity, annual fund performance, and major gift strategy intersect with their institutional priorities. You'll will learn why many strategic plans struggle to gain philanthropic traction, how to evaluate whether your fundraising model can support your ambitions, and how heads, boards, and school leaders can structure priorities in ways that resonate with donors.

Speakers

Peter Baron

Founder, MoonshotOS

Peter Baron is a Certified Top Coach™ and founder of MoonshotOS, a strategy and leadership consultancy serving independent school leaders.

With over 20 years of experience in the independent school space, Peter works with heads of school, senior administrators, and boards to str... Read More →

Mattingly Messina

Founder, Throughline

Mattingly Messina is the founder of Throughline, a consultancy that puts relationships at the center of philanthropy.

His career spans development, strategic communications, and high-stakes negotiations. As a legal negotiator for Google, he built trust with counterparts across civil and regulatory jurisdictions, reinforcing his belief that relationships are the most durable currency in leadership... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Brand & Communication

10:30am EDT

Student-Centered Schedule Design: Aligning Time With Learning

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Reframe schedule design as a strategic and pedagogical decision rather than a logistical one. Examine how time structures influence attention, cognitive load, memory, transitions, and student well-being and whether your current schedule supports coverage or durable learning. Explore research-informed principles for student-centered scheduling: lesson length, distribution of cognitive demand, fragmentation versus flow, transition load, and the balance between academic intensity and recovery. Evaluate your own schedule against these criteria using a practical diagnostic framework to identify hidden stress points, inefficiencies, and missed learning opportunities. Understand how to lead schedule change without creating operational instability or change fatigue. Leave with a principled, actionable approach to evaluate and redesign schedules as a driver of improved student outcomes, teacher sustainability, and school distinctiveness.

Speakers

Andrew Taylor

Senior Consultant, The 5Rs Partnership

Dr. Andrew Taylor B.A., B.App.Sc., M.A.(Dist.), Ed.D. is a senior consultant at The 5Rs Partnership, with over 30 years of educational leadership experience across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. He has served as admission director, division head, and head of school... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Teaching & Learning

10:30am EDT

Teaching Well as AI Reshapes Classrooms

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Name how everyday classroom practice is already changing as AI becomes a routine part of student work. Center the real questions educators are wrestling with now: how to design assignments that still demand thinking, how to read and respond to student work when AI support is present, and how to hold onto clarity and rigor as familiar classroom routines begin to shift.
Anchor the conversation in current research on AI, cognition, and judgment, while sharing instructional approaches currently in use at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School. Treat AI not as something to manage or police, but as a condition that changes how teaching decisions have to be made.
Leave having seen a clear instructional framework and concrete evidence of its impact in classrooms, along with shared language to guide faculty conversations, align expectations around learning and assessment, and support school-wide responses to changes that feel significant, disruptive, and increasingly unavoidable.

Speakers

Daniel Forrester

Director of Technology Integration, Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

Daniel Forrester has been in education for over 20 years across both public and private school settings. He has taught math and engineering, served as a PK-12 curriculum director of STEAM, and helped launch several academic programs at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Teaching & Learning

10:30am EDT

The Resistance Paradox: Approaches to Growth, Evaluation, and Feedback

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

In schools, we often talk about resistance as if it lives in someone else or other people are getting in the way. In our experience, resistance reveals something deeper about own our fears, assumptions, and relationship to control as leaders.
In this session, we will explore resistance not as a problem to overcome, but as information about trust, culture, and alignment. Together we will consider how school leaders can approach feedback, growth, and change with more honesty and shared responsibility.

Speakers

Isaiah Noreiga

Partner, Leadership + Design

Isaiah Noriega is a partner at Leadership + Design. He is an experienced educator, counselor, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practitioner with a passion for student well-being and community building. Isaiah recently served as dean of community and well-being, chief diversity... Read More →

Ryan Burke

Co-Founder & Partner, Leadership + Design

Ryan is a co-founder and partner at L+D. After 20 years in public and independent schools as a teacher, learning specialist, dean of students, and principal/division head, he joined L+D full-time as a senior partner. With a Master's Degree in Applied Behavioral Science and a background... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 10:30am - 11:45am EDT

Breakout Session, Community & Connection

1:00pm EDT

Actionable Data: Prioritizing Student and Educator Well-Being

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

While schools recognize that creating supportive relationships is paramount to student success, they often struggle to identify and prioritize the most effective interventions to bolster well-being. In this workshop, Nina Kumar, co-founder and CEO of Authentic Connections, will be joined by Meredith Miller, upper school coordinator of student support at The Westminster Schools, to discuss using data to inform and prioritize well-being initiatives. Nina will explore findings from surveys administered to over 250,000 students and 28,000 educators to highlight the modifiable aspects of school climate and culture that have emerged as most linked with well-being. Additionally, Meredith will share how Westminster has used data collected from students to guide programming, inform strategic priorities, and target interventions for the groups needing additional attention. Attendees will leave with an expanded knowledge of the current state of mental health across schools and methods for engaging their communities to support well-being.

Speakers

Nina Kumar

Co-Founder & CEO, Authentic Connections

Nina Kumar is co-founder and chief executive officer of Authentic Connections, an organization aimed at maximizing well-being in school communities using a holistic approach and cutting-edge surveys. Prior to Authentic Connections, Nina was a product manager at IBM Watson Health.
... Read More →

Meredith Miller

Upper School Coordinator of Student Support/Upper School Counselor, The Westminster Schools

Dr. Meredith A. Miller is an upper school counselor and coordinator of student support at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta. She holds a B.S. in Education, an M.S. in Professional Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Psychology. In her role, Meredith partners with students, faculty, and families... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Community & Connection

1:00pm EDT

HR Compliance in Action: Master the Tricky Situations

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

HR compliance/employee relations does not have to be tricky. This interactive workshop takes you beyond theory and into the real world of workplace compliance challenges. Through engaging scenarios and group discussions, you'll tackle the kinds of situations that keep HR professionals up at night, from performance management gone wrong to accommodation requests that aren't quite what they seem.

Whether you're navigating FMLA vs. ADA, handling difficult terminations, or addressing workplace investigations, this session gives you a safe space to explore solutions, debate approaches, and learn from your peers. We'll break down frequently encountered scenarios using a mix of case studies, role-play elements, and collaborative problem-solving that makes compliance training actually enjoyable.

Walk away with practical frameworks, confidence in your decision-making, and a toolkit of strategies you can implement immediately. No boring lectures, just real talk about real situations, with actionable insights you'll use long after the session ends. Bring your questions, your war stories, and your best judgment!

Speakers

Monica Javia

Chief Human Resources Officer, The Lovett School

Monica is the CHRO at The Lovett School in Atlanta, GA, where she brings 18+ years of progressive experience in HR and employee relations. Known for her compassionate, people-centered leadership philosophy, Monica specializes in translating complex HR and legal frameworks into practical... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Community & Connection

1:00pm EDT

I Have This Data; Now What?

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

How do you use the data and tools that you already have access to in order to positively affect enrollment? In this session, learn new ways to consider your enrollment data, think differently about the partnership between admission and marketing, and leave with tactical ideas you can implement as soon as you return to your school.

Speakers

Lisa Hà

Chief Communication Officer, St. Anne's-Belfield School

Lisa Hà, M.P.A. joined St. Anne’s-Belfield School in September 2020, following 15 years in higher ed and nonprofit marketing, where she quickly found that the world of independent school comms was ready for an evolution. Taking an in-house agency approach, her team stopped serving... Read More →

Randie Benedict

Associate Head of School for Enrollment Management, St. Anne's-Belfield School

Randie has dedicated her career to helping schools become the best they can be. She has strengthened every institution she has served through leadership in enrollment strategy, financial aid, and school administration. Her experience includes shaping the trajectory of a major university... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Brand & Communication

1:00pm EDT

Mentoring: Build a Sense of Belonging and Purpose

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Mentoring programs should seek to establish a sense of belonging for new faculty, explore the culture of an independent school, and encourage professional growth.
Mentoring program components to be discussed include the following:
-Create an onboarding process during orientation which provides the necessary information for a successful start to school.
-Select and train mentors to ensure a positive, individualized experience and establish a common set of expectations for support.
-Design cohort gatherings throughout the first year to deliver relevant information and provide opportunities for conversations among the new faculty which serve to strengthen relationships.
-Facilitate guided classroom visits which allow new faculty to see a variety of teaching and learning environments, while follow-up conversations build connections and emphasize the school’s core values.
-Initiate an intentional second year program to provide additional individualized and ongoing support as faculty discover their role in the school and begin their journey of professional growth.

Speakers

Kathleen Brewer

Teacher Librarian & Co-Director of Mentoring Program, Randolph School

Kathleen Brewer is a teacher-leader at Randolph School and serves as the middle school librarian. She holds a BA from Agnes Scott College and an MAEd from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her career spans a wide range of educational settings, including rural Mississippi, inner-city... Read More →

Allyson McCloud

Dean of Faculty, Randolph School

Allyson currently serves as the dean of faculty at Randolph School, working with faculty from recruitment through their professional growth journey. She served in the middle school as a math teacher, dean, and assistant head for her first eight years at Randolph, following a decade... Read More →

Catherine Beck

Co-Director of Mentoring, Randolph School

Catherine Beck began her career as an educator in 2001 after receiving her B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry and then her M.A. in Science Education. She taught students from middle school to college in public school settings before settling at Randolph School in Huntsville, AL. As a teacher-leader... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Leadership & Governance

1:00pm EDT

Strengthening Your Financial Foundation: Endowments as Engines of Growth & Sustainability

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Endowments and long-term reserves are critical to the financial resilience of independent schools. This session will explore how schools incorporate these tools into their broader financial strategy. Combining the perspectives of a seasoned investment professional, an independent school trustee, and a former head of school, we will walk through endowment fundamentals, best practices in financial stewardship, and practical strategies for strengthening long-term sustainability. The discussion will also address financial governance, independent school trends, and fundraising considerations, equipping schools to build stability while continuing to advance their mission.

Speakers

Joshua Ireland

CEO, Jefferson Bridge Capital

Joshua Ireland is chief executive officer of Nashville-based Jefferson Bridge Capital, an investment advisory firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and independent schools.

He previously served as COO and an investment committee member at Woodmont Investment Counsel, one of Nashville’s largest independent advisory firms. His career spans hedge funds, equity research, wealth management, and startup leadership, giving him a broad perspective on capital... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Leadership & Governance

1:00pm EDT

Symbols, Strategy, and School Spirit: Durham Academy's Rebrand

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

In fall 2025, Durham Academy launched an award-winning institutional and athletics rebrand designed to satisfy the desire for a deeper experience of community and connection. But that wasn't the original goal. What began as a simple logo refresh turned into an extensive, long-term plan to reinvigorate an entire institution. Rooted in an extensive listening tour with students, alumni, faculty, parents, and staff, the new branding honors longstanding traditions and creates opportunity for new ones, while introducing a modern visual storytelling system and unifying mascot. DA's new symbols incorporate new iconography that also give a nod to its iconic roots. This session explores the strategy, research, design process, and rollout behind a unified brand system that connects academics, athletics, and community culture, and a mascot that provides a rallying point for school spirit across school constituencies. Learn insights about stakeholder engagement, honoring legacy while modernizing identity, and launching a rebrand that resonates authentically with students, parents, teachers, and alumni.

Speakers

Leslie Traba

Director of Marketing & Communications, Durham Academy

Leslie has served at Durham Academy's director of marketing & communications for 12 years. Prior to joining DA, Leslie served as Savannah College of Art and Design-Atlanta's first director of public information, where the former local TV news reporter, cable news anchor, and executive... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Brand & Communication

1:00pm EDT

When AI Acts: Redesigning Learning and Assessment

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Agentic AI – tools that plan, execute, and iterate autonomously – is arriving in schools now. When AI can complete a project, conduct research, and revise its own work, product-based assessment collapses. What remains is process: how students think, what decisions they make, where they intervene, and what they understand about their own cognition along the way.
This session examines what agentic AI demands of curriculum and assessment design and why it requires doing something most schools have not yet done: defining competencies with enough clarity and shared language that every teacher can articulate what they are developing, teach toward it deliberately, and assess it with confidence.
Two senior administrators from leading independent schools move beyond theory to practice, sharing their institutions' progress, honest challenges, and emerging frameworks for shifting faculty culture from measuring outputs to documenting and assessing learning processes. Participants will leave with concrete tools and a clear next step for their own schools.

Speakers

Liz Helfant

Associate Head for Academic Affairs, Ravenscroft

Liz Helfant serves as associate head for academic affairs at Ravenscroft, drawing from over 25 years of educational leadership experience at MICDS. A Davidson College chemistry graduate, she began her career teaching chemistry, physics, and mathematics before transitioning into academic... Read More →

Connie White

Director of Mount Vernon Ventures, Mount Vernon

Connie White is a visionary educational leader and director of Mount Vernon Ventures. A former Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics teacher, she was among the first technology & learning directors in the Southeast to launch a 1:1 learning program. She previously served 11 years as... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Teaching & Learning

1:00pm EDT

World & Work Ready: Diploma Distinctions

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Situating this work within higher-education models emphasizing applied learning and leadership, including the civic engagement focus of the Davidson College Deliberate Citizenship Initiative and the life-skills development framework at High Point University, the session highlights practical strategies for fostering world- and work-ready graduates through mission-aligned academic innovation.

-Recognizing that the central challenge facing schools today is not simply preparing students for college admission, but preparing them for leadership in a complex and rapidly evolving world.
-Acknowledging research from the World Economic Forum identifying analytical thinking, creativity, resilience, curiosity, and leadership as essential competencies for the future workforce.
-Exploring how Davidson Day School designed its Diploma Distinctions initiative to extend learning beyond traditional coursework and transcripts. Structuring pathways that integrate immersive practicums, interdisciplinary research, original inquiry, and sustained ethical reflection, students develop the habits of mind, intellectual confidence, and real-world skills that prepare them for college, careers, and civic leadership.

Speakers

Andrew Bishop

Head of School, Davidson Day School

Andrew Bishop has served as head of school at Davidson Day since 2024, bringing a breadth of leadership experience across independent school administration. Prior to his current role, he held key positions at Davidson Day including assistant head of school, director of advancement... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Breakout Session, Teaching & Learning

2:30pm EDT

Data Fluency in the Age of AI

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

As schools collect more data than ever, the real challenge is not access, but interpretation. In this session, Cindy Blackburn will explore what it truly means to build data fluency among educators and leaders and why this skill is becoming essential in AI-enabled schools. Drawing on real school examples and Toddle’s AI Insights, participants will leave with practical ways to use data to inform curriculum, assessment, and student support without losing sight of context, equity, or purpose.

Speakers

Cindy Blackburn

Director of Learning, Toddle

Cindy Blackburn is a self-proclaimed curriculum nerd and a global leader in learning design. With over 15 years of experience in international and districts, she’s helped teams on five continents make sense of standards, design meaningful learning experiences, and bring coherence... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Teaching & Learning

2:30pm EDT

Independent Schools Legal Update: What's New and What's Next

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Independent schools are facing a rapidly evolving legal landscape affecting employees, students, and school operations. This session will highlight the most important recent legal developments impacting independent schools, including employment law updates, accommodation issues, discrimination claims, faculty management, and emerging areas of risk.
Attendees will gain practical insights into how these developments are affecting schools today and what steps leaders should consider to ensure their policies, practices, and decision-making remain compliant and proactive.

Speakers

Jennifer Carroll

Partner & Co-Chair, Education Practice Group, Fisher Phillips

Within the education industry, Jennifer counsels independent schools nationwide on a wide range of issues involving employees, students, parents, trustees, and boards. She serves as a trusted advisor to school leaders, helping them navigate complex legal and practical challenges with... Read More →

Ilanit Fischler

Partner, Fisher Phillips

Ilanit is an employment and education attorney in Fisher Phillips’ Fort Lauderdale office. She represents educational institutions in a broad range of matters relating to student and employee issues, including claims of unlawful discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and contract... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Leadership & Governance

2:30pm EDT

Leading Through the Metacrisis

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Independent schools are operating within a widening web of interconnected crises – educational, cultural, economic, technological, and ecological – that increasingly shape what schools can do and who they can become. In response, many institutions adopt an “abundance” strategy: adding programs, initiatives, and innovations in an effort to remain competitive. Yet this expansion often produces the opposite of what leaders intend: greater fragmentation, mission drift, and institutional incoherence.
This session invites participants to explore how systemic dynamics such as Goodhart’s Law (when metrics become targets), Jevons’ Paradox (efficiency driving greater consumption), and multipolar traps – situations where individually rational choices lead to collectively destructive outcomes – shape decision-making in independent schools.
Participants will examine how well-intentioned initiatives can become absorbed into existing institutional incentives rather than transforming them and consider how schools might restore coherence between mission, culture, incentives, and practice. Attendees will leave with conceptual frameworks and practical questions for navigating complexity while preserving the deeper purposes of education.

Speakers

Brent Kaneft

Head of School, Wilson Hall

Brent C. Kaneft is head of school at Wilson Hall in Sumter, SC, where he leads a PK3-grade 12 community of over 850 students with a strategic focus on research-informed teaching and learning. Previously director of curriculum & instruction at Park Tudor School (Indianapolis, IN) and... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Community & Connection

2:30pm EDT

Relationships First: Aligning Leadership, Faculty, and Families

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Independent schools across the country are seeing rising levels of student anxiety, academic pressure, and complex peer dynamics. Schools often respond by adding new programs or policies. Yet the most effective student support systems grow from something deeper: intentional relationships.
At Calvary Day School in Savannah, GA, relationships are intentionally woven into the structure of the school through leadership collaboration, faculty rhythms, student advisement systems, small groups, and a comprehensive college counseling program.
In this session, Dr. Hunter Chadwick, head of school, and Erin Chadwick, director of college counseling, will share how their school has developed a relationship ecosystem that supports students academically, socially, and emotionally. The system begins with strong relational alignment among leadership and faculty and extends into structured student mentorship through weekly advisement groups, weekly small groups focused on relationships and personal development, and a college counseling model centered on long-term mentorship. Students are supported through a structured college preparation pathway that includes a Junior Seminar course, a Senior Seminar course, and year-long parent programming designed to help families navigate the college process while supporting student well-being.
Participants will explore how relational alignment among adults creates the conditions for meaningful student support and how schools can build systems that strengthen belonging; reduce student stress; and foster healthy communication among students, families, and faculty.

Speakers

Erin Chadwick

Director of College Counseling, Calvary Day School

A dedicated professional, Erin Chadwick, director of college counseling at Calvary Day School, has spent the majority of her career guiding students and families through the college admissions and counseling process. With extensive experience in college admissions, academic advising... Read More →

Hunter Chadwick

Head of School, Calvary Day School

Dr. Hunter Chadwick is the head of school at Calvary Day School in Savannah, GA, a role he assumed on July 1, 2020. A Savannah native, Dr. Chadwick began his career in education teaching K-4 before moving into upper school instruction in Spanish and World History. He went on to serve... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Community & Connection

2:30pm EDT

Rigor, Regulation, and the Science of Engagement

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Teaching environments often oscillate between high-control rigor and high-flexibility relational models, while students internalize fragmented messages: Work harder. Manage your stress. Be more organized. This session reframes those narratives through Applied Educational Neuroscience, exploring how productive struggle functions as an optimal learning state and how nervous system regulation determines whether students can remain there. Participants will examine how classroom design influences working memory, retention, metacognition, and intrinsic motivation. We will explore a Teaching Style & Environment framework that integrates high expectations with felt safety, showing how regulation and rigor are mutually reinforcing, not opposing, forces.
Grounded in universal neurodivergent design, this lecture offers practical language and classroom strategies that normalize executive skill development and self-advocacy. Educators will leave with a shared vocabulary and ready-to-use tools for designing learning environments where engagement, attention, and deep learning thrive.

Speakers

Rachael Zaher

Learning Specialist, University School of Nashville

Currently a learning specialist at University School of Nashville, Rachael brings more than 20 years of experience focused on the intersection of regulation, rigor, and the science of learning. Her work centers on helping students understand their individual neurotypes and apply neuroscience-informed... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Teaching & Learning

2:30pm EDT

The Invisible Handbook: Decoding the Unwritten Rules of School Culture

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Independent schools pride themselves on strong culture and tradition, yet the deeper a school’s culture runs, the more its most important rules are unwritten. Leadership success often depends not only on formal authority or strategic skill, but on the ability to read an organization’s “invisible handbook” – the informal norms, historical narratives, and influence networks that shape how decisions actually happen.
Long-standing members of a school community understand these dynamics intuitively. New leaders, however, must learn them quickly in order to build trust, advance initiatives, and avoid missteps they did not know were possible. At their worst, hidden rules can even be weaponized against talented, well-intentioned newcomers who may not acclimate as quickly as others. Identifying and addressing the hidden handbook of an institution can enable longer, more stable tenures for heads and other senior leadership roles, laying a stronger foundation for long-term success.
This session explores how unwritten cultural rules influence leadership effectiveness in independent schools. Participants will examine how invisible norms form, how they shape institutional behavior, and why they often complicate leadership transitions. Through discussion and case analysis, participants will learn practical strategies for more meaningful leadership onboarding, identifying organizational subtext, mapping informal influence networks, and accelerating cultural understanding when entering new leadership roles.

Speakers

Amir Farokhi

Head of School, The Galloway School

Amir Farokhi became Galloway's eighth head of school in 2025. He is the first alumnus to serve as the school's head. Prior to coming to Galloway, Amir's career spanned politics, non-profit leadership, and law. He has served as a member of the Atlanta City Council and in leadership... Read More →

Natalie Pitchford

Chief Advancement Officer, The Galloway School

Natalie Pitchford is chief advancement officer at The Galloway School in Atlanta, where she leads the school’s advancement strategy, including philanthropy, communications, and community engagement. In this role, she has led major institutional initiatives that strengthen community... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Community & Connection

2:30pm EDT

What a Capital Campaign Is Really Asking of Your School

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

You can write a case for support. What's harder is saying what it actually means for the future your school is stepping into. Capital campaigns are vision moments, and the school's brand is one of the most important tools for getting campaign messaging and donor communication right. When development, marketing, communications, and executive leadership aren't in the same room early enough, the campaign feels it. This session makes the case for getting clear around the leadership table first, so your community can be inspired to give to something bigger than the immediate need. We'll explore what happens when a school treats its campaign as a brand strategy moment and what it costs when it doesn't.

Speakers

Trey Boden

Founder & Principal, Roar

Stories shape the way people see, feel, and act and every school has the opportunity to tell a transformational story. With 15 years of experience in branding and marketing for PreK-12 schools and churches, Trey Boden leads with conviction, creativity, and a desire for all people... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Brand & Communication

2:30pm EDT

Why Trustees Serve and How Leaders Should Respond

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Independent school boards rarely destabilize heads because trustees are difficult. Boards destabilize heads because leaders respond to trustee anxiety with their own anxiety. This session explores what trustees are really trying to accomplish when they join boards and how those motivations show up in meetings, questions, and moments of tension. Participants will be introduced to five common trustee types (the Protector, Architect, Interpreter, Insider, and Credential-Seeker) and the “jobs” each is trying to get done through board service. Drawing on governance research, whole-brain thinking, and real-world board dynamics, the session will help leaders recognize patterns that are often misread as problems. Attention will be given to practical leadership responses that reduce anxiety, preserve role clarity, and keep boards focused on governance rather than management. Participants can expect a candid, accessible look at board behavior and concrete tools for leading boards with greater confidence and steadiness.

Speakers

Damian Kavanagh

President & CEO, MISBO

Damian has been president & CEO of MISBO since 2017, leading the largest regional association for independent school operations professionals. Before that, he spent seven years with SAIS, overseeing accreditation and membership programs. He has facilitated nearly 1,000 workshops for... Read More →

Monday October 5, 2026 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Breakout Session, Leadership & Governance

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

10:30am EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

Get help with the event