2026 SAIS Annual Conference

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. 

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.

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.