2026 SAIS Annual Conference

In today’s competitive, value-driven educational landscape, independent schools must not only provide exceptional learning experiences, they must also clearly demonstrate their impact. One powerful way to do this is by connecting measurable student outcomes in academic growth and well-being to the school’s value proposition.
This session explores how to use academic and well-being data to illuminate student progress and tell a compelling school story. Drawing on findings from ERB’s Learning Growth Among Students in SAIS Schools and our new Student Well-Being in School Report, we’ll examine how national data sets can contextualize local school performance across academic, social-emotional, and broader well-being dimensions.
Participants will also hear from an SAIS school leader who will share how they have learned  to layer school-level data with national trends to create mission-aligned, meaningful narratives, reinforcing what makes their school distinct and valuable to families, trustees, and the wider community. This is data with purpose: insight-driven, strategic, and deeply connected to what matters most.