2026 SAIS Annual Conference

The adult community is the foundation of a successful school. Building an intentional professional growth system ensures you spend more time supporting, growing, and deepening engagement with the teachers and staff you want to keep at your school, instead of spending time, money, and effort on constantly recruiting and onboarding. 


Move beyond outdated, "check-the-box" professional development to drive retention and the success of your entire school. Join this interactive case study session to explore how two forward-thinking schools (St. Mary’s Episcopal School and Porter-Gaud School) have built dynamic, scaffolded professional growth systems. Learn how they foster feedback-rich communities where educators feel valued and supported, using intentional goal-setting processes that align teacher professional growth with strategic goals and thoughtfully onboarding new faculty members. This session will demonstrate that a culture of continuous learning, supported by personalized growth systems, is the most powerful retention tool for schools.