2026 SAIS Annual Conference

Navigating Meridian: SAIS's Regional Benchmarking Tool for Schools

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.

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.

This interactive workshop will dive deep into the “how” of self-regulated learning in students, equipping educators with research-backed strategies and practical tools to empower learners for lifelong success. We will delve into recognizing our own abilities to understand, process, and regulate our learning as educators and, most importantly, how to transfer these abilities to our students so that they may be better equipped to navigate the ever-changing landscape of education. The strategies discussed will be applicable to learning at any level, in any subject matter. Together we’ll explore tangible techniques to make metacognition, goal-setting, and self-evaluation cornerstones of your classroom practice.

SAIS relies on the expertise of heads of school and senior administrators to serve as accreditation visiting team chairs. Typically, those who attend chair training have served on several teams and been recommended by a visiting team chair.

Box lunches provided.

*Pre-approval and separate registration required. Please contact Pat Cuneo, SAIS Director of Accreditation, at [email protected] with any questions.