2022 Welcome Back Week

2022 Welcome Back Week

We are kicking off the 2022-23 school year with a week of virtual events to bring you, our members, together for peer connection, idea-sharing, insightful learning, and energizing conversations. 

Welcome Back Week is a celebration of overcoming challenges and looking forward to a fantastic year with our students and community. 

Join us for speaker spotlights, roundtable discussions, insights from our Community Supporters, peer networking, and association updates from AISNE—free of charge for our members! We’ll conclude with a complimentary keynote session with acclaimed psychologist Lisa Damour, who will discuss facing the year’s challenges with clarity, purpose, and grace.

Welcome Back Week
Presented Virtually

Wednesday, September 28 – Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Registration for most events are included with your AISNE membership

Schedule at a Glance

Wednesday, September 28 

  • 9:00 – 10:00 AM | Collaboration Café: Heads of School
  • 10:30 – 11:30 AM | AISNE 2022-23 School Year Kickoff Celebration
  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Peer Gathering: New to Independent Schools
  • 1:30 – 3:00 PM | Workshop: New to Leadership, The Power of Discussion and Feedback**
  • 3:30 – 4:30 PM | Community Supporter Insight with Mission & Data: Making the Most of a Transition
  • 7:00 – 8:00 PM | Peer Gathering: People of Color

Thursday, September 29 

  • 9:00 – 10:00 AM | Collaboration Café: Business Officers
  • 10:30 – 11:30 AM | Committing to Continuous Improvement: AISNE Accreditation
  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Speaker Spotlight: Chris Thurber, The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM | Community Supporter Insight with EdwardsCo: The Essential Partnership Between Admissions and Communications for Enrollment Growth
  • 3:30 – 5:00 PM | Workshop: New to Teaching, Creating Teaching Habits to Last Your Whole Career**
  • 7:00 – 8:00 PM | Peer Gathering: LGBTQIA+

Friday, September 30 

  • 9:00 – 10:00 AM | Collaboration Café: Health Service Roles
  • 10:30 – 11:30 AM | Benefits of Benchmarking: Using Pulse Points Data in Your School
  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Peer Gathering: Networking by Role
  • 1:30 – 3:00 PM | Workshop: New to Leadership, The Power of Discussion and Feedback Part 2**

Monday, October 3 

  • 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | AISNE 2022 Governance Conference**
  • 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Peer Gathering: Networking by School Type
  • 1:30 – 2:30 PM | Community Supporter Insight with ISM: What the Data Tells Us about Staff and Faculty Satisfaction
  • 3:30 – 5:00 PM | Workshop: New to Teaching, Creating Teaching Habits to Last Your Whole Career Part 2**
  • 7:00 – 8:00 PM | Spotlight Speaker: Lisa Damour, Offering Mental Health Support in Your Schools

Tuesday, October 4 

  • 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM | AISNE 2022 Governance Conference**

**Requires paid registration. Admission to all other events is free-of-charge.

Registration

Join us for one or all of the events during Welcome Back Week. 

Tracks (Free-of-Charge)

Sign up for one of these tracks and we will send you links to access all sessions that pertain to your role. Come to any or all of the events in your track; they are free of charge and open to all members.

  • Heads of School
  • Business Officers & Administrators
  • Faculty

REGISTER HERE

Peer Gatherings (Free-of-Charge)

In order to maintain the integrity of the group, we require separate registration for these Peer Gatherings:

  • LGBTQIA+ | Thursday, September 29 | 7:00 – 8:00 PM
  • People of Color | Wednesday, September 28 | 7:00 – 8:00 PM

REGISTER HERE

Workshops & Conference (Paid)

The following events require paid registration: 

Speaker Spotlights

Chris Thurber
The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure: A Positive Approach to Pushing Your Child to Be Their Best Self
Thursday, September 29 | 12:00 – 1:00

All members and their school’s parents are warmly welcome to attend free-of-charge.

Chris Thurber will join us for a discussion and allow us to consider how to push kids to succeed and find happiness in a challenging world without pushing them too far. The solution lies in eight methods for transforming harmful pressure into healthy pressure.

Each transformation is enlivened by case studies, grounded in research, and fueled by practical strategies that you can start using right away. By upending conventional wisdom, Dr. Chris Thurber will provide you with the next steps you need to nurture motivation, improve your interactions with your child, build deep connections, sidestep cultural pitfalls, and, ultimately, help your kids become their best selves.

Info & Registration

 

Lisa Damour
Offering Mental Health Support in Your Schools: Incorporating Boundaries and Balance
Monday, October 3 | 7:00 – 8:00 PM

All members are warmly welcome to attend free-of-charge.

We have been living in a time of stress, flux, and conflict when we were more reactive with our actions than proactive. In such a time of change and conflict, we either come together with others and grow closer, or we grow more distant and divided. In our roles within our school communities, it’s important to offer support and give our students all they need to navigate distress and anxiety. However, it is equally important to set appropriate boundaries for mental health support. Join Dr. Lisa Damour for a deep exploration into this topic.

Info & Registration

Agenda

Items without separate registration links can be accessed by registering for a Welcome Back Week track, free-of-charge. These events include Peer Groups, Collaboration Cafés, AISNE presentations, and Community Supporter Insights. We will send you the Zoom links each morning to join any or all of them.

Wednesday, September 28

9:00 – 10:00 AM | Collaboration Café: Heads of School
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Join fellow Heads of School from around New England for a discussion of the challenges facing your school this year, and the solutions your peers have discovered. This is a time for group support, resource sharing, and building connections.

10:30 – 11:30 AM | AISNE Membership Celebration
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Join AISNE for a preview of the year ahead, a review of your member benefits, and a joyful celebration of member milestones: Anniversaries, awards, achievements, and a warm welcome and introduction to our new members and Heads in their first year of Headship.

12:00 – 1:00 PM | Peer Gathering: New to Independent Schools
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
This conversation is made for anyone who is just starting out in independent schools, no matter your role. This is an opportunity to ask questions, make connections, and get a lay of the independent school landscape.

1:30 – 3:00 PM | Workshop: New to Leadership, The Power of Discussion and Feedback**
Learn More and Register
Administrators in their first five years on the job, as well as veteran administrators, will come away with valuable communications skills to set them up for success throughout their entire career. This workshop requires a separate, paid registration.

3:30 – 4:30 PM | A Roadmap for Success: Making the Most of a Transition
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Our friends from Mission & Data will present this session on managing change effectively. Whether you are returning to the same role, starting a new position, or joining a new school community, this session will help you make the most of your transition. We will discuss the difference between change and transition and what you as an individual can do to navigate choppy seas with grace. This session is for all roles in the school, including teaching faculty.

7:00 – 8:00 PM | Peer Gathering: People of Color
Register free-of-charge
AISNE is your association. This affinity space is designed to be a place, de-centered from whiteness, where you can network with your peers, share solutions and resources to challenges, de-stress and celebrate the joy in your work. In order to ensure the integrity of this space, we ask that you register for this event separately.

Thursday, September 29

9:00 – 10:00 AM | Collaboration Café: Business Officers
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Join fellow Business Officers from around New England for a discussion of the challenges facing your school this year, and the solutions your peers have discovered. This is a time for group support, resource sharing, and building connections.

Parents are looking for indicators of your school’s quality. Accreditation is not only a valuable tool for recruitment and marketing, but an empowering act of school governance. Come learn about AISNE Accreditation and how it can help your school with its strategic planning. AISNE Accreditation is available to any K-12 school in MA, ME, NH, RI, and VT.

12:00 – 1:00 PM | Speaker Spotlight: Chris Thurber, The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure
Learn More and Register free-of-charge
See above.

1:30 – 2:30 PM | Community Supporter Insight: The Essential Partnership Between Admissions and Communications for Enrollment Growth
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Maria Kadison, CEO & President of EdwardsCo, will join us to talk about the essential teamwork needed to advance your school. While the ability to engage prospective families becomes more challenging every year, enrollment success depends on a high functioning partnership between admissions and communications. The effectiveness of their individual functions (no matter who performs these roles) as well as the quality of their collaboration depends on shared goals and clear responsibilities. This session will define the distinct best-practice roles, responsibilities, and skills required for each function, as well as guidance on how to manage shared responsibilities for a smooth and effective partnership.

3:30 – 5:00 PM | Workshop: New to Teaching, Creating Teaching Habits to Last Your Whole Career**
Learn More and Register
Teachers in their first five years on the job, as well as veteran teachers, will come away with skills for building boundaries, communicating effectively, managing the classroom, and avoiding burnout. This workshop requires a separate, paid registration.

7:00 – 8:00 PM | Peer Gathering: LGBTQIA+
Register free-of-charge
AISNE is your association. This affinity space is designed to be a place where you can network with your peers, share solutions and resources to challenges, de-stress and celebrate the joy in your work. In order to ensure the integrity of this space, we ask that you register for this event separately.

Friday, September 30

9:00 – 10:00 AM | Collaboration Café: Health Service Roles
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Join fellow doctors, nurses, school psychologists and psychiatrists from around New England for a discussion of the challenges facing your school this year, and the solutions your peers have discovered. This is a time for group support, resource sharing, and building connections.

10:30 – 11:30 AM | Benefits of Benchmarking: Using Pulse Points Data in Your School
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
AISNE’s Pulse Points is a powerful salary and compensation benchmarking tool that is free for members. Come learn what was uncovered with last year’s data and how some member schools put that data to use to inform their planning.

12:00 – 1:00 PM | Peer Gathering: Networking by Role
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Come chat with your peers, no matter your role. This session is for Heads, Assistants, Business Officers, DEI practitioners, marketing, admissions, IT/facilities, human resources, and advancement staff in your school.

1:30 – 3:00 PM | Workshop: New to Leadership, The Power of Discussion and Feedback Part 2**
Learn More and Register
Administrators in their first five years on the job, as well as veteran administrators, will come away with valuable communications skills to set them up for success throughout their entire career. This workshop requires a separate, paid registration.

Monday, October 3

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | AISNE 2022 Governance Conference**
Learn More and Register
AISNE’s signature conference for Board Chairs and Trustees, Heads of School, and other senior leaders. Come together for 2 days of keynotes, in-depth topic sessions, and networking. This conference requires a separate, paid registration.

12:00 – 1:00 PM | Peer Gathering: Networking by School Type
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
We will break out into groups based on school type—small schools, boarding schools, single-gender programs, faith-based schools, and Montessori to name just a few. Come meet peers with similar school profiles and discuss your needs.

1:30 – 2:30 PM | Community Supporter Insight: What the Data Tells Us about Staff and Faculty Satisfaction
Want to join this session? Register for a track free-of-charge.
Bryan Smyth, Director of Research at Independent School Management (ISM), will join us to debrief you on ISM’s robust Employee and School Culture surveys. Come discover what they learned about teachers’ feelings and opinions in the current landscape, as well as indicators of satisfaction that lead to faculty retention.

3:30 – 5:00 PM | Workshop: New to Teaching, Creating Teaching Habits to Last Your Whole Career Part 2**
Learn More and Register
Teachers in their first five years on the job, as well as veteran teachers, will come away with skills for building boundaries, communicating effectively, managing the classroom, and avoiding burnout. This workshop requires a separate, paid registration.

7:00 – 8:00 PM | Spotlight Speaker: Lisa Damour, Offering Mental Health Support in Your Schools
Learn More and Register free-of-charge
See above.

Tuesday, October 4

9:00 AM – 1:00 PM | AISNE 2022 Governance Conference**
Learn More and Register
Day two of our conference for Board Chairs and Trustees, Heads of School, and other senior leaders will end with a convivial lunch and networking hour. This conference requires a separate, paid registration.

Not an AISNE Member?

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Join today or renew your membership.