Preconference Opportunities

The following programs require a separate registration from the general conference and come at additional cost. Visit the Registration page for specific pricing information. 

 

Senior Leadership Forum

8:00 – 11:30 AM

Separate registration fee, breakfast and coffee break included

8:00 – 9:00

Good to Great: Developing Your Head into a Great Fundraiser and Board Chair Partner

While not every Head is born a great fundraiser (much less ever aspiring to be one), each possess an abundance of talents and skills that can be leveraged into increasingly effective fundraising strategies. More than any other person in the School, the CAO wields unique and significant influence in both moving your Head from good fundraiser to great fundraiser, and, of equal importance, positively supporting the most critical relationship in the School; namely, the relationship (or partnership) between the Head and the Board Chair. More than anything, the success of the School depends on the primacy of the Head/ Board Chair partnership - in terms of fundraising and beyond - and no member of the leadership team can have a greater impact on that partnership that the Chief Advancement Officer. In this session, we will look deeply into the powerful impact you can have on your Head, your Board Chair, and thereby, the success of the School that is rooted in fundraising but extends well beyond it.

Speaker:  Kevin Yaley, Head of School, Francis Parker School

Audience Level: Level 5 - Expert Seasoned Professional

Discipline: Fundraising

9:00 – 9:15 

Coffee Break

9:15 – 10:15 

Global Engagement and Inclusive Stewardship

Join a conversation with Northfield Mount Hermon Head of School, Brian Hargrove, and Trustee, Justin Wai '02, as they discuss authentic global engagement and fundraising in a hybrid world as well as innovative and inclusive stewardship that shares stories of our pasts with hopes for our futures.

Speakers:  Brian Hargrove, Head of School, Northfield Mount Hermon and Justin Wai, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone

Moderator: Martha Neubert, Dean of Equity and Social Justice, Northfield Mount Hermon

Audience Level: Level 6 - Leadership/Transforming Seasoned Professional

Discipline: Fundraising

10:15 – 10:30

Break 

10:30 – 11:30 

Provocative Questions in Strategic Planning

A solid strategic plan is a living document that powers a school's growth and continuous improvement. Advancement leaders have a deep understanding of their schools and of all the constituencies that make up the school community. Join a conversation with representatives of three schools that have centered Advancement leaders in their strategic planning efforts, leading to plans that are broadly embraced, successfully implemented, and well-funded by the campaigns that inevitably follow.

Speakers:  Myles Amend, Associate Head of School for Advancement at Trinity School; Susie Baker, Director of the Waynflete Office, Magdalen College School; Scott Erickson, Head of School at Phillips Brooks School; and Helen Pike, Master, Magdalen College School

Moderator: Sue Cunningham, President and CEO, Council for Advancement and Support of Education

Audience Level: Level 6 - Leadership/Transforming Seasoned Professional

Discipline: Fundraising

Preconference Workshops

8:00 – 11:30 AM 

Breakfast and coffee break included

8:00–9:30 AM

Preconference Workshop: First Rotation

• Harnessing the Power of Effective Internal Communication to Build Community
  
  As trust in institutions continues to decline, it is more important than ever to communicate with intentionality to the adult members of your school community. A lack of clarity or miscommunication allows rumors and misperceptions to flourish and will cause faculty and families to fill in the gaps of knowledge — and potentially damage your school's reputation. Come to this session to learn how communicators can work with senior leadership, and especially heads of school, to strengthen a sense of community, introduce and support conversation around challenging issues and increase employee and family satisfaction and retention through proactive and strategic internal communication. 
  
  Speaker:  Jan Abernathy, Chief Communications Officer, The Browning School
  
  Audience Level: Level 3 – Practicing/maturing Mid-Career 
  
  Discipline: Marketing and Communications

10:00 – 11:30 AM

Preconference Workshops: Second Rotation

• Making the Case: A Measurement Framework for Your Next Strategic Initiative
  
  Whether you are looking to enhance a science curriculum or raise millions of dollars to build a new STEM center wherein that curriculum can flourish, you cannot begin without first cultivating shared understanding. Depending on the audience, such understanding will require you to move flexibly between the business case (why an initiative is good for an organization’s fiduciary strength) and the learning case (why an initiative is good for student learning). Making the Case is a communication model designed to help you do just that: to develop a discipline around building speed to shared understanding, regardless of the constituent group. In this session, authors, educators, and entrepreneurs. The speakers will first unpack the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the Making the Case framework and then lead participants in hands-on application. Working from your own strategic plan or annual leadership goals, you will practice advancing an initiative, topic, or goal by building and presenting a business and learning case for it, along with a plan for tracking and reporting on its progress via measurable targets and easily graspable outcomes. You will leave the session with immediately shareable demo content for your leadership and Board teams.
  
  Speakers: Reshan Richards, Director of Studies, New Canaan Country School and Stephen Valentine, Assistant Head, Upper School & Director of Academic Leadership, Montclair Kimberley Academy
  
  Audience Level: Level 5 - Expert Seasoned Professional
  
  Discipline: Marketing and Communications
• Our Youngest Alumni
  
  Young alumni are the future of our Alumni Associations - future Alumni Board Presidents, Trustees, Annual Fund Co-Chairs, assembly speakers and more. Sustained engagement, beginning when they are students, is pivotal to the success of this constituency; however, it can feel ever more difficult to track them, connect with them in meaningful ways and deepen their relationship with our Schools and each other. Join us as we examine best practices, from contact information to panels to networking events and regional travel, to foster growth within our young alumni community.
  
  Speaker: Dayna Joseph '15, Alumnae Manager, The Spence School and Emily Stone, Director of Development, The Spence School
  
  Audience Level: Level 3 – Practicing/maturing Mid-Career
  
  Discipline: Alumni Relations