The world has changed. Independent schools are facing an uncertain future. The political, social media, environmental, and macroeconomic environments are increasingly turbulent. What we’re encountering is best described as a Polycrisis: Multiple crises happening simultaneously in which “the whole is even more dangerous than the sum of the parts” (Professor Adam Tooze, Ipsos Global Trends 2023). This evolving landscape creates new and increasingly problematic risks that schools must address. Through this session, we will inspire and empower educational leaders to convert the challenges of a Polycrisis into a strategic advantage for their institutions.

We will discuss three critical challenges currently creating a Polycrisis at independent schools: The workforce, constituent engagement, and how best to implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. You will gain tools to build your leadership capacity and insights to better navigate this Polycrisis. You will learn about creative fundraising and communications strategies to tackle these challenges. You will also walk away with a plan to turn this Polycrisis into a strategic advantage by drawing on the full range of advancement expertise at your institutions, including communications, marketing, alumni relations, fundraising, and data services.

By addressing a Polycrisis head-on, school leaders and advancement teams can create a new strategic advantage for their schools that allows them to drive institutional goals, manage change, and be successful in an uncertain future.