NEASC2024

In this session, ELA Curriculum Coordinators will present approaches to expanding text offerings while preparing for book challenges. Representation of multiple identities is critical to the English Language Arts curriculum (Bishop 1990), and we are responsible for supporting teachers to expand their offerings and prepare to teach those texts in culturally responsive ways. Diverse texts support students to see multiple modes of language as both acceptable and valuable; this is a critical component of working toward linguistic justice (Baker-Bell 2020). With the onslaught of book challenges and bans across the country, this work has become more urgent. School leaders must develop frameworks for text selection and strategies for approaching book challenges in the classroom and community. We will share strategies for working with teachers around text selection; additionally, we will discuss transferable policy frameworks we have developed in collaboration with our library and DEIB departments to address potential book concerns.

During this workshop, participants will gain a clear understanding of the definition of implicit bias and racial microaggressions, and how they manifest themselves in schools. The workshop will provide insights into how these phenomena can interrupt and harm the learning process. Most importantly, attendees will learn practices to address these issues. Understanding definitions and theories will only be useful if the knowledge gained leads to improved teaching and learning. Therefore, participants will be exposed to proven strategies to counter the negative effects of microaggressions and implicit bias. Lastly, attendees will have an opportunity to raise questions and discuss challenges in real-time.

Student agency is at the core of meaningful education experiences. Active engagement and reflection in learning processes help students understand themselves not only as individual learners but as members of a learning community. Fostering this type of engagement helps students understand their role as active change agents. In this session, participants will learn about Brooks School's commitment to student engagement, agency, and advocacy through a competency-based education framework. Participants will hear about the development and implementation of two school-wide competencies: Learning Agency and Social Justice Responsibility. The success of a common all-school rubric and upcoming plans to evaluate assessment practices to more fully incorporate social justice responsibility will conclude the presentation portion of the session . Participants will then engage in two collaborative rubric-building exercises that explore classroom engagement, preparation, and advocacy grounded in student agency before asking questions and reflecting upon the session.

In today's VUCA world, fostering a community of educational leaders with a shared mission to meet the needs of all students is crucial. This aligns with Inventure Academy's core purpose that states, we 'empower learners to realize their full potential, ignite positive change and create a positive impact. The term "learners" implies not only students but also teachers and educational leaders. To achieve this ambitious goal, Inventure Academy's Leadership Development Programme (Ignite Change) supports cultivating a community of leaders who believe in using entrepreneurial data-based approaches, engaging in productive and difficult conversations to solve critical problems that have been collectively identified by faculty and leaders, in order to enable student agency & engagement, personalized & differentiated learning for both students and faculty. We would like to share our program design, share some examples from this program and its impact on the school's learning architecture, culture and environment.

Students at the International School of Belgium, who are primarily of Asian background, are very proactive in Student Leadership. They have initiated “’Are You Ok?' Day” which is a well-being event aimed at their peers and staff along with student-led counselling at break and lunch times. They alsohave a Student Support Group  and bring different faiths together at the Festival of Lights event - Hanukkah, Diwali, Ramadan and Christmas. They also organize inclusive competitions through the House System among many other initiatives. This session features the school’s younger leaders (i.e., age 14–16) as this is a group that often gets neglected when it comes to student leadership, yet they can be powerful drivers in a school if given freedom and encouragement. Participants will take away new ideas and also see how student leadership works in a diverse school context. The students want the session to be interactive and there will be audience participation and a Q and A at the end.

In this session, participants will learn about one of the most powerful engagement strategies that a district-level leader could employ to make an impactful difference when it comes to making connections with students, families, staff, and administrators. Discover how your schools are working and see, firsthand, how investments that have been made in programs and staffing are benefiting students and enriching school culture. Walk away with a replicable model that will transform your visibility and demonstrate your commitment to leading your schools by understanding every detail of the operation. *Technology Needed: Projector/Screen (unless delivered as an "Unplugged Session")

At a time when most independent schools are significantly resourcing and prioritizing efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion, one form of diversity that is often ignored is ideological diversity. For the past four years, Seniors at BB&N have taken a seminar during their Senior Spring Project entitled "Beyond Our Echo Chambers: Understanding the Other." This seminar, which meets for 90 minutes per week for 10 weeks, involves a virtual exchange between BB&N students and student members of the teenage Republican club in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Borrowing from the methodology of Braver Angels, a national non-profit devoted to cultivating critical dialogue between "Reds" and "Blues," the students move through a series of exercises leading up examination of issues such as abortion, immigration, gun control, Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, etc. The goal is to practice civil discourse, to humanize the other, and to expand our perspectives beyond our immediate echo chambers. Come to this session to learn more about this approach and how you might incorporate elements in your own school contexts.

For years, high schools around the world have been designing innovative pathways for our learners. Unfortunately, most of us have been doing it in isolation, even though the learning experiences we are all designing are similar. This is why we launched the Pathways Summit in 2024 at the American International School of Budapest. We wanted to bring together international schools to design an innovative diploma around a shared purpose.

Join our panel discussion to learn about our process, where we're at now with the Global Impact Diploma, and find out how your school can be involved moving forward.

Franklin High School was a pilot site for competency-based assessment twenty years ago in New Hampshire, as a precursor to NH's CBA policy. While there were pockets of implementation and innovation, it never fully caught on. Ten years later there was another push for redesign, which was short-lived with administrative changes, budget cuts, and massive teacher layoffs. In 2019, with support from the Barr Foundation, Franklin began again by engaging in a Portrait of a Franklin Graduate process. After five years, Franklin has a competency-based assessment system and through grant funding has had access to resources to put the portrait into practice, AND there still remains a looming fear that after much progress, things will go backward. Learn about our innovations and help us answer our essential question "How do we make sure great innovations stick, and how do we help our students and community leave the fear behind?"

In order to support all learners, schools must be spaces of innovative and intentional inclusivity. This transformational work spans across focus areas and stakeholders, calling for reflection, inquiry and action from faculty, staff, family, students and the broader community. It necessitates the thoughtful use of research, resources, and authentic collaboration. This session will explore the work at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission Grammar School where the commitment to honoring human identity and experience, coupled with evidence-based practices in school structures and systems, has cultivated a community of excellence rooted in the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). Participants in this session will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding and commitment to DEIB in schools through a blend of reflection, collaboration and active planning. The session will include opportunities for participants to: - Engage in reflective practice around identity, biases, and impact on current educational work - Analyze the current state of their school’s DEIB work - Explore research, best practices, and examples of building inclusive educational environments while discerning opportunities for their own contexts and futures - Engage in collaborative activities to share ideas and resources with other participants - Outline plans and next steps for implementing inclusive practices and plans in their own schools

There is unlimited learning potential when students and teachers work collaboratively to create an environment that is open and affirming for everyone. Join this session to experience tools and strategies for elevating student voice in any school. From a case study at the International School of Helsinki, we will share what students consider the most pressing jobs to be done to improve our school cultures. Using these student generated ideas and design thinking protocols you will envision the steps that students can take to build healthy learning environments. Through these activities we will consider the benefits for students when they: engage in design thinking around community issues; listen to each other to appreciate diverse perspectives and build relationships; and take action in the community to express their ideas and initiate change. Participants will be inspired to consider opportunities to spark and sustain inclusive student involvement in their unique school environments.

The impact, importance and value of engaging with different stakeholders and ensuring that your leadership and/or
instruction connects students' cultures, languages, and life experience with what they learn in school. Research shows
that having at least one Black teacher between 3rd and 5h grades reduces a black student's probability of dropping out
by 29%. Being culturally responsive isn't a buzzword rather an opportunity to cultivate meaningful relationships with
students and parents, increase student motivation, enthusiasm for learning and academic achievement.

The United State's student population is now the most diverse in its history, comprising a significant number of new immigrants or children of immigrants. This demographic evolution calls for reimagining our education system, focusing on fostering identity, building belonging, and community formation for every student. Our session introduces the Re-Imagining Migration framework, centering on students' voices and visions of inclusive schooling. Led by the co-author of "Building Belonging: Harnessing the Power of Education in a Time of Demographic Change," we'll explore the impact of schools prioritizing nurturing environments for all learners. Through small group discussions, we'll reflect on strategies to promote academic, social, and civic belonging. We'll engage with tools designed to prioritize student agency and share examples of districts embedding belonging into their academic fabric. Participants will leave equipped to champion and spearhead shifts towards inclusive community cultures grounded in reciprocal relationships, and innovative, identity-reflective, and compassionate curricula.

As founding leaders of a new boarding school with a diverse student and staff population in an environment without a tradition of community-oriented boarding schools, creating a common purpose and shared culture was an existential necessity for us. This session will explore the principles and processes we followed as we developed a school culture with the singular mission-focused purpose of promoting student leadership. Our time will focus on three areas: 1) how we developed a shared understanding of our mission and shared language to promote the culture of leadership we aspired to, reflecting our "thinking about it" and "working on it" stages; 2) how we created and sustained routines, rhythms, and rituals that support a culture of leadership, reflecting our "living it" phase, and 3) understanding the student experience of building and sustaining a shared purpose, reflecting one pathway for a "what if" inquiry.

This panel presentation will discuss strategies we are using at Sacopee Valley High School, a small, rural, high school in western Maine, to help our students develop civility, empathy, and the ability to discuss difficult topics despite differences. A framework we adopted prior to the 2023-2024 school year called the Seven Principles of Constructive Dialogue will be shared and discussed. Specific materials and policies governing topics such as teaching controversial topics and responding to bias-related incidents will be shared. Emphasis will be placed not just on policy language but the manner in which policies are publicized and consistently followed. Session attendees will be asked to discuss selected issues in table groups and share their school/district contexts and responses to problems and situations related to these topics.

In this interactive session, participants will explore the essential components of a meaningful and effective learning environment. Through engaging activities, attendees will collaboratively establish collective norms and develop a shared understanding of what constitutes a supportive and impactful educational setting. The session will focus on fostering perspective-taking, gaining insight, and cultivating empathy among participants.

By the end of the session, attendees will have a set of practical activities and strategies to implement in their own educational environments, promoting collaborative clarity and enhancing the overall learning experience. Join us to discover how to create an inclusive and empathetic learning community that supports all learners.

How do we create a healthy learning environment that places the well-being of kids (and adults) at the forefront? How do we make the well-being of our students and faculty/staff an organic and inherent part of our practices in and out of the classroom? We will share our approach, the challenges we faced and the deeply held assumptions about school that we had to unlearn to strive for a healthier learning environment. Come and learn about our student-focused approach and discuss how our schedule; assessment practices; courses; different initiatives; and partnership with families place our students and their well-being at the center of what we do, value deep understanding, and put the joy in learning. Let's share ideas on where to go next!

The session will outline how this high school has embedded a leadership, ethics and development curriculum (LEAD) for all students 9th through 12th during the school day. This pedagogical approach includes a strong emphasis on leadership for all incoming 9th graders, health and wellness in 10th, and exploration of self and others through service and preparation for exploration of interests. Students have the opportunity to lead an Exploration course, with teacher support embedded in the day. Students, and adults who work with them, will present on each of these components of the program, and highlight the successes and lessons learned from the past five years of development.