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.
Dr. Kalise Wornum, Founder and CEO of KW Diversity Inc., is a nationally sought-after speaker, educational leader, workshop facilitator, and author in the area of anti-racist education. Continuing concerns about America’s racial academic achievement gap, along with her experience... Read More →
Thursday November 21, 2024 10:30am - 11:30am EST
.
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.
Dean of Academic Affairs, Music Teacher, Brooks School
https://www.linkedin.com/in/currie-joya-huntington/Currie Joya Huntington (he/him/his) joined the Brooks community in 2022 as academic dean and was named dean of academic affairs in 2024. He also teaches music and Self in Community. Huntington earned a B.A. in music from Connecticut... Read More →
Thursday November 21, 2024 10:30am - 11:30am EST
.
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.
Head of Professional Development, Inventure Academy
Meenakshi Elangovan is a passionate educator with 25+ years of teaching experience. She has a Masters degrees in Geography & Public Administration and an Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice and Design in Education. She is a CAIE accredited trainer and a NEASC visitor.At Inventure... Read More →
Thursday November 21, 2024 10:30am - 11:30am EST
.
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 organise Model United Nations conferences, bring different faiths together at the Festival of Lights event - Hanukkah, Diwali and Christmas. They also organise inclusive competitions through the House System among many other initiatives. We would like the session to feature our younger leaders, i.e. 14 - 16 year olds 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 the freedom and encouragement. Participants will take away new ideas and also see how student leadership works in an international school context.
Students will participate in several sessions at this year's Showcase. As an organization dedicated to student agency and to the amplification of diverse voices and perspectives, NEASC is proud to offer a selection of student-centered presentations. See session descriptions for d... Read More →
I am an experienced school leader who has led international schools in countries. I believe passionately in holistic education and on making schools a centrepiece of the community. Previous to education I also held various senior roles in the media and I have used this media experience... Read More →
Thursday November 21, 2024 10:30am - 11:30am EST
.
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 their learners. Unfortunately, most of us have been doing it in isolation, even though many of the learning experiences are similar. That's 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, and to find out how your school can be involved moving forward.
High School Principal, American International School of Budapest
Born in Auckland, New Zealand to teaching parents, Graham grew up in the United Kingdom and has spent most of his life living in schools. He is currently serving as the High School Principal. After completing his undergraduate and Master's degrees at the University of St. Andrews... Read More →
Austin Volz is the lead author of The Elements of Education for Teachers. The recipient of both a Fulbright scholarship and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, Austin holds a B.A. from St. John’s College and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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?"
Students will participate in several sessions at this year's Showcase. As an organization dedicated to student agency and to the amplification of diverse voices and perspectives, NEASC is proud to offer a selection of student-centered presentations. See session descriptions for d... Read More →
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.
Students will participate in several sessions at this year's Showcase. As an organization dedicated to student agency and to the amplification of diverse voices and perspectives, NEASC is proud to offer a selection of student-centered presentations. See session descriptions for d... Read More →
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.
Students will participate in several sessions at this year's Showcase. As an organization dedicated to student agency and to the amplification of diverse voices and perspectives, NEASC is proud to offer a selection of student-centered presentations. See session descriptions for d... Read More →
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.
Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator/Civil Rights Team Advisor, Sacopee Valley High School
I am the Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) coordinator at Sacopee Valley High School. Previously, I was the district Gifted & Talented teacher (2016 - 2022) and English 12 and AP Literature & Composition teacher (2008 - 2016).Doctoral Student (EdD) - expected December 2024 - University... Read More →
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.
As a full-service manufacturer, VS America covers both the schools sectors and the office living and working space with intelligent furniture and integrative solutions.Contact: Baird Caner, New England Territory Manager
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.
Students will participate in several sessions at this year's Showcase. As an organization dedicated to student agency and to the amplification of diverse voices and perspectives, NEASC is proud to offer a selection of student-centered presentations. See session descriptions for d... Read More →
Too often, community responses to inequities see schools as the primary drivers of societal change. This presentation addresses this critical dilemma – how can educators teach inclusive content and implement equitable teaching practices without the engagement of all members of the school community – including all families? Clearly, we cannot create inclusive schools without also addressing bias and discrimination in the broader community. This presentation will focus on two main ideas. First, we'll explore how to build inclusive school environments within our increasingly diverse school populations. Discussion will include how a family's social identity influences their engagement and advocacy and why educators should expect conflict as part of the family-school relationship (and what to do with it!). Second, we'll explore how families from high income backgrounds upend education equity and ways to address this issue and move our entire school community towards education for the common good.
In today's diverse educational landscape, cultivating inclusive school cultures that honor the unique backgrounds and perspectives of all students is essential. This session will demonstrate how to harness the power of global literature to promote empathy, understanding, and cultural appreciation among students from various backgrounds. In this session, participants will learn to design and implement a bespoke curriculum that celebrates diversity and fosters inclusivity in K-12 education. Drawing from my experience in crafting English Language coursebooks and teaching Language and Literature to secondary students, I will share a case study of a successful unit titled "Around the World in Short Stories." Attendees will engage in group discussions and a multimedia presentation. They will explore strategies for selecting diverse texts, innovative assessment practices, and methods to foster inclusive dialogue. Participants will leave with practical tools and resources to create empathetic learning environments that empower all students to build a common purpose.
Language and Literature Educator, Consulting Curriculum Designer and Content Developer, United Lisbon International School
Jefferson Pereira is an educator with twenty years of experience in teaching and nearly a decade in curriculum design and materials writing. His professional work includes writing CLIL, TBL, and project-based coursebooks for middle and secondary school learners, now used across Latin... Read More →
This session will use tabletop activities to demonstrate the value of developing internal "Guiding Documents" around hot-button or risk-rich topics. When working through difficult topics - politics, identity, conflict, to name a few - policies often fall short of delivering solutions that preserve relationships. Guiding documents are internal resources that supplement policies and offer clarity around shared priorities, allowing those on the front lines to navigate complexity with clarity and generosity. Using real and relevant examples, this session will explore effective strategies to restore and/or preserve important relationships while navigating difficult topics.
What would it look like if you replaced tests and letter grades with projects, portfolios and public exhibitions? What if students moved on to the next level, not based on age or time, but when they demonstrated proficiency on essential skills? Performance-based promotion is the fundamental premise of Parker Charter, a public charter school in Massachusetts with 29 years of experience of using portfolios and public exhibitions to assess student readiness to move to the next level of study. This session details how the teachers and students of Parker Charter design and complete projects, share feedback, make revisions and progress through the program. The highlight of the session will be small group discussions with Parker students who will share their academic portfolios, showcasing their growth over time. The students will reflect on the process of learning and what they learned about themselves through hard work, reflection and revision.
Students will participate in several sessions at this year's Showcase. As an organization dedicated to student agency and to the amplification of diverse voices and perspectives, NEASC is proud to offer a selection of student-centered presentations. See session descriptions for d... Read More →
Madison Public Schools, CT will share their journey in transforming districtwide systems to leverage Profile of a Graduate (POG) through district curriculum design standards, performance assessments and teacher and leader evaluation. Their eleven-year journey has resulted in almost 900 adopted units (across disciplines) that ensure a systemic approach and shared values to develop the Profile of a Graduate in all learners. We will examine the districtwide tools and systems that support foundational element 2.2a and many of the sub-elements of the NEASC section on Student Learning. We will illustrate the system through our journeys in reimagined high school pathways and authentic examples of transformative K-12 curricula. Student voice is an important part of the redesign process. Take a close look at the design of a course and a unit where students develop in both content and profile of a graduate capacities which are ultimately demonstrated in end-of-unit complex performance tasks.
When Middlesex School embarked on an embedded Mindfulness program over a decade ago it was done so, only after careful consideration and scrutiny of the growing research regarding its benefits for teenagers. At the time we were learning that a practice of mindfulness can increase concentration, emotional regulation, positive social skills, care for others, self-esteem, quality of sleep, executive functioning, fortify the immune system, and improve overall well-being. The research also suggested that mindfulness decreases test anxiety, behaviors associated with ADHD, outbursts of anger, inflammation, negative emotions, and depression. The research has been so compelling that mindfulness has been incorporated into most mental health treatment modalities. While many schools are trying to find ways to incorporate elements of a mindfulness curriculum, we, at Middlesex School, have found that a fully integrated Mindfulness Program that reaches all areas of school life has exponential benefits for students and the entire community.
Director of Strategic Initiatives, Middlesex School
A 1999 graduate of Middlesex, Erika first returned to campus as a coach with the girls’ crew program (leading her fourth boat to a New England Championship in 2005) and subsequently joined the faculty as an assistant director of admissions in 2008. Erika holds a B.A. in psychology... Read More →
Explore the power of student voice and identify why "student voice" is integral to learning success for all students in our schools. In this session participants will consider working definitions of student voice in shared decision making using a democratic school high school as the model. This presentation of a governance model will uncover a range of challenges and supports to building opportunities for student voice in our schools. Examples will be given on how a school community can grow the supports and build bridges to meet the challenges of growing student voice in their school community. Time allowing, each school will have an opportunity to make an action plan to take back to their school.
Students will participate in several sessions at this year's Showcase. As an organization dedicated to student agency and to the amplification of diverse voices and perspectives, NEASC is proud to offer a selection of student-centered presentations. See session descriptions for d... Read More →
This session will involve participants in small group discussion, active listening, critical and creative thinking, and sharing your own experiences and expertise. We will discuss diversity and marginalisation, in international contexts and in your own context, and introduce you to The Digital School: its vision, mission and core values; its diverse operational contexts, working with marginalised students in 14 countries; and the model that unifies these diverse individuals and communities. Marginalised students lack access to consistent structured education, and digital education is helping to provide that access. But even when they have access, there is often no system to collect evidence of learning, further hindering students’ continuing journeys into higher education, vocational training, and employment. We will outline the aspirational partnership between The Digital School and Mastery Transcript Consortium, created to design a competency framework, a digital portfolio system, and a portable digital credential, specifically to benefit marginalized students.
Chief Program Officer, Mastery Transcript Consortium
With nearly two decades of experience working in public school systems, Susie supports MTC’s network of member schools as they work together and within their high schools to implement a Mastery Transcript or MTC Learning Record. Susie had previously served as the superintendent... Read More →
Does my school explicitly foster an intrinsic escalation of one's wellbeing among students? How might students be involved in developing and monitoring a wellbeing toolbox? This proposal is school's pilot project, an action research method focused on building and postulating learner centred Wellbeing strategy central to school's culture and environment. Through its strategic intent and social-emotional learning programmes, the school started addressing Student's well-being as an inclusive practice since 2018.While the school's Accreditation data and Cambridge Well-being Check evidence shows high levels of school life satisfaction, it highlights limitations related to intrinsic satisfaction. Drawn from Laura Taylor, et.al., Subjective wellbeing Concept (IBO,2022), this proposal intends to address these limitations by gathering qualitative and quantitative evidence to examine the factors that influence the self-perceived wellbeing of students and teachers in school context. The school's survey sample comprised of 500 high school students and 150 teachers, 50 sample interviews and reflective anecdotes.
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.
Too often students experience school as a series of things that happens to them over which they have little or no control. This leads to transactional mindsets and a sense that all school is for is investing in future (markers of) success: college/university acceptance, major, grad school, career, salary. This session challenges educators and leaders to think of school as an investment in who our students are now, as people developing identities, figuring out how they want to see and be seen in the world, forging world views, and determining how they want to act and interact with others. Through a spider chart activity on educational models, a discussion of ways to leverage external motivators (like grades) for intrinsic passion development, and a reflection on what constitutes true 21st century skills and capacities, participants will acquire strategies and tactics for combatting relevance resistance and for making school more human-centered.
Marc Aronson is Dean of Academics at Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut. He started there as a member of the English Department in 2008 after three years at AMSA Charter School in Marlborough, Massachusetts. He holds a BA in English from Tufts and an MSc in Comparative and... Read More →
Director of the Merle-Smith Campus, Moravian Academy
Rachel serves as the upper school director at Moravian Academy in Bethlehem, PA, the ninth oldest independent school in the nation. Rachel got her start in education as a math teacher in the School District of Philadelphia and made the switch to independent schools in 2011. Rachel... Read More →
In this session you will learn about how questions can launch community in your classroom. All you need is a willingness to learn about others and the enthusiasm to share a little about yourself.
National Director, Content and Implementation, Curriculum Associates
Mark Bernstein joined the education publishing and service arena in 2004 after years of success as a youth motivational speaker, on-air television host/producer, and teacher. At every stage of his career, Mark has combined his multiple talents in public speaking, presentation design... Read More →
