The focus of this program is strengthening the relationship between the head and board.  The GLI will position this team to provide joint leadership that helps schools achieve excellence.  

The program will begin at 4:00 PM on Sunday, Feb 3, and adjourn by 4:00 PM on Monday, Feb 4.  Registration and details here. 

Anchors, Dams, Silos

If you read Grant Lichtman's blog, The Learning Pond, chronicling his educational journey across the nation in pursuit of innovating schools in the hopes that you'll discover a template for innovation, you're likely to be disappointed.  What he's learned through his travels is that there is no easy tool-kit for schools to use, no simple "Innovation for Dummies" approach to ensure sustainable and systemic change.   MORE ...

At the 2012 Learning Forward Annual Conference, Howard Gardner, in a thought leader lecture on his new book Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed: Education for the Virtues in the 21st Century, closed with this remark, "I haven't come up with the answers, but I think I have the right questions."  With this quote, Gardner highlights an important step in the process of instituting positive and essential change in education: asking the right questions. MORE ...

If you've been a teacher for any length of time, then no doubt you've been asked by students why they have to know, read, or study whatever subject you are teaching. Often, teachers respond that the knowledge is necessary to succeed in next year's class or ultimately college. Education's payoff becomes delayed, a lesson in patience for perhaps the least patient among us.  In a short, popular e-book, Will Richardson, educator and prolific blogger, examines education's present purpose, truncating that ubiquitous student question to two words: Why School?  MORE ...

Jack B. Stanford, 82, of Chattanooga, died on Friday, December 7, 2012.

After graduating from the University of Chattanooga, Jack was a teacher, coach, summer camp director, admissions director, and assistant headmaster at Baylor School in Chattanooga (1953-1972).  He was then the headmaster of Presbyterian Day School in Memphis (1972-1979), and president and headmaster of The Hutchison School in Memphis (1979-1995). During this time, he also served as a board member of the Tennessee, Southern, and National Associations of Independent Schools.

Read the full obituary here.

A Trip Back in Time Inspires Respect for Democracy
Duke School (NC) 5th grader (yes, you read that right!) Josh Leffler shares how a field trip to Williamsburg sparked his interest in the national election.

It's 10 o'clock, do you know where your children are?
Walker (GA) Upper School Principal Bob Murphy reminds today's parents that safe in bed doesn't equate to safe on the Internet.

It's Never Too Late to Follow Grant Lichtman's Ed Journey
Mount Vernon Presbyterian Head of School Brett Jacobsen reminds us of why we love the Internet.

If you get all As, we'll buy you the new iPhone.
Darlington School Counselor Chris Allen discourages the carrot and stick motivational model, promoting instead a "heart-based approach (that) shares values and reasons behind rules."

Is 49.6% the new "C"?
Brainerd Baptist (TN) Head of School Sean Corcoran questions how his state evaluates success for its students. 

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Join us for a blended course that will help administrators do a "deep-dive" into online learning, and the opportunities and challenges that online learning presents for independent schools.  It will cover both the strategic decisions that schools face and the practical issues for implementation of online learning within a school.  Particular focus will be spent on pedagogical and financial implications for schools.  During the course, participants will be exposed to national leaders and experts in online learning, including experts within the independent school community.

This course will consist of both online assignments and interactions plus two in-person, day-long workshops held at The Lovett School in Atlanta, GA. Participants should expect assignments to take approximately 4-6 hours to complete (about every three weeks).  The in-person workshops will begin at 9:00 AM and end at 2:30 PM on February 19 and June 10. Schools are encouraged to send teams of 3-5 people.  The cost is $1,250 per person and registration opens on Monday, December 17.  The course is limited to 30 participants; register early to ensure your spot.

Additional information and registration (after December 17) here.

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