 Teacher Turnover Costs How Much?!?!
By Damian Kavanagh, SAIS
$7,500 per teacher - that's what turnover costs you - and this is a conservative estimate. The average SAIS school spends $54,750 on teacher turnover every year and again, this is a conservative estimate. With the continuing demand for high quality teachers and a dramatic shortage of high quality teachers, there is a perfect storm driving up not just salaries, but dollars allocated to recruitment and retention. >>Read more.
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 Double Dipping on College Credit
By Christina Mimms, SAIS
Entering college with a semester's worth of college credits certainly gives new freshmen some breathing room during a significant life transition. Many students choose to enroll in fewer classes in their first college semester while others opt to get ahead on completing some core requirements. Whether the credits were earned through AP classes or dual enrollment at nearby universities, high schools must seek the best ways to manage this process in a way that allows their students to advance without short-changing their own academic programs. >>Read more.
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 In Other Words By Jhumpa Lahiri
Reviewed by Leah Slawson, English Teacher, Trinity Presbyterian School, Montgomery, AL
In Other Words, by Jhumpa Lahiri, isn't an obvious choice for educators looking to learn more about their craft, and yet it belongs on our summer reading lists. If for no other reason than it is simple, beautiful prose, written with remarkable clarity about the self in the midst of the learning process. For teachers of writing and foreign language, the concept of the book alone is intriguing; a successful writer immerses herself in a foreign language and writes a book in it. The implications for music, visual arts, and mathematics teachers are not much of a stretch either, but the book goes far beyond just the language learning and creative processes, and its larger themes of identity and exile appeal to anyone who is at all self-reflective. >>Read more.
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 Stephen P. Robinson Collaboration Grant Recipient Report: Carolina Friends School
In the upcoming issues of SAIS HeadLines, reports from the 2015 Stephen P. Robinson Collaboration Grant recipients will be published. These reports detail the programs funded by the grant program.
Carolina Friends School received the Stephen P. Robinson Collaboration Grant in order to expand collaborations with area schools focused on creating positive, peaceful, and safe school climates. The vision for the project was to create a collaboration among four organizations: Carolina Friends School, Carter Community Charter School, Duke University Program in Education, and Peaceful Schools, NC. >>Read more.
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SAIS Lunch and Learn Webinars
Join SAIS over your lunch break for a virtual seminar. You provide the lunch and we'll provide the webinar. Registration is free. >>Register here.
What Are All These Tests?
Thursday, April 21, 2016: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, EST
There are so many tests available - and your school probably gives most or all of them. Join former NAIS head of school and assessment expert Jonathan E. Martin for this fast-paced webinar. We'll tour more than half a dozen of the most interesting, popular, and exciting innovative and alternative assessments of student learning and perceptions of learning.
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 2016 SAIS Institute for New Heads
The SAIS Institute for New Heads provides a necessary primer to headship and a chance to sharpen your vision for the first years as head. The institute will cover topics such as leadership, balance, strategic planning, managing financials and externals, mission driven schools, and working with boards, faculty, staff, and parents. The institute will be led by a panel of experienced heads, including Jack Hall (The Walker School). "It was very helpful and it gave me a lot of information to feel prepared going forward," said Charlane Baccus, who relocated from Dallas to start as the head of Omni Montessori School in Charlotte, NC, a year ago. "I enjoyed getting to know other people in this region and hearing their stories. I would definitely recommend it." Join us June 15-17, 2016 in Atlanta.
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Call for SAIS Board of Trustee Nominations
The board is responsible for the supervision, control, and direction of the association. According to the bylaws, trustees must be heads of SAIS member schools. The board seeks to represent geographic diversity as well as diversity of school mission and a variety of other factors. Review the current board of trustees here. The SAIS Committee on Trustees will process the nominations and review the nominees. The slate will be presented for approval by the membership at the SAIS annual business meeting, which takes place at the SAIS Annual Conference, October 22-24, 2016, in Atlanta. New trustees will begin their terms on January 1, 2017. Submit a nomination for the SAIS Board of Trustees here.
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SAIS offers a variety of affordable, accessible, and relevant professional development programs for independent school leaders.
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June 13-15 | Emory Conference Center | Atlanta, GA
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June 14-15 | Emory Conference Center | Atlanta, GA
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June 15-17 | Emory Conference Center | Atlanta, GA
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June 15-17 | Emory Conference Center | Atlanta, GA
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June 15-17 | Emory Conference Center | Atlanta, GA
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June 21-24 | Omni Amelia Island Plantation | Amelia Island, FL
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July 12-14 - Atlanta, GA | July 19-21 - Charlotte, NC | July 26-28 - Nashville, TN
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October 22 | Crowne Plaza Ravinia | Atlanta, GA
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October 22-24 | Crowne Plaza Ravinia | Atlanta, GA
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On-Site Board Workshops
SAIS President Dr. Kirk Walker and Vice President Damian Kavanagh are available to visit your campus and conduct on-site governance workshops.
- Trusteeship for Independent Schools
- New Trustee Orientation
- Becoming an Outstanding Board
- The Changing Landscape of Independent School Governance
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Technical Assistance Services:
Benchmarking and Bylaws
Now is the time to use NAIS DASL data to plan for next year. Do you need benchmark salary information? SAIS can help and can teach you how to use this powerful tool.
Do your bylaws need a refresh? We have read quite a number and are happy to read yours and will provide suggestions on aligning your bylaws with your aspirations of being and remaining a strategically effective board. Contact Damian Kavanagh at SAIS, (404) 918-8850 or damian@sais.org.
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WANTED:
Your School's Logo
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Franklin Road Academy
Franklin Road Academy is a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade coeducational independent school offering the unique combination of a challenging and supportive educational experience in an inclusive Christian community. Students are inspired to joyfully pursue their academic and co-curricular passions and to love one another well. FRA is a place where students are encouraged to think critically, act with integrity, and lead in service to others.
Would you like to be an SAIS Featured School? Contact christina@sais.org.
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Christine Swanson, principal of Edison Elementary in Westland, MI, gets parents on board with school life.
Michael Zavada, middle and upper school principal at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery, AL, leads students on more than a vacation in Washington, DC.
David Cutler, journalism and history teacher at Brimmer and May School in Chesnut Hill, MA, shares tips for teachers.
Arnie Bieber, director of the International School of Prague, Czech Republic, takes a walk in a student's shoes.
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Sports titles, art projects, SAIS school visits, and a super cool magnetic wall!
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Just Say Cheese:
Your Photos Wanted!
Got any great photos of your campus, students, or a special occasion at your school? Would you be willing to let SAIS use them on our website, in marketing materials, and in publications such as this? If so, please send high-resolution files to christina@sais.org.
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Retiring in 2016?
If you are a head of school who will be retiring at the end of the 2015-16 school year, please let us know so we can induct you into the SAIS Legacy Club, a group of retired heads of school who gather twice a year. Please complete our Legacy Club bio form.
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