I was pleased to lead a two-hour workshop yesterday for about 50 business officers from the Southwest region of independent schools. Rather than the normal “sit and get” that conferences usually provide, I asked for this extended block of time to create an active learning session. Many walked into the room more than a bit [...]
I got to St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School latish in the afternoon; most of the students had left for meetings with college admissions reps, but I had a quiet chance to meet with long-time Head Joan Holden, long-time CFO Beth Chase, and two art teachers. Most schools don’t roll out the art teachers for me [...]
Thanks so much to WhippleHill and founder Travis Warren for their support on my journey. Here is a video chat that I did with Travis when I visited their offices in October. It is a pretty good summary of the journey as of mid-October.
I had a pretty high opinion of Sidwell Friends School before I visited this week, and was not disappointed. Head Tom Farquhar freely admits they are not “the most progressive school”, but I brought away some important lessons regarding both process and product. I had put this school on my visit list not due to [...]
Holly Chesser at SAIS in Atlanta was kind enough to include a piece on my work in the latest newsletter. Here is the opening part with link to the rest. Thanks, Holly, and look forward to presenting and discussing with SAIS on Nov. 6. Again, for any in the area, contact Holly to attend. As [...]
I am pretty good at both thinking and seeing outside of boxes, but there was a time yesterday during my meeting at Flint Hill School outside of Washington, D.C. that I just wasn’t getting it. We are all burdened with perceptions based on experience, and I am not an exception. I got stuck on a [...]
If you are in range of Atlanta on Nov. 6, I am honored to be with SAIS for their monthly Lunch and Learn from 11:30-1:30. According to regional director Holly Chesser spaces are filling up quickly, so contact her to reserve a spot. I will give a summary of my journey to date and then [...]
As we have seen before on this journey, schools are at different places on the path toward a new learning paradigm, and it is not so much where they are, but the fact that they are on the path that labels them as innovators. Alexandria Country Day School is in this category. They have a [...]
The school I visited on Friday in Boston is the smallest I will see on this trip, just 43 students in grades 6-12 on the third floor of a brick building on Beacon Street. Many will be tempted to dismiss the lessons from such a school as not applicable to their own issues and opportunities. [...]
I am holed up in a small town in Connecticut for the weekend, getting caught on the blog, copying video files, making plane reservations for Thanksgiving week, confirming visits through early November, logging key take-aways, and creating a new and critical list of lessons: what obstacles to innovation have people cited in these visits. It [...]