NAIS in Philadelphia

The Liberty Bell hangs just a few
blocks from the Convention Center

I feel so lucky to be supported - nay, expected(!) - to attend to my professional development here at TBS. This past week I attended the NAIS Annual Conference in Philadelphia, where I was able to attend several workshops, network with other school administrators from around the country, catch up with members of my cohort from the Fellowship for Aspiring Heads, and have the thrilling opportunity to present a workshop for the first time.

The best general session of the conference featured Jim Collins, author of the Good to Great books and coiner a number of notable organizational metaphors, including "the bus" (as in, who is on it) and "hedgehog" (as in, know and be yourself). Jim is a fantastic public speaker and he inspired the crowd to forgo good in the pursuit of greatness.

This copy of the Declaration of Independence is the one
that was read aloud to the citizens gathered in the courtyard
of Independence Hall immediately after the signing event.

Of the many workshops I attended, three stood out for their usefulness and applicability at TBS. Two were focused on the topic of faculty evaluation, and the third looked at models for developing an inclusive and diverse faculty body.

My workshop came during the third session of the first day of the conference, on the topic of "Changing School Culture at the Division Level".

This is thought to be the George Washington's
final proof copy of the Constitution.

The process of developing the Powerpoint presentation was an interesting one, as my first draft was overly reliant on images, in response to my concern that I not bore attendees by simply reading the slides. After a test-run with Kate Klaire, I reworked the slides to be more focused and less representational, as well as changed the order of some of the content for improved coherence. This work paid off in multiple ways; I felt great about the presentation, and the response of several of the attendees who came up afterwards to ask me for digital versions of the presentation offered a confirmation of my efforts.


The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall are just a few blocks from the Convention Center, so I made sure to nip over during a break and take in some amazing history.