Tuesday: Sessions 2, 3, and 4

NEUROSCIENCE OF MARKETING: THE NEW SCIENCE TO YOUR PROSPECTIVE FAMILY’S DECISIONS
LOCATION: Marshall-Offutt 204
JIM HEALEY, PEAPOD DESIGN
There’s no question our brains are instinctively activated by certain types of stimulation. Our challenge is to harness and channel the right types of stimulation to create more effective marketing. Fortunately, neuroscience can be an important asset for us, teaching us how to use emotions to wake up our brain, how to feed our brain’s desire for familiarity and simplicity, and how to surprise our brain with word games and other unexpected language manipulations. In this workshop style session, you will see how you can apply neuroscience to improve your school’s marketing strategy.

INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING HAS CHANGED: SO, SCHOOLS SHOULD BE CHANGING THEIR MESSAGING!
LOCATION: McLennan Library, Lecture Hall
MARK SKLAROW, INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION
Not long ago, Independent Educational Consultants were local, sole practitioners, non-educators/counselors, and squarely focused on boarding schools. All of that has changed. Understanding who IECs are today (particularly the 1,000 who have entered the field in the last 5 years), how they work, and how they seek to build relationships with school admission leaders can be critical to your success with IECs. Plus: how IECA is changing to assure K-12 schooling remains a relevant and critical part of who we are.

FOSTERING PRODUCTIVE PARENT RELATIONSHIPS
LOCATION: Marshall-Offutt 208
JOANNE CARRUTHERS, STANSTEAD COLLEGE (CANADA) & MISSY EVANS-MORELAND, MORELAND & ASSOCIATES
Every school and consultant deals with demanding and sometimes difficult parents. But how do you approach discussions and interactions with parents to enable productive conversations and positive outcomes? This session, led by Educational Consultant Missy Evans-Moreland and Associate Head of School Joanne Carruthers, will share tips on how you can improve parent relationships, whether as a school or a consultant, and delve into some “dos and don’ts” when working with difficult parents. This session will be participatory! Bring your own tips and stories to share with the group, including how you would like to help have them resolved or how they have been resolved.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT WELL BEING; ARE WE DOING ALL THAT WE CAN?
LOCATION: Lohr Hall 117
JACQUI YAMADA, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL MANAGEMENT (ISM)
Student well being has finally come to the forefront for many educational programs. The well being of our international students is a concern as well but attending to such has its subtle differences and a need for an intentional approach. Understand the steps necessary to attend to the well being of your international students and the acculturation process required to help your faculty and staff create an inclusive culture. The main takeaways will be ideas and strategies to improve your school's international student program. Bolster your International Student Program by enhancing your international students' overall experience and thereby gaining a competitive edge in international enrollment.

8TH GRADE BOARDING: STEPPING INTO RESIDENTIAL LIFE
Location: Marshall-Offutt 206
CHRIS HUGHES, GARRISON FOREST SCHOOL (MD)
Eighth-grade boarding is an integral part of the Garrison Forest School residential life program. Beginning in 2019, GFS reorganized our structure to provide a distinct space and program for our eighth-grade boarders. This opened the door to multiple valuable opportunities, including closer collaboration with the middle school, a "flex-boarding" option, and significantly increased interest in local students converting from day to boarding. This session will explore the opportunities and challenges this change provided for the school.

I WANT MORE INQUIRIES? HERE'S THE BLUEPRINT FOR USING INBOUND MARKETING AT YOUR SCHOOL
LOCATION: Lohr Hall 124
BRENDAN SCHNEIDER, SCHNEIDERB MEDIA INC.
You have a great school, but you need more students. You've tried everything to get more people to inquiry, but you're not getting the results you want. In this presentation, Brendan will explain how to use inbound marketing to get the results you want while offering a path to get started using inbound marketing at your school.

RECIPE FOR DISASTER: THE DISRUPTION OF TODAY’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND HOW WE PIVOT
LOCATION: Marshall-Offutt 207
SANDRA D. WIRTH, WEST NOTTINGHAM ACADEMY (MD)
Students aged 12-22 are in crisis in greater numbers than ever before. They are feeling unprepared, confused, depressed, anxious, isolated, and suicidal. Mental health issues have been exacerbated by the global pandemic, the over reliance of online access, and the limited opportunities for healthy socialization. At the same time, many small boarding schools are tuition-driven, challenged as viable and successful businesses, internationally politicized, and feeling pressured to reconsider their admission criterion policies. This perfect storm is a recipe for long-term disaster and calls for a total disruption of academia. We must radically rethink the very nature of learning and what is important for our students to learn. We will examine the obstacles we face while adhering to our traditional models of education and look at a variety of opportunities to reimagine learning for this new generation.

WEBSITES FOR INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS: THE MOST IMPORTANT REASONS TO USE WORDPRESS FOR YOUR SCHOOL IN 2022
LOCATION: Marshall-Offutt 208
JIM HEALEY, PEAPOD DESIGN
One of the most common misconceptions about WordPress is that it is just a blogging platform. But WordPress is so much more. Why do almost 50% of colleges use WordPress for their websites? WordPress is fast becoming the platform of choice for so many independent schools because it’s powerful, affordable, easy to use, and flexible. Not all WordPress platforms are the same. I will explain how WordPress can be built for schools with school’s unique needs in mind. Not all WordPress platforms are the same. Learn the buzz words and what to look out for. You cannot afford to miss this informative session.

INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY: 15 MEASURES TO DECRYPT YOUR SCHOOLS BUSINESS MODEL
LOCATION: Marshall-Offutt 207
WILLIAM KUMMEL, PRINCIPAL, RATIONAL PARTNERS
Running a school is like running a state: What resources do you consume in the present rather than conserve for the future? Explore with a management consultant in institutional economics the challenges and opportunities in crafting a sustainable economic model for your school -- and all schools. Topics include: Program Revenue: full-pay leverage, fair-market price, and value proposition. Program Expense: labor productivity, section size, SG&A expense, and low cost models. Grants: need, merit, remission and socioeconomic diversity. Philanthropy Net: advancement, endowment and asset conservation. Physical Plant: capital maintenance and space utilization. Governance. mergers, acquisitions, arrangements, and long-term ownership. Session includes Q&A and sustainability analytics for 175 boarding schools, including 75 SBSA members (coded).

UNLOCKING POWERFUL (AND REAL) STUDENT STORIES
LOCATION: Marshall-Offutt 204
MATT SOULE & LISA PELRINE, CHAPEL HILL-CHAUNCY HALL SCHOOL (MA)
Your school is full of powerful student stories that will resonate with prospective families, and in this session you'll learn that with the right process, anyone can discover, capture, and share these stories. Whether you're looking for content for a blog, video, or podcast, these real student stories will quickly become one of your most effective marketing tools. With a career that spans from working on film sets and reality TV shows to becoming the Director of Marketing and Communication at Chapel Hill-Chancy Hall School, Matt has a unique perspective on capturing and sharing effective student stories. With nearly two decades of Admissions experience at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall, Lisa Pelrine has a deep understanding of what makes an impact on prospective families within the admissions process.

PROCESSING SPEED DISORDER - WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN?
LOCATION: Lohr Hall 124
MERRIDEE MICHELSEN, EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST
Dr. Merridee Michelsen will inform attendees about what to look for on psychoeducational reports regarding slow processing speed; how it affects classroom, extra-curricular, and social awareness; and how it is often overlooked as a symptom of other disorders. The participants will have the opportunity to experience slow processing speed themselves in order to gain more awareness of how this disorder impacts focus and the ability to shift, sequence, and denote auditory language. As processing speed weaknesses can diminish motivation and, in some cases be the foundation of behavioral issues, this presentation should prove to be informative for participants who will also have an opportunity to share experiences and ask questions, receive a printout of the nationally published article written by the presenter for future reference, and add to their methodologies, list of accommodations, and appropriate suggestions that will benefit their students and clients.

FAILING TO STRIKE A BALANCE: WHAT YOUR FACULTY MEMBERS AREN'T TELLING YOU ABOUT WHY THEY'RE BURNING OUT.
LOCATION: McLennan Library, Lecture Hall
JACQUELIN O'ROURKE, OUTERMOST EDUCATION SERVICES
We know that educators are burning out at alarming rates and with the faculty at small boarding schools already stretched thin, exhaustion is setting in for many of even our most talented and dedicated colleagues. In this discussion session, I will share trends from conversations with dozens of boarding school educators from across the country who are struggling to balance work and life in boarding school and give attendees a look through the window into my candid coaching conversations as we seek to understand what is at the heart of the matter. Attendees will be asked to share observations from their own schools as we collaborate to consider ideas that just might help your faculty beat burnout and find greater fulfillment in their work.

TREATMENT-TO-TRANSITION = USING GOOGLE FOR GOOD NOT EVIL
LOCATION: Lohr Hall 117
JENNEY WILDER, ALLKINDSOFTHERAPY.COM & THE WOODHALL SCHOOL (CT) & MATTHEW C. WOODHALL, THE WOODHALL SCHOOL (CT)
Everyone searches the web before speaking to anyone about a problem. Small boarding schools can utilize the web to build awareness for all families in search of a change in schools because of specific educational, social, or emotional needs. As they navigate the web, families often need clarity in demystifying learning styles, understanding social, emotional, and psychological needs, and ascertaining supportive school communities. We will share search data, anecdotes, professional scenarios, and ultimately explore how to utilize the marketing funnel from awareness, interest, desire, and into action and enrollment.

DO YOU BELONG?
LOCATION: Lohr Hall 124
RAY CROSS, ST. ANDREW'S SCHOOL (RI)
“Do I belong?” is a question students often grapple with when deciding on a school community to join. For some students, this is a question that they’ve asked themselves countless times during their lives regardless of situational context. This session will explore what we can do in schools to ensure all students feel as though they belong in their respective communities. Diversity, equity, inclusion and justice have become the focal points for many of our efforts around creating a culture of acceptance and celebrating difference in independent schools. The goal should be to take it a step further, however, to implement policies and practices that intentionally support ALL students. This session will explore some of the ways in which one school has centered belonging, and attendees are encouraged to share examples of what is working at their schools in an effort to advance DEIJ&B efforts within our respective communities.

MOVE OVER MILLENNIALS, THE #ALPHAGEN HAS ARRIVED!
LOCATION: Marshall-Offutt 208
DAVID LONG, INTERACTIVE SCHOOLS, DAVID TUTTLE & LAUREN CASTAGNOLA, WESTOVER SCHOOL (CT)
We've just started understanding the Millennial generation, and now we have the Alpha-Gen on our horizon! Children are having more influence in the admissions process. Learn about their habits - and how to engage with the tech-savvy, Tik-Toking, hyperconnected generation.

PANDEMIC BOOM OR BUST: THE SIX COMPONENTS OF PARENT RETENTION
LOCATION: Marshall-0ffutt 207
JILL GOODMAN, JILL GOODMAN CONSULTING
During the pandemic and in its wake, many schools have had a flood of inquiries, applications, and new students as parents tried to find alternatives to the local public schools. Meanwhile, other schools struggled to retain students as families relocated out of the big cities or experienced financial hardship. Through the results of qualitative research conducted by Jill Goodman Consulting with parents who withdrew a student from schools across the country, schools they once loved, participants will better understand parent and student behavior and why some families choose to leave before graduation. That research resulted in the Six Components of Parent Retention, a framework of in-depth questions about the program and the school’s parent experience. Participants will use that as an opportunity for self-reflection, assessment, and crafting or bolstering a strategy to retain new families now and in the future.

HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR ENROLLMENT STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE YOUR BIGGEST PRIORITIES
LOCATION: McLennan Library, Lecture Hall
DAVE TAIBL & JIM DAUGHDRILL, THE ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
Join Jim Daughdrill and Dave Taibl of The Enrollment Management Association to learn about the seven essential levers to building an effective enrollment strategy including the data you should be collecting to make more informed strategic decisions. Jim and Dave will share relevant boarding school insights and case studies that illustrate how maximizing the full enrollment spectrum can help you create a unifying plan for success.

UNFINISHED LEARNING: HOW SMALL BOARDING SCHOOLS ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO ADDRESS PANDEMIC RELATED LEARNING LOSS
LOCATION: Marshall-0ffutt 204
HELEN WALDRON, THE OXFORD ACADEMY (CT)
The impact of the ‘COVID slide’ phenomenon extends beyond learning loss, negatively affecting students’ social and emotional growth. In addition to compromised academic opportunities, many students experienced trauma and lacked social experiences and peer interactions crucial for their healthy development. In this interactive session, we will explore how small boarding schools are the ideal antidote to this disruption.

WOULD YOU RATHER
LOCATION: Lohr Hall 117
DAVID HODGSON, GREENWOOD SCHOOL (VT)
Would you rather tell the Board Chair their son is not the best fit for your school or walk into a room with a group of students in violation of your substance policy? As administrators at small boarding schools, we wear many hats and are asked to make difficult decisions all the time. Come join this open forum, share your stories and best practices to help us navigate these situations in the future.