Counting Down to the 2017 SAIS Annual Conference
Rate increases Friday, September 22!
Register Now for the SAIS Annual Conference!
Registration is  OPEN  for the 2017 SAIS Annual Conference, October 22-24  at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia in  Atlanta . Featuring keynote speakers Alan November and Dr. Johnnetta Cole, the conference includes an impressive variety of speakers and breakout sessions, including equity and inclusion in leadership, encouraging meaningful feedback, and growing social intelligence.  The Early Bird Rate Deadline is Friday, September 22!
Neighbors: Friends or Foes?
For school properties situated on open campuses, neighbors surrounding the school can be great friends and supporters but sometimes, unfortunately, they might prove to be the school’s harshest critics. The school head must protect interests on campus while also preserving positive relations with nearby residents or businesses.
Lessons from My Journey
Creativity. Community. Are those hot topics on your campus? Are they part of your core values or even your mission? As the needs of students in a 21 st century environment continue to evolve, schools look to meet those needs while also preserving what is important. As a leader in education, Dr. Johnnetta Cole draws upon her past to share stories and lessons with fellow educators. At our keynote address at the 2017 SAIS Annual Conference , join Dr. Cole to learn from her experiences. 
SAIS Launches Biannual Magazine
Coming soon ... to a mailbox near you ... the inaugural issue of the SAIS Magazine ! Articles include interviews with the keynote speakers for the upcoming SAIS Annual Conference, trends in teaching and learning, happenings from some of our member schools, and a guest column from one of our school heads. Enjoy this first issue and look for the next one in 2018! Contact christina@sais.org with any comments.
Start. Right. Now. by Todd Whitaker, Jeffrey Zoul, and Jimmy Casas
Reviewed by Sarah Barton Thomas, Middle School Director, The Montgomery School, Montgomery, AL
There is so much wisdom packed into the 212 pages of Start.Right.Now. Teach and Lead for Excellence that it is hard to summarize it all or to capture it in a few short paragraphs. Todd Whitaker, Jeffrey Zoul, and Jimmy Casas share their perspective of what it means to be an excellent teacher and leader. It is broken down into four parts: Know the Way, Show the Way, Go the Way , and Grow Each Day . Teachers and leaders pursue excellence by demonstrating each of these four characteristics in all elements of their daily life and work.
Annual Conference Preview: Student-Centered Leadership
The word “leadership” prompts different images for different people. In a school setting, its meaning can vary widely from teacher to teacher and administrator to administrator. The one constant is that we all want to see students thrive as citizens and leaders, but the question remains: How?

At the 2017 SAIS Annual Conference , Katherine Berdy, director of The C. Kyser Miree Ethical Leadership Center at The Altamont School in Birmingham, AL, will showcase the four programs within the center and explain how their student-centered approach has led to more than 100 partnerships in the Birmingham community and around the world. Specific topics include service learning, global citizenship, dialogue and diversity, and project-based initiatives.

Berdy was recently recognized by The Women’s Fund of Birmingham as one of Birmingham’s “Ten Smart Women of 2017” for her work with The Miree Center. She is a 2014 graduate of The Gardner Carney Leadership Institute and a certified facilitator for The Student Leadership Challenge. Her session “Student-Centered Leadership: The Miree Approach” will be held on Tuesday, October 24 at 1:45 PM at the 2017 SAIS Annual Conference in Atlanta. 
SAIS Featured School: Madison-Ridgeland Academy
Madison-Ridgeland Academy in Madison, MS, is a college preparatory school serving students from K3 through graduation . Founded in 1969, MRA is a community of students, parents, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni — an extended family — who are committed to the school’s mission of developing the mind, body, and spirit of each child to the highest standards. 
SAIS Collaboration Grant Submissions Open October 1
The Stephen P. Robinson Collaboration Grants were created to encourage independent schools to form new partnerships with other schools or institutions of higher education, with preference given to collaborations with other schools serving students in any grades from K through 12th.  SAIS will annually divide a total of $25,000. Five member schools each will receive $5,000 . Those applying must demonstrate a vision and capacity to pursue and carry out meaningful collaborations. Successful examples have demonstrated efforts that benefit the greater community or region in unique ways. Schools selected for grants will share their results with the SAIS community. Submissions are due by December 31, 2017. www.sais.org/grants  
Top Tweets
Help for Hurricane Irma and more.
Blog of the Week
Timely vs. Timeless: A Thought on Mission Statements
Mark Crotty, head of St. John’s Episcopal School in Dallas, kills the buzzwords. 
Endowment Building for Schools
Every independent school should have an ample endowment to carry it through tough times. The best way to initiate an endowment is through planned giving. In an SAIS webinar on September 28 at 4 PM, Linda McNay, Ph.D. of Our Fundraising Search, will share simple steps to begin a successful planned giving program and will offer suggestions on how to enhance current planned giving efforts. Register at sais.org/webinar .
SAIS is now accepting proposals for breakout sessions at the 2018 SAIS Athletic Directors Conference, January 16-17, in Charlotte, NC. sais.org/ADC
SAIS is now accepting proposals for breakout sessions at the 2018 SAIS Finance Institute, January 16-17, in Charlotte, NC. sais.org/FI
DASL - Data & Analysis for School Leadership

Data entry is now open for the National Association of Independent School's (NAIS)  Data and Analysis for School Leadership  (DASL). Your school does not need to be an NAIS member to take advantage of this incredibly powerful software. Data entry has never been this simple - questions are tailored specifically to your school and there are numerous webinars and office hours available if you need additional help. Data entry must be completed by October 11 . Data will be available for reporting on November 8.
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