The Five Day Communications Sprint: From Chaos to Clarity in One Week

In a landscape where decisions are made quickly, impressions form faster, and the competition for enrollment is more nuanced than ever, the gap between a school's lived reality and its communicated identity can quietly cost more than any budget line reflects. Seana Peele, director of advancement & communications for the Woodlawn School, shares how schools can develop a communications strategy in five days that yields clarity and provides and architecture for telling your school's story with intention.

Rethinking Tuition: A Strategic Approach to Tuition Stability

Setting annual tuition is a complex blend of mission, market positioning, and financial strategy. Tuition & affordability is top of mind for SAIS heads. All schools, regardless of size, share some level of concern over financial operations. Tallulah Falls School implemented a tuition lock program more than a decade ago and shares how this model provides predictability and security for families while simultaneously demonstrating the school’s goal to provide a top-quality education without making money a priority.

A Whole-School Approach to Student Mental Health

Today's students are navigating anxiety, depression, and stress driven by pandemic aftereffects, social media, academic pressure, and uncertainty about the future. When a student is overwhelmed, even the best teacher cannot fully reach them. These resources offer a framework for building whole-school, tiered mental health support from the infrastructure level to the classroom.

Informed and Inspired: Summer Reading Opportunities for Faculty Members and School Leaders

Summer creates the conditions for reflective engagement with ideas, the kind that produce a more curious and adaptive educator. With suggestions from member schools, we've curated this reading and listening list around topics that speak to the challenges teachers and school leaders are navigating, with a companion toolkit that gives school leaders everything they need to turn individual reading into shared professional learning.

New Teacher Public to Private Onboarding Course

The SAIS New Teacher Public to Private Onboarding course is designed for educators transitioning from public school districts to the independent school sector. The asynchronous program provides a structural and cultural road map and is designed for those with at least three years of teaching experience in a public or charter school setting.

Participants explore the unique experience, governance, collaborative norms, and family partnership models that define the independent school environment through five learning modules. The course runs May 1, through September 30, 2026.

Independent School Leadership Forum

June 22-24 | Charlotte, NC

Learn directly from heads of school and senior leaders who will share candid insights, practical strategies, and real-world lessons. This is a rare opportunity to

• Learn how heads think about leadership and decision-making.
• Ask questions in an open, strategic setting.
• Build connections with mentor-level leaders beyond your own institution.
• Expand your professional network with peers who understand your role.

With four keynotes centered on leading self, leading team & others, leading community, and leading forward, plus learning journeys focused on People, Change, and Systems, you'll gain practical insights, expand your network, and build the skills needed to lead with confidence and influence.

Upcoming Events

Surviving & Thriving in School Administration, June 15-17, Charlotte, NC

Institute for Administrative Assistants, June 17-19, Charlotte, NC

Small Schools Summit, June 24-26, Charlotte, NC

Institute for Heads, June 28-July 1, Chattanooga, TN

Institute for New Teachers, July 14-16, Charlotte, NC, and July 21-23, Atlanta, GA

Annual Conference, October 4-6, Chattanooga, TN

Blueprint Sprint, October 26-27, Raleigh, NC