Preconference Presenters

SCHOOL BOARD PRECONFERENCE
(open to all general school board members, especially those attending EARCOS for the first time and who have never had a formal board training seminar, with Ralph Davison. Other school board members can attend either the CASE or the Tom Hawkins preconference on Saturday. On Sunday, all board members registered for a preconference will meet together following the keynote).

Description: This workshop will highlight Effective Governance using the NAIS Trustee Handbook for International Schools.

BUSINESS MANAGER'S PRECONFERENCE (EARASBO)
continues on Sunday after Keynote

:: Conference at a Glance
:: Preconference Presenters
:: Keynote Speakers
:: Workshop Presenters
:: Associate Presenters
:: Job-A-Like Facilitators
:: Presenters Biography

:: Registration Forms

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RALPH DAVISON

Schedule: Friday, October 31, 2008 | 08:30-16:30
Title: Leadership Through Partnership: Planning for School and Personal Success
(open to Heads and School Board Chairs only)

Description: Schools that understand the concept of Leadership Through Partnership tend to thrive, while others tend to be in a constant state of chaos. This workshop will help trustees and heads of schools understand and learn how to practice the fundamentals of leadership through partnership, using presentation materials, group discussion and case studies.

Biography: Dr. Ralph Davison is Senior Consultant for Carney, Sandoe and Associates, the largest US firm dedicated to teacher placement, executive search and strategic consulting services for Boards of Trustees and their schools worldwide. His consulting and search experience includes North America, Asia and Europe. He served as the Associate Headmaster of St. Anne’s-Belfield School (VA), the Assistant Headmaster of St. Stephen’s School (VA), and for 20 years as the Headmaster of Greensboro Day School (NC). He founded the Triad Association of Non-public Schools (NC), served as the President of the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, served on the boards of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools, and currently serves on the Collegiate School (VA) Board of Trustees and the corporate board for Kindermusik International. He served on the local boards of First Union (one year as Chairman) and Wachovia Banks (1991-2005) and currently is a faculty member of the NAIS Financing Schools Institute.

Ralph graduated from the Maret School, an international school in Washington, DC. He holds a BA in music and French from Hamilton College, a MA degree in medieval French literature from Middlebury College, and a PhD in history and education from the University of Virginia. His doctoral work centered on the missionary education work of the Episcopal Church with rural southern African-Americans (ca. 1907-1940) and the Appalachian Mountain people in Virginia (1888-1948).

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MARILYN GEORGE

Schedule: Friday, October 31, 2008 / 08:30 - 16:30
Title: WASC Self-Study and Visiting Committee Training

Description: This one day interactive WASC session will examine the essentials of the Focus on Learning self-study process and the many ways it can be adapted to a school's situation. The session will provide an opportunity for EARCOS educators to examine strategies inherent in Focus on Learning that support the school's assessment of student learning in relation to school wide learning results and curricular objectives/standards. During the latter part of the session, there will be a panel of EARCOS educators who will share how they adapted the Focus on Learning process for respective schools, including its integration with strategic planning. This session enables participants to become eligible for serving on WASC visiting committees.

Schedule: Saturday, November 1, 2008 / 08:30 - 14:30
Title: WASC Visiting Committee Chair Training

Description: The workshop will prepare EARCOS educators to chair a WASC visiting committee. The roles of "keeper of the vision regarding ongoing school improvement" and "manager of the visiting committee" will be examined. There will be insight and advice shared by EARCOS educators who have already chaired full and mid-term visits.

Biography: Dr. George has been the associate executive director of WASC since 1987. In addition to her knowledge of accreditation and school improvement, her areas of expertise are curriculum/instruction and staff development. She has been a classroom teacher, staff development specialist, trainer, consultant, and a high school district administrator of staff development and state/federal programs. She has worked extensively with the California State Department of Education in the areas of program quality reviews, the mentor teacher program, and staff development programs. She has given presentations and written and other publications in the areas of staff development, mentoring, and accreditation. Her degrees are from Westminster College (B.S.), University of Wisconsin, Madison (M.S.), and UCLA (Ed.D).

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TOM HAWKINS and ISB Leadership Team     (REGISTRATION CLOSED)

Title: Turning the Flywheel…Making a Good school Great!

Description: The International School of Beijing has created a model for successful school development based on the work of Jim Collins’ Good to Great in the Social Sector. This pre-conference is intended for Board Members, Heads, and senior administrators charged with setting the direction of their schools. This interactive preconference will be followed later in the conference with sessions by each of the presenters on the various areas of:

*Good to Great Era Planning (building the framework)
*Disciplined People (building the teams)
*Disciplined Thought (planning for the near and long-term)
*Disciplined Action (development of curriculum, co-curricular programs and budget)

Biography: Dr. Tom Hawkins has been at ISBeijing since 2002, assuming the role of Head of School in 2005. Tom has been in education for more than 20 years, spending 15 of those in international schools. Tom’s background in educational leadership and passion for “mission-driven schools that work” have led him to develop expertise in the area of school and organizational development. Robbie Briggs-has been at ISBeijing since 2006, assuming the role of Board Chair in 2007. Robbie has served on several private school boards in the U.S., most recently as Chair of the Cambridge School of Dallas. Robbie’s passion for school improvement, community involvement, and inclusion of all is helpful in everything ISB is able to accomplish.

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JOHN JOSEPH

Title: Learning with the Brain in Mind    
Handouts available at www.focuseducation.com.au

Description: The past decade has seen an explosion of information about the brain and its function. More has been learnt about the functioning of the human brain in the last decade than in all the proceeding centuries. Applied to classroom practice, this information affirms many elements of taken-for-granted teaching practice, and challenges numerous others. ‘Learning with the Brain in Mind’ provides a comprehensive approach to practice congruent with current understanding about brain development. There is a strong balance between theory and practical classroom application.

Biography: John Joseph has presented keynote addresses, conferences and workshop sessions to more than a quarter of a million people representing more than 3,000 schools across 17 countries. Week after week, he facilitates full-day workshops for student groups where he challenges young people to learn about learning, behavior and emotions. John uses stunning computer-generated graphics and actual brain dissections to engage kids. He has facilitated the dissections of more than 120,000 sheep brains! Little wonder that people refer to him as “The Brain Man!” John has presented keynotes and full day sessions to principals, teachers, students, parents, judges, business leaders, accountants, the medical profession, community service organizations, government departments and tertiary education staff. He has published more than 100 articles, 6 books and a number of CD Roms. His web sites generate over 120,000 downloads every month.

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BILL KENTTA / JOSH RECKORD / ANDREW HOOVER

Title: From Breakdowns to Breakthroughs
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Description: It sometimes happens in organizations that members do not work well together, people feel frustrated, and very little gets done. In this workshop, we will discuss tools and strategies to use to address these problems and how to decide what to change. We will focus on transforming your organizational capacity by equipping you with assessment and process tools for moving from what is to what might be. Via selective case studies we’ll translate theory into practical realities.

Biography:
Dr. William Kentta has been a Curriculum and Staff Development Administrator in the Eugene, Oregon public school system for twenty years. Before that, he taught high school English, speech, and journalism. He has a Ph.D in English and has taught at Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and the University of Maryland--Far East Division, Vietnam. Bill has been an Organizational Development consultant in public schools since 1977 and has consulted nationally and internationally. He has made presentations at National Staff Development Conferences, presented at workshops and conferences for EARCOS and has published several articles in the Journal of Staff Development. Formerly the Director of the Eugene Cadre, the oldest volunteer group of organizational specialists in the United States. He is currently semi-retired and continues to consult on organizational development topics.

Josh Reckord is a retired educator with 38 years of school experience. After working in Eugene, Oregon as a teacher and Head Teacher/Team Leader he worked at the American School in Japan for 10 years. While there, he was involved with and facilitated a number of projects dealing with divisional staffs, board governance and leadership and school wide initiatives. He remains interested in working with a variety of non- profit organizations including schools, community groups, and churches helping them improve their abilities to work collaboratively. In retirement, he is a volunteer member of the Eugene Cadre, a group of school employees who support organizational development in the Eugene School District. He also enjoys travel, continued work with overseas schools, and working in his garden.

Andrew Hoover is currently the middle school principal at the American School of Bombay where he has also coordinated strategic planning, curriculum development, MSA accreditation, and various school improvement processes. Prior to moving to Mumbai in 2005, Andrew worked at ASIJ for ten years as a social studies teacher where his interest in organization development was nurtured through projects such as guidance of the school’s vision process as well as collaborative and facilitative work on middle school curricula, school evaluation processes, and middle school off-campus trips. He carries a deep optimism in the potential of groups to create better organizations and more meaningful life experiences for participants.

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KAREN MOREAU

Title: Developing and Sustaining a Standards-Based Curriculum
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Description: During this workshop, the following topics will be explored:

• What is the importance of curriculum and what purpose does it serve?
• Components of a standards-based curriculum
• Principles of backward design curriculum planning
• Planning for a curriculum project
• Sustaining curriculum in an international school

Biography: Karen Moreau has been involved in curriculum and professional development since 1987 and in international curriculum since 1998. She is currently the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development at Taipei American School (TAS). Prior to this, she was the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development at Academia Cotopaxi in Quito, Ecuador; Curriculum Coordinator at International School of Bangkok; and Curriculum Coordinator in Federal Way school district in Washington State. She has been an international consultant in curriculum, assessment and differentiated instruction as well as presenting workshops at conferences around the world. She has worked with schools to develop curriculum based on the principles of American education, international education and the three IB programs. She has taught at all levels of education – elementary, middle, high school and college. Karen resides with her husband, Paul and two cats in Taipei, Taiwan.

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MIKE MILLER / KRISTA SLADE (CASE)

Title: Triumvirate for Success: Proven Strategies for Heads, Directors and Board Members

Description: The CASE pre-conference will examine in detail key success factors in advancement leadership for international/independent schools: Heads working most effectively with their development staff and Board volunteers. We will look at the potential pitfalls of setting up a development office, alongside potential and benefits, with actual case studies and real-life examples. Where should the development function sit within a school's established hierarchy? Is the development function a senior or middle management role? How much should you depend on the development function? What can you reasonably expect your development office to achieve, and how quickly? How can you manage expectations? Using real-life examples, stories, role-playing exercises and benchmarking data, this full day session will be co-lead by two senior advancement practitioners with international experience who can answer your questions and help set you on the road with excellent information/practical next steps.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London and Singapore, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is the professional organization for advancement professionals who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas. (www.case.org)

Biography: Mike Miller is a 40-year veteran of independent advancement, completing his eleventh year in an international setting.  He is a frequent speaker at CASE, NAIS, ECIS, IDPE and regional associations around the world and for eight years taught the summer institute (Independent School Management) in educational fundraising for newcomers to development and international schools.  Mike recently retired as both Director of External Affairs at the American School in London and as chair of the ECIS Development Committee, positions he held for 10 years and 8 years respectively. Mike has chaired both major school advancement conferences in the United States and Europe and is a recipient of CASE’s Robert Bell Crow Award for Excellence in the Independent Advancement Field, as well as a designated Blue Ribbon Principal (secondary) by the U. S. Department of Education. This past year, Mike was awarded CASE’s inaugural award for distinguished service to international schools, an award which has now been named in his honor.

Mike has experience in day and boarding schools, single gender and coed institutions, K-12 and religiously affiliated schools, merged schools and multiple campus facilities, start-up development programs and sophisticated, multi-faceted departments. His strengths are in the areas of development office operations, all areas of fundraising with a particular emphasis on advancement in multi-cultural environments, integration of development programs into the school community, establishment and on-going support of a US 501(c)(3) organization, school communications and board and school management.

Mike is now a consultant specializing in international school advancement.

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Krista Slade was appointed to the newly created position of executive director of CASE Asia-Pacific in May 2007. In this position, Krista is responsible for professional development programs, conferences and other services to meet the evolving needs of the growing advancement profession throughout Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Krista has spent more than a decade working in the Asia-Pacific region as an alumni relations and fundraising professional. A Canadian citizen, she moved to Hong Kong in 1994 to establish the University of Toronto (HK) Foundation and to serve as its executive director. In this position, she facilitated the university’s alumni, fundraising and student recruitment activities in Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and further afield.

In 2003, she returned to Canada to serve as the University of Toronto’s associate director of international advancement. Most recently, she served as senior strategic adviser for advancement to the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Melbourne, Prof. Glyn Davis AC. Before joining the organisation, Krista was a member of CASE and a speaker at various international conferences. She holds an honours degree in English & History as well as a Master of Arts in History from the University of Toronto and completed the International Asian Studies/Yale-in-China program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a Rotary Foundation Scholar. She also attended the International Leadership Academy hosted by the United Nations University in Amman, Jordan.

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BERNADETTE VAN HOUTEN

Title: Beyond awareness: turning cultural competences into a competitive advantage

Description: This day will provide directors with a framework and practical applications for successfully incorporating and managing continued intercultural awareness, learning and competences in increasingly global and competitive school communities. A pro-active and systemic approach to inclusion increases integration of local and international staff, pedagogical success, and social and emotional well-being.

Biography: Bernadette van Houten, Dutch and educated in Belgium and in the USA, has an academic background in communication disorders, language development and education (California) , with later specialization in cross-cultural theory and medical anthropology. Bernadette has lived in Central America, The Caribbean, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe and taught in national and international schools. She has had extended teaching and advising missions in Mexico, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Lithuania. She is the founder and first Chair of the ECIS Cross-Cultural Committee and facilitates inservice courses for national and international school faculty around the world. Bernadette is director of Consultants Intercultural Communication in Amsterdam and a lecturer of graduate courses in Intercultural Communication and Cross-Cultural Management. She coaches executives and their families for international assignments and facilitates workshops for international teams. She is a consultant for The Council of Europe and a member of the International Academy of Intercultural Research.

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JANET WEBSTER

Title: International schools and special education: Looking before you leap
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Description:
Session 1 Challenges facing international schools in special education
In this session, we look how schools have traditionally tried to deal with diversity. We consider the impact of a quarter century of philosophy and legislation concerning special education on parents’ expectations of international schools. We discuss the responses of international schools to the demands for increased services to students with a wider range of special educational needs. We also consider the challenges faced by international schools as they find ways to deal with the increased diversity.

Session 2 Biting the bullet – a hard-headed look at the way forward
In this session, we will explore the big picture of special education and what administrators need to think about before plunging in. We’ll look at how to establish what needs are currently served by your school and what needs you can (and want) to serve. We’ll look at how different aspects of a school (philosophy, policies, admissions, identification procedures, instructional programs etc) need to be aligned so diversity may be better addressed.

Session 3 The Nitty Gritty – continuation of session 2
In session 3, we switch from big picture thinking to consideration of the details involved in developing (or honing) a school’s response to diversity. We will discuss such aspects as staffing, financial costs, policies and procedures, service delivery model etc. in the special education arena. We’ll also look at the implications of serving a more diverse group of children on the regular classroom program.

Session 4 Taking stock – preparing to take the plunge

This last session provides an opportunity for participants to review where their school is in terms of special education. A structured group activity will assist administrators to consider where their school is currently and where they would like it to be.

Biography: Dr. Webster received her teacher training in Great Britain and has lived in Canada since 1967. She is an Educational Psychologist with a number of academic qualifications in the field of Human Learning, Development and Instruction from the University of British Columbia, Canada. She taught in the public school system for 10 years and then taught in the Faculties of Education at Lakeland University in Thunder Bay and at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Since 1989 she has lived in the Yukon, where for 6 years she was the Director of Special Programs with the Department of Education. Dr Webster’s cross-cultural experience includes work in the Eastern Arctic and the West Indies. Dr. Webster travels extensively and has provided services to international schools in Africa and Asia. She returns frequently to Manila where she works with international schools to support them in their services to students with special educational needs.

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