Friday, October 30, 2009
JOHN LITTLEFORD
Biography:
John Littleford served as teacher, trustee and head of school in his 25 year independent school career. Since 1994 he has been a full-time consultant to over 3000 independent and international schools as well as corporations, foundations, universities and a range of medical and arts oriented non profit organizations. As Senior Partner of Littleford & Associates, Mr. Littleford's expertise includes: governance, strategic planning, executive and faculty compensation and evaluation, executive searches, marketing, fund raising, managing change, crisis management, school climate, organizational review, institutional and financial audits and team building. He has been a speaker, presenter, workshop leader and keynote on several continents and is the author of a highly popular book on faculty salary systems in independent schools. His firm's Newsletter goes out five times a year to 25,000 trustees and school leaders and is circulated and read worldwide.
Topic: Leadership Through Partnership(LTP)
Title: Establishing an Effective Successful Relationship Between the Head and Chair
Description: This program focuses on the key elements of a healthy, successful working partnership between heads and board chairs including: agreement on the frequency and method of communications; the principles of good practice; the appropriate evaluation of the head, the chair and the board overall; and the damaging behaviors to avoid.
MARILYN GEORGE
Biography: Marilyn George has been the associate executive director of the Accrediting Commission for Schools, the Western Association for Schools and Colleges, 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 review, the mentor teacher program, and staff development programs. She has given presentations and written articles 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.).
Time: 8:30 - 16:30
Title: WASC Focus on Learning Accreditation 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 student learning goals 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.
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Saturday, October 31, 2009
JOHN LITTLEFORD
Biography:
John Littleford served as teacher, trustee and head of school in his 25 year independent school career. Since 1994 he has been a full-time consultant to over 3000 independent and international schools as well as corporations, foundations, universities and a range of medical and arts oriented non profit organizations. As Senior Partner of Littleford & Associates, Mr. Littleford's expertise includes: governance, strategic planning, executive and faculty compensation and evaluation, executive searches, marketing, fund raising, managing change, crisis management, school climate, organizational review, institutional and financial audits and team building. He has been a speaker, presenter, workshop leader and keynote on several continents and is the author of a highly popular book on faculty salary systems in independent schools. His firm's Newsletter goes out five times a year to 25,000 trustees and school leaders and is circulated and read worldwide.
SCHOOL BOARD PRECONFERENCE
Topic: Board Governance 101
Title: Board Governance 101: Maximizing and Enjoying Your New Trustee Role
Description: Powerful case studies will illustrate how trustees function effectively and avoid common pitfalls. The workshop will review the principles of good practice including: terms for trustees and chairs; the role of the key subcommittees; managing leadership transition; thinking and acting strategically and avoiding micromanagement; and understanding appropriate boundaries and channels.
MARILYN GEORGE
Time: 8:30 - 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.
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BAMBI BETTS
Biography: Bambi Betts is the CEO of AISH (Academy for International School Heads), the director of the Principals’ Training Center for International School Leadership (PTC) and founder of the three addition training centers for international educators, including teachers, counselors and school business leaders. (TTC, CTC, BTC). Bambi has been a director, principal and teacher in international schools for over 25 years, most recently Director of Escuela Campo Alegre in Caracas, Venezuela. She has been a consultant in over 75 international schools, conducting training on a variety of topics related to the effective international school, including assessment, curriculum leadership, teacher leaders strategies, instructional strategies, faculty evaluation, board training. She has written many articles on practical ways to improve international schools and authors a regular column on the PTC pages of The International Educator (TIE).
Title: Effective Teacher Evaluation for Improved Learning
Description: The data are consistent from every source. Quality teaching is the most essential ingredient in an effective school. So how do school leaders best contribute to ensuring quality in the classroom through appraisal?
This workshop is designed to provide those involved in the evaluation or appraisal of teachers in international schools with a set of practical skills for putting an effective evaluation program in place designed to have maximum impact on student learning.
It will be useful to school heads, principals and other school leaders who evaluate and supervise educators. Through a series of active learning opportunities, participants will explore answers to the following questions:
- What are the purposes of teacher evaluation?
- What are the essential components of an effective evaluation program?
- What criteria should be used to evaluate teacher performance and progress?
- What are the inherent problems and issues of evaluation programs?
- What data sources are most effective?
- Are there unique features of teacher evaluation programs in international schools?
- What are the key learnings from teacher evaluation research from the last decade?
---> Download Handouts
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LYNNE COLEMAN / FRANCES HENSLEY
Biography: Lynne Coleman, who most recently, served as curriculum and professional development coordinator at Shanghai American School, has been a teacher and administrator for 33 years, 20 of them in international schools. Before accepting the position at SAS, Coleman taught IB English at the International School of Beijing, where she also worked as professional development coordinator and strategic planning facilitator for six years.
Coleman moved to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she taught IB and AP English and publication classes at the International School of Kuala Lumpur for four years. Prior to that assignment she taught AP English and the Abitur track at the John F. Kennedy Schule in Berlin, Germany. After nine years teaching in Lewiston Idaho, she began her work in international settings at Zweibrucken, Germany in a DoDDS school.
Frances Hensley is a national facilitator for the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF). She serves as the chair of the NSRF governing council; and during 2005-2006, served as the Interim Director of NSRF. Dr. Hensley is a faculty member (Emerita) in the Department of Elementary and Social Studies Education at UGA.
At the University of Georgia, she headed a statewide initiative devoted to the redesign of teacher education. She previously served as director of the Program for School Improvement and its League of Professional Schools, a long-standing and highly regarded school-university partnership engaging schools in collaborative and democratic reform efforts.
Dr. Hensley facilitates two Critical Friends Groups, professional learning communities committed to the improvement of teaching and learning. One community engages teachers from metro Atlanta elementary schools and the other is made up of University of Georgia faculty members. Dr. Hensley’s interests include professional learning of teachers and other educators, the development of collaborative learning communities, teacher-led research, and school-university partnerships. She has been an elementary school, middle school, and university teacher.
Title: Facilitative Leadership:
Leading engaged, collaborative groups in realizing the school’s mission and vision
Description: We will look at the administrator as the steward of adult learning in the school and community. Participants will examine adult learning theory: how is it that adults learn and how do processes and protocols help support productive and efficient learning in the school and community. Through the day, participants will
1. Learn and practice strategies to engage administrators, teacher leaders, and other community members in the work of the school
2. Select from among a variety of protocols to design and facilitate effective, efficient agendas
3. Put the adults in your organization in the center of their own learning in order to improve student learning
4. Learn and practice ways of looking at data that provide focus and power to school improvement efforts
---> Download Handouts (Lynn Coleman)
---> Download Handouts (Frances Hensley)
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SARAH DAIGNAULT
Biography:
Sarah Daignault is the Executive Director of the National Business Officers Association. NBOA is an association dedicated to serving independent school business officer by providing professional development and information on independent schools finance and operations. There are now over 700 NBOA member schools. Prior to founding NBOA, Sarah spent five years as the Business Officer at Friends School of Baltimore and four years as the Business Manager at Bryn Mawr School for Girls. For eight years Sarah was the President of the Board of Trustees of Madeira School in Virginia. She also chaired their Capital Campaign for five years. She still serves on that board as well as the board of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools. She has also served on the Board of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). Marc Levinson joined NBOA as Associate Director in 2007. Prior to joining NBOA, Marc spent six years as the Business Manager at Alexander Dawson School in Lafayette, Co
BUSINESS MANAGERS' PRECONFERENCE
Topic: Business Officer Professional Developent
Title: Business Officer's Institute
Description: This session will be an interactive session with the attendees and the faculty. The morning will begin with a case study that focuses on the major financial aspects of operating a school in challenging economic times. This will lead into a discussion of the current financial situations in EARCOS schools as well as an examination of the role of the business manager.
The afternoon will be focused on developing best practices in the area of HR and employment law. What are current practices in EARCOS schools? What should Business Managers and schools be doing in this critical area? Is there a teacher shortage? How do you work to retain the staff you want?
---> Download Handouts
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BILL KENTTA / JOSH RECKORD
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.
Topic: School Leadership
Title: Building an Organizational toolkit for school leaders
Description: Tools, techniques and organizational strategies to use in challenging times. Participants will receive tools for problem solving, decision-making, handling difficult others, and improving communication and capacity in organizations. A prime focus will be on how we can build a core cadre/team for organizational development support within your organization and the EARCOS region.
---> Download all Handouts (ZIP Format)
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MAUREEN NEIHART
Biography: Maureen Neihart, Psy.D. is a clinical child psychologist with nearly thirty years’ experience working with children with high ability. She is co-editor of the text, The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children: What do we Know? and a former member of the board of directors of the National Association for Gifted Children. She is Head of Psychological Studies at the National Institute of Education in Singapore where she trains psychologists and counselors. Her research interests include the social and emotional development of gifted children, home and school-based psychological interventions for children at-risk, resilience, and the psychology of high performance. Her most recent book, Teaching gifted children with autism spectrum disorders, is a practical guide published by Prufrock Press.
Maureen fantasizes about living a literary life. Her one act comedy, The Court Martial of George Armstrong Custer, was produced and filmed for Montana television in 2000.
Topic: Student Achievement
Title: Teaching the Inner Game of High Achievement
Description: What do coaches, trainers, athletes and musicians know about talent development that most educators ignore? They know that making the transition from ability to achievement takes more than talent and hard work. It requires psychological readiness - mental and emotional competencies that drive performance. They know that these skills are not innate, but can be cultivated and shaped. To help talented young people negotiate the sometimes grueling terrain of talent development, we need to provide them with more than academic skills. We need to equip them with psychological tools they can draw on when the going gets tough.
This hands-on workshop will describe 7 mental competencies that drive performance and demonstrate practical strategies for developing them. This participatory workshop aims to build participants’ skills in coaching talented people to high performance.
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MIKE MILLER
Biography: Mike Miller is a 43-year veteran of independent advancement, completing his twelth 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. 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 senior consultant with MLW Consultants, Inc, a firm specializing in advancing international education.
Topic: Leadership Gifts
Title: Competing for the Big Bucks: Oh Yes We Can!
Description: Major gift fundraising is the backbone of a successful advancement effort accounting for 80+ percent of Annual Funds, 90+ percent of capital campaigns, and a significant portion of special events. Increasing numbers of international schools are establishing ongoing major or leadership gifts programs in the belief that prospects (both individuals and corporations) give the most when the approach is customized and timed to meet their personal interests, needs, and circumstances.
Every major gift/leadership donor is different and therefore, it follows that every major gift solicitation is different…some consider each “ask” a mini-campaign in its own right. What are the common elements of a successful solicitation? What activities and structures ensure success?
In this pre-conference workshop participants will get tools for major/leadership gift prospect identification and research, rating and screening, as well as tips for fostering a school environment that embraces philanthropy, starting with the Head and the Board. We will explore how to set appointments, strategies for making major gift “asks,” when to successfully use your Head and Board, and how to incorporate the all-important components of cultivation, recognition, and stewardship into your already busy day. The ultimate goal is for participants to leave with the tools they need to start or enhance an international school major gifts program.
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CHRIS TOY
Biography:
Chris Toy has over 30 years of experience as a teacher, administrator, university instructor, presenter and consultant in Maine, the US, Canada, and Asia. He has worked with educators and students nationally and internationally in collaboration with the Maine Association for Middle Level Education, New England League of middle Schools, National Middle School Association, National Association of Secondary School Principals, and Apple Computer in the US, Canada, and Asia. Chris's highly interactive and engaging style reflects his strong belief that effective leaders must "Walk the Talk" and model the same effective educational practices they want to see in their schools and classrooms.
Topic: 21st Century School Leadership and Change
Title: School Leadership for a Culture of Learning in the 21st Century
Description: Participants in this workshop will clarify their own and colleagues' vision of learning with technology. Activities will model leadership strategies for supporting faculties in using technology for learning. Administrators will reflect on their roles as educational leaders in the 21st century. They will then transfer and apply workshop activities and online tools to their own work as school leaders. Participants should bring laptops.
---> Download Handouts
East Asia Regional Council of
Overseas Schools (EARCOS)
Brentville Subdivision, Barangay Mamplasan, Biñan, Laguna,
4024 Philippines
Phone: +63 (49) 511-5993/5994 | Fax: +63 (49) 511-4694
