I had the pleasure of attending the NAIS Annual Conference - Cultivating Community. A few of the highlights included Van Jones speaking on the critical need for us to “call each other in” instead of “calling people out”. He stressed the need for us to find common ground with each other - even if it’s just one thing. In his experience, he has found unlikely allies in getting legislation passed and funding for issues that he found important because he didn’t require the individuals to agree with him on everything. Building connections on one thing can create opportunities to build connections around a larger number of issues and reduce the toxic polarization that has been occurring in society.
Other interesting sessions were on topics such as board governance, crisis communications, student wellness, and communications strategies to reach parents from admissions and enrolled parent community perspectives. I came back to Burke’s with a number of ideas on how to improve our communications and develop a plan to survey the community on the effectiveness of our different communication tools.
A parent survey of their communication reflections and needs is a neat idea. Van Jones and his message is so powerful and his philosophy on how to make real change, and the importance of diverse thought in this process is right spot on I my opinion! Sounds like this year's conference was a great one!