During this difficult and unprecedented time, the NCAIS team's primary focus is to support member schools with resources, guidance, and the collective wisdom of our community.  We want to help schools respond to the challenges that may be ahead with clarity, caution, and a sense of balance. 

 Conferences | Virtual Meetings | Webinars

NCAIS members are invited to participate in virtual cohort meetings offered weekly to share ideas, resources, and community. The meetings will last an hour and will be delivered via Zoom.  Here is the current schedule for NCAIS members with links to each meeting.  You must be logged in above to access the links.

This comprehensive toolkit and webinar series is designed to assist independent schools that receive federal funds, such as funds through the PPP loan program, to comply with certain federal laws required as a condition of such funding:  Title IX, Title VI, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.  The recording for Webinar 1 is available and Webinar 2 will be scheduled for later this summer.

Reimagining School: Transitioning from Emergency to Planned Distance Learning | Opens June 15 - Open-ended
A self-paced 20-hour course for educators from early childhood through high school. While most of the course is asynchronous, there will be opportunities for synchronous learning. CEU certificates will be awarded to those who complete the course.
Where: Canvas, YouTube, and Zoom

Cost: $195 per teacher for NCAIS member schools, $245 for guests.  Please contact Stephanie Keaney if you would like information on group pricing.

NCAIS Book Club | 2020-2021 School Year
You are invited to join us for the inaugural NCAIS book club! 
Join us for the 2020-2021 school year selections: Teaching When the World is on Fire by Lisa Delpit, Quiet by Susan Cain, Man, Interrupted by Philip Zimbardo, and Blindspot by Mahzarin Banaji. Each book will have a zoom discussion date and time.  While literature on its own offers solace and distraction, it can also become the backbone of the community. We hope that you will connect with your colleagues from NCAIS schools across North Carolina as we read and discuss these thought-provoking books. 

Teaching Students How to Work in Teams (and Doing it Online) | July 29, 9 am - 10:00 am virtual workshop
Facilitated by District C
Target Audience: Middle and Upper School Educators and Administrators
FREE workshop - Email Stephanie Keaney for registration information

Work is changing in two critical ways: 

1. A Brookings Institution report estimates that over 60% of current U.S. jobs will face high- or mid-level exposure to automation by 2030. Our call to action is clear. We need to prepare our students for the work that computers can’t do: leverage diverse teams to solve novel and complex problems. This is the human job description of the future.

2. Companies across the world are increasingly adopting virtual workplaces (even more now in the era of coronavirus). Employees must be well-versed in using digital collaboration tools to optimize team performance. It’s our job to prepare them

But coaching students to be better collective problem solvers, and doing it online, is hard. It requires a different approach, one that emphasizes messy experiences over structured assignments and collective processes over individual achievement. 

After hundreds of hours working directly with small teams of students in an online setting, District C has developed a coaching philosophy that empowers students to own their learning experience while developing the mindsets and tools of collective problem-solving. Join us to learn more.  

Institute for Teachers New to Independent Schools | August 12, 9 am-2 pm

Organizational onboarding is a critical piece of the puzzle when integrating new faculty into the school fabric. Whether the educator is new to teaching or a mid-career recruit from public school, there are central facets to independent school culture that are unfamiliar to those joining us for the first time. While a school-specific onboarding process is critical, there are also several reasons to send new faculty to the NCAIS Institute for Educators New to Independent School Education.

Deep dive into DISC assessment to understand self

• Understand the key differentiators of independent school culture
• Build community with fellow educators in the same phase of their careers for support and encouragement
• Send a clear message of their value to the school

Program Overview:

• Virtual program on August 12, 2020
• Registration in the Virtual Teacher-to-Teacher peer mentoring program

Target Audience:

• Educators new to teaching
• Educators new to independent schools (0-3 years in an independent school environment)

Cost: $125 (includes DISC assessment)

Trustee Training Workshop | August 27, 9am-12pm 

Facilitated by Dr. Marc Frankel
Heads and Trustees encouraged to attend

Sessions include:

• Best Practices in Board Governance
• Courageous Leadership 

2021-2022 Professional Development

2021 Annual Educators Conference  October 15, 2021 | High Point University | High Point

NCAIS Board Approved Cancellation Policy:

All attendees receive a full refund if they cancel at least two weeks before the event, and a 50% refund if they cancel one week before the event; no refunds thereafter. All refunds are subject to a 15% administrative fee (rounded up to the nearest dollar). 

Financial Assistance:

NCAIS has a modest amount of financial assistance available. Please do not hesitate to ask if that would be helpful.