Post # 16: Our Innovation Journey

Every year during the last week in February, leaders and educators from the National Association of Independent Schools gather in a major city to share best practices and innovative opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic meant this gathering moved online this year. Our Division Heads and myself applied for and were accepted to present at the virtual conference this year. Here is the brief descriptor of our presentation for the conference program: 

All independent schools faced the challenge of opening school in the fall of 2020 in the face of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.  Learn how one small school, Augusta Preparatory Day School (GA), leveraged NAIS Strategy Lab processes and tools to focus innovation within two weeks and then spent the summer maximizing work time with a distributed leadership model and continuous project tracking.

Below is the video of that presentation. I share it now with our community for several reasons. First, the presentation details inspiration and innovation required for us to reopen safely during a pandemic. Second, the presentation details the perspiration required across the organization during the summer to achieve our success this school year. I cannot thank my staff and faculty enough for their creativity and hard work. If you want to know how we did it then take 45 minutes to view this tribute to our team.