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Collaborating through Controversy: A Series for Board Leaders and Heads of School

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This series and follow-up consulting is valued at $6,000 per school. Due to the generosity of our funders, Crown Family Philanthropies and Lippman Kanfer Foundation For Living Torah, we are able to provide highly subsidized access to these resources.

Prizmah Network schools $100 per school
Non-network schools $125 per school
Canadian Prizmah Network schools $75 US per school
Canadian Non-network schools $93.75 US per school (Code: CADNON)

 

The registration system will automatically determine whether or not your school has joined the Prizmah Network, and will charge the appropriate price for all US schools and for Canadian Prizmah Network schools. Participants from Canadian Non-network schools should use the discount code CADNON to activate Canadian school pricing.

Presenter(s)
Allen Broyles, Debra Shaffer Seeman, Nishant Mehta
Audience(s)
Board Chairs / Presidents, Board Members, Heads of School, Principals
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A deep dive into navigating the work of race, ethnicity, diversity, and building cultures of belonging in Jewish day schools and yeshivas.

Building a school culture which prioritizes belonging for all students and families is a complex, multi-faceted process which impacts many aspects of a school’s ecosystem: curricula, hiring, mentoring, promotion, school policies, admission, philanthropy, tuition assistance, external partnerships, and communication decisions. When a school’s work, especially around race, ethnicity, or diversity is perceived to conflict with the mission, vision, or values of a school, leaders are called upon to step in. Healthy, safe and respectful lay leader / head of school partnerships are critical to ensure strong and thriving school environments, especially at times of potential conflict.

Program Outline

This series will focus on the systems and structures as well as the cultural norms that lay a foundation for strong partnerships between lay leaders and the head of school, with a focus on collaborating through potentially controversial topics like race, ethnicity, and diversity. Following a joint webinar for heads of school and lay leaders, each group will attend a session designed specifically for their leadership role.

Monday March 20, 2023
Board Leaders and Heads of School together
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM PT

Monday March 27, 2023
Heads of School
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PT

Monday March 27, 2023
Board Leaders
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM PT

Consulting

Upon completion, each school will have access to up to $5000 in consulting hours in order to move the work of building cultures of belonging forward. Consultants will meet school-specific needs to a) strengthen lay leader / head of school collaboration in the context of potentially divisive topics like race, ethnicity, and diversity; and/or b) enhance the school’s culture of belonging. In order to meet the range of needs of program participants, each school will design their own consulting plan with their consultant.

This series and follow-up consulting is valued at $6,000 per school.

Funders

Due to the generosity of our funders, we are able to provide highly subsidized access to these resources.

Presenters

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Allen Broyles
Allen
Broyles

Allen is an experienced senior leader and educator with a proven track record of designing and building innovative schools, initiatives and programs that foster competency-based learning, equity and inclusion, and data-driven decision making. Allen has presented and consulted on the topics of applying neuroscience to teaching and learning; differentiation; executive functions; and diversity, equity and inclusion. Allen is a faculty member of NAIS's Diversity Leadership Institute, has served on the national board of directors for the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and is a faculty member of the Institute for New Teachers at SAIS. Prior to his role at MehtaCognition, Allen held several senior leadership positions in schools, including Assistant Head of School at The Children's School, Assistant Head of School of The Howard School, and Founding Director of The Howard Institute in Atlanta.

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Nishant Mehta
Nishant
Mehta

Over a career spanning two decades, Nishant has worked in or consulted for K-12 schools, non-profits, and companies of all types on issues of leadership, culture, strategy and change management, and equity and justice. After seven impactful years as head of The Children’s School in midtown Atlanta, Nishant founded Mehta Cognition, LLC in spring 2020 as a leadership and management consultancy to better serve our educational and non-profit leaders and boards on their journey of innovation, inclusion, and strategic transformation.

He is recognized by his peers and the broader industry for his passionate leadership and vision in improving educational access and centering our attention and intention on breaking down silos in our schools. He is a sought-after writer, speaker, and presenter on advancing cultures of inclusion, learning, and leadership in organizations. He also mentored new and aspiring heads of school through programs set up by National Association of Independent Schools NAIS and The Children’s School.

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Shaffer_Seeman_Debra_800x1200
Debra
Shaffer Seeman
Director, Network Weaving

Debra is Prizmah's Director of Network Weaving. Debra oversees all of our work with Jewish day schools and yeshivas building cultures of belonging. Learn more about her here.