Director of Public Purpose Rebecca Drago,  Dean of Faculty and Employees Dr. Jessica Flaxman, and Director of Diversity and Inclusion Ali Morgan presented at the 2023 National Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Supporting the conference theme of Cultivating Community, the RCDS presenters contributed their insights to discussions related to cultivating connections that will enable all NAIS members to thrive as supportive, excellent educational communities.

Klingenstein Seminar: Critical and Emergent Leadership Literacies presented by Dr. Jessica Flaxman 
Dr. Flaxman’s presentation explored changes in the area of school leadership since 2020. Providing a framework for conceptualizing emergent leadership competencies, she spoke about the diverse skill sets that independent school leaders need to develop and cultivate in order to effectively lead schools today. She also discussed how to recognize emergent leadership capacities in others. Dr. Flaxman developed the framework from research she conducted with 30 women heads of large, K-12 independent schools across the United States.

In Flux: Leader and Learner Adaptability presented by Dr. Jessica Flaxman
Dr. Flaxman also presented on cognitive and behavioral adaptability with colleague Dr. Clare Sisisky, Executive Director of the Global Education Benchmark Group. The two shared research findings based on studies conducted with K-12 independent school heads and independent school K-12 alumni.

Partnership in Action: Bridging DEIJ & Social Impact Programs for Maximum Impact presented by Rebecca Drago and Ali Morgan 
Joined by two other educators, Ms. Drago and Mr. Morgan discussed the DEI and Public Purpose programs at Rye Country Day. They shared their integrated approach, and explained how service-based learning and DEI are central to the RCDS curriculum and student experience.