Join us for this dynamic 3-day Summer Institute to transform teacher evaluation from a compliance-driven task into a meaningful, growth-oriented process. We will explore how to reimagine evaluation as an act of “tending the ecosystem,” a collaborative and continuous practice rooted in equity, well-being, and professional growth. Participants will engage with research-based tools for assessing instruction and classroom culture, receive practical, easy-to-adapt frameworks for their school sites, and leave with a clear road map for collaboratively designing an evaluation system that better supports the flourishing of both educators and students at their schools.

The early years are critical for building the foundational reading and writing skills that set students up for long-term academic success. Facilitated by Rebecca Bellingham and Veronica Scott, authors of The Artful Approach to Exploring Identity and Fostering Belonging, and The Artful Read Aloud, this interactive experience highlights how purposeful play activities, storytelling, community poems, expressive movement, and “artful read-alouds” can bring early literacy to life—honoring children’s identities, amplifying their voices, and fostering the belonging that underpins joyful learning and academic excellence.

Grounded in Liza Talusan’s The Identity-Conscious Educator, this ongoing book group invites independent school educators into structured, reflective, and actionable exploration of identity and its impact on professional practice. It approaches identity as formative and centers educator growth as a pathway to belonging and culture shift in independent schools.