Breakout Session E – 2024 ICGS Conference
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Breakout Session E
Tuesday, June 25
1:00-1:50 p.m.
Breakout Session ESchool Leaders Deserve Competitive Compensation And Personal and Professional Renewal. What Does That Really Mean?
This session will delve deeply into the structure of head compensation across the world as boards hire new heads, extend the contracts of current heads and assess and change compensation even mid contract for heads who may be under paid. The session will also explore what “renewal” really means and give real world powerful examples that have helped heads find greater professional and personal satisfaction in their positions.
Presenter: John Littleford, Founder | Littleford & Associates (United States)
Audience: Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Board Members
Building Support and Enthusiasm for Programs Our Girls Need: A Case Study
Hear about one school’s journey to empower girls to be creators instead of simply consumers of technology. Discover how we leveraged the administration, admissions office, alumnae, students, parents and teachers to increase offerings and enrollment in Computer Science and Engineering classes. We will share ideas about how to navigate support for building a program, inspire girls to explore male-dominated or emerging fields, fit classes in students’ schedules and use existing faculty to teach the courses. The presenter will share their own experience as well as ask the audience about the successes and challenges they faced when developing any new program.
Presenter: Martha Bangs Haddad, Computer Science Teacher | Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart (United States)
Audience: Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; Admissions/Enrollment; Communications/Marketing; Development/Advancement; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Alumnae Relations; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners
Sorry Not Sorry: Unapologetically Push Boundaries
Throughout adolescence, girls begin to hold back, apologise for their boldness, doubt their abilities, and become cautious about taking risks. This stems from age-old systemic ideals and stereotypes baked into society, as well as a lack of exposure to diverse female role models who embody a different version of success and inspire girls to follow their lead. I will explore at what point this starts to happen, why, and most importantly, how educators can encourage girls to lean into their opinions, values, and feelings about the world – empowering them to have confidence in their own voices by role-modelling this behaviour, and ultimately push boundaries unapologetically and with conviction.
Presenter: Annabel Davies, Head | Croydon High School GDST (United Kingdom)
Audience: Early Childhood; Elementary/Primary/Lower School; Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty
Building Confidence in Math through Joy and Storytelling
This session will share some of our own practices of joy and storytelling at our urban, tuition-free school with 100% Black and Brown girls. These storytelling and “joy strategies” increase confidence and skills through decreasing affective barriers and celebrating mistakes. These practices include creating math-loving characters (aka The Math Pals) who assist students, center community help build relationships with students, and increase kids’ investment in and retention of the material. We will also guide participants through a reflection of their own sources of joy and positive connection, and methods for incorporating these into their own classrooms.
Presenters: Ariel Aggarwal, Director of Curriculum and Instruction; Julia Parmakian, 7th and 8th Grade Math Teacher | Esperanza Academy (United States)
Audience: Elementary/Primary/Lower School; Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty
Affinity Groups in the Middle School
Affinity groups are very common amongst Upper School divisions. But are Middle School students too young for them? In this workshop we will discuss why affinity groups are critical to the racial identity development of adolescents based on William Cross’s Black American Racial Identity Development Model (other iterations of this model exist for different groups and are applicable as such). We will explore different activities and events that can occur in Middle School affinity groups and attendees will participate in one of these activities. Walk away ready to implement concrete materials for your own MS affinity group. By creating these important spaces for our middle schoolers, we can support our students while they grapple with and grow into their racial identities.
Presenter: Gabbie Álvarez-Spychalski, Middle School Dean of Students & Spanish Teacher | The Baldwin School (United States)
Audience: Middle School; Teachers/Faculty; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners
SISTER SCHOOL – The 1st girls’ school musical
One of the challenges of performing arts in single gender institutions is finding theater projects that highlight the unique qualities of a girls school. With that in mind, David Freeman Coleman, Director of Choral Music at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, has spent years composing an original musical for and about girls schools. Come and learn more about this project and how you can incorporate this production at your school!
Presenter: David Coleman, Director of Choral Music | Dana Hall School (United States)
Audience: Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; Admissions/Enrollment; Communications/Marketing; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners; Performing Arts
Passing the Torch: Developing Tomorrow’s Diversity Leaders
During the 2023-2024 school year, Roland Park Country School developed and piloted The Inclusive Excellence Leadership Program. This program is designed to engage students in grades 10-12 in the art of group dynamics and discussion facilitation as it pertains to the matters of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Students of this program experienced a cohort-based series of training sessions focused on lesson/workshop design, conflict resolution and anti-racist practices. The goal of this initiative is to position students to facilitate DEI conversations within their grade level. This current generation of students is the most educated our society has ever experienced. We have to position the youth to be the equipped to lean into hard conversations and educate their peers on matters of diversity in a social climate where we are seeing an attack on social justice. Come and learn more about our program, hear student stories, and consider implementing a similar program model within your own institution.
Presenter: Courtney Dixon, Director of Student Belonging & Inclusive Excellence | Roland Park Country School (United States)
Audience: Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Teachers/Faculty; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners
Talkin’ ‘Bout Their Generation: Understanding Gen Z Girls and Young Women
From course-specific professional development to best pedagogical practices, the most effective educators stay informed on the latest research. One area that has received less consideration, however, is the vast difference in Gen Z students and non-Gen Z educators. It doesn’t matter how much we know about organic chemistry or SEL if we don’t know how to develop relationships and communicate our knowledge to another generation. This session will equip administrators and faculty alike to execute their best practices in a manner most effective for Gen Zs to understand and respond.
Presenters: Emily Krichbaum, Director, Center for Girls’ and Young Women’s Leadership; Brittany Harrison, Director, Upper and Middle School Counseling | Columbus School for Girls (United States)
Audience: Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; Admissions/Enrollment; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners
Girls Unplugged: A Student-Designed Action Research Project on the Impact of Social Media.
Researcher Danah Boyd once wrote, “Most teens aren’t addicted to social media; they’re addicted to each other.” Join us for an engaging workshop showcasing the results of a student-designed action research project, completed in partnership with ICGS, that explores the impact of social media use on girls’ self-esteem, mental health, and relationships. Participants will hear from the student researchers and will review the research methodology, and, most importantly, actionable strategies for girls, parents, guardians, and educators. Discover how we all can foster healthier social media habits and empower girls to navigate the digital landscape with confidence and resilience.
Presenter: Eric Walters, Director of STEM Education | Marymount School of New York (United States)
Audience: Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; School Counselors; Student Life
Game On for Engagement and Joyful Learning: Transforming Year 7 Collaboration with SEL and Gamification
Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
Enhancing collaboration and fostering engagement is challenging, however, our different approaches led to a nonlinear learning journey for Year 7 girls, with revelations that apply to STEM and Literacy. There is no one-size-fits-all… however, drawing on each other’s findings and employing strategies not typically approached in these disciplines, leads to all sorts of exciting possibilities. Learn how a targeted SEL program and specific use of gamification helped Year 7 girls to unlock self-awareness and collaborate enthusiastically.
Presenters: Caitlin Gooch, Secondary Science Teacher | St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls (Australia); Dr Helen Weston, Program Leader Library and Research | Loreto College Coorparoo (Australia)
Every Girl has a Part to Play: Enhancing Learning Through Structured Collaboration
Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
Collaborative spaces and tasks often heighten anxiety in our girls. In addition to completing performance tasks, they must navigate an often tricky social landscape. There is also the perennial issue of some having to put in too much to bring a project to fruition with others seeking a free ride. This session will focus on two action research projects which sought to improve girls’ communicative and collaborative skills in Humanities classrooms via the implementation of structured classroom routines and activities. In each instance these led to increased engagement and improvements in equity while at the same time building confidence and teamwork skills.
Presenters: David Hyde, Head of History & Politics | Newcastle High School for Girls, GDST (United Kingdom); Dr Ralph Covino, Teacher | Girls Preparatory School (United States)
A Collaboration Toolkit for Educators: Building Collaborative Problem-solving Capacity in Science
Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
In Year 9 Science classrooms on opposite sides of the globe, we each undertook research to explore tools that scaffold and promote collaborative problem-solving. It is commonly assumed that placing students in a group will naturally facilitate collaboration, however, girls frequently experience discomfort when tasked with collaborative problem-solving, especially when grouped with peers they may not typically collaborate with. By nurturing collaborative competencies through structured frameworks such as the Well-Formed Outcome and Visible Thinking Routines, we can better prepare girls to thrive in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
Presenters: Carmen Els, Teacher and Mentor | St Mary’s School Waverley (South Africa); Cathryn Furey, Deputy Principal, Director of Learning | Ruyton Girls’ School (Australia)