Staff Professional Development

Summer Leadership Institute

This summer, John, our Lead of Innovative Programming, joined the faculty of the National Association of Independent Schools’ (NAIS) School Leadership Institute (SLI), an intensive three-day program that helps school leaders examine their leadership styles, identify strengths, and consider areas for growth across five key facets of independent school leadership.

The opportunity marked a return to SLI for John, who participated in the institute in 2024. John shared that the experience had a lasting impact on his leadership practice, and after six years in a leadership role at Logan, he was eager to bring what he had learned to a new group of school leaders. When NAIS announced that it was seeking faculty for the institute, John applied. Following several rounds of interviews, he was selected from a pool of more than 100 candidates.

The faculty role offered a different perspective on the institute. Rather than sitting among school leaders from across the country, John was helping facilitate their exploration of leadership identity, strengths, and growth. The participants represented a wide range of independent schools and leadership roles, creating opportunities for John to build relationships and connections across the broader independent school community.

The experience also offered a reminder of something John values about teaching: educators learn alongside the people they teach. As he worked with participants to articulate their own leadership identities, he was also refining his understanding of his own.

That learning took place in some very new territory. At one point, John found himself presenting to a ballroom filled with roughly 100 school leaders, a very different audience from the students and colleagues he is accustomed to addressing at Logan. The experience required him to approach his role in a new way, and ultimately reinforced the value of authenticity in leadership.

By the end of the institute, John had returned to the central questions that guide his work as a leader and teacher. The experience gave him new connections within the independent school community, a renewed perspective on his own leadership, and fresh energy for the year ahead at Logan.