Our Annual Family Reunion

The 2026 Symposium Trail Ride is almost here, and we cannot wait! Last year, on our opening night at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, I was chatting with a few leaders who work across the country from one another. They were so glad to be in the same room with one another. During that exchange, one of the leaders told me, “Coming to this each year is like the best family reunion. I look forward to it all year, and I always tell myself, ‘I know if I can make it to CESA, I will be okay. I will be re-energized to be better when I get back to school.'”

And we know all too well what that is like: the calendar is full, and often the needs are immediate. But we also know the other side of that coin, the one that brought most of us into this work in the first place. It’s the joy of watching a student finally grasp a hard idea, or a young teacher find her footing. It’s a senior standing on a stage we once worried they’d never reach, or a family telling you that your school changed the trajectory of their child’s life. Those moments are gifts. They remind us that the mission we protect and advance every day isn’t a burden to carry alone; it is a privilege to share. These outcomes require the best work of every single adult on our campuses.

Christian schools flourish when leaders across every area of responsibility move forward with a shared sense of purpose. And, frankly, they flourish when those leaders get to laugh together, pray together, and remember why they love this work. The Symposium creates space for exactly that: a chance to step back from the daily demands, learn alongside friends old and new, and return home with fresh clarity and a full heart. So, as you gather your team, I’d love for you to consider a question: What conversations does your school need to have right now?

This year’s Symposium will bring together nearly 900 leaders from 120+ Christian schools for this, our annual family reunion, with over 330 leaders attending for the first time. This Symposium is designed to engage, challenge, and renew every leader who arrives. We will ask our leaders to think not only about the specifics of the jobs they do daily, but also to reflect on their leadership journey and the larger purpose and aims of their work.

Beginning With the Big Questions

CESA has always been dedicated to raising the bar on the conversation and the possibilities in Christian schooling. This year, we hope the “big questions” will do just that.

How can a school stay joyfully rooted in its mission while responding wisely to a changing world?
What does healthy, life-giving leadership look like, even when demands are high and resources are stretched?
How do boards and heads of school build the kind of trust and shared responsibility that makes the work feel lighter?
What does it take to help our faculty, staff, students, and families not merely survive, but truly thrive?

We also designed this cohesive experience to engage our Collective groups in ways most relevant to their specialized work. Here are just a few of those aspirations:

Board members will have the opportunity to reflect on the weight of stewardship and on the kind of governance that keeps a school, and its Head, healthy over time.
Heads of school, divisional leaders, and academic leaders will sharpen their thinking about leadership partnership and organizational clarity.
CFOs and advancement leaders will be reminded how much trust, generosity, hospitality, and sound planning matter in sustaining the work they do to support the missions of our schools.

A school’s future, after all, depends not only on what it teaches, but on how it is led, how it is resourced, and how faithfully it is stewarded, and maybe even on the joy we have while doing this incredibly demanding and rewarding work.

Seeing the Whole Ecosystem

Educators know this better than most: our schools do not exist in a vacuum, and the most successful organizations operate in a healthy, balanced ecosystem. As I look over this year’s program, one word keeps coming to mind: ecosystem. An ecosystem is a community of living things so interdependent that a change in one part inevitably ripples through the whole. That is precisely what our schools are:

Enrollment affects staffing.
Governance shapes mission.
Faculty culture influences student learning.
Parent communication builds, or erodes, trust.
Development expands opportunity.
Technology touches nearly every role on campus.
Generational shifts impact our staffing, our teaching, and how our students learn.

Paul described the church in much the same way: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). The breakout program was built with that reality in mind, so that each participant can see those connections more clearly. It is our hope that you will continue to grow the foundational connections with those in your role while you develop greater symbiotic relationships that will help your school thrive.

Engage Your Team, Build Your Next Steps

In my experience, the moments with the greatest impact at any conference rarely happen during the sessions themselves; they happen afterward. The sessions can and will inspire and resource our leaders, but when a leadership team sits down together to compare notes, the symbiosis takes root, and the actionable steps are set.

So, how can your team make the most of these few days together? As you prepare, I would encourage you to consider a few questions:

Which breakout sessions are most relevant to our current priorities?
How can we make intentional space to debrief as a team during the event?
What is one idea we want to bring home and explore further?
Which relationships or peer connections would most benefit our school in the year ahead?
And perhaps most importantly, how can I leave space for the Lord to show me what I need to learn?

Of course, you cannot solve every challenge in a single conference, but that really isn’t the point, is it? This year’s Symposium offers a place to renew your sense of purpose, gain practical ideas, and learn alongside people who understand the joys and burdens of this work.

If you are attending, we cannot wait to “Stay the Course” with you. If you can’t attend this year’s Symposium, we hope you will save the date for next year’s Symposium on October 3–5, 2027, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and plan to attend. Registration will open in February 2027!

Katie played a role in CESA’s founding and served as its original Director of Academic Advancement. In that position, Katie co-wrote the original CESA standards and helped develop the initial institutional review process. She also played a major role in organizing the early CESA symposia and heads retreats.

She has served on the faculties of Wheaton College, Boston University, Gordon College, and Kennesaw State University, and currently teaches in graduate programs at Baylor University and Taylor University. She also serves as Fellow with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, is a Research Fellow with Cardus, and is a research scholar at Baylor’s Center for School Leadership.

Katie also has extensive experience in K-12 Christian schooling, having served as an administrator and faculty at several private Christian schools. She has her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of St. Thomas, and her doctorate from Boston University.

Katie can be reached at kwiens@cesaschools.org or you can use the button below to schedule a virtual appointment with her.

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