EVENTS
The CESA Collective 2024-25
Opens on October 15, 2024
Join us as we continue this immersive community that creates space for ideas to percolate, thoughtful conversations to unfold, and a connection to something bigger than our day-to-day – the advancement of excellence in Christian education. With Short Courses delivering timely content to you and Affinity Group Roundtables meeting to discuss the most pressing issues you are facing in your role, The CESA Collective enables this peer network to “spur one another on” (Heb 10:24) in the work He has given us.
Who should participate in the 2024-25 Collective?
All staff and board members of CESA Member of Council and Candidate Schools have full access to The Collective, and there is content for everyone. If you are not a CESA Member of Council or Candidate School, reach out to Katie (kwiens@cesaschools) to get your school enrolled.
How does the 2024-25 CESA Collective work?
Take a look at the calendar below to see all of the sessions we will be hosting this year. On October 15, this calendar will be “live” with calendar links to each session embedded, but you MUST log onto the website with your CESA username and password to access the links. Having trouble logging on? Ashley (aferguson@cesaschools.org) will take care of you!
Additionally, you will receive calendar invitations to relevant sessions throughout the year. These live sessions are the best way to engage in the content and community. However, the Short Courses will be recorded if you have to miss them, so check the Short Course folders after logging onto your profile to access those recordings and the resources shared by our speakers and peers.
The CESA Collective is sponsored by Revolution Office. We are pleased to share our strategic partnership with Revolution Office. Partnering with Revolution will save your school 30-50% on copier costs. Contact Peter Brown (pbrown@revolutionoffice.com) to partner with them today!
Session Schedule
October 2024
- October 15th (11 am CST): AI Roundtable, Sean Riley (for anyone interested in discussing the role of AI in our schools)
- October 16th (12 pm CST): Candidate Cohort, Jim Marsh (schools preparing for the CESA Institutional Review)
- October 22nd (11 am CST): Cardus Education Survey: New Findings, Albert Cheng, Jon Eckert, Lynn Swaner (Heads, Boards, Asst. Heads/Academics, Christian Life)
- October 23rd (12:00 pm CST): Christian Life Roundtable, Rian Berger
- October 29th (10:30 am CST): Student Support Roundtable, Chris Pederson
- October 31st (1 pm CST): Head of School Roundtable, Chris Harmon
November 2024
- November 5th (11 am CST / 9 am PST): Assistant Heads Roundtable, Matt Northrop
- November 6th (11 am CST): The Connected Leader (For Division Heads, Academics), Will Percy
- November 11th (10 am CST): Lower School/Early Childhood Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- November 11th (12 pm CST): Middle School Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- November 11th (1:15 pm CST): Upper School Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- November 19th (9:30 am CST): Performance Blueprint: Creating a System of Performance Assets and Success Behaviors Mark Cheney (for Athletic Directors, Arts Directors, Division Heads)
- November 20th (12:00 pm CST): Candidate Cohort, Jim Marsh
December 2024
- December 2nd (11 am CST): AI Roundtable, Sean Riley
- December 5th (11:30 am CST): Ministering Well as a Leader (for ALL leaders) Mark Mayfield
- December 10th (10:30 am CST): Student Support Roundtable, Chris Pederson
January 2025
- January 8th (11 am CST): Reimagining Lesson Observation (For Division Heads, Academics), Will Percy
- January 14th (12 pm CST): Christian Life Roundtable, Rian Berger
- January 15th (12 pm CST): Candidate Cohort, Jim Marsh
- January 16th (1 pm CST): Head of School Roundtable, Chris Harmon
- January 28th (11 am CST / 9 am PST): Assistant Heads Roundtable, Matt Northrop
February 2025
- February 3rd (11 am CST): AI Roundtable, Sean Riley
- February 10th (10 am CST): Lower School/Early Childhood Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk February 10th (12 pm CST): Middle School Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- February 10th (1:15 pm CST): Upper School Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- February 13th (11 am CST): Cardus Education Survey: Implications for our Schools, Albert Cheng, Jon Eckert, Lynn Swaner (Heads, Boards, Asst. Heads/Academics, Christian Life)
- February 18th (9:30 am CST): Mental Performance for Teams, Athletes, and Coaches, Mark Cheney (For Athletic Directors)
- February 18th (10:30 am CST): Student Support Roundtable, Chris Pederson
- February 19th (12 pm CST): Candidate Cohort, Jim Marsh
- February 27th (1 pm CST): Head of School Roundtable, Chris Harmon
March 2025
- March 5th (11 am CST): Beyond Instructional Coaching (For Division Heads, Academics), Will Percy
- March 6th (11:30 am CST): Mental Health from a Biblical Worldview (For ALL leaders) Mark Mayfield
- March 27 (12 pm CST): Christian Life Roundtable, Rian Berger
April 2025
- April 14th (10 am CST): Lower School/Early Childhood Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- April 14th (12 pm CST): Middle School Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- April 14th (1:15 pm CST): Upper School Roundtable, Tawanna Rusk
- April 15th (11 am CST / 9 am PST): Assistant Heads Roundtable, Matt Northrop
- April 23rd (12 pm CST): Candidate Cohort, Jim Marsh
May 2025
- May 7th (11 am CST): Division Leadership: Leading with faith, hope, and courage (For Division Heads, Academics) Will Percy
What Are We Learning This Year?
Lynn Swaner, Jon Eckert
The Cardus Education Survey (CES) examines the school-sector effect in the lives of a nationally representative sample of high school graduates aged 24 to 39 across five sectors: traditional public schools, Protestant Christian schools, Catholic schools, nonreligious independent schools, and homeschooling. In addition to asking graduates to evaluate their school experiences on a range of factors, the CES also asks about their educational attainment, workforce outcomes, civic formation, faith formation, and choices around marriage and family.
Dr. Mark Mayfield
Dr. Mayfield is passionate about ensuring Christian schools are places where students and adults are cared for. With the mental health needs of our communities increasing, Dr. Mayfield’s Biblical approach to school wellness will equip leaders to better serve their schools.
Mark Cheney
Peak performers aren’t born; they’re made! Everyone can learn the skills and attributes necessary to perform at their best. This series will explore how directors of athletics, arts, and academics can harness the power of of research on mental performance to equip students to thrive.
Will Percy
With teacher morale at an all-time low and an ever more Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) world, it’s no wonder that school leaders and teachers around the globe are experiencing burnout. Th thrive in our current context, we need to reimagine teams, moving beyond the individual-driven paradigm of to a more inclusive approach to school leadership and teacher development.
Jim Marsh
New Candidate Schools and heads new to the CESA Institutional Review are encouraged to attend these sessions, which will equip leaders to better understand the CESA Review process and standards.
These informal times are designed to allow leaders to connect, troubleshoot, and share wisdom and experience. We have roundtables scheduled for the following groups:
- Lower School & Early Education Leaders
- Middle School Leaders
- Upper School Leaders
- Heads of School
- Assistant Heads of School
- Christian Life
- Student Support
- Artificial Intelligence