In this special episode of Roots and Wings: Voices of Independent Schools, we are delighted to feature Donna Orem, President of the National Association of Independent Schools. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a nonprofit membership association that provides services to more than 1,800 schools and associations of schools in the United States and abroad, including more than 1,500 independent private K-12 schools in the U.S. Prior to joining NAIS, she was the vice president for products and services development at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). In her fifteen years at CASE, she also served as the vice president for independent schools. In that role, she managed all services for the independent school advancement community, including the annual CASE/NAIS Conference. Ms. Orem speaks frequently about leadership, governance, trends in independent school education and workforce development.

In this episode, Ms. Orem reflects upon what brings her great optimism about the future of independent schools. She shares ways in which independent schools are reimagining themselves and speaks to the notion of a third educational revolution in which we find ourselves. Ms. Orem’s insights are important for listeners who are parents as well as practitioners in the independent school world.

http://www.ljcds.org

In the words of Brendan Schneider, “I began as the Director of Admission & Financial Aid at Sewickley Academy in the Summer of 2008. In October of 2008, the stock market crashed, and our interest indicators (inquiries, applications, and visits) seemed to be a one month trailing average of the stock market. What were we going to do? We initially ran to traditional outbound marketing techniques that we had never tried before. We used billboards and placards in the airport which proved to be a huge waste of money and didn’t help our admission efforts. Next, we turned to social media and launched our Facebook Page, and Twitter account thinking that by utilizing social media alone it would drive hundreds of mission appropriate, full-pay families to our doors. We were wrong. I then picked up a copy of Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (New Rules Social Media Series) by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah and our journey with inbound marketing began.” In this podcast, Mr. Schneider reflects upon his journey at Sewickley and provides proof points and ideas for taking independent school marketing to the next level.

http://www.ljcds.org

Lisa Lau Aquino is a proud graduate and parent of an alumna of The Hamlin School. She attended Lowell High School and U.C. Berkeley, and has done graduate work in Multicultural Education at University of San Francisco. Ms. Aquino has taught primarily Science and Health at The Hamlin School for 16 years prior to becoming the Director of Admission in July 2002. She is a member of the Senior Administrative team at Hamlin. Ms. Aquino is also the leader for Hamlin’s Lower School Affinity for Girls of Color group, a California Association of Independent School (CAIS) Accreditation Team Member, President of the Board for the Bay Area Directors of Admission (BADA) and a Board Member of Holy Family Day Home, a preschool in San Francisco's Mission district that serves primarily low income and homeless children and families. Int his podcast, she reflects upon the unique value of single sex education and the importance of considering independent school culture through a lens of inclusivity.