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Tuesday, July 14
 

12:30pm EDT

Registration & Welcome Table
Tuesday July 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT
New teachers are welcomed as they check in and collect their materials for the institute. Rather than a standard registration table, this arrival moment is intentionally designed as a first act of care. Facilitators greet participants by name, and the space is set to signal warmth from the first step through the door. Participants are encouraged to connect with a table partner before the formal...
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Tuesday July 14, 2026 12:30pm - 1:00pm EDT

1:00pm EDT

Welcome & Kick-Off
Tuesday July 14, 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
This opening session establishes the tone and purpose of the entire institute. Participants are invited to reflect on why they chose this work and what they hope it will mean for themselves and for their students. Facilitators share SAIS’s commitment to early career educators and walk through what the three days will hold. The session builds connections between participants from different...
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Tuesday July 14, 2026 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT

2:30pm EDT

Break
Tuesday July 14, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT

Tuesday July 14, 2026 2:30pm - 2:45pm EDT

2:45pm EDT

Classroom Culture & Role Clarity
Tuesday July 14, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT
Starting a new role in a new school can feel like learning the rules of a game no one has fully explained. This session gives new teachers a candid framework for understanding what their role actually includes and, just as importantly, what it doesn’t. Participants explore what a healthy classroom culture looks and feels like in independent schools, examine common sources of workload ambiguity,...
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Tuesday July 14, 2026 2:45pm - 3:45pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

Community-Building Social
Tuesday July 14, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Connection doesn’t happen by accident. It has to be designed. This structured social experience goes beyond a casual pizza gathering to create real relational bonds among the cohort. Participants move through facilitated peer introductions organized around meaningful questions: what drew them to independent education, where they are in their careers, and what they most want to learn from the...
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Tuesday July 14, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
 
Wednesday, July 15
 

8:30am EDT

Breakfast & Cohort Check-In
Wednesday July 15, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am EDT
Each morning begins with a facilitated cohort check-in over breakfast. Rather than a passive warm-up, this is an intentional relational practice where participants are seated in small cohort groups and invited into a brief, structured conversation. Wednesday’s prompt invites participants to share one hope and one worry for the day ahead. These morning check-ins serve a dual purpose: they build...
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am EDT

9:00am EDT

Transition to Classrooms
Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:15am EDT

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:15am EDT

9:15am EDT

Demo Lessons - Round One
Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:15am - 10:45am EDT
Participants move to classrooms to observe and take part in instruction with feedback led by experienced independent school educators. Demo Lessons are among the most valued elements of the Institute for New Teachers experience. They give new teachers a chance to see effective practice in action, ask questions, and experience what teaching looks and feels like from the learner’s side....
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:15am - 10:45am EDT

10:45am EDT

Break
Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:45am - 11:00am EDT

Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:45am - 11:00am EDT

11:00am EDT

Teachers of Children
Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Independent school students bring a full range of developmental needs, learning profiles, and life experiences into the classroom. This session grounds new teachers in child and adolescent development, with attention to what “teaching the whole child” actually requires. Participants explore relationship-centered pedagogical approaches and strategies for building the classroom conditions in...
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT

12:00pm EDT

Peer Lunch Connection
Wednesday July 15, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT
Before the lunch break, participants spend fifteen minutes in a structured cross-school connection activity. Seated by school type or division, tables are given a set of conversation-starter questions designed to move quickly past small talk and into the kind of genuine exchange that forms lasting professional relationships. Participants learn who else in the room is teaching their age group,...
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT

1:15pm EDT

Instructional Design & Curriculum Planning
Wednesday July 15, 2026 1:15pm - 2:00pm EDT
Strong teaching starts with intentional design. This session introduces new teachers to the planning frameworks that guide experienced independent school educators, including backward design, unit mapping, and scope and sequence thinking. Participants work through practical templates they can bring back to their classrooms and begin applying immediately. Attention is given to curriculum planning...
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 1:15pm - 2:00pm EDT

2:00pm EDT

Transition to Classrooms
Wednesday July 15, 2026 2:00pm - 2:15pm EDT

Wednesday July 15, 2026 2:00pm - 2:15pm EDT

2:15pm EDT

Demo Lessons - Round Two
Wednesday July 15, 2026 2:15pm - 3:45pm EDT
Participants move to classrooms to observe and take part in instruction with feedback led by experienced independent school educators. Demo Lessons are among the most valued elements of the Institute for New Teachers experience. They give new teachers a chance to see effective practice in action, ask questions, and experience what teaching looks and feels like from the learner’s side....
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 2:15pm - 3:45pm EDT

3:45pm EDT

Break
Wednesday July 15, 2026 3:45pm - 4:00pm EDT

Wednesday July 15, 2026 3:45pm - 4:00pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

Authentic Assessments
Wednesday July 15, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Assessment is one of the areas new teachers find most challenging and most consequential. This session moves beyond grades and rubrics to explore what it means to assess authentically: gathering meaningful evidence of student understanding, providing feedback that opens doors rather than closes them, and designing assessments that actually align with what was taught. Participants examine the...
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT

5:00pm EDT

Reflection & Affirmation Practice
Wednesday July 15, 2026 5:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
The day closes with a two-part practice in reflection and recognition. First, participants take time for individual written reflection: what landed today, what shifted, what they want to carry forward. Then the group moves into a facilitated peer affirmation round, and each person hears from two or three colleagues who share something specific they noticed or appreciated.  SAIS’s research...
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Wednesday July 15, 2026 5:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
 
Thursday, July 16
 

8:30am EDT

Breakfast & Cohort Check-In
Thursday July 16, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am EDT
Thursday morning check-in returns to the small cohort format over breakfast. The facilitator prompt invites participants to reflect on what has surprised them most during the institute so far about independent school teaching, about their cohort, or about themselves. This prompt is designed to surface the kind of honest, sometimes unexpected insight that two days of immersive professional learning...
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Thursday July 16, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am EDT

9:00am EDT

Transition to Classrooms
Thursday July 16, 2026 9:00am - 9:15am EDT

Thursday July 16, 2026 9:00am - 9:15am EDT

9:15am EDT

Demo Lessons - Round Three
Thursday July 16, 2026 9:15am - 10:45am EDT
The final round of demo lessons brings the three-day arc of model instruction to a close. By Thursday, participants have developed a richer vocabulary for what they’re observing, and the debrief is structured accordingly, moving from description (“what happened”) to interpretation (“why it worked”) to application (“how I’ll adapt this”). Participants are invited to share at least...
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Thursday July 16, 2026 9:15am - 10:45am EDT

10:45am EDT

Break
Thursday July 16, 2026 10:45am - 11:00am EDT

Thursday July 16, 2026 10:45am - 11:00am EDT

11:00am EDT

Working & Communicating With Families
Thursday July 16, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Family relationships are one of the most distinctive and sometimes most complex dimensions of independent school teaching. This session prepares new teachers for the family communication realities they will encounter: the first-week introduction email, the challenging parent conversation, and the expectation of responsiveness. Participants explore communication frameworks that are warm and...
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Thursday July 16, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT

12:00pm EDT

Your First Three Years: A Frank Conversation
Thursday July 16, 2026 12:00pm - 12:15pm EDT
This brief but important session gives new teachers an honest look at the arc of early career experience in independent schools, including the research finding that perceived organizational support tends to decline the longer someone is in a role. Rather than leaving new teachers to discover this on their own, this conversation names the pattern directly and equips participants with language for...
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Thursday July 16, 2026 12:00pm - 12:15pm EDT

12:30pm EDT

Lunch
Thursday July 16, 2026 12:30pm - 1:15pm EDT

Thursday July 16, 2026 12:30pm - 1:15pm EDT

1:15pm EDT

Transition to Classrooms
Thursday July 16, 2026 1:15pm - 1:30pm EDT

Thursday July 16, 2026 1:15pm - 1:30pm EDT

1:30pm EDT

Demo Lessons - Round Four
Thursday July 16, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
The final round of demo lessons brings the three-day arc of model instruction to a close. By Thursday, participants have developed a richer vocabulary for what they’re observing, and the debrief is structured accordingly, moving from description (“what happened”) to interpretation (“why it worked”) to application (“how I’ll adapt this”). Participants are invited to share at least...
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Thursday July 16, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EDT

3:00pm EDT

Break
Thursday July 16, 2026 3:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

Thursday July 16, 2026 3:00pm - 3:15pm EDT

3:15pm EDT

Career Pathways, PD & What’s Next
Thursday July 16, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm EDT
Independent school careers don’t follow a single ladder; they unfold through relationships, opportunities, and intentional conversations that new teachers often don’t know how to initiate. This session demystifies the professional growth landscape: what career pathways look like in independent schools, how to have a productive conversation with a supervisor about goals and development, and...
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Thursday July 16, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm EDT

4:15pm EDT

Closing Reflection & Action Planning
Thursday July 16, 2026 4:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
The institute closes with a structured reflection and forward-looking commitment exercise. Each participant identifies one specific action they will take in their first week of school, one question they want to bring back to their school community, and then writes a brief letter to their future self to be opened at mid-year. This closing ritual honors the weight of what the cohort has shared and...
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Thursday July 16, 2026 4:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
 
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