Click here to learn more about Lamb's book A Commonwealth of Hope: Augustine's Political Thought.

The session consists of a case study narrating a crisis experienced in a Spanish residence hall during the pandemic and a subsequent discussion among the participants about what the leader of that residence hall should do to solve this crisis and promote the character development of the members of that community. Having a discussion between international and American participants will help us explore whether there is resonance and compatibility between the challenges and goals of Colegios Mayores and those of American Colleges.

We propose that without the superintendent’s support and belief in the importance of character as a priority for the school community, initiatives will be left to the leaders of individual schools who may prioritize accountability measures such as student assessments over character. Questions remain about the will and skill of superintendents to prioritize character education and how we can best assist those desiring to put character at the forefront of their work. The University of Alabama Leadership for Character (LFC) team will share details about their work with aspiring and in-post superintendents and will facilitate a roundtable conversation where participants can share their thoughts and ideas about working with school superintendents and central office leadership teams.

At Brilla Public Charter Schools, weekly Staff Formation & Journaling provides a facilitated space and opportunity for our adult staff to collectively reflect on upcoming student-facing virtue lessons and consider their own character growth and development. In this session, participants will gain a general overview of Brilla’s approach to adult character formation, followed by a preview and then experiential demonstration of a Staff Formation and Journaling exercise. Then, we will engage in facilitated discussion so participants can reflect on what they experienced, provide feedback on ways Brilla might make the practice of Staff Formation and Journaling even stronger, and explore the possible impact and variations in their own context.

In our polarized culture, we see patterns of avoidance and reductionism, rather than engagement and open inquiry. We also find fears -- our own and those of others. As educators, how can we harness the formative opportunity to build bridges across perceived divides? How can we embrace diverse voices and engage in shared practices that foster both fair-mindedness and respect for the dignity of all? This interactive workshop is designed to address these questions by introducing a set of theoretically grounded proven practices from our Courageous Dialogue Toolkit: Practical Wisdom for School Leaders that foster both individual and community flourishing.

Why are experiences important to educate the whole person? We invite you to connect to whole-person formation through experiential learning and reflection. We will be moving our bodies so wear comfortable shoes!

Declines in adolescent social skills have many root causes -- including the rise in digital dependence, the isolation strains caused by Covid, the distrust caused by political polarization, and the general breakdown of formative institutions. As a result, schools and universities have increasingly carried the burden of remediating—and managing the fall out from—SEL deficits. By reframing this challenge as an opportunity to form adolescents for civic friendship, educators can shift from an individual intervention model for SEL skills to integrate institution-wide formative practices that help students embrace a more inclusive approach to friendship in ways that bridge divides and which help educational communities flourish. We will share one school’s approach and some strategies, and we look forward to learning from the challenges other schools face and brainstorming strategies as a community of practice.

This breakout session will focus on the redesign and piloting of the initial (Mission Driven Leadership) and final (Educational Leadership Capstone) courses in the NCC educational leadership program. I plan to share a model for embedding and evaluating character-based interventions into graduate level coursework. Participants will engage in sample character-based activities and review formative descriptive data for candidates who have experienced these newly redesigned courses.

Click here to access the resources for this session.

Please join us for an experiential breakout session where participants will engage in a series of activities and reflections that are used to introduce and practice Principled Innovation with aspiring leaders in the Arizona State University, Grow Your Own Leaders cohort. We’ll recreate the types of experiences we are providing for future leaders, and introduce participants to the Critical Response Process (CRP) which is one tool that can be used to engage multiple and diverse perspectives in decision-making.

In this session we will situate human flourishing within its role in constructing meaning and in our efforts to live virtuously, pursue goodness (i.e., we flourish through acts of goodness). This session will be interactive, allowing participants to explore the concept of human flourishing through the lenses of a full range of the world’s wisdom traditions. What do these traditions and their sacred texts have to tell us about flourishing? Through individual, small group and whole group work, participants will refine and debate their own understandings of human flourishing and ultimately mark the dimensions of human flourishing for a diverse group of participants.

How is it possible to engage students in an in depth discussion about one single painting? How can art help us to develop mind, heart and character? How can a shared exploration of a work of art help us to understand ourselves and our students better? Why is this exploration an important starting point in our formative development? Participants will engage in an interactive seminar about a painting by a famous Slovak artist. The experience is designed to gradually elicit from the participants insight into the different layers of meaning as revealed in the painting.

Click here to access the resources for this session.

Click here to access the resources for this session.

During this Plenary II Session, please click here to access the working group formation activity document.

Click here to access the resources for this session.