
PRE-
CONFERENCE
EXPERIENCE

OCTOBER 22, 2025 | 8a-12p
Join us at Colegio Jorge Washington in Cartagena for a half-day Pre-Conference Experience for academic and operational leaders!

Register to attend a Learning Lab

Network
in job-alike groups

Tour campus on a Learning Walk
LEARNING LAB OPTION #1:
Strategic Navigation in International Schools:
Advancing a Unified Strategic Plan Through Cross-Divisional Collaboration
In international schools, implementing a strategic plan that feels meaningful across all divisions requires more than drafting goals—it calls for intentional structures that foster collaboration, elevate educator voice, and ensure shared ownership. This Learning Lab explores how leadership teams can move beyond compliance and checklists to bring a strategic plan to life in ways that feel authentic, aligned, and actionable.
Through a mix of whole-group framing and roundtable discussions, participants will engage with four key focus areas from many schools' strategic plans:
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Belonging & Social-Emotional Learning
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Professional Development Structures
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Core Skill Development / Project-Based Learning
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Service Learning
Key themes will include:
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Keeping the “why” visible, with consistent storytelling and strategic communication
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Bridging legacy and future plans, ensuring continuity and clarity of purpose
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Clarifying priorities, so that teams know what to focus on and when
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Centering teacher voice to guide implementation and create relevance at the classroom level
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Using cross-divisional structures and roles to create coherence and reduce siloed thinking
Participants will leave with:
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Identify one action step for fostering collaboration between divisions to make the strategic plan feel more connected across the school.
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Leave with one concrete idea to strengthen alignment around a strategic priority (e.g., SEL, PD, PBL, or SL) across divisions at your school.
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This session is designed for school leaders who want to build systems that make the strategic plan not just a document—but a lived reality across their school.
LEARNING LAB OPTION#2
Building Digital Trust: Balancing Privacy and Productivity
In today's day and age, schools may struggle with finding the right balance between privacy and productivity. Join the COJOWA team along their journey about how they tackled digital distractions by implementing a screen monitoring tool to create safer, more focused classrooms. This session covers key steps—legal reviews, stakeholder engagement, technical setup, and parent communication—while balancing privacy, pedagogy, and trust. Ideal for leaders introducing new tech in today’s digital learning environments.
Key themes will include:
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Building trust through transparency (parents)
Learn effective strategies to address families' concerns about student data privacy by developing clear, empathetic messages that promote trust, transparency, and student well-being. -
Empowering learning through responsible monitoring (teachers)
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Understand how screen monitoring tools can support classroom management and student focus, fostering digital responsibility and reducing distractions.
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Promoting a culture of digital citizenship (students)
Explore how monitoring technology can empower students to develop self-regulation, a sense of responsibility, and healthy digital habits within a respectful learning environment.
Participants will leave with:
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Communication strategies for responding to parental concerns about student data privacy, fostering openness and trust.
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Understanding how screen monitoring tools can improve classroom management and student concentration, providing digital accountability and minimizing disruptions.
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Practical guidance on how to create a clear roadmap for rolling out school-wide initiatives effectively.