March Happenings
An interview (link) with a 14 yo about using AI for homework, new speaking engagements and a new workshop on principles of indy school governance
March at Talking Out of School and Stony Creek Strategy
Welcome to the Talking Out of School newsletter! If you were forwarded this email, hit the subscribe button to get free weekly insights in applied leadership to forward the mission of your independent school or nonprofit. Thank you for your support!
Here’s more information on program offerings - governance training, leadership coaching, Building Better Teams retreats and strategy development/implementation - from Julie Faulstich and Stony Creek Strategy.
Contact us - always happy to chat!
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Fellow olds, don’t you miss mixtapes? Playlists are just not the same… This very fun card comes from magical vintage letterpress Hatch Show Print in Nashville.
A few reflections on the NAIS conference
Overall - so glad I went! I submitted the governance session proposal with Moira Kelly without expectations (and honestly not much hope!) and I thank Past Me for following through and NAIS conference planning committee for accepting it. Attending NAIS is a considerable expense for anyone or any school, but this one was worth it. It was great to be among colleagues, catch up with so many people and to be affirmed that the thinking and writing I’ve been doing on fresh approaches to good governance training seem to be on the right track. Thanks to everyone who came to our session!
And Friday’s keynote speaker comments by Shankar Vedantum of Hidden Brain was right up the Talking Out of School alley. Plus, I had some TOOS fans come up to me to say hello, which was frankly thrilling. Thank you!
For new subscribers interested in governance, here are some links to past articles on the topic:
Talking Out of School updates
One step forward to narrated TOOS articles coming to the podcast feed of your choice - I have purchased a microphone! Woo hoo! I am also inspired by the solo audio posts I’m hearing from other Substackers (audio posts, not narrated articles or interview-type podcasts) so I’m planning to experiment with that format as well.
And now I’ve told you, I need to unbox the mike and do it. :)
It’s been a while since I’ve published a Stony Creek Diaries about wandering the forest of eldercare and it is coming up on the fifth anniversary (!!!!!) of my parents moving into assisted living. Yikes! So my first foray into audio posts might just be a series of ten to fifteen minute bite sized recordings reflecting on lessons learned from Five Years in Assisted Living. Phew. We have learned a lot. Eldercare can be a confusing, expensive and above all emotionally draining world to navigate and I’ve been so touched that many people seem to appreciate when I write about it. So stay tuned.
Link of the month
Playboi Farti and his AI Homework Machine - Search Engine podcast
I subscribe to Search Engine but I almost didn’t listen to this episode by looking at the title, but “Playboi Farti” is the chosen nom de plume of an actual 14 year old boy (and who else would choose that pseudonym?) Host PJ Vogt starts off by interviewing the Playboi on his use of AI to do homework. The episode continues with a very thoughtful reflection on teaching writing and the advent of Ai chatbots with one of the main points being that it’s refreshing that AI has brought about a renewed interest in exploring what kids are really learning as they learn to write - and it’s not mainly proper grammar and punctuation.
Stony Creek Strategy news
If you haven’t checked out the website in a while, we’ve been fine tuning the focus and messaging as we keep honing in on exactly how to describe what we do and how we do it. Because it’s not really what anyone else does, exactly.
Where we’ve landed is that we are applied leadership specialists because where communications and management meet, impact follows.
So whether it’s formulating or executing on strategy of all kinds (including communications strategy), governance training and advising or leadership coaching - it’s all about how to put theory into practice and how to effectively execute and avoid getting tangled in the weeds of implementation or resistance. Because people are going to people and that means the best laid plans can end up circling the drain.
We’ve also reframed all governance training as Governance in Action workshops and added a new workshop, Principles of Independent School Governance: Mission, Money, Momentum.
And booking now for summer and fall retreats for your board or senior team.
Contact us here - and always happy to have a “get to know you” chat.
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
March 27th - 2pm
Chair Chat: The Pros and Cons of Trustee Term Limits (virtual) - Independent School Chairpersons Association - Co- facilitating discussion with Exec Director Bethany DiNapoli for ISCA members
April 8th - 2pm
Effective Parent Communications - with Blackbaud (virtual)
We’re taking our very successful live TABS conference breakout session virtual!
TABS members webinar - link to come
June 12-13
TABS Leadership Roundtable
This is going to be a fun and fulfilling event for those boarding school folks sitting in the assistant and associate head seat. I’ll be leading a session on Building Better Teams - come join us!
TABS Leadership Roundtable 2025
And coming up in Talking Out of School:
Leadership and Management - Spoiler alert, you need both!
An article on the temptations and risks of state voucher programs
Principles of Independent School Governance - Creating a Shared Reality
And coming in April - a People Talking interview that will provide insight into managing Gen Z employees