Eaglebrook Host's JBSA New Faculty Conference

For the past three years, the Junior Boarding School Association’s, New Faculty Conference has been hosted by Eaglebrook. This year’s conference was held on Thursday, August 22. The goal of the conference was to provide a forum where the collective wisdom of the JBSA schools could be shared with new faculty members, provide opportunities for networking to continue support throughout the transitional first years of working in a junior boarding school environment, and to set a foundation for ongoing collaborations that strengthen our work with middle school students. 
 
Those completely new to teaching or those working at a junior boarding school for the first time attended sessions throughout the day with various topics. Some of the topics included: Approaches to Planning: Lessons, Units and Year, Words Matter: How the Words We Choose and the Way We Say Them Affects Our Students, The Faraway Journey: How to Care for Our Families from China (and/or Asia) and Why, Defining Your Coaching Philosophy Within the Boarding School Environment, Dormitory Life: A Community and A Home, Increasing Joy at Work When Work is Home.   
 
Brooklyn Raney was the keynote speaker for the 2019 conference. She is a nationally recognized advisor, competitive hockey player and coach, and founder of the renowned Girls Leadership Camp and the non-profit Generation Change. Brooklyn has worked in independent schools for over 10 years serving in roles such as Director of Residential Curriculum, Assistant Dean of Students, Dean of Students, and Dean of Community Life. During her time as an employee at Culver Academies and Kimball Union Academy she also took on roles as an advisor, coach, acting and public speaking teacher, Title IX Coordinator, and leader of student wellness initiatives. She captivated the new faculty audience discussing the importance of setting healthy boundaries in a mindful way that help adolescents prioritize goals, stay focused, and build confidence. She discussed best practices for working with adolescents, and how to create intentional environments and communities that foster and encourage appropriate adult-child relationships will be shared.
 
Dr. Paul Cyr-Mutty, Dean of Faculty and Director of the Eaglebrook Center for Middle School Teaching & Learning, was one of the organizers of the conference, had this to say about the conference, “Bringing together new faculty and presenters from most of the JBSA schools, the conference provides a rich opportunity for New Faculty to jumpstart their learning about their roles and meet and learn from colleagues at other schools. The day featured a keynote from Brooklyn Raney about how important trusted adults are to students, and the sessions on advising, teaching, coaching and working with international students helped the new faculty to acquire many useful skills in these areas that they can use to start the year strongly.” See photos from the conference here.
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