ISABC 2025 Professional Development Day
February 14, 2025
About the Conference
The ISABC is proud to announce our upcoming 2025 Professional Development Day, “EmpowerEd: Framing the Future for Education” This one-day, in-person event is set to take place on February 14th, 2025, across several satellite locations, bringing together educators from all corners of the Independent Schools Association of British Columbia.
In response to valuable feedback from last year, we’re excited to adopt a satellite format for this year’s conference, moving away from a fully virtual event. This change allows for more localized, in-person interactions while maintaining the collaborative spirit that defines the ISABC community.
This year’s conference is designed to foster deep connections among our educators. The theme “EmpowerEd” underscores our commitment to empowering educators with the tools, knowledge, and collaborative opportunities necessary to navigate and shape the future of education.
Registration and Fees
The registration fee includes access to all sessions, lunch, and refreshments throughout the day.
- For ISABC School Members: $30 per attendee
- For External Attendees: $80 per attendee
Please note that the fee covers all conference materials, lunch, and refreshments.
Registration Opens in January
More details on registration will be available in January. Please check back on our website or stay tuned for updates via our newsletter.
*Please note that this year’s conference is exclusively designed for educators. While we deeply value the participation of parents in our school communities, the sessions and activities are tailored specifically for teachers’ professional development. We appreciate your understanding.
Conference Objectives
Keynote Speaker – Valerie Hannon
Keynote – Leading Education for a Flourishing Future: Let’s explore the change forces at work in shaping the future. What will it take to empower young people to thrive in the face of them? Humanity stands at an inflexion point. Existential crises, but also unprecedented opportunities, confront us. If future generations are to flourish, education must reassess its fundamental purpose.
Host Schools and Topics
We’re thrilled to have our host schools confirmed for the ISABC Pro-D Day 2025. Each host will offer an enriching in-person experience. More details for each school will be available in December 2024. Please review the details of each session when they become available in preparation for when registration opens in January 2025.
The following ISABC schools will host in-person sessions on specialized topics, each providing a unique and enriching experience for educators:
Registration will open on January 14th 2025!
Collingwood School
Fostering Courageous Conversations
About this Session:
Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm
Location: Collingwood School (Morven Campus)
This professional development session aims to prepare ISABC educators to grow their confidence in guiding courageous conversations within their classrooms. The aim is to create a space for educators to explore effective approaches for facilitating critical dialogue, developing strategies to overcome existing barriers, and collaboratively build the start of a framework tailored to the needs and goals of ISABC schools, leaving room for individual school nuance.
Registration opens on January 14th, 2025!
Meet the Facilitator:
Future Design School
Future Design School partners with schools worldwide to support effective and long term education transformation. Their team of senior education experts serve as trusted advisors to school leaders and their experienced coaches have worked with tens of thousands of teachers. Their actionable methodologies and advice combine significant learning generated from their extensive field work in K-12 and Higher Education institutions around the globe and leverage their deep expertise in strategy development, human centred design and change management.
Session Goals and Expected Outcomes:
Agenda:
Register:
If you are interested in attending the Fostering Courageous Conversations Session at Collingwood School please come back to this website to register on January 14th, 2025!
Fraser Academy
Collaborative and Proactive Solutions
About this Session:
Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm
Location: Fraser Academy
“Kids do well if they can and doing well is preferable” is the mantra we must all live and breathe with Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS). CPS, created by Dr. Ross Greene, is an approach to support students with challenging behaviour and all students and children in your lives. The approach aims to build the skills young people require to meet the expectations of school and how to proactively approach planning to support these students.
Attendees will understand the philosophy behind CPS and be equipped with the skills and tools required to begin implementing CPS upon returning to their classroom.
Registration opens on January 14th, 2025!
Meet the Facilitator:
Michael Carlyle, Principal, Langley School District
Michael has been an educator for 20 years, teaching in the United Kingdom, Ontario and British Columbia. Michael moved into the Principal role 6 years ago at Alice Brown Elementary, and he is currently serving the Langley School District as the coordinator of Feeding Futures. Michael is passionate about Dr. Greene’s Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Approach and after taking the CPS 3 day advance training decided to complete his CPS Course to become a certified facilitator. Michael practices this approach with his students daily and is thrilled to come to Fraser Academy to share his insights with ISABC educators. To learn more take a moment to view Michael’s paper on Redefining Challenging Behaviour.
Agenda:
Register:
If you are interested in attending the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Session at Fraser Academy please come back to this website to register on January 14th, 2025!
St. John’s School
Artificial Intelligence in Education
About this Session:
Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm
Location: St. John’s School
This session will allow educators investigate Artificial Intelligence and its impact on communities, schooling and education broadly.
The purpose of this event is to help participants explore Artificial Intelligence’s transformative potential and better understand its complexities, while recognizing that we are still in the early stages of discovery. The event is designed to balance immediate needs—like providing practical tools or basic understanding—with opportunities to tackle bigger, strategic questions.
By the end of the day, all participants will have contributed to a shared framework that captures key learnings and insights and, perhaps most importantly, further questions we want to pursue. We want to ensure our ideas generated don’t get lost but instead become enduring and actionable.
Registration opens on January 14th, 2025!
Meet the Morning Facilitator:
Lucas Wright, UBC Senior Education Consultant
Lucas Wright, a Senior Education Consultant at UBC and trained elementary educator, brings over 14 years of expertise in educational technology and instructional design. With a Master’s in Adult Education from UBC and certifications in digital storytelling, instructional skills, and online learning, he specializes in integrating Generative AI (GenAI) into teaching and learning. Lucas has led workshops at UBC, other post-secondary institutions across BC, and for K-12 leaders, focusing on critical GenAI literacy and its intersections with teaching and learning. He has also facilitated over 150 sessions on tools like Zoom, WordPress, and Pressbooks. His work empowers educators and students to create dynamic, engaging learning environments with GenAI at the forefront.
Session Topics:
There will be multiple sessions available for teachers to select from and attend. You can expect to see workshop themes fall under the following 4 categories:
Tentative Agenda:
Register:
If you are interested in attending the Artificial Intelligence in Education Session at St. John’s please come back to this website to register on January 14th, 2025!
St. Margaret’s School
Indigenous Education & Civil Discourse
About this Session:
Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm
Location: St. Margaret’s School (Victoria)
This session aims to provide educators with the opportunity to practice skills that can help bridge the gaps that limit genuine dialogue and understanding. An increase in polarization – real and perceived – means that collaboration and dialogue skills are vital inside the classroom, in the halls and away from school. Helping to (re)establish the skills and dispositions needed for civil discourse online and in real life – in ourselves and with our students – is needed now more than ever if we are to build a more respectful and equitable future for all.
We will practice skills applicable to any situation where there is opportunity for conflict and disagreement in the first part of the day and then practice and apply further skills more specifically to an Indigenous context in the afternoon.
Meet your Facilitators:
Jason McBride, Head of Pearson College
Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Jason is an experienced, international leader who has been fortunate to previously have led schools in Malaysia, Thailand, Canada and the UAE. Jason brought 25 years of experience in education back to Canada in 2023 to join and lead his second United World College. Jason believes that schools exist for two main reasons: first, to raise great human beings who can help make the world a more peaceful and sustainable place, and second, to help young people build the learning and academic skills they need to pursue their own chosen path. Having worked in a variety of school models around the world, Jason strives to keep students — especially their wellbeing — at the centre of the decision-making process. He and his family are proud to call Pedder Bay home on our campus that sits on the unceded and traditional territory of the Sc’ianew/Beecher Bay people.
Rebecca Beauchamp, Director, Indigenous Initiative and Engagement
Rebecca was born and raised in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is Māori (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu) on her father’s side and of English ancestry on her mother’s side. Her work at Pearson College is focused on the implementation of the Reconciliation Plan, which centres the wellbeing of Indigenous students, their families and communities.
Agenda:
Register:
If you are interested in attending the Indigenous Education or Civil Discourse Session at St. Margaret’s School please come back to this website to register on January 14th, 2025!
West Point Grey Academy
Enhancing Learning Through Assessment
About this Session:
Time: 8:30am – 3:30pm
Location: West Point Grey Academy
In this session, educator’s will examine the following questions: How might assessment promote learning as well as measure it? How do we raise student achievement on high-stakes assessments without “practicing for the test?” How can thinking like an assessor focus curriculum planning and instruction? What kinds of assessments will motivate learners to do their best? What types of feedback are the most effective for students and teachers?
This session will explore these questions while examining seven practical and proven classroom assessments practices to improve learning, as well as measure it.
Registration opens on January 14th, 2025!
Meet your Facilitator:
Jay McTighe
Since education is a “learning” profession, Jay set a learning goal when he was 57 years of age to be surfing by 60. He did it!
Agenda:
Register:
If you are interested in attending the Assessment Session at West Point Grey Academy please come back to this website to register on January 14th, 2025!