NAIS Families First Program

Families First provides professional and personal support to the partners of heads of independent schools in the United States and Canada and seeks to (1) help its constituents understand the nature of the partner's role in an independent school; (2) examine the tools and skills necessary to fill these roles and provide opportunities to develop skills as appropriate; (3) offer networking opportunities; and (4) develop and present ongoing professional programs for heads, trustees, and partners on how to create healthy school communities.

The program is led by volunteers Gail Suitor and Lisa Zeller, who are themselves spouses of school heads, and by Barbara Bassett, whose husband Patrick Bassett previously served as head of school at several schools and is now president of NAIS. The program is supported by NAIS staff, particularly Annual Conference Director Amy Ahart.

Families First provides networking, programming at the NAIS Annual Conference, and resources.

See the results of our recent survey looking at partner/spouse compensation for heads of school. 

Networking

• Families First Contact List
  In our work with Families First during the last few years, we have come to understand that the most important way we can provide support for one another is simply to be available for conversation. Sometimes all we need to do is listen; other times we can provide helpful practical suggestions. Though some of us have local contact with other partners/spouses, many of us do not. In the hopes that we can provide such support, click this link to view the spouses/partners of heads who have volunteered to be available for contact by other first family members.
  
• Families First Listserve
  Join our listserve to observe and/or participate in conversations pertinent to first families. To do so, please send your name and e-mail address to ahart@nais.org. 

Pre-registration is required for this program. There is no fee.
Sign up early to participate in the Families First Program as space is limited.  Remember, you must be registered for the conference.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24

Families First Meeting and Tea Time with Rob Evans
1:00 - 3:00 PM
No fee. Pre-registration required.
Tee off your conference experience with Rob Evans! Partners and heads of schools are invited to tea, coffee, and dessert with Rob Evans. A clinical and organizational psychologist and the executive director of The Human Relations Service in Wellesley, MA, Evans graduated from Germantown Friends School (Pennsylvania) and received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his doctorate from Harvard. He has consulted to nearly 1,000 schools and districts across the U.S., including several hundred independent schools – working with teachers, administrators, boards, and parents. He is the author of many articles and two books: Family Matters: How Schools Can Cope with the Crisis in Childrearing and The Human Side of School Change.

Families First Tour
3:00 - 6:00 PM
Partners/spouses and school heads are invited to join us for a tour of the Japanese Tea Garden located in Golden Gate Park. We will leave immediately following the tea with Rob Evans for a short bus ride to explore. There is no additional fee; pre-registration is required.

THURSDAY, FEB. 25, 2009

Sustaining School Leadership:  Individualized Contracts for Heads, Part One (One-Hour Workshop), 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Every head has different needs regarding his or her job, including coping with stress, professional development, family life, and future plans. In this session we will explore the legal issues that often arise with heads’ contracts, as well as ways schools have personalized the head's contract to reflect individual requests and meet various life stage requirements. This is the first in a two-part session regarding contracts and benefits for heads of school. Q&A included.
PRESENTERS: Peter Calfee, Calfee Financial Advisors Inc. (MO), Ralph Davison, Carney, Sandoe & Associates (NC); Debra Wilson, NAIS (DC)  

Sustaining School Leadership:  Individualized Contracts for Heads, Part Two (One-Hour Workshop), 1:30 - 2:30 PM
Continuation of the first session, including interactive conversations about benefits found in contracts as various times in a head of school’s career. Q&A included.
Presenters: Peter Calfee, Calfee Financial Advisors Inc. (MO), Ralph Davison, Carney Sandoe & Associates (NC), and Debra Wilson, NAIS (DC) 

FRIDAY, FEB. 25, 2010

Gathering in Sodexho Lounge, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Meet in the Sodexho lounge to discuss challenges you face as a member of the First Family, network, and catch up with old and new friends.

See the latest conference information at http://www.nais.org/ac/ac.cfm?ItemNumber=151506&sn.ItemNumber=151524.

Resources

• "Supporting the First Family in the Time of Transition"
  To better understand the challenges that first families experience when they transition to a new school, click on the title to download the PDF of an article by Lynn Friedman and Barbara Bassett outlining this important issue.

Families First Facilitators

Gail Suitor, Lisa Zeller, and Barbara Bassett contribute their time, energy, and experience to help make the NAIS Families First Program a successful one.

Gail Suitor: Gail loves being the "First Lady" of the Long Trail School (Vermont). She and John Suitor III, not to be confused with John Suitor II at Aspen Country Day School (Colorado), have three girls ages 13, 8, and 3 years. The 13-year-old attends the Long Trail School, the eight-year-old is in second grade in the local elementary school, and the three-year-old attends a preschool. Before this year, Gail and John spent 16 years at Foxcroft School in Middleburg, VA. Gail was hired at Foxcroft as director of publications. After receiving her master's degree in special education for adolescents with learning disabilities, she became director of the Learning Center for Humanities. She currently runs her own professional organizing business, serves on two nonprofit boards, and raises her three girls.

Lisa Zeller: Lisa’s husband, John Zeller, has been the head of school at the Community School of Naples (Florida) for eight years. They have two daughters attending the school in the fifth and seventh grades. Lisa also works at the Community School as the String Orchestra teacher and as the teacher/director of the Early Childhood Music Program.