ISA’s Professional Development Centre, the CDLT (Centre for Development, Learning and Technology), recently hosted a conference for Advancement professionals: ‘Designing the Experience of School‘. Run by Yellow Car, an organisation that “supports school leaders and their teams to intentionally design the experience of their school”, colleagues from schools around the world gathered at ISA to connect and reflect on their own school environments together.

Yellow Car Co-Founders David Willows and Suzette Parlevliet believe that in the future, “the schools that will be noticed in the crowd will be those that intentionally design the experience of school.” Advancement professionals in schools are responsible for various behind-the-scenes functions and activities, including admissions, marketing, communications and alumni relations – with many more tasks and responsibilities in between. Therefore, they are perfectly positioned within a school environment to reflect intentionally on a school’s experience for students and families, from the first inquiry all the way until graduation.

Drawing on their own experiences as Advancement professionals at the International School of Brussels, Willows and Parlevliet wanted participants to walk away with the foundation for what they needed to know to make their own schools stand out from the crowd, providing them with a “measurable impact.”

ISA is committed to Developing Minds through Professional Development, providing ISA staff and other global educators with a forum to share ideas and network with colleagues and leading experts in our very own Professional Development Centre. The Designing the Experience of School conference gave attendees not only a networking opportunity but also the chance to be intentional in considering how to improve the school experience further.

Matt Jasinski, ISA’s Communications Manager, attended the conference. He said, “it was such a great opportunity to connect and collaborate with other Advancement professionals from around the world and to have the chance to think critically about what our families experience on their journey at ISA, from admissions all the way to becoming an alum. It was also great that the conference was held at ISA and that we had a chance to showcase what makes the learning environment at ISA so special.”

You can view upcoming CDLT events for 2022-23 below: