Country School Leaders Share ‘Mission Skills’ Work at National Conference
New Canaan Country School leaders will share their experiences with the school’s ground-breaking work on character skills at the 2014 National Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference Feb. 26-28 in Orlando, Fla.
New Canaan Country School is a founding member school of the INDEX (Independent School Data Exchange) group, a nonprofit organization which developed and administers the Mission Skills Assessment (MSA), a scientific assessment of six character traits – teamwork, creativity, ethics, resilience, curiosity and time management – that have proven essential for academic and life success. Bazemore serves as vice chair of the organization.
In spring 2011, New Canaan Country School first piloted the MSA with sixth grade students. Today, 19,000 students participate in the test. INDEX is using the data to show correlations to valued outcomes, to facilitate a network on how to teach these skills, and to demonstrate the value our schools provide.
The MSA Teacher Network was formed by Country School sixth-grader teacher Suzy Taylor in early 2013. This spring, the school will host a national meeting of teachers who are interested in the intentional teaching and assessment of mission skills.
At the NAIS conference, Head of School Tim Bazemore will co-present on the topic, “MSA: A Tool to Alter the Way Schools Think About Education” along with Lisa Pullman, Executive Director of INDEX, Richard Roberts and Kevin Petway, of ETS; Jennifer Phillips of Far Hills Country Day School; Chuck Baldecchi of The Lexington School; Dave Michelman of Duke School; Ned Murray of Episcopal Day School; and Allison Webster of Shady Hill School.
Director of Enrollment Management Nancy Hayes will co-present on the topic, “Admissions Assessment: a Report From the SSATB Think Tank” with colleagues from the SSATB admission think tank including Jonathan Martin, a leading educational thinker and 21k12 blogger, who visited Country School on Feb. 21 to conduct all-day workshops with teachers on assessing higher order learning.
Hayes’ presentation will explore current research and developments around creativity and so-called "non-cognitive" assessment and the implications for use in admissions and beyond. Additional co-presenters include Heather Hoerle and Aimee Gruber of SSATB.
More than 4,000 independent school administrators are expected to attend the NAIS conference.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
