The Puzzle: Blog

After a sold-out inaugural event last year, we are proud to announce our second-annual Women's Institute on June 8, 2018 in Boston. Continuing the success of our first event, we are excited to bring even more opportunities for women and their allies to make progress personally and professionally.

The Institute was created to support women and their allies in the education community by creating a trusted space for personal and professional development. While we host our Diversity FORUM that centers around equity and inclusion in independent schools, in addition to our hiring conferences across the country, we felt called to host an event that could inspire a more gender-inclusive workplace. Recently, the country–and world–has seen a push in women's rights, and we want to bring this movement to the educational space.

As we began planning for this year's event, we were inspired by the story of an attendee from last year. She wrote to us a few months after the event letting us know that after coming to the Institute, she was empowered to apply for a higher-level position–and she got the job! The goal of our Institute is to contribute to the overall development and empowerment of women in all stages of their career, and this attendee's journey is just one exciting example of what we hope participants gain from attending. Whether it's your ultimate goal of becoming a senior administrator or an outstanding classroom teacher, the Institute is meant to help women grow in confidence to be the best versions of themselves.

That's why the theme of this year's event is “You Can: Striving for Progress, Not Perfection.” The goal is to learn to move beyond an obsession with perfection and instead towards a mindset that holds progress at its core. This year, the day will focus on professional skill development and career advancement. Attendees will learn to build a toolkit for progressing towards achieving specific goals in work, leadership, and life. “You Can” means there is no right way to define success. You can be a teacher, head of school, friend, mentor, or classroom leader. There isn't anything that women can't do. Period.

We are so excited to announce our 2018 keynote speaker, Shabana Basij-Rasikh. Shabana is the co-founder and president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), a nonprofit dedicated to providing Afghan girls a rigorous education that promotes critical thinking, a sense of purpose, and respect for self and others. Widely recognized as a leading advocate for girls’ education, she is a global ambassador for Girl Rising, a global campaign for girls’ education, and was named one of CNN International’s Leading Women of 2014. Read more about Shabana here.

Check out a recap of last year's event and read what attendees had to say about their experience. And stay tuned as we announce honorary faculty members and panel topics in the coming weeks!

The Details

Welcome Reception
Thursday, June 7, 2018
6:00 p.m.
Harborview Ballroom in the Battery Wharf Hotel

Women’s Institute
Friday, June 8, 2018
8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Battery Wharf Hotel
3 Battery Wharf, Boston, MA 02109

$275 per person (individual attendee)
$250 per person (groups of 3 or more attendees from the same school or organization)

Ready to register? Do it now, as this event sold out last year! Click here to reserve your spot.

Please note, this event will not have a hiring component. Attendees do not need to be registered job-seeking candidates with CS&A. All are welcome.

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