I’m going back to Philly, Philly, Philly…

The title of my post may be familiar to those of you who remember LL Cool J’s 1989 song, “I’m going back to Cali.” I was in Philadelphia for the 2011 PoCC Conference and then returned in December 2012 to see a dear friend who works and lives there. I am looking forward to returning to this robust, artistic and historical city that reminds me so much of my New York City home.

The theme for this year’s Annual Conference, Revolutionary Traditions: Think Big, Think Great, comes at a perfect time in my  professional career and personal endeavors. My school, Little Red School House & Elisabeth Irwin High School, is in the midst of planning the goals for our strategic plan. The results of the survey and focus groups demonstrated how deep our traditions and roots are, and we are all striving to create a better version of ourselves for the next 10, 25, 50+ years. One has to think big, and out of the box, in order to adapt to the changes happening all around us: on-line education, changing economic and racial demographics, the not so new buzz of the culturally competent institution, and effective strategies for running a school and raising the funds to do so. A quick glance at this year’s 3-hour and one-hour workshops, keynote and general session speakers, and pre- and post-conference opportunities demonstrates that NAIS means business when they ask schools to THINK BIG & GREAT.

I am starting a doctoral program in May so I don’t think I need to elaborate on the fact that I will spend many, many hours testing my own revolutionary traditions in search of all things big and great. In the meantime, I have already downloaded the NAIS AC2013 app!  While taking the train to and from work I am truly enjoying the ease with which I can read about the speakers, browse the workshops, and check out the local places. I know, I’m a bit of an organized geek, and a proud one at that!

I hope to offer you a flavor of NAIS AC 2013, at least through my perspective, in this blog. While comments are closed, I welcome a conversation if you see me around the convention center. See you next week in Philly.