District Leadership Retreat Explores Research-based Instructional Practices

While the end of June starts the summer break for our students, July 1st marks the start of the new school year for the District’s leadership team and Board of Education. On July 5th and 6th, the District held its annual leadership retreat. The retreat provided an opportunity for professional learning for our leadership team aligned to the District’s new Strategic Plan.

“This retreat is an opportunity for the leadership team to collaboratively and intentionally plan to support our students for the new school year,” shared Superintendent Dr. Christine Ackerman. “Thank you to our Board of Education for participating in this learning opportunity alongside our administrative team.”

One of the District’s new strategic priorities focuses on rethinking traditional curriculum, with a focus on research-based instructional practices. To support this work, the District welcomed researcher and author John Hattie. Hattie is an influential educational researcher and author known for his extensive work on educational effectiveness. He studies the ways that teaching practices impact student learning outcomes. The District leadership team and Board all read Hattie’s newest work, 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning, to support this work. (continued below)


Over thirty teachers from the District also participated in Hattie’s keynote and spent a full day unpacking his work around evidence-based instructional practices. The District is looking forward to this work continuing throughout the new school year.

Additional highlights from this year’s retreat included:

  • Work with Executive Coach Laurie Armstrong to review our leadership skills and communication styles
  • A innovation and sustainability tour of Stone Barnes to support the District’s sustainability goals
  • A keynote from Dr. Laurence Stenberg focused on how we support the socioemotional development of adolescents 

Our #WeAreChappaqua community is committed to innovative and powerful learning opportunities for our staff and students. This retreat is just one example of this commitment from our leadership team and Board of Education. We look forward to a productive summer of growth and collaboration as we prepare for the return of our students in September.