Middle States Association

Most schools have a strategic plan. Most of those plans sit in a folder after year one.

Not because the goals were wrong. Because the gap between writing a plan and building real momentum is where most initiatives stall. You need more than goals. You need the skills and structures to carry them forward, and people around you doing the same work.

That's one of the things we're spending three days on this October in Cairo. Learn more here: https://www.msaevolutionlab.com/the-journey-cairo

Think about the last time something new showed up at your school. A new tool, a new initiative, a new way of doing things.

What was your gut reaction? Jump in and try it? Wait to see proof it works? Watch what other schools do first?

We're curious where you land. Take our quick Innovation Adoption self-assessment and find out your psychographic profile when it comes to change: https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/fb0a0455-4a2d-4825-a4b7-67ed9d562335

It's one of the ideas at the heart of Evolution Academy. Understanding how your team approaches change is the first step to actually leading it well.

Innovation Adoption Assessment Quiz Discover your innovation adoption profile with this interactive psychographic quiz. Get scored on a scale of 20-100 and learn if you're an Innovator, Early Adopter, or Laggard.

MSA is proud to welcome 11 new commissioners to our Accreditation Commission!

Commissioners are the heartbeat of our accreditation process. Elected by The Commissions, they review accreditation reports, guide MSA's strategic plan, and bring the real-world experience of school leadership to every decision. These 11 individuals represent the depth and diversity of our global membership — from public school districts to independent schools to international institutions.

Welcome, Jennifer Marisi, Danny Robertozzi, Elizabeth Eastwick, Perliter Walters-Gilliam, Shahla Anbreen, Dana Persico, Gloria García De Jesús, Gayle Veitch, Michele Dowell, Emily Parsons, and Syed Sultan Ahmed.

We are honored to have you.

Learn more about MSA accreditation at msa-cess.org.

What's the difference between a leader who arrives with a vision and one who arrives with a question? According to Dr. Rand Harrington, it's everything.

In this episode of Evolution Stories, Christian Talbot sits down with the Director of the American Embassy School of New Delhi to talk personal transformation, self-knowledge, and what it actually takes to lead change in a school. Dr. Harrington brings a career that spans physics research, teaching monks in northern India, and eight years leading an independent school in Colorado. His perspective is unlike any we've had on the show.

Listen here: https://www.msaevolutionlab.com/evo-stories/podcast/rand-harrington

Most AI policies in MENA schools were written fast, and written alone.

A leadership team huddled, drafted a stance, and rolled it out. Reasonable, given the pace. But a policy written by a few people for everyone else rarely survives contact with a real classroom. Teachers improvise around it. Students find the gaps. The document sits in a folder while the actual decisions happen elsewhere, in WhatsApp groups, in individual classrooms, in the moment.

The real work isn’t writing the policy, it’s building the shared process that lets a whole school community keep making good decisions about AI as it keeps changing.

That’s the question we’re spending three days on this October in Cairo. More soon.

Most schools wrote their AI policy fast, and wrote it alone.

A small team huddled, drafted a stance, sent it out. Understandable, given how fast things are moving. But a policy written by a few people for everyone else rarely survives contact with a real classroom. Teachers work around it. Students find the gaps. The document sits in a folder while the real decisions happen in classrooms, group chats, and quiet moments nobody planned for.

The real work isn't writing the policy. It's building a process that lets a whole school community keep making good decisions about AI as it keeps changing.

That's what we're spending three days on this October in Cairo. More soon.

Most change efforts in schools have a strategy. A strategy is only half the story.

Story, strategy, and change are three distinct tools -- and wise change happens where they intersect. Strategy gives direction. Change responds to a real problem. Story connects purpose, people, and experience, and moves a community forward.
We're sharing this framework freely because school leaders deserve tools that match the actual complexity of their work.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/164GZLQSWcUtMItcJSaomFo8XtajM5Uii/view?usp=drive_link

This is one of the frameworks at the heart of Evolution Academy, a professional learning and implementation community for educators and school leaders navigating change by Middle States. We're launching a new Annual School Partnership this year — one priority, one year, your whole team learning together. Founding Partner pricing is available now for 2026-27.

Curious? Book a consultation: https://scheduler.zoom.us/tara-waudby/evolution-academy-consultation

When AI arrived, Choate Rosemary Hall didn't issue a ban, and they didn't say yes to everything. They asked a harder question: what do we actually value?

In this episode of Evolution Stories, Ellen Devine walks through how Choate built a school-wide AI stance rooted in discernment, and what it took to bring a full community along.

Listen here: https://www.msaevolutionlab.com/evo-stories/podcast/ellen-devine

What happens when a voucher law requires accreditation, but most accrediting bodies don't recognize your model?

That was the challenge facing Sarah Fagerburg, founder of Acton Academy Johnson City. Her school runs on learner-driven studios where guides coach and facilitate instead of lecture. Most accreditation options she explored would have required her to change that.

MSA's microschool pathway took a different approach. Instead of measuring Acton against a traditional staffing checklist, the process helped Sarah define what effective guides actually need to know and do in her model. The result was stronger training, tighter policies, and clearer documentation, without compromising the school's identity.

The impact was significant: if her current learners receive ESA scholarships, she projects tripling her revenue. Waitlist applications doubled after accreditation became public.

Read the full case study: https://www.msaevolutionlab.com/blog-full/when-traditional-accreditation-threatens-your-model-how-one-school-unlocked-esa-funding-while-preserving-its-learner-driven-studios

We're bringing The Journey to Cairo.

Al-Maseira: The Journey Cairo is a 3-day design sprint for educators and school leaders — October 8–10, 2026 at the American International School of Egypt.

Choose one track (AI in Education, Change Leadership, or Flourishing Schools), spend three full days with the same cohort, and leave with a peer-reviewed plan for the change your school needs. Quarterly check-ins and a 2027 Showcase keep the momentum going long after October.

Open to educators and school leaders across the MENA region.

Learn more here: https://www.msaevolutionlab.com/the-journey-cairo