ISLC 2023

International School Leader Conference–Europe 2023
Dubrovnik, Croatia

23-26 April 2023

The International School Leader Conference (ISLC) is designed for busy school leaders to gather for challenging PD, networking, and time away from the busyness of school life. ISLC keynote speakers will challenge your thinking as the small group interaction sharpens your understanding. You do not want to miss this one. This conference will be held at Hotel Kompas Dubrovnik on the outskirts of beautiful Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Leaders from ALL ACSI regions are heartily invited to attend.

Hotel Kompas is located adjacent to the exquisite Lapad Bay beachfront and Uvala and its famous tree-lined promenade. The hotel is less than 4 kms from Dubrovnik’s magnificent medieval Old Town city centre and 25 Kms from the Dubrovik international airport.

Daily Schedule Overview:

• Sunday 23 April: Arrival Day. Conference will begin at 19:00.
• Monday 24 April: Conference Day 1, 09:00-15:00.
• Tuesday 25 April: Conference Day 2, 09:00-15:00.
• Wednesday 26 April: Conference Day 3 will begin at 10:00. Conference closes after lunch.

Registration:
Registration for this event is CLOSED.

If you require a Letter of Invitation, please contact Caitlin Taylor, caitlin_taylor@acsi.org.

Cancellation Fees: 

ACSI REFUND POLICY: Except in cases of medical emergency, urgent family emergency, school crisis there will be no refunds for pre-registered events. If you or a pre-registered member/delegate from your school is unable to attend an event, you are encouraged to send a substitute, such as a board member, other staff member, or an interested parent. Refunds that are given are subject to a service charge of $50 per registrant, which will be deducted from the refund amount. Reach out to the Event Coordinator, caitlin_taylor@acsi.org, for questions.

Hotel Accommodations:

Hotel Kompas, our conference venue, is completely full for our event. Any current reservations at Hotel Kompas can be cancelled or modified free of charge before April 02, 2023, 12:00 AM (UTC+01:00).

Alternative hotel accomodations can be found here.

DRAFT SCHEDULE

PDF Schedule for Printing

Dr. Roger Parrott - Keynote Speaker

Roger has served the broader Church as a member of the Board of Mission America Coalition, a coalition of 100 denominations and 750 service ministries who have joined together for cooperative evangelism in America.  He has served for a quarter-century on the Executive Committee of the Lausanne Movement, and was chairman of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization held in Thailand. His board service has given Roger extensive international experience around the world, with deep University and personal ties to South Korea especially.

He has served on the boards of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and over a dozen local and regional boards for ministries and non-profit organizations.

His wife, MaryLou, earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in English and teaches Literature at Belhaven. Roger also did his graduate work at Maryland, earning his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration.

Roger is the author of Opportunity Leadership: Stop Planning and Start Getting Results, and The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders.

Tim Shuman - Conference Host

Dr. Larry Taylor - Keynote Speaker

Dr. Larry Taylor is the president of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).   

ACSI exists to strengthen Christian schools and equip Christian educators worldwide as they prepare students academically and inspire them to become devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  Serving more than 25,000 schools in 108 countries, ACSI helps more than 5.5 million students worldwide connect to Christian education. 

Prior to assuming leadership at ACSI, Dr. Taylor served for 20 years as the Head of School at Prestonwood Christian Academy (PCA) in Plano, Texas. Dr. Taylor previously served as President of the Texas Private Schools Association (TPSA) Board of Directors. Dr. Taylor also served for 12 years at The First Academy in Orlando, Florida as a high school principal and assistant headmaster. He also has held teaching positions within the public-school system. Taylor co-launched a national training institute for schools, “Becoming a Kingdom School Institute” and founded the Student Leadership Institute (SLI) program. He developed a training program for parents called, “Becoming a Kingdom Family.” Dr. Taylor published the book titled Running with The Horses, which helps parents raise children to be servant-leaders for Christ and helps to build a family plan. 

Dr. Taylor received his Ph.D. in Philosophy in Leadership Studies from Dallas Baptist University (2009), his master’s degree from Nova University (1993) and his bachelor’s degree from University of Central Florida (1986). Dr. Taylor has been married to Delinda Rose Taylor for 35 years and has five sons: Bryce, who graduated from Yale University and Notre Dame Graduate School; Luke, a graduate of Princeton University, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Zeke, a graduate of Florida State University; Chas, a graduate of Rice University and currently in law school at the University of Chicago and DeMarcus, a graduate of Ouachita University.

Breakout Session: Introduction to Flourishing Schools

This breakout session will cover the multi-year research endeavor that produced the Flourishing School Culture model and instrument. This model provides the framework to measure school community strengths and weaknesses and to create an action plan to see transformational results. This research, grounded in God’s Word and validated by a rigorous independent review sponsored by Cardus, identified 35 constructs that support five primary domains. Join us as we explore this roadmap to flourishing!

Michael Epp - Breakout Presenter

Michael Epp serves as the Sr. Vice President of ACSI Global.  He has worked for the past 35 years in global and international education, serving 19 of those years in São Paulo, Brazil.  ACSI currently has 17 affiliated country or regional offices within six different divisions – North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, South Asia, and the Asia Pacific.  ACSI’s aim is to promote, equip, and empower leaders of the offices as they help develop the Christian schooling movement around the world.  Partnerships with other countries, Christian schools, organizations, and international ministries are continually forming. The worldwide movement for Christian schooling around the world continues to grow.

Breakout Session: Introduction to Flourishing Schools

This breakout session will cover the multi-year research endeavor that produced the Flourishing School Culture model and instrument. This model provides the framework to measure school community strengths and weaknesses and to create an action plan to see transformational results. This research, grounded in God’s Word and validated by a rigorous independent review sponsored by Cardus, identified 35 constructs that support five primary domains. Join us as we explore this roadmap to flourishing!

Philip Scott - Breakout Presenter

Philip Scott’s background is a blend of education, religion, and law. He has taught middle and high school students U.S. Government and Civics in Christian schools.  Most recently he has been a lecturer in undergraduate and graduate programs teaching on ethics, nonprofit law and education law.  

He is twice a graduate of Liberty University with an undergraduate degree in Education and a Juris Doctorate degree from Liberty University School of Law. He has studied theology and law at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is admitted to the bar of Colorado.  As well as being a Senior Certified Professional in HR with the Society of Human Resource Management. 

Philip was a Judicial Clerk Intern during law school with Justice Tom Parker at the Alabama Supreme Court.  He has served as legal counsel to Christian ministries and as a board member for a local education ministry.    

Philip has been with ACSI since 2011.  He currently serves as Vice President for Legal Affairs where he oversees legal, HR and risk management support and training for member schools.  He also serves as legal counsel to ACSI itself and its related entities.  Previously he served as the Managing Director for the Association’s parental choice scholarship program operating in six states.

He has authored over forty articles on legal and HR matters specifically as they relate to religious private schools and is the editor of the Legal Legislative Update.   

He and his wife, Heather, met in the 5th grade while attending a small Christian school in central Virginia. Philip and Heather have three children.

Daniel Hylden - Breakout Presenter

Daniel Hylden is the Founder/Executive Director of Christ-centered Administrative Services Team (www.CAST-financial.com). Hylden has 36 years of nonprofit financial experience having performed annual financial examinations on five different continents in over 30 countries. Hylden was the Deputy Superintendent of Operations and a teacher at Grace International School in Thailand. Hylden's children graduated from Rosslyn Academy in Kenya and his nieces graduated from Black Forest Academy in Germany. Hylden was an auditor with the International Mission Board of Southern Baptist Convention. CAST was recently awarded the Better Business Bureau Spark Award for excellence in Eastern and Central Texas USA. Hylden has a Master of Business Administration degree, Certified Fraud Examiner certification, Private Investigator license, ordained, and commissioned as an international missionary.  Hylden and CAST strongly support the mission of ACSI and stand ready to assist your school should your school seek our assistance.

Wayne Lynch - Breakout Presenter

Wayne K. Lynch is a graduate of Rider University (B.S. Marketing, ’71), Temple University (M. Ed., ’78), and Dallas Theological Seminary (M.A. ’84). He started fundraising in 1975 and speaks, writes, and consults widely on the topic. He earned the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive status with Association of Fundraising Professionals. Lynch is currently the President of Gift of Hope USA Foundation, a private family charitable foundation as well as the Founder and member of the board of Bright Fund Ukraine.

Breakout Session: Developing a Financial Model (for International Christian Schools) to Transition from Missionary to Paid Staff

The explosive growth of International English-speaking schools, both non-profits and privately owned, the growth of paid staff positions, both local and international, teachers leaving the profession, and the increasing difficulty of raising missionary support is causing schools to rethink how teachers are paid. Explore the issues, the costs, and the possibilities to make a partial or full transition.

Tim McGill - Breakout Presenter

Tim McGill was born in Taiwan. He graduated from Morrison Academy and returned to serve on staff for 37 years. Now in retirement, Tim is serving on the Black Forest Academy Board and as the Executive Director of the Child Safety and Protection Network. Cofacilitators include Julie Heinsman (Superintendent of Morrison Academy), Micah Powers (Safeguarding Lead at BFA, and Karen McGill (Response Team Training 7th Editoin Editor).

Breakout Session: The 7 Elements of an Effective Child Safety Program 

Does your school have a comprehensive child safeguarding program?   The 7 Elements of an Effective Child Safety Program developed by CSPN can be used to evaluate your school's progress.  Participants will share in table group discussions of each of these 7 elements. 

Sharon Rosa - Breakout Presenter

As a licensed counselor in international settings for 33 years, Sharon Rosa provided multi-layer emotional and mental care for international Christian school personnel, students, and families.  She and her husband, Joe who is an international school administrator, have served at Christian schools on four continents. They have two adult TCK sons and six grandchildren, three of whom are MKs. Currently Sharon provides on-line counseling to missionaries and MKs around the world, including refugees from Kyiv Christian Academy where Sharon and Joe most recently served.

Trauma has, of necessity, become a subject of study and experience during Sharon’s years overseas. She has worked in international communities affected by hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, violent government coups, criminal gangs, civil war, kidnapping, sexual assault, terrorism, death of school staff/students, Ebola, and Covid.

Breakout Session: Developing a School Environment that Boosts Trauma Recovery

Covid focused attention on trauma and trauma recovery, as well as modifying the definitions used by the public.  Those of us in international Christian schools have not needed to refocus on trauma.  We experience it frequently.  So, then, we should be leaders in providing a healing milieu in our schools. In this session, we will focus on honing the skills already developed, as well as identifying new strategies and discussing their implementation.

Sponsorship for this event is CLOSED.

We are offering four different levels of sponsorship for the event. If you are interested in partnering with ACSI for this event, please fill out the form below and our team will get back to you with next steps.

Based upon current projections we are expecting approximately 100 leader delegates to attend ICEC from over 40 leading international Christian schools in Europe, Africa and the rest of the world. This estimate may grow given the new interest in travel and gathering in-person.

No matter your budget, we have a sponsorship opportunity for you!

*ACSI, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to refuse or prohibit any vendor from participating in or otherwise exhibiting at a conference if such participation or exhibiting is contrary to or conflicts with ACSI's mission and values. 

Tier 1

$2,000

Limit: FULL

	Keynote session sponsor: sponsor video opens one of the four keynote sessions.
	One direct email to delegates before the conference.
	Conference access for two representatives: Sponsor representatives gains access to all conference sessions.
	Physical table at event location: sponsor table in prime location at event location with full access to conference delegates.
	Linked logo on ACSI.org event webpage
	Logo on event materials

Tier 2

$1,500

Limit: FULL

	Conference access for two representatives: Sponsor representatives gains access to all conference sessions.
	Physical table at event location: sponsor table in prime location at event location with full access to conference delegates.
	Linked logo on ACSI.org event webpage
	Logo on event materials

Tier 3

$500

Limit: FULL

	Linked logo on ACSI.org event webpage
	Logo on event materials

Tier 4

$300 + Materials and Shipping to Venue

Limit: FULL

Event Swag Bag: we are seeking a SWAG sponsor (conference pen, sling bag, notepad, etc.) for ISLC. Reach out to us (caitlin_taylor@acsi.org) about how you can get your logo'd item into the hands of our outstanding delegate leaders representing schools across Europe, Africa and the world. Our team will put the "SWAG bags" together at the venue.