Members of St. Margaret’s professional community have shared their expertise at national conferences recently, highlighting the school and its academic programs, innovation and business operations.

 

Here’s a look at where Tartans have been:

 

 

Head of School Dr. Jeneen Graham and Chief Financial & Operations Officer Alanna Cajthaml presented at the INDEX PreK-12 Schools conference, sharing insight on the use of artificial intelligence as a tool in business operations.

 

INDEX is a member-driven organization dedicated to providing data, analysis and research to independent schools. St. Margaret’s is part of INDEX’s large schools group alongside top independent schools nationwide.  

 

In front of a full room of attendees at the University Club of Chicago, Dr. Graham and Mrs. Cajthaml shared insights on the potential of AI in human resources, business, security, admissions, advancement, communications and cybersecurity. They also shared St. Margaret's process of developing policy and protocols around AI for the school's academic programs.

 

The two also took time to meet with Chicago-area Tartans in an event organized by the Tartan Alumni Association.

 

 

Four educators in St. Margaret’s Early School traveled to Boulder, Colo., to present at the national conference of the Association for Constructivist Teaching, an organization dedicated to constructivist practices in education.

 

Early School Director Dr. Cris Lozon and Outdoor Classroom teacher Erika Garcia presented a session titled “Providing Play Environments for Rich Learning” which used St. Margaret’s as an example of how young children construct social and physical knowledge through classroom environments and experiences.

 

Early School teachers Dr. Jennifer Hardison and Tammy Pipitone also led a session titled “The Studio as a Place of Research: Supporting Young Children’s Construction of Knowledge Through the Arts” which explored how children use art media and materials to represent ideas, explain phenomena and sustain and deepen their inquiry.