Thursday 22 May, 2025 - Sunday 25 May, 2025
Access USA Leadership Summit at Hillsdale College
Overview
This will be a gathering of roughly 30-35 senior leaders from Access USA Associate Schools in India. They will either be academically involved owners of schools or heads of school. We anticipate we will limit participation to 1-2 individuals per school. In addition to the leaders from India, some number of individuals from Hillsdale will be invited to join the event, as will a small number of other people.
Guests will arrive on Thursday, 22 May, 2025, and depart on Sunday, 25 May, 2025. There will be an informal reception on Tuesday evening, programming all day Friday and Saturday, with dinners on both evenings. After lunch each day, there will be opportunities for informal discussion, relaxation, and local outings. Sunday morning will feature a session dedicated to discussing Access USA-related matters.
We expect most people will fly from India on Tuesday to the Detroit Airport. We will reserve a conference room at the hotel where people can congregate and freshen up while they wait for the shuttle buses to bring them to the Hillsdale College campus.
There are two options for lodging. There are a limited number of deluxe rooms in the conference hotel. The remainder of the guests will be in other campus housing. The deluxe rooms will be available on a first-come, first served basis, so register early.
This is a private, invitation only event.
Sessions
This is intended to be an active learning event. Sessions are all intended to be discussion-driven, with different facilitators for each session. The focus will be on the practical, implementable, and actionable.
Program at a Glance
12:00 - 5:00 : Arrival of Guests via Shuttle - Check In
5:00 - 6:00 : Tour of Campus
6:00 - 7:30 : Drinks and Dinner
7:00 - 8:00 : Breakfast + Opening Remarks
8:00 - 8:10 : Break
8:10 - 9:30 : Session 1
9:30 - 9:40 : Break
9:40 - 11:00 : Session 2
11:00 - 11:10 : Break
11:10 - 12:30 : Session 3
12:30 - 1:30 : Lunch
1:30 - 4:00 : Discussion / Individual Meetings / Relaxation / Recreation
4:00 - 5:30 : Quiet
6:00 - 7:30 : Drinks and Dinner - Dinner Address - Special Guest TBD
7:00 - 8:00 : Breakfast + Recap Previous Day
8:00 - 8:10 : Break
8:10 - 9:30 : Session 4
9:30 - 9:40 : Break
9:40 - 11:00 : Session 5
11:00 - 11:10 : Break
11:10 - 12:30 : Session 6
12:30 - 1:30 : Lunch
1:30 - 5:30 : Outdoor Activity / Excursion
6:00 - 7:30 : Drinks and Dinner - Closing Address
7:00 - 8:00 : Breakfast
8:30 - 10:30 : Access USA Business Session
10:30 - Shuttles to Airport - Staggered
Program Details
12:00 - 5:00 : Arrival of Guests at Detroit Wayne County International Airport
Guests will head to the Westin Hotel located inside the Airport where they will be greeted and then escorted to the shuttle buses.
Arrive at Campus - Check into rooms
5:00 - 6:00 : Tour of Campus
6:00 - 7:30 : Drinks and Dinner
7:00 - 8:00 : Breakfast + Opening Remarks
8:00 - 8:10 : Break
8:10 - 9:30 : Session 1: Hillsdale and Classical Education
A discussion of Hillsdale College, its origin and mission, and its unique position in the collegiate landscape as an advocate of classical education. What are the benefits and challenges of classical education? Why this approach rather than others? How has the education been received by families, schools, and other universities?
Presenter: Dr Larry Arnn, President of Hillsdale College
9:30 - 9:40 : Break
9:40 - 11:00 : Session 2: Stories of Success and an Overview of Indian Education
The goal of this session is to provide the team from Hillsdale with an overview of the best elements of Indian education. They will learn this through school leaders sharing their stories about the mission and vision they have for their schools and the choices they have made. The discussion will include key differences between public and private schools in India and the vast array of private options, as well as a discussion of the various board examinations and the choices schools have made about which boards to adopt.
Facilitators: Sheila Bauer and Ray Ravaglia
11:00 - 11:10 : Break
11:10 - 12:30 : Session 3: The Value and Purpose of an Education
What are we educating for? Knowledge? Skills? Character? Virtue? Where are we educating toward? How do we develop virtue through education? What is the role of civic education? Holistic education? Arts? Physical education? Understanding that neither high school nor university is a final destination, what should each type of institution be doing to maximize ultimate positive outcomes?
Facilitator: Patrick Whalen, CEO, American Classical Education
12:30 - 1:30 : Lunch
1:30 - 4:00 : Discussion / Individual Meetings / Relaxation / Recreation
4:00 - 5:30 : Quiet
6:00 - 7:30 : Drinks and Dinner - Dinner Address - Special Guest TBD
7:00 - 8:00 : Breakfast + Recap Previous Day
8:00 - 8:10 : Break
8:10 - 9:30 : Session 4: Measuring Quality and Improving Teachers
There are endless discussions over how to measure the quality of schools. What are the practices in the USA or in India that make the most sense? How do you measure student experience? How do you measure school or teacher value add? What can be measured that is worth measuring? How can we improve the quality of teachers? Pedagogical training? Content knowledge training? Technology support? What works?
Presenters: Dan Coupland and Jon Gregg
9:30 - 9:40 : Break
9:40 - 11:00 : Session 5: Pedagogical Innovations, Trends, Reforms, and Bad Ideas
What are the major trends/reforms/innovations over the last 50-100 years? What has been the impact? What are the bad ideas and where do they come from? What about in India? Bad ideas borrowed from the global market or bad ideas grown at home? How can we help each other identify what is good while fencing off what it bad? Where is education heading in the US and India? How do we move it forward in better directions?
Presenters: TBD from Hillsdale or elsewhere
11:00 - 11:10 : Break
11:10 - 12:30 : Session 6: Creating Focus and Building Mental Muscles
Kids these days seem to have underdeveloped frontal cortex/short attention span? How to address this? How to improve this? How to develop the ability to focus and concentrate? What is the right way to balance access to a million different things, technology, media, etc., and just locking everything up? What are different schools doing? What is working? What is not working?
Presenters: David Diener or Rebecca Lincoln
12:30 - 1:30 : Lunch
1:30 - 5:30 : Outdoor Activity / Excursion
6:00 - 7:30 : Drinks and Dinner - Closing Address
7:00 - 8:00 : Breakfast
8:30 - 10:30 : Access USA Business Session
A general discussion of all things Access USA.
10:30 - Shuttles to Airport - Staggered