Spread over three days, this unprecedented retreat convened in the Himalayan foothills attracted 70 promoters, trustees, and principals of K-12 schools from 16 states across the country – writes Summiya Yasmeen he inaugural Education Leadership Retreat (ELR) 2024, organised by EducationWorld and the Boarding Schools’ Association of India (BSAI) convened at the top-ranked Pinegrove School, Dharampur (Himachal Pradesh), concluded on May 11. Spread over three days (May 9-11), the fully-residential retreat attracted 70 promoters, trustees and principals of K-12 schools from 16 states across the country. This unprecedented initiative was an outstanding success with all delegates demanding follow-up leadership workshops. Because of pressing demand, two more retreats/workshops are scheduled for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025 — in Varanasi (December) and Udaipur (March). The objective of the retreat driven by the theme ‘Empowering Changemakers & Transformative Leaders’ featuring Masterclasses and panel discussions conducted by proven primary-secondary education leaders supported by yoga and mindfulness sessions in the scenic Himalayan foothills, was to provide a learning forum for delegates to upgrade their leadership skills. “For the country to attain the ambitious goals of Viksit Bharat and $30 trillion GDP economy by 2047 set by Prime Minister Modi, our children and youth have to be well-educated and trained to become competent and capable leaders within the next 23 years. And the responsibility of nurturing and developing tomorrow’s leaders in all walks of life has devolved upon today’s education leaders. Therefore, it’s very important for education leaders themselves to learn continuously and upgrade leadership and mentoring skills to develop their students into knowledgeable school-leavers ready to assume leadership roles in business, industry, politics and society. The EW-BSAI Education Leadership Retreat 2024 has been conceptualised to provide such a forum for school leaders to share and exchange best practices and level up their leadership skills,” said Dilip Thakore, Publisher/Editor of EducationWorld, in a message to delegates. Ideated and designed by Bhavin Shah, CEO, EducationWorld, and BSAI President Dr. Sumer Singh, the three-day ELR 2024 was carefully curated for school leaders to deliberate the most pressing issues confronting primary-secondary education and develop leadership skills to confront and manage them. “From teacher development to crisis management and cultivating global citizenship in schools, the Masterclasses have been designed to ensure that delegates learn, upskill and return to their institutions with valuable, practical strategies to develop their schools into globally benchmarked K-12 institutions,” said Shah, welcoming delegates to the inaugural ELR 2024, convened on the scenic twin campuses of Pinegrove School in Himachal Pradesh. “The Masterclasses were led by three principals with outstanding leadership capabilities and the other two by former government policy formulators with wide experience in India and abroad. This three-day retreat provides an ideal forum for school leaders to learn from knowledgeable practitioners and to network with peers to share experiences and best practices,” said BSAI president Dr. Sumer Singh, also former headmaster of the top-ranked The Daly College, Indore and Lawrence School, Sanawar, in his welcome address. Edunext Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Noida and BenQ…
