Reflections on the 2020 FCIS Annual Convention

Passionate Commitment to Education

A passionate commitment to education–despite obstacles–was the common thread binding the participants at the 2020 Florida Council of Independent Schools Annual Convention held November 4th-6th.

“COVID-19 has created extraordinary challenges in the field of Education,” reflects Dan Stockman, President and COO of i-Tech Support. “Technology tools and modes of instruction have rapidly changed, but the mission remains the same: to serve students so that learning may abound.”

An Interactive Virtual Experience

Despite the challenge of attendees being physically apart due to the pandemic, FCIS successfully delivered an interactive experience. Participants used the Whova app to plan their daily agenda, view the live sessions, ask questions to speakers, message with other attendees, and connect with exhibitors. 

Agenda Highlights

Each morning, attendees were warmly welcomed by the Executive Director of FCIS, Dr. Barbara Hodges, and Convention Co-Chairs, Heads of School Dr. Arvi Balseiro and Patrick Roberts. Dr. Hodges challenged attendees to join together as an FCIS family and lead with the heart and mind, the convention’s theme. 

Thursday’s keynote speaker Roger L. Martin, Professor Emeritus, Rotman School of Management – University of Toronto who shared, “Strategy in a Time of Transition” and Friday’s keynote speaker Jill Ellis, Former Head Coach of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team empowered attendees with their motivational speeches. Ellis challenged educators to, “Be Bold to Make Leadership Work”. 

At the opening of Friday’s keynote session, i-Tech premiered a short video narrated by Stockman and Evelyn McCulloch, Director of Educational Technology, showcasing the extraordinary challenges educators face during COVID-19. i-Tech wishes to thank The First Academy and Park Maitland School for the opportunity to highlight their students and staff in the film.

McCulloch co-presented with Park Maitland School’s Andres Joubert on Friday in a session titled “Authentic Audiences in, out, and beyond the Classroom”. They shared examples, tips, partnerships that the 50+ participants could immediately put into effect in their school communities. During the session, attendees helped build a partnership database of connected schools, mentors, & experts to support student projects throughout the FCIS Community. 

The i-Tech team maintained a physical booth at the i-Tech office in Ocoee to view sessions, connect with attendees, and participate fully in the Convention. The team was also active on Twitter @iTech4Edu throughout the Convention by posting learning during sessions, offering giveaways, and opportunities for connection. 

i-Tech Salutes FCIS, Schools & Educators 

As a Gold Sponsor, i-Tech was honored to partner with FCIS in making this year’s convention possible. Quality education is crucial to the success of our students and our community as a whole. We salute teachers for rising to the challenge of transforming teaching and learning during this time. A big thanks to the entire FCIS organization, steering committee, and 157 member schools who made this year’s convention a success!

About i-Tech

i-Tech was founded in 1999 as an Information Technology and Managed IT Services company. As we began to provide IT support for schools, we realized we could use our technology acumen to help them do MORE. We brought in education experts and ramped up our EdTech offerings driven by teaching and learning outcomes. This has empowered us to support 20+ schools through COVID-19 and become a leading provider of Educational Technology in Florida.

Our EdTech solutions include: