IBSC Ideas Lab
Professional Conversations for K-4 Leaders in Boys’ Schools
Starting October 1, 2026
IBSC Ideas Lab invites K-4 leaders in member schools to connect virtually using the free online tool Zoom. Limited to 14 participants plus the facilitator, this IBSC Ideas Lab includes three one-hour sessions for participants to discuss relevant topics.
Designed as an interactive exchange among colleagues, IBSC Ideas Lab engages dedicated educators who learn and grow together. Before each session participants engage with relevant resources to provide a foundation for discussions. Together we surface fresh ideas and build mutual support structures and enduring professional friendships.
Available exclusively to IBSC member schools, first-time participants who can commit to joining all three sessions get preference in registration to support the success of each small group. No more than two participants from one school may register for an IBSC Ideas Lab.
In the spirit of open dialogue and collaboration, IBSC Ideas Labs are not recorded, allowing participants the freedom to express themselves openly and share their experiences candidly.
Who Should Attend?
Heads of department, division heads, heads of lower or junior school, and curriculum leaders with primary responsibility for the K-4 years (or equivalent) in boys’ schools.
Format
IBSC Ideas Lab attendees participate in three scheduled one-hour calls using Zoom. Faith Hunter, Director of the Lower School at The Buckley School (United States), facilitates each session.
Conversation Topics
Conversation 1
What's Actually Working for Younger Boys?
Thursday, October 1, 4:00 PM EDT, 9:00 PM BST, 10:00 PM SAST
Check the event time in your time zone.
60 minutes
Every boys’ school has something that works: a math routine that gets boys competing instead of coasting, a reading approach that engages reluctant readers, or a mentoring structure that helps turns around a difficult cohort. That knowledge rarely travels beyond the building where it was developed. This first conversation starts with what’s working: what has your school found to be effective for boys, in any domain from math to literacy to life skills, and why does it work for these learners in this context?
Come ready to share one or two things that are working in your own K-4 context, whether a program, a pedagogical approach, or a piece of thinking that shaped it, and explain why it has resonated with boys. As a group, discuss what might transfer to a different school culture and what stays tied to a particular team or setting. Leave with several ideas worth piloting back home and a deeper understanding of what works for boys across a range of contexts.
Conversation 2
The Early Reading Gap
Thursday, October 8, 4:00 PM EDT, 9:00 PM BST, 10:00 PM SAST
Check the event time in your time zone.
60 minutes
Boys who read confidently on their own terms, whether graphic novels, sports biographies, or anything else that captures their interest, often stall against the benchmarks a formal literacy program expects at the same age. Curriculum leaders keep circling the same question: is that a mismatch between interest and skill, or between how reading is typically sequenced and how boys develop literacy? For a K-4 division, the answer shapes text selection, pacing, and how and when progress is measured.
Bring what’s working in your own reading blocks, including text selection, pacing, assessment timing, read-aloud culture, along with the thinking and experience behind those choices. Share where a small structural shift seems to have sparked engagement that was already present, and why. Leave with concrete ideas to try in your own program and a peer network with whom to compare notes as those ideas play out.
Conversation 3
Building the Skill Behind the Behavior
Thursday, October 15, 4:00 PM EDT, 9:00 PM BST, 10:00 PM SAST
Check the event time in your time zone.
60 minutes
The same energy and drive that make boys hard to keep seated in a K-4 classroom are still developing. Focus, impulse control, and attention grow on their own timeline, often later than the routines built around them. When viewed as skills still in development rather than problems to manage, this becomes a design question: what does a classroom look like when it actively builds executive function instead of simply containing the behaviors that emerge as those skills develop?
Bring a routine you currently use for transitions, focus, or behavior and share what’s working, along with the thinking or research behind it, whether that involves movement, rhythm, or something developed through trial and error. Talk through where these ideas fit within a full school day and how you tell a routine that builds the skill from one that simply keeps the room quiet. Leave with a short list of practices worth piloting, drawn directly from peers doing the work.
Registration
IBSC member rate: US $185
Refund Policy
If you are unable to attend, you must cancel your registration in writing by emailing IBSC@theibsc.org by September 17, 2026. IBSC will refund 90% of registration fees if a written request is received via email by this date. No refunds will be made for cancellations received after this date. Schools seeking to register an alternate to replace a participant unable to attend should contact IBSC@theibsc.org.
Please note: Watch your email for login information for this IBSC Ideas Lab by September 24, 2026. If you registered later than this date, watch for login information within 24 hours.
Participation certificates: Participants present for all three conversations will receive a certificate of participation within two weeks of the final session.
Facilitator
Faith Hunter
Faith Hunter is the Director of the Lower School at The Buckley School, where she dedicates herself to helping boys find joy in learning and satisfaction in the pursuit of excellence. With over 25 years of experience in elementary education, Hunter has held such leadership roles as Lower School Principal at the Little Red School House, Assistant Principal at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and Director of Education at The Philosophy Day School. She has also taught at every grade level in the Lower School, applying her deep expertise in curriculum, research-based pedagogy, and student development.
Hunter earns high praise from colleagues past and present for her enthusiastic and steadfast leadership, as well as for her warmth and thoughtfulness. She is known for bringing a school’s mission to life and cultivating a supportive, innovative, and nurturing learning environment in which students can thrive. Hunter is a visionary, a gifted communicator, and a values-based educator who inspires colleagues, parents, and students alike as she unites them around a shared purpose.
He feels truly excited about his role on the IBSC Action Research team, which provides him the opportunity to further develop personal and professional connections with those who are passionate about boys’ education throughout the world.