Nearly 450 professionals from across the U.S. and Canada met during a pictureperfect October week at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC for three days of intensive focus on important issues facing independent school admission today. Participants were supplied with a wealth of information about marketing, the economy, demographics and best practices, all designed to provide the most “bang for the buck,” maximizing the time spent in DC so that attendees could come away with useful information and helpful tips.

The SSATB Welcome Committee, comprised of members of SSATB and AISGW and chaired by Diane Dunning of St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, warmly welcomed all registrants. Our community service partner this year was The Reading Connection, a non-profi t organization that provides books and read-aloud sessions to underprivileged children throughout the greater Washington, DC area. Generous members made donations and provided TRC with numerous books, ranging from beginning reader books to the Harry Potter series. On Thursday evening, The Capitol Steps had everyone rolling in the aisles with their hilarious political satire set to song and dance.

A broad mix of professionals, from Admission Directors and Assistants to Heads of School, brought their unique insights and experience to this one-of-a-kind forum. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of this year’s attendees joined us for the fi rst time. Fifty-eight of them took advantage of SSATB’s pre-conference Admission Training Institute (ATI), made possible by the invaluable leadership of our expert faculty, to learn the basics of admission offi ce survival. More colleagues than ever before – nearly 70 – presented workshops or led discussions. And, new this year, the Institute for Advanced Admission attracted 125 veteran attendees who explored complex strategies in admission.

Patrick Bassett, NAIS President, set the stage for the conference with an opening speech focused on the past, present and future of independent schools. Juan Williams, of National Public Radio and Fox News fame, struck an emotional chord by extending his sincere thanks to the private school community for the opportunities they provide to children – explaining that those opportunities had made all the difference in his life. Stan Collender, Congressional budget guru, with his humorous delivery, brought us a sobering view of the nation’s budgeting and fi scal policy. Author and linguistics expert Deborah Tannen gave an insightful lesson on the differing communication styles of men and women. Featured presentations on marketing and the economy, given by Thomas Hayes and Barbara Byrne, respectively, brought insight and advice about these two important (and interconnected) topics.

Finally, our two new formats, Think Tanks and Speed Topics, were a big hit! Designed using member input from past years’ conference evaluations, these formats for small group discussion and quick learning enabled our attendees to interact, debate and network. We extend a warm thank you to all our volunteer group leaders, faculty members, and presenters for making this year’s conference such a success! We look forward to seeing you again in Boston in 2010!