From AIM to Action is a multi-session, virtual workshop series designed for school teams who have previously completed AIM: The NAIS Assessment of School Culture. Through the NAIS Strategy Lab’s tried-and-true strategy-making model, this workshop helps teams continue to diagnose what your AIM insights reveal about your school and focus on areas of concern. Teams apply innovation frameworks and engage in thought exercises to generate exciting possibilities and plan for an effective implementation and rollout of new ideas. Leave with a pitch deck and a concise, compelling story that outlines how your AIM findings have led to innovative approaches to reach your larger community goals.
Pre- and Post-Session Details: In the pre-workshop session, registered schools can learn how to pull the critical elements of data from NAIS Data and Analysis for School Leadership (DASL) and other sources to guide your strategic work. In the post-workshop session, teams can join to discuss implementation progress, next steps, and strategies for tracking metrics both in the near and long term to maintain momentum around your innovation efforts.
Using data in strategy and innovation work can be overwhelming at times. Where should schools start in reviewing their survey results? Which data are important for comparison points? How can schools effectively communicate data that motivates future change?
The NAIS Strategy Lab has partnered with the NAIS DASL team to answer these questions and more through the additional sessions related to this workshop.
The pre-workshop session is designed to support school leaders who struggle with interpreting and prioritizing their AIM data and need a simple and effective process for analyzing, visualizing, and communicating insights to others. You’ll find through clarifying your understanding of the data, the work becomes more motivating, relevant, and engaging for future strategy work.
The post-workshop session will help schools consider how to be more precise in collecting evidence on what is working (or not), provide frameworks for continuous reflection, and discuss the tools needed for ongoing communication and collaboration to make lasting change. You will be better able to enact new ideas or strategies that outline what success will look like and, more importantly, how you will know if/when success is achieved.
These sessions won’t just teach you read your survey results, they will teach you how to use the data to address a key issue you’re facing today.
The deadline to register is Wednesday, January 21, 2026 due to the pre-workshop session and the prework required to complete prior to the session start date.
Schools select up to six participants to make up their workshop team. The ideal team includes three to six participants. The minimum number of school participants is three people. Individuals or pairs are not recommended due to the significant amount of teamwork time built into the agenda. You need to know the number of participants at the time of registration. You can make updates to the attendee names that fill your spots until two weeks before the event. There are no discounts for schools that decide not to send participants to either the pre- or post-workshop sessions.
Cancellations must be received in writing at strategylab@nais.org. Cancellations received up to 30 days before the program’s start date (December 23) will be fully refunded, less a $75 administration fee. Cancellations received fewer than 30 days prior to the program will not be refunded.
Please contact strategylab@nais.org or (202) 973-9700 with any questions.
Pre-Session: January 22, 2026, 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
Main Session:
Post-Session: April 16, 2026, 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
Schools should send teams of up to six people to this virtual workshop from diverse roles at school. Consider sending your AIM steering committee, including the AIM site coordinator, head of school, DEI director, and other senior leaders.
