NWAIS Spring Heads Meeting

May 3-5, 2026

 Alderbrook Resort and Spa (Union, WA)

REGISTRATION IS NOT YET OPEN FOR THIS EVENT

Please Save The Date

Conference Overview

Join Heads of School from across the Association and share experiences, build relationships and explore practices as well as trending themes in independent school leadership.

Meeting Agenda

Sunday, May 3, 2026

2:30-3:00         Registration

3:00-4:00 Welcome and Reintroductions - Welcoming those new to the Association

4:00-5:45         Keynote Session

6:00-8:00         Reception and Dinner

7:30-8:30         Optional, Fun Evening Program

Monday, May 4, 2026

8:00-9:00         Breakfast

9:00-10:00       Business Meeting

10:00-12:00     Conference Programming

12:15-1:00        Lunch - HIP Groups To Gather

1:00-5:00          Free Time

5:00-6:00          Reception and Dinner to Honor Departing Heads of School

6:00-7:00          Dinner

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

8:00-9:00        Breakfast

9:00-9:30 Break / Hotel Check Out  

9:30-11:30      Conference Programming

12:00              Conference Conclusion

Registration

No payment is required to NWAIS at the time of registration. Your school will be billed after the event. Please register as soon as you know that you will be attending and no later than April 20, 2026.

Accommodations

Accommodations can be made by contacting Alderbrook Lodge & Spa directly. NWAIS has contracted a special rate of $199 per night. A variety of rooms are available at the special rate, including cottages. Please make your reservation directly through Alderbrook by calling (360) 898-2145 and asking for the NWAIS Spring Heads Meeting rate.

Reservations will open January 6, 2026

Book early! Reservations must be made by April 3, 2026 to qualify for this rate. 

NWAIS Heads Meeting Policies

Annual Fall and Spring Heads Meetings are open only to schools affiliated with NWAIS.
All NWAIS Accredited and Candidate member schools are billed for a portion of the Heads Conference expenses whether or not the School Head attends. Travel expenses to and from the meeting are reimbursed, added to the meeting expenses, and shared among all accredited and candidate member schools. Hotel expenses are not covered by the Travel Share Policy. If the Head of School of an Accredited and Candidate member school cannot attend, they may send a representative in their place.

Heads from Affiliate Members and Subscriber Schools will only be charged for the Heads Conference if they attend. They will be billed for a full share of the meeting expenses. They are however, responsible for their own travel expenses, and not responsible for any portion of the pooled travel expenses.

Heads Meeting Guests are asked to register in advance. Guests that are attending the program sessions will be billed after the event for the cost of the meals only. They are not responsible for the shared travel costs or program expenses. Spouses or other guests who do not attend programming will be billed after the conference and will only be charged for the meals, which they register to attend. Only one attendee from each Accredited and Candidate member school is eligible for any reimbursement of travel costs through the Travel Share program.

In the case that a guest of a Head of School is unable to attend, there is no cancellation fee until 4 days prior to the start of the meeting. After that point, all registrations are final, and guests will be billed regardless of attendance.

Travel and Other Expenses Incurred Before Event Cancellation

Typically, cancellations and postponements are very rare, however the pandemic has forced us to utilize these options more frequently. In the case that NWAIS needs to cancel, all registration fees will be refunded. NWAIS is however, unable to reimburse other expenses (such as travel) incurred by attendees prior to the event. NWAIS strongly recommends that attendees make travel arrangements that allow for some flexibility such as rescheduling, cancellation and/or future credit.