The ISACS Parent Series has become a hallmark ISACS program for independent schools, designed to strengthen partnerships with parents in support of essential school/home relationships. ISACS has created another exceptional series of six one-hour webinars for parents in all stages of their children's growth. We know you will find these new topics to be compelling and significantly important to your school and to parents and caregivers as they learn from leading experts in the fields of education, parenting, and child development. We hope your school's parents see this resource as one of the many benefits of belonging to your school community and that each session serves as a springboard to energizing conversations. Many educators also have participated!

We hope you will join other independent school parents for the six evening webinars led by a celebrated team of experts to help you support and guide your children in all areas of their development. We look forward to learning right along with you!

As school begins, we focus on giving students the right tools—planners, folders, schedules, and routines—to set them up for success. What if these tools aren’t the starting point? What if they depend on executive function skills that many students are still developing? We will shift from tools to the underlying skills students need to successfully “do school.” Gain a deeper understanding of executive function skills—such as working memory, time awareness, task initiation, and organization—and why challenges in these areas can make even the best systems fall apart. Explore how everyday school demands—getting out the door with materials, recording and completing homework, managing time across the day, and following through independently—require more than reminders and checklists. Learn strategies to help start the school year strong.

Content is particularly useful to those with children in grades 3-12. 

 Recording will be available until: 12/31/26
Recordings & resources are accessed through your Parent Series Zoom Lobby

Sarah Ward

Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP has over 30 years’ experience in the treatment of executive dysfunction. She is an international expert and presents seminars on the practical strategies she has developed with her co-director, Kristen Jacobsen. Their latest work, The Time Tracker Program—has received high acclaim for its innovative approach to shifting students from adult-managed to self-regulated time management. Ward has presented to over 2,000 public and private schools and organizations across the globe. In recognition of their international impact on executive function skills in education, Ward and Jacobsen were named one of the Top 10 Professional Development Providers for 2023 by Education Technology Insights Magazine.

A great predictor of future educational performance is the beliefs a student holds about the world. Beliefs change the math about what is possible and probable, whether it’s making a team or getting accepted to a great school or thriving with ADHD. By changing the math, beliefs change our path. Parents can actively shape those beliefs in ways that measurably increase student resilience, happiness, and long-term success, and Achor will reveal the seven core beliefs that predict educational outcomes and well-being. Gain practical tools to help kids strengthen the most predictive core beliefs like “I am not alone,” “My behavior matters,” “I have something to give” and “I matter” and leave with strategies that can rewire how their children see themselves and their world. Learn how to improve your child’s emotional immune system, especially in the midst of social media and technology. Beliefs about ourselves, our children, our work and our world don’t just reflect reality. Beliefs bend our future reality. Same world. Different beliefs. Different outcomes. 

Content is useful to all parents & caregivers. 

 Recording will be available until: 3/1/2027
Recordings & resources are accessed through your Parent Series Zoom Lobby

Shawn Achor

Shawn Achor became one of the world’s leading researchers on the connection between a positive brain and success. He has traveled to more than 50 countries studying how beliefs predict performance, resilience, and well-being. Achor is a New York Times bestselling author of multiple books, including The Happiness Advantage, which has sold more than one million copies worldwide. His newest book, The Power of Beliefs: How Strengthening Seven Core Beliefs Predicts Greater Success and a Better Life was released in May 2026. His research has been featured on the cover of Harvard Business Review, his TED Talk is among the most viewed of all time, and his PBS program has reached millions of viewers. Achor has worked with one-third of the Fortune 100, as well as the NFL, NASA, and the U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton. He has been interviewed twice by Oprah Winfrey and is one of only two external speakers ever invited to address the president’s staff at Camp David.

For many parents and educators, fights over screen time seem like an inevitable part of raising kids. But what if it didn’t have to be this way? What if it were possible to transform these conflicts into conversations, and work on better screen habits with our children and students, instead of engaging in endless battles against them? Drawing from a decade’s worth of work—as well as her bestselling books How to Break Up With Your Phone, The Power of Fun, and The Amazing Generation (co-authored with Jonathan Haidt)—Price will reveal why it’s essential to rethink our approach to kids and screens, and will offer a fresh and empowering perspective on how we can talk with our kids instead of at them.  She’ll discuss strategies for how to inspire kids to choose to delay smartphones and social media,  rethink their relationships with devices, create better boundaries with technology, and prioritize real-life friendships, skills, and experiences. She’ll also address newer challenges, including AI and chatbots, and offer ways to help our children—and ourselves—create healthier relationships with technology and build lives full of real friendship, freedom, and fun.

Content is particularly useful to those with children under 13. 

 Recording will be available until: 6/30/27
Recordings & resources are accessed through your Parent Series Zoom Lobby

Catherine Price

Catherine Price is a science journalist, speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and a leading voice in the national conversation about how people of all ages can create healthy relationships with technology and live meaningful, fun lives. Her books include How to Break Up With Your Phone, The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again, and The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World, a book for kids and teens co-authored with Jonathan Haidt. Her work has been featured in The Best American Science Writing, NPR, The New York Times, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, and TIME Magazine, among many others. She writes the popular Substack newsletter, How to Feel Alive, and her TED Talk on fun has been viewed more than eight million times. Price’s goal is to help people of all ages scroll less and live more. For more information visit catherineprice.com and catherineprice.substack.com.

Deepfake technology is no longer a future concern. Students are encountering AI-generated scams, manipulated media, and abuse through the apps, games, and platforms they use every day. Most parents know the term but aren’t sure what it means for their family or what to do about it. Walk through the deepfake landscape in plain language: what these tools can do, where children are most exposed, and what the new federal laws mean for families. Learn how to recognize warning signs that a child may be targeted, how to have age-appropriate conversations about online manipulation, and what steps to take if an incident occurs. Leave with a framework for ongoing conversations with your children, a clear response plan, and the confidence that comes from understanding what they’re dealing with. The single most protective thing a parent can do is make sure their child knows they can come to them without fear of judgment. 

Content is particularly useful to those with children grades 4-12. 

 Recording will be available until: 6/30/27
Recordings & resources are accessed through your Parent Series Zoom Lobby

Evan Harris

Evan Harris is a national expert on emerging AI risks in schools, with a focus on deepfake abuse and digital safety. He has advised the Office of the First Lady, the Department of Education, and the General Counsel of the National Association of Independent Schools where he co-authored their legal guide on deepfake sexual abuse. A former teacher and administrator with a decade of experience in independent schools, Harris holds a master’s in Private School Leadership from Teachers College and was a Technology Ethics Fellow at Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute. Most recently, he developed the first national deepfake safety course for students, earning media coverage from outlets like CNN and NPR.

What if the traits that make a child more sensitive to stress are the very same traits that allow them to flourish most powerfully in the right environment? Every child is born with a nervous system uniquely wired to experience the world. Some children feel everything deeply, process intensely, and require specific conditions to thrive. Others are more adaptable, flexible, seemingly unfazed. And most fall somewhere in between. Yet, too often, we parent toward an imagined “average child”—one that doesn’t exist. Drawing on research and science around temperament, Pressman offers a clarifying lens: the goal is not to toughen children up or shield them from all stress—but to understand which stress builds resilience, which requires support, and which demands protection. This session challenges two common but costly parenting extremes—dismissing children’s experiences on one end and over-accommodating on the other. Gain a practical, science-backed approach to raising children who feel seen, understood, and capable. Because when children are known for who they truly are, they stop trying to be someone else and start becoming, fully and confidently, themselves.

Content is useful to all parents & caregivers. 

 Recording will be available until: 6/30/27
Recordings & resources are accessed through your Parent Series Zoom Lobby

Aliza Pressman

Aliza Pressman, PhD is a developmental psychologist with nearly two decades of experience working with families and the health care providers who care for them. She is the cofounding director of the Mount Sinai Parenting Center and is an associate clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book The 5 Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans, and the host of the award-winning podcast Raising Good Humans. Her newest book, The Orchid Code will be published in spring 2027.

Playing with fire and gasoline at nine years old, O’Leary created a massive explosion in his garage and was burned on 100% of his body. Given less than a 1% chance of survival, O’Leary is proof of the power of the human spirit. His unlikely recovery meant a journey of pain and loss that could have easily been insurmountable. Far from simply enduring tragedy, he became a luminous example of thriving through adversity. And surprisingly, this “survivor” story isn’t focused on O’Leary—rather, it is a celebration of heroes who intimately served him and his family. Every individual involved in this fire teaches us this truth: one person can make a profound difference in the lives of others. Using emotional storytelling and unexpected humor to highlight the powerful role parents and caregivers play in shaping resilience, perspective, and hope in their children; he reminds us of the impact of our daily attitudes, the power of gratitude, and what it looks like to model courage and compassion—reinforcing that even small, intentional moments of connection can leave a lasting imprint on the lives of our kids. Reawaken a sense of purpose—both in parenting and beyond—that what we do everyday matters. 

Content is useful to all parents & caregivers. 

 Recording will be available until: 6/30/27
Recordings & resources are accessed through your Parent Series Zoom Lobby

John O'Leary

At age nine, John O’Leary survived a life-altering explosion that left him burned on 100% of his body and fighting for his life. Today, he shares that extraordinary journey as a bestselling author and sought-after speaker, inspiring audiences around the world to live with greater gratitude, courage, and purpose. His story continues to impact millions through his writing, podcast, and the film adaptation of his story, Soul on Fire, which was released in theaters in October 2025.