Cognia CONNECT Conference 2019-2020

Senior Associate Bob Imholt and Director of Consulting Services George Entwistle attended the 2019 Cognia CONNECT Conference, held in Atlanta, Georgia, December 4-5. The purpose of this conference was for Cognia to provide accreditation support for its growing number of schools within the region. It was a pleasure to attend, the small, but high-energy, gathering of 209 leaders from 110 schools in 23 countries along with 11 vendors whose primary interests lie in Latin America. Currently, there are 17 Cognia schools in South America, with the majority in Chile.

In addition to a keynote address, Cognia CONNECT offered three-hour workshops, with titles such as So All Can Learn – Differentiation: Bridging Pedagogy and Practice; Nurturing Effective Leaders; and Nurturing a Sense of WONDER: Rediscovering and Exploring STEM and STEAM for Early Learning. Cognia also offered its Accreditation and Certification Series, comprised of three, 3-hour, in-depth workshops designed for institutions in each step of the accreditation cycle.

Bob having spent 11 years as an educator and administrator in Latin America, was able to introduce George to school heads from Search Associates (SEARCH) schools around the region, to include Dr. Eric Habegger of Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogota, Colombia; Robert Rinaldo of the Lincoln School in Costa Rica; and Jeff Jurkovac of The Pan American School of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Bob also introduced George to the outgoing regional director of Cognia Latin America, Dr. Dennis Klump as well as the incoming director, Dr. Jose Rivera. George, who is new to the SEARCH team and eager to consult with schools and boards all over the globe, appreciated how well-recognized and respected his SEARCH partner is!

SEARCH continues to grow our presence in this important region. We now have a November international recruiting fair in Panama—designed specifically to serve schools located in Latin America, and just finishing its second year—as well as a School Associate plan, in which our Associates provide personalized service to each and every school in the region. We will continue to support Cognia CONNECT as it seeks to provide what SEARCH supports: the education and training school leaders need to maintain their regional accreditation.