LASSCA 2024

THE 2024 LASSCA Conference will take place FEBRUARY 25-28 AT THE ROSEN PLAZA HOTEL IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

Themed “Lifelong Lasallian Leaders: Reimagining Servant Leadership,” the 2024 Lasallian Association of Secondary School Chief Administrators (LASSCA) conference will bring speakers and offer activities that call us to reimagine servant leadership in a way that is rooted in Gospel values and centered in the person of Jesus. This servant leadership will help set vision and direction, inspiring a new model to lead and serve our educational communities.

Registration has closed. Any registration questions can be directed to Lasallian programs manager Phil De Rita at pderita@cbconf.org. Any questions regarding your hotel reservation can be directed to Nix Conference and Meeting Management at registrar@nixmeetings.com or (314) 645-1455.

Registration Materials

About the theme

The emerging realities of Catholic education are always on the forefront for chief administrators. Considering the changing landscape, how can we balance the needs of our educational communities including student retention, faculty recruitment and retention, affordability, enrollment, financial realities, advancement, etc.? We are called to reimagine servant leadership that is rooted in Gospel values and centered in the person of Jesus to set a vision and direction that offers a new model to serve and to lead. As we navigate our current realities, we cultivate a deeper commitment of association for mission to assist in developing and sustaining leadership that ensures lifelong Lasallian leaders. The 2024 LASSCA Conference invites presidents, principals and board chairs to reimagine educational leadership so that we are better able to mentor and accompany the next generation in our educational communities.

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Salome Thomas-EL is a K-8 principal in Wilmington, Delaware, and lives in Pennsylvania with his family. A teacher and principal since 1987, he received national acclaim as a teacher and chess coach at Vaux Middle School in Philadelphia, where his students went on to win world recognition as eight-time national chess champions. Principal EL is the author of the bestselling books I Choose to Stay, which had movie rights optioned by Disney, and The Immortality of Influence, which stresses the importance of leadership, mentoring, parenting and service to others. He is also the co-author of three books, Passionate Leadership, Building a Winning Team, and Retention for a Change. Dr. EL speaks to groups around the country and frequently appears on C-SPAN, CNN and NPR. He holds a doctorate in education leadership from Wilmington University in Delaware. Principal EL has also studied at the University of Cambridge, the University of London and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He received the Marcus A. Foster Award as an outstanding school district administrator in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania’s distinguished Martin Luther King Jr. Award. Reader’s Digest magazine recognized Principal EL as an “inspiring American icon.” Dr. EL was featured on Good Morning America and Oprah Radio.

Dr. Scott Sorvaag serves as dean of the College of Education at Winona State University in Minnesota. A former teacher, school principal and school district administrator, Dr. Sorvaag began his Lasallian journey of 21 years at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota where he served in various roles as professor of education, chairperson, dean and general education director. Dr. Sorvaag, a graduate of the Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies, served as a facilitator in the Brother John Johnston Institute for Contemporary Lasallian Practice and published “The Nature of Lasallian Leadership” in AXIS: Journal of Lasallian Higher Education in 2021. He received his bachelor’s degree in history/governmental affairs and an elementary education degree from Augustana University in South Dakota, a master’s degree in educational administration from South Dakota State University and a doctor of education degree in leadership from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Father Aaron Wessman, GHM, is the vicar general (first vice president) and director of formation for the Glenmary Home Missioners (since 2019). He has a doctorate from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, in systematic theology (2019) and is a guest lecturer at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana. Father Wessman serves on the Editorial Board for Review for Religious and the Advisory Board for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men Religious (CMSM). He gives lectures and publishes regularly on the theme of Christianity and polarization, including his recent book The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World. He serves as chaplain for two prison systems in the Cincinnati, Ohio, region.  