Text of Conference Announcement by OESIS President, Sanje Ratnavale to the OESIS Network on September 17th, 2025
On February 22nd and 23rd, 2026, in Los Angeles, CA, we will be hosting a conference that I have been meaning to do for years: OESIS L.A. on Christianophobia (see definition). This conference will examine the rising tide of prejudice against Christians, particularly in schools and colleges, what it fails to understand, how it arrived more recently, and how we can combat it. It's time for another extraordinary OESIS Program.
What makes me qualified to lead such a conference? I have organized more than 25 conferences with over 600 schools attending, in the US, UK, and China, and none of them led to an apology. I have tackled the most difficult of topics, most recently on Antisemitism last year, held at Dartmouth. See the reviews below. I am a follower of Jesus Christ (an imperfect and unfinished project of His), do not belong to any single denomination, and will attend any church. I have written about Christianity on Intrepid Ed News- assess the depth of knowledge in my writing as you would any source: Jesus Weighs in on AI and How Would Jesus Approach Competency-Based Education? This will be a conference, not a church service or a synod.
Who should come? If you, like many educators, feel the undercurrent of hostility to Christianity at schools (even at nominally Christian schools) and want to find a way to belong authentically and navigate the communities hostile to your core beliefs, this conference will be designed for you. We are going to help you begin to address that need at your school and help you to find the boldness to stand up for your faith and those of like-minded students. We aim for you to leave with a support network that can help your calling to be in the world but not of the world, and to be salt and light.
However, you don't have to be a Christian to attend. You don't even need to be an educator in a school. And NO, this won't be an interfaith conference; it will be focused on Christianity, and the problems faced by Christians. Comparisons with other religions will inevitably emerge from the conversation, but will do so naturally, not structurally. If the thought of a Christian-focused conference is a threat to you, the unsubscribe button is at the bottom, or just reply, and we will remove you. If you apply to come and your application is rejected by anyone at your school, let me know, and I will find a way to get you there.
What will this conference cover? The conference will look at what we have lost in terms of the discussion and origin of Christian values. It will look at the pedagogy and teaching style of Jesus and the early church. It will explore how and why woke ideology has endorsed incongruent, less tolerant allies and/or associated Christianity with man's worst actions or motivations to undermine it (whilst selectively ignoring their allies' actions and/or the core message of Jesus). It will look at how and why some Christian schools have dropped their Christian roots and missions, and the consequences that follow from turning your back on a 2,000 year-old tradition. It will explore how civics and Christianity intersect. It will look at the Western canon and how Christianity features. It will look at what the Bible teaches about diversity and tolerance. It will explore how both sexes are treated by Jesus and the Bible: it will dispel myths that some neo-feminists and woke anti-Christians have superimposed on Christianity. It will look at what we can learn about governance from Christianity. It will look at the origins of the Constitution of the US, the role offered to religious faith, and whether it can survive the current political divide and anti-Christian hostility across extremist liberal America. It will explore the commitment to pluralism inherent in Christian teaching and how it compares with notions of Christian nationalism or the structured divisiveness of multiculturalism (racial affinity groups). It will do a deep dive into the Bible, both the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible, looking at how they support each other. It will look at how the selective picking of passages out of context has led to much anti-Christian bigotry. It will include a discussion of how prayer can work and contrast it with liberal and secular practices now proliferating in schools. It will, in essence, explore everything that has been deliberately dismantled, diminished, or corrupted around Christianity in the post-Enlightenment vacuum created by rising secular humanism. Finally, it will not shy away from discussing the actions of Christian groups intent on the weaponization of the faith, and how this calls for Christians to repair the damage and restore the standing of Jesus.
My Keynote will kick off the conference:
Gnosticism and Liberal Ideology: How Destructive Ideas Defeated 2000 Years ago by Early Christians Have Filled the Post-Enlightenment Religious Vacuum in Schools.
Logistics. If you or a student or a school club are interested in speaking, please reply to this email with what you want to explore. If you are interested in coming, please stay tuned for Early Bird Registration in the next 30 days. There are some very large church facilities in and around LA that we are targeting out of regular weekend hours to host the conference. I have attended many of them. We pulled off a conference in 5 months after October 7th on Antisemitism. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has similarly galvanized us.
Beyond Independent Schools. It is time for the OESIS Network to move well beyond its independent school focus, so expect to see people from diverse walks of K-12 schooling. Our logo tag line as "The Leading Network for Innovation" removes "at independent schools" and replaces it with "at K-12 schools"- see image below. We already have many public school systems on this very list following us for our work during the pandemic.
Speaking. Step up, please. We need your help -we stepped out in faith last year to do a conference on antisemitism. We are doing so again because we know this is the right thing to do. So. Register early, offer to speak and be associated, sponsor the conference, offer your school for follow-up events for the network we will create, and promote it by forwarding this email, please.
Kind Regards
Sanje Ratnavale
President
OESIS Network
The Leading Network for Innovation at K-12 Schools.
Dartmouth Allyship Conference 2024 Reviews.
"The presentations were fascinating (I’ve got 8 pages of notes) and the attendees were so engaged." Kara Jesella, Feminist Scholar & Speaker (NY)
"I enjoyed the conference tremendously, finding it inspiring, enlightening, and moving. This was by far the most comprehensive, thoughtful, and varied diversity conference that I have been exposed to. I found the discussions about Jewish identity to be particularly powerful, and I can easily imagine how those discussions will help me to formulate my approach to creating allyship at my school." Brandon Saltz, Upper School Science Teacher, Harvey School (NY)
"Thank you so much for the opportunity to connect with such a dedicated group of educators, and for your thoughtful and courageous leadership. The country needs you and the people you are preparing!" Dara Horn, Keynote Speaker
"This conference walked the walk much better than most, and consistently asked the participants to share observations and questions--which got well-informed, thoughtful responses. You had some really outstanding speakers who have really considered what they are seeing, where it is leading, how to change course--which won't happen fast but isn't impossible--and what the costs are to not doing so." Alexandra Schmidt, Math Instructor Emma Willard School (NY)
"OESIS said it would be a conference like no other, and I think you really delivered on that. I've never attended a conference for K-12 educators in independent schools focused on the topic of antisemitism, and really, more broadly, on the experience of being Jewish in independent schools. It really was a gift you gave all of us who attended, and I'm grateful for that. And I'm also inspired to lean into the work of supporting Jewish and non-Jewish students around the issues we raised more fully." Benjamin Joffe, Latin Teacher, Browning School (NY)
On February 22nd and 23rd, 2026, in Los Angeles, CA, we will be hosting a conference that I have been meaning to do for years: OESIS L.A. on Christianophobia (see definition). This conference will examine the rising tide of prejudice against Christians, particularly in schools and colleges, what it fails to understand, how it arrived more recently, and how we can combat it. It's time for another extraordinary OESIS Program.
What makes me qualified to lead such a conference? I have organized more than 25 conferences with over 600 schools attending, in the US, UK, and China, and none of them led to an apology. I have tackled the most difficult of topics, most recently on Antisemitism last year, held at Dartmouth. See the reviews below. I am a follower of Jesus Christ (an imperfect and unfinished project of His), do not belong to any single denomination, and will attend any church. I have written about Christianity on Intrepid Ed News- assess the depth of knowledge in my writing as you would any source: Jesus Weighs in on AI and How Would Jesus Approach Competency-Based Education? This will be a conference, not a church service or a synod.
Who should come? If you, like many educators, feel the undercurrent of hostility to Christianity at schools (even at nominally Christian schools) and want to find a way to belong authentically and navigate the communities hostile to your core beliefs, this conference will be designed for you. We are going to help you begin to address that need at your school and help you to find the boldness to stand up for your faith and those of like-minded students. We aim for you to leave with a support network that can help your calling to be in the world but not of the world, and to be salt and light.
However, you don't have to be a Christian to attend. You don't even need to be an educator in a school. And NO, this won't be an interfaith conference; it will be focused on Christianity, and the problems faced by Christians. Comparisons with other religions will inevitably emerge from the conversation, but will do so naturally, not structurally. If the thought of a Christian-focused conference is a threat to you, the unsubscribe button is at the bottom, or just reply, and we will remove you. If you apply to come and your application is rejected by anyone at your school, let me know, and I will find a way to get you there.
What will this conference cover? The conference will look at what we have lost in terms of the discussion and origin of Christian values. It will look at the pedagogy and teaching style of Jesus and the early church. It will explore how and why woke ideology has endorsed incongruent, less tolerant allies and/or associated Christianity with man's worst actions or motivations to undermine it (whilst selectively ignoring their allies' actions and/or the core message of Jesus). It will look at how and why some Christian schools have dropped their Christian roots and missions, and the consequences that follow from turning your back on a 2,000 year-old tradition. It will explore how civics and Christianity intersect. It will look at the Western canon and how Christianity features. It will look at what the Bible teaches about diversity and tolerance. It will explore how both sexes are treated by Jesus and the Bible: it will dispel myths that some neo-feminists and woke anti-Christians have superimposed on Christianity. It will look at what we can learn about governance from Christianity. It will look at the origins of the Constitution of the US, the role offered to religious faith, and whether it can survive the current political divide and anti-Christian hostility across extremist liberal America. It will explore the commitment to pluralism inherent in Christian teaching and how it compares with notions of Christian nationalism or the structured divisiveness of multiculturalism (racial affinity groups). It will do a deep dive into the Bible, both the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible, looking at how they support each other. It will look at how the selective picking of passages out of context has led to much anti-Christian bigotry. It will include a discussion of how prayer can work and contrast it with liberal and secular practices now proliferating in schools. It will, in essence, explore everything that has been deliberately dismantled, diminished, or corrupted around Christianity in the post-Enlightenment vacuum created by rising secular humanism. Finally, it will not shy away from discussing the actions of Christian groups intent on the weaponization of the faith, and how this calls for Christians to repair the damage and restore the standing of Jesus.
My Keynote will kick off the conference:
Gnosticism and Liberal Ideology: How Destructive Ideas Defeated 2000 Years ago by Early Christians Have Filled the Post-Enlightenment Religious Vacuum in Schools.
Logistics. If you or a student or a school club are interested in speaking, please reply to this email with what you want to explore. If you are interested in coming, please stay tuned for Early Bird Registration in the next 30 days. There are some very large church facilities in and around LA that we are targeting out of regular weekend hours to host the conference. I have attended many of them. We pulled off a conference in 5 months after October 7th on Antisemitism. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has similarly galvanized us.
Beyond Independent Schools. It is time for the OESIS Network to move well beyond its independent school focus, so expect to see people from diverse walks of K-12 schooling. Our logo tag line as "The Leading Network for Innovation" removes "at independent schools" and replaces it with "at K-12 schools"- see image below. We already have many public school systems on this very list following us for our work during the pandemic.
Speaking. Step up, please. We need your help -we stepped out in faith last year to do a conference on antisemitism. We are doing so again because we know this is the right thing to do. So. Register early, offer to speak and be associated, sponsor the conference, offer your school for follow-up events for the network we will create, and promote it by forwarding this email, please.
Kind Regards
Sanje Ratnavale
President
OESIS Network
The Leading Network for Innovation at K-12 Schools.
Dartmouth Allyship Conference 2024 Reviews.
"The presentations were fascinating (I’ve got 8 pages of notes) and the attendees were so engaged." Kara Jesella, Feminist Scholar & Speaker (NY)
"I enjoyed the conference tremendously, finding it inspiring, enlightening, and moving. This was by far the most comprehensive, thoughtful, and varied diversity conference that I have been exposed to. I found the discussions about Jewish identity to be particularly powerful, and I can easily imagine how those discussions will help me to formulate my approach to creating allyship at my school." Brandon Saltz, Upper School Science Teacher, Harvey School (NY)
"Thank you so much for the opportunity to connect with such a dedicated group of educators, and for your thoughtful and courageous leadership. The country needs you and the people you are preparing!" Dara Horn, Keynote Speaker
"This conference walked the walk much better than most, and consistently asked the participants to share observations and questions--which got well-informed, thoughtful responses. You had some really outstanding speakers who have really considered what they are seeing, where it is leading, how to change course--which won't happen fast but isn't impossible--and what the costs are to not doing so." Alexandra Schmidt, Math Instructor Emma Willard School (NY)
"OESIS said it would be a conference like no other, and I think you really delivered on that. I've never attended a conference for K-12 educators in independent schools focused on the topic of antisemitism, and really, more broadly, on the experience of being Jewish in independent schools. It really was a gift you gave all of us who attended, and I'm grateful for that. And I'm also inspired to lean into the work of supporting Jewish and non-Jewish students around the issues we raised more fully." Benjamin Joffe, Latin Teacher, Browning School (NY)