Conference Sessions

In our demanding and fast-paced world, it can be easy to neglect the development of our leaders, who must continuously shape a culture that promotes efficacy and collaboration. Strategies succeed when we create the space for the ongoing study of the principal leadership that develops key influencers, hardens belief systems, and shapes culture for true collaboration. The Bethel School District has devised a replicable formula that organizes principals into collaborative learning teams for the ongoing study of this kind of leadership. Session attendees will learn about the importance and complexity of a continuous focus on leadership development. Attendees will also become prepared to emulate experiences that helped team leaders design and facilitate leadership study sessions and learn how the structure supports participant engagement, personal reflection, and application.

In today's fast-paced world, it takes effort to protect our well-being. The stories that many of us tell ourselves and the thoughts we play on repeat make this a never-ending and unnecessary struggle. In this session, participants will hear about one female leader's inspiring journey from feeling overwhelmed to a state of overall well-being. Attendees will learn how to apply some of the same exercises to our own lives to discover simple changes that can have a huge impact.

We all talk about engaging our school communities, but how well are we doing that? Come meet EdTech leader and Edlio CEO Ali Arsan who will share how a single website project for an NYC school turned into a career and a company helping over 17,000 schools inform and engage their communities. He will share the three key ingredients to engagement, and how to use them in your community. And, as a leader in the post-covid era, he’ll discuss recent adaptations he’s made in his own business to meet the needs of today’s schools.

Edlio is a technology company that unifies, simplifies, and streamlines school communication for students, families, and the community. With over 20 years exclusively in the K-12 arena, Edlio’s digital platform combines all of the systems schools are using into one place (website, mobile app, parent communication, online school payments, forms, emails, etc), and makes it easy for all educators to use.

Effective principals produce better outcomes for the teachers, students, and schools they lead. But great principals don't grow on trees. In this session, Dr. Marjorie Wechsler will share findings from a new study on principal learning commissioned by The Wallace Foundation and discuss its implications. The study synthesizes research on principal learning, explores principals' access to high-quality learning opportunities, and discusses state and local policies and practices that support access.

Every school district is striving to provide equity and excellence every day for each student. Often the challenge is knowing where to begin your equity journey or having the time to analyze which areas of your district are most in need of growth and development. To support school districts with their tremendously important equity efforts, ASCD has created a new equity audit service. Rather than addressing equity within an individual school or program, ASCD utilizes a unique, research-based approach to provide an equity audit through a district-wide lens.

In this brief session we will share key aspects about the design and process recently used in Smithfield Public Schools. Your students, staff, and community do not want you to miss the opportunity to stop by our session to learn and dialogue about how the ASCD Equity Audit can be customized to benefit the equity work in your school district.

Every school district is striving to provide equity and excellence every day for each student. Often the challenge is knowing where to begin your equity journey or having the time to analyze which areas of your district are most in need of growth and development. To support school districts with their tremendously important equity efforts, ASCD has created a new equity audit service. Rather than addressing equity within an individual school or program, ASCD utilizes a unique, research-based approach to provide an equity audit through a district-wide lens.

In this brief session we will share key aspects about the design and process recently used in Smithfield Public Schools. Your students, staff, and community do not want you to miss the opportunity to stop by our session to learn and dialogue about how the ASCD Equity Audit can be customized to benefit the equity work in your school district.

Transformational leadership is centered on an approach where leaders motivate followers to engage in a mutual process in which operating at higher levels of morality and expectations is the norm. Leaders who lead from the perspective of focusing on individual values, beliefs, and goals to enlighten practices and build capacity are often successful at affecting change.

Leading with our talents and strengths is essential to transforming our personal leadership, which can tremendously shift the climate and culture of our workplace. As a school leader, a strength-based approach toward leadership and coaching creates a more engaged workplace culture which in turn creates space for high performance for both individuals and school teams. In this session, participants will reflect on how to tap into their natural talents in a way that transforms their own leadership as well as the performance of others. These transformational leadership practices, many used successfully at Prince George’s County Public Schools, can be used to create a more engaged workplace where individuals are valued for their talents and strengths.

In this session, participants will explore the concept of evolution, a teacher-centered process for growth based on Ken Wilber’s Integral Map Theory. It utilizes four quadrants: I—the person, We—the community, It—the work, and Its—the work in the world. This teacher-driven, coach-supported process is meant to motivate teachers to capture their learning along the journey toward a goal. In this system, the goal is not the point, the journey is the point. Evolution is meant to increase internal motivation, reduce fear, and build a collaborative culture while supporting a Virtuous Cycle of Growth which emphasizes metacognition, goal setting, and consistent reflection and feedback. Attendees will leave this session with an understanding of the benefits of moving from a summative to an expansive system of teacher development (top-down to bottom-up) with data to support the need for change and the strategies and framework to implement Teacher Evolution—an Integral, Whole-Human Approach to Teacher Development.

As a partner in professional development, Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) is committed to helping schools and school districts reimagine professional development and career advancement. Learn how a partnership with NNU's Center for Professional Development can allow school leaders to support their existing professional development programs and offer low-cost PD credits to teachers. NNU also offers accelerated online teacher certification programs for paraprofessionals and other district staff interested in entering the classroom.

As a partner in professional development, Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) is committed to helping schools and school districts reimagine professional development and career advancement. Learn how a partnership with NNU's Center for Professional Development can allow school leaders to support their existing professional development programs and offer low-cost PD credits to teachers. NNU also offers accelerated online teacher certification programs for paraprofessionals and other district staff interested in entering the classroom.

Leadership research is compelling: principals have a significant influence on teaching and learning. We also know that effective principals, assistant principals, and teacher leaders are consistently supported by district administrators. So, what do district-level administrators need to build capacity to support leadership development at all levels for succession planning? What are the collaborative, coordinated, and cooperative strategies across district departments that improve and impact leadership at all levels? How can district-wide reflective practices enhance professional growth and monitor leadership actions for impact? In this session, participants will explore the answers to these questions by examining concepts and using strategies and tools aligned with a research-based leadership development framework. They'll gain increased perspectives on the district's role in transforming leadership development, as well as action steps for creating sustainable systems of leadership development that support their succession plans. Participants will also examine how a school district in Florida used the framework to guide the ongoing learning of leaders aligned with their succession needs.