Conference Program

The K-12 system has undergone significant changes over the last century. One constant has been that it is designed to help students realize their future potential. But what about our communities?

This session will provide an overview of how SREB supports communities by working with schools to provide students with access to quality experiences that prepare them for a future career, whether it requires a university degree or not.

This high-quality workforce can then become a significant economic driver for regions.

• Explore SREB's policy recommendations
• Understand the four pillars of AI use in K-12 classrooms
• Identify the skills necessary for preparing students for an AI-ready workforce.

Explore the powerful combination of stackable certifications and aptitude-driven career discovery to empower students, reinforce learning, and create clear, personalized pathways to success. With YouScience Brightpath's unique aptitude-based insights and 200+ certifications spanning all 16 career clusters, educators can help students connect what they’re good at with what the world needs—building confidence, skills, and real workforce value. Learn best practices for integrating both aptitudes and certifications into your programs and discover how they form a powerful foundation for lifelong learning. Let’s move beyond the checkmark and start shaping futures with purpose!

• Strategies to overcome teacher and parent roadblocks and establish trust
• Techniques for making impactful initial phone calls and using effective conference language
• Tools like "Foggers" and "Getting Commitment" to navigate difficult conversations

• Understand the RIASEC (Dr. Holland’s codes) to have meaningful conversations with students about themselves, others and their connection to the world of work.
• Be reminded of employability skills and the importance of what you do daily in your classroom to student success after 12th grade.
• Develop your go-to responses to students’ difficult questions about “Why come to school? or "Why do I need to learn this?”
• Build your toolbox to have engaging and meaningful conversations that connect students to the world of work, using their skills, abilities and interests.

Discover the transformative power of algebra tiles to deepen students' understanding of essential mathematical concepts.

This hands-on session demonstrates how algebra tiles can make abstract ideas tangible, enhancing student engagement and comprehension.

Aligned with SREB’s Powerful Mathematics Instructional Practices, this session emphasizes a Balanced Approach to Mathematics that promotes factual knowledge, conceptual understanding, and procedural fluency.

Learn strategies to model operations on integers, explain and justify methods for solving equations, and visualize the distributive property.

By incorporating algebra tiles into your instruction, you will empower students to develop critical reasoning skills, strengthen problem-solving abilities and achieve a deeper conceptual grasp of mathematics.

This is the first session of a two-part series. Join us for part two to complete the whole picture and gain a comprehensive understanding!

Part Two (Session 1123) will be held on July 17 at 2:30 p.m. in room 388.

• Black females’ diverse experiences,
• Strategies to motivate students in a post-COVID pandemic era
• Instructional strategies
• Urban education
• Pop culture
• Social constructs
• Building capacity for overcoming barriers,
• Exploring pathways that provide opportunities for the success for at-promise Black female students.

• Strategies to design career-connected OST programs
• Tools for aligning programming with school culture and student interests
• Methods to build partnerships with colleges, employers and community organizations
• Approaches for measuring impact on both academic and social-emotional outcomes

This session focuses on practical, research-based strategies that intentionally foster active student engagement in mathematics through purposeful planning and high-quality tasks. Aligned with SREB’s Powerful Mathematics Instructional Practices and NCTM’s Effective Teaching Practices, participants will explore approaches that promote collaboration, critical thinking, and meaningful discourse. Through hands-on experiences and reflective discussion, attendees will gain effective tools to transform math classrooms into student-centered environments where every learner is empowered to engage, persist, and succeed.

This is the second session of a two-part series. Part one built the foundation and was an introduction to the use of algebra tiles in the grades 6 - 9 classroom. 

Discover the transformative power of algebra tiles to deepen students' understanding of essential mathematical concepts.

This hands-on session demonstrates how algebra tiles can make abstract ideas tangible, enhancing student engagement and comprehension.

Aligned with SREB’s Powerful Mathematics Instructional Practices, this session emphasizes a Balanced Approach to Mathematics that promotes factual knowledge, conceptual understanding and procedural fluency.

Learn strategies to solve multi-step equations, perform all four operations on polynomials and imaginary numbers, factor polynomials and model the process of completing the square to solve quadratic equations. 

By incorporating algebra tiles into your instruction, you will empower students to develop critical reasoning skills, strengthen problem-solving abilities and achieve a deeper conceptual grasp of mathematics.

Part One (Session 1557) took place on July 16 at 2:30 p.m.

1. Relationships
2. Equipping
3. Attitude
4. Leadership

• Implement writing and speaking challenges to drive language development.
• Integrate language objectives into daily instruction.
• Build systems to sustain MLL progress.
• Develop actionable plans to achieve measurable outcomes.

• Adamsville Elementary School, STEM
• Bryant Park Elementary School, Visual and Performing Arts
• Chalkville Elementary School, STEM
• Clay Elementary School, Global Language and Leadership
• Minor Community School, Visual and Performing Arts
• U. W. Clemon Elementary School, Global Language and Leadership

• Participants will analyze communication examples as they learn to recognize effective and ineffective communication.
• They will draw on the knowledge of their parents as they apply what they’ve learned to compose communications that are parent-friendly.
• They will leave with practical tips and tools they can share with their staff.

• Determine leadership styles in your team. 
• Define how to empower your staff. 
• Identify what type of leaders your building needs. 

1. Innovation
2. Support
3. Strategic staffing
4. Workplace conditions and benefits

Ignite Impact: Leading Learning That Transforms Schools is a professional learning experience designed for school and district leaders committed to accelerating student achievement through high-impact instruction and strategic leadership. This session equips participants with research-based practices, tools, and leadership strategies to drive sustainable school improvement.

• Gain an understanding of effective instructional practices to strengthen Tier 1 Instruction
• Strengthen instructional leadership to build teacher and instructional coach capacity
• Design aligned systems that support continuous improvement

Discover how to turn math and science lessons into real-world STEM experiences through the power of inquiry.

In this hands-on session, K–12 educators will explore strategies that spark curiosity, build cross-curricular connections and deepen student thinking.

Takeaways include:

• Ready-to-use, inquiry-driven STEM lesson ideas
• Practical tools for planning and assessing integrated instruction,
• Strategies to increase engagement, collaboration and real-world relevance

1. Learn the basic concepts of a distributive leadership model
2. Gain an understanding of the career academy model and the guiding principles of the Academies of Nashville
3. Identify some early steps to take toward developing a distributive leadership culture