This episode can also be found on Spotify and Apple Music.

Join us for this podcast episode featuring a thirty-minute discussion with Paul Timm, PSP at Allegion, who has spent his career helping schools on physical safety. As the landscape changes, Paul is bringing his decades-long expertise to the podcast airwaves and recently launched a series of conversations with other school security experts who bring unique perspectives and thoughtful ideas for schools to consider. This episode will give an overview of what Paul has learned with these conversations and the field work that district administrators should be aware of:

• Advocacy: The work industry associations are doing to drive the value of advanced technology in K-12 school safety and security. Organizations like PASS, NASRO and Axis Communications are helping with instructional offerings and trendspotting.
• Adaptation: Hear Paul’s takeaways from the field – from his personal experience on site walking school hallways for safety assessments, as well as what he’s learned from conversations with organizations like SafeSchools4All, that share the importance of education and technology.
• Action: Learn about the people and organizations who are taking action after tragedy – including lessons from incidents and how they affected the landscape of school security.

Speakers

Paul Timm, PSP, Director of Education Safety, Allegion

The post [PODCAST] The Changing Face of School Security: How Conversations with Changemakers Is Bringing Us Together appeared first on District Administration.

This episode can also be found on Spotify and Apple Music.

Join us for this podcast episode featuring a compelling thirty-minute conversation highlighting key moments from the career of David Schexnaydre, Ph.D., a school principal in St. Charles Parish Schools in Louisiana.

Schexnaydre is Executive Director of Secondary Schools in St. Charles Parish and was recently named 2023 Louisiana State Principal of the Year. In conversation with Tim Hudson, Ph.D., Chief Learning Officer at Discovery Education, the podcast provides inspiring examples of educational leadership while offering practical insights for school and district leaders in three main areas:

Belonging & Growth: How district leaders can develop a community and culture that enables long-term success, by empowering school leaders to inspire their teams, enhance morale, and sustain educator enthusiasm for continuous improvement.

Fostering a Healthy School Culture: How to create an inclusive, trauma-informed, supportive, and vibrant educational community where everyone belongs and is growing personally and together.

Balancing Technology with Humanity: How the right technology and education programs can significantly reduce educators’ workloads while boosting productivity and student engagement.

Speakers

David Schexnaydre, Ph.D., Executive Director of Secondary Schools, St. Charles Parish Schools (La.)

Tim Hudson, Ph.D., Chief Learning Officer, Discovery Education

The post [PODCAST] Reflecting on Resilience: Cultivating a Culture of Belonging and Balance appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Wednesday, November 15 at 4 pm ET

Artificial intelligence, chatbots, and machine learning have transformed many industries—including education. As educators facing the challenges and opportunities presented by these new technologies, you want to understand how it works, what the ethical implications are, learn how to appropriately select and apply AI techniques to maximize hands-on learning, determine appropriate content to integrate AI tools into, and how to help your learners navigate AI safely and effectively to elevate STEM education with a goal of high-quality instruction. The application of AI in STEM education focuses on the design and implementation of AI applications to support STEM education.

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in STEM education is a challenge of integrating diverse AI techniques and complex educational elements to meet instructional and learning needs. The application of AI in STEM education has advantages to provide adaptive and personalized learning environments or resources, and aid instructors to understand students’ learning behavioral patterns, and automatically assess STEM learning performances.

Join us to discover the AI tools being used now to enhance STEM instruction and improve learning for the future.

Presenters:

Janette Camacho, Author and Education Coach, Samsung

Rachelle Dené Poth, Author and Spanish & STEAM Educator, Riverview Jr Sr High School

Carl Hooker, Educational Consultant & Speaker, Hooker Tech

Victoria Thompson, Education Industry Executive, Microsoft

Moderator:

Jennifer Womble, Conference Chair, FETC 

Sponsored by:

The post Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Improving and Elevating STEM Education appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Wednesday, October 11 at 4 pm ET

In 2030, what will our districts’ landscape look like for students receiving special education, particularly those diagnosed with autism? Documented trends reveal a significant increase in the number of autistic students in our school systems – from 1 in 68 in 2013, to 1 in 36 as of 2023. As these trend lines continue to rise, are we adequately prepared to meet the growing needs of these children and their families?

We cordially invite district leaders, whether or not they specialize in special education, to partake in this future-focused strategic discussion. We aim to identify and discuss long-term solutions that promise to yield maximum impact for our students. Will these increasing figures impact how administrators approach early intervention and early childhood programming?

The discussion will also encompass equity considerations, as we delve into fresh data concerning the gender and ethnicity demographics of children diagnosed with autism. This session aims to prepare our districts to best serve our continually evolving student body.

Join us for a conversation with FETC Featured Speakers and Superintendents, Dr. Zandra Jo Galvan, Dr. Neil Gupta, Dr. Deb Kerr, with industry expert Dr. Kari Stubbs, moderated by Jennifer Womble.

Presenters:

Dr. Deb Kerr, Superintendent, St. Francis Public School District

Zandra Jo Galvan, Superintendent, Greenfield Union School District

Dr. Neil Gupta, Superintendent, Oakwood City Schools

Dr. Kari Stubbs, SVP, Business Development, Stages Learning

Moderator:

Jennifer Womble, Conference Chair, FETC 

Sponsored by:

The post Envisioning the 2030 Landscape for Special Education: A Strategic Conversation about the Expanding Autism Spectrum Population appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Wednesday, September 27 at 2 pm ET

The implementation of new K-12 science standards has created some challenges for many district leaders. One way to ensure science curriculum and instruction meets state or district requirements is to offer innovative opportunities to engage students through phenomena.

By learning to ask questions and formulate solutions, investigating phenomena intuitively and immediately helps students develop critical-thinking skills in a variety of subjects beyond science.

In this 20-minute Ed Talk, experienced science educator and professional learning consultant Cory Ort will share practical strategies for how to motivate students and leverage their curiosity by using phenomena in science instruction across a school or district.

Topics will include:

• How using phenomena in science instruction helps to meet state requirements
• Practical applications and practices to share with teachers
• How to keep students engaged and motivated using high-quality K-12 science curricula

Presenters:

Cory Ort, National Science Consultant, Carolina Science

Karen Stevens, Vice President, Curriculum, Carolina Science

The post Student Engagement Using Phenomena appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Tuesday, September 12 at 2 pm ET

Transitioning to more meaningful assessment, grading, and reporting practices can create a variety of unintended consequences for school and district leaders. Identifying and overcoming the most common challenges is key to effective assessment and grading reform.

Attend this web seminar with Dr. Matt Townsley, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Northern Iowa, and Becky Peppler, Director of the FIRST Education STAGR Center, to learn about the most common challenges that can arise, and practical ways for district leaders to address them.

Examples of challenges that will be discussed include:

• “Giving points is more accurate than using levels of proficiency.”
• “My students are not good test takers, now only their assessments count?”
• “These changes won’t prepare our students for the real world.”

Attendees will also have the opportunity to submit their own challenges that will be discussed through a problem and solution framework live during the webinar.

Presenters:

Dr. Matt Townsley, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa

Becky Peppler, Director, STAGR Center, FIRST Education

Sponsored by:

The post The 3 Grading Reform Challenges Every School Leader Must Overcome appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Wednesday, September 13 at 4 pm ET

Academic esports programs are exploding all over the nation! The extraordinary potential of esports to channel student passion for video game competition has unfolded into career curriculum and college readiness pathways with all students learning transformational skills. Learn how school districts and universities are empowering students to embrace gaming, the biggest form of entertainment in the world, to support equity, teamwork, soft skills, mental and social emotional health. Why does your school need esports? Listen to the shared experiences of this panel of district administrators and esports leaders to gain insight into the how, what and who to leverage to build technology partnerships and community support for esports programs. The panel will cover the latest topics in esports from understanding the gaming culture, recruiting and coaching high performance athletes, to equipment updates your team may need and how to fund it all!

Presenters:

Glenn Robbins, Superintendent, Brigantine Schools

Chris Turner, Director of Mixed Reality Virtual Innovation Gaming and Esports Institute, Southern University Law Center

Jihan Johnston, Esports Education Specialist, North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF)

Dr. Katrina Adkins, Vice President, United States Academic Esports League, Professor of Gaming & Esports, Post University

Moderator:

Jennifer Womble, Conference Chair, FETC

Sponsored by:

The post Engaging All Students with Esports in Education: Sharing Strategies and Lessons Learned as Esports Programs Grow Nationally appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Thursday, September 7 at 3:30 pm ET

Artificial intelligence has transformative potential to revolutionize K-12 education. In this DA Ed Talk, two edtech experts will outline how AI-powered technology can and will empower educators to personalize instruction, optimize teaching, and create more effective learning environments.

Topics will include: 

• How AI can empower teachers by providing personalized lesson plans that help individualize instruction
• Using AI to improve efficiency and optimize the teaching process
• Navigating data privacy, academic integrity, and ethical concerns
• Ensuring AI-powered edtech tools support and mirror a variety of cultural perspectives

Speakers:

Leslie Sobon, Chief Experience Officer, Imagine Learning

Todd Ellermann, Senior Vice President, Product Engineering, Imagine Learning

The post How AI Will Empower Administrators and Educators for Tomorrow’s Learning appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Tuesday, August 31 at 2 pm ET

There is increasing need for alignment among experts in the field of reading science and ELL/Emergent Bilingual education. Without alignment, misconceptions have emerged, leading to confusion for educators and district leaders who support these student populations.

To provide clarification and unified recommendations, the Reading League (TRL), National Committee for Effective Literacy (NCEL) and other language and literacy experts have recently engaged in groundbreaking collaborative research summits.

Attend this 20-minute DA Ed Talk to gain exclusive access to insights from these meetings about how to support equitable, positive literacy outcomes and high achievement for multilingual learners.

Topics will include: 

• The importance of comprehensive literacy and language instruction for all students
• Why it’s critical to explicitly and systematically teach both foundational skills and oral language development
• How to effectively prioritize both language and literacy development
• How to implement an asset-based approach to students’ capacities
• Why we should consider culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy

Speakers:

José Viana, Ed.D.
Senior Education Advisor, Lexia
Former Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director for the Office of English Language Acquisition
U.S. Department of Education

Kari Kurto
Senior Education Advisor
National Science of Reading Project Director
The Reading League

The post The Science of Reading and Implementation in ELL and Emergent Bilingual Instruction appeared first on District Administration.

Date & Time: Tuesday, August 22 at 2 pm ET

Research has established that when educators feel they are working collaboratively together in a collective learning environment, student growth rapidly accelerates. By transforming PLCs to become “powerful learning collectives,” district leaders can amplify the positive impact of professional learning communities on student achievement.

In this 20-minute DA Ed Talk, an educational leadership consultant with more than 30 years of experience as an educator, instructional leader and administrator will discuss how to lead this powerful transformation in any district.

Topics will include: 

• Establishing a collaborative environment for instructional planning and assessment  
• Sharing effective instructional strategies and creating a shared language and vision  
• Identifying high quality, collaborative resources  
• Developing shared definitions of student success  

Speakers:

Char Shryock, Educational Leadership Consultant, Former Educator and District Administrator 

The post Accelerate Learning by Transforming PLCs into “Powerful Learning Collectives” appeared first on District Administration.