Getting to Know Students with Special Needs, Beth Hoffman, Rio Salado College
Participants will experience a variety of disability awareness simulations. For a brief moment they will experience the feelings of frustration, anxiety, and tension that often times accompany a child with disabilities. Strategies and tools to help students alleviate these feelings will be discussed and hand outs provided for participants. A brief description of the 13 IDEA disabilities (characteristics, causes and effects) will also be provided. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the learning obstacles that children with special needs must overcome, and what teachers can do to create a safe and comfortable learning environment for ALL students.
I Can Modify!, Judy Belkis, STEPS
Some of the biggest challenges in the classroom are modifying assignments and making appropriate accommodations for the students with special needs. Whether you are a general education teacher, a special education teacher, or an instructional assistant, this session will provide you with hands-on activities, specific tools, and creative strategies to turn standard-based, grade-level instruction and assignments into relevant material for your students with disabilities. Feel free to bring assignments you would like to use as examples or simply join our team of special educators as we empower you to know that “You Can Modify”.
Special Education 101 for the Regular Education Teacher, Deborah Lashley and Laura Newcomb, AcademiCoaches
A larger percentage of Special Education students are in the regular education classroom at least 80% of the day. Often, teachers do not have the time to provide the necessary support for these students while teaching the regular education students. Regular Education teachers ask, “How do I cover standards? How do I give attention to such a wide range of students? ” This session will offer teachers strategies to take back to her/his regular education classroom and implement immediately. We will also explain how to organize lessons so that everyone learns, helping teachers increase their effectiveness and reduce stress. Helping your ELL learn English with Manipulative Visual Language, Dr. Angel Ramos, Sequoia School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
MVL is an innovative system which presents the rules of grammar visually, enabling students to see, touch, and manipulate parts of speech using colorful, appealing shapes all designed to help children master the English language. It is an excellent tool to help children, including ELL, master the code of English. MVL can also be used to represent the parts of speech in other languages, making it easier for students of foreign languages to see the similarities and differences in structure between their first and second languages. SPED Regulatory and Compliance Overview, Barbara Parsons, ADE ESS Program Specialist
This session will provide an overview of Arizona Department of Education’s individualized monitoring system for special education. Participants will learn how performance indicator data impacts the development and focus of their monitoring. This overview will include a description of the monitoring model and the required elements for compliance.
Increasing focus, learning and motivation through rhythmic exercises Laura Alvarado-Coady and Deana Douglas, Valley of the Sun Waldorf Education Association Desert Marigold School actively engages in holistic, multi-sensory educational practices such as a series of Balance, Auditory and Vision exercises that vary in complexity, and are deeply rooted in rhythm. These exercises require full-body coordination and focused attention. Current Brain Research strongly supports the effectiveness of this program which utilizes sand-filled bags, racquetballs, and balance boards. We have seen and documented significant increases in our students’ ability to focus, academic success and a subsequent growth in overall confidence and self-esteem. We have used this program with Kinder through 8th grade students from significantly handicapped through gifted children with impressive results. Attendees will see a live demonstration of exercises with some of our students which will be followed by active participation where attendees will be working with bean bags and balls to learn some of the fundamental Bal-A-Vis-X principles, rhythms, patterns and procedures. Back To Top Teacher-focused Session On Classroom Measures: “Detailed observational tools to use when observing your own and each other’s teaching Glenn Liebeck, New York City center for Charter School Excellence Systematically evaluate your students’ behavior and achievement by understanding certain actions that occur in the classroom. For example, how do you assess student engagement, adapt your teaching strategies, and measure improvement? How can you ensure that your students come ready and prepared for class? This session will provide detailed observational tools that teachers can use in peer observations to strengthen various teaching strategies.
SUPPORTING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT-or How to Have a Life After School, Jack Rowe, Phoenix Advantage Charter School
This workshop is packed with practical tips to help teachers address some of the most vexing issues they face on a daily basis while still maintaining a life outside of school. Learn simple ways to manage a classroom full of students without expending costly amounts of energy, how to get the hundreds of daily chores necessary in every classroom done by someone else, how to collect data easily and what to do with it once it is collected, and how to engage parents in school activities.
Discover HOTS in your learning community!, Rosanne Magarelli and Jane Jackson, Arizona State University
Modeling Instruction assists the students in understanding the physical world by constructing and using scientific models to describe, to explain, to predict and to control physical phenomena. The teacher sets the stage for student activities, typically with a demonstration and class discussion to establish common understanding of a question to be asked of nature. Then, in small groups, students collaborate in planning and conducting experiments to answer or clarify the question. Learn how to establish a discourse community that allows you, as the facilitator, a chance to listen to the conceptual awareness of your students and guide them by utilizing basic conceptual tools. The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching the 6 Traits of Writing for Instruction, Ardas Wachter-Grene, Rowland Reading Foundation Stock Market Game: Grades 4-12, Arizona Council on Economic Education
The Stock Market Game is a comprehensive educational program based on a real-life simulation of the stock market. SMG teaches about the U.S. economic system while reinforcing basic economics, math, business, language arts, social studies, personal finance and more! Students in teams receive a virtual $100,000 to invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Student trades take place in real time, just like the actual stock market. SMG has been correlated to the Arizona Standards in 6 core academic subjects for grades 4-12. I am not a poet: Reaching and empowering the chronically unsuccessful student, with free verse, Eleanor Morel, ACP Charter High School
Initial inductive teaching strategies allow teachers and students to entirely skip the refusal/denial stage students often get stuck in when faced with poetry, and to move directly to a notably more useful stage: being the master of the language. Experiencing success here - for every student - translates immediately across all written genres, improving student scores on AIMS Writing assessments and the AZ State 6 Trait Writing Rubrics, with emphasis on voice, word choice and the ever-elusive sentence fluency. Attendees will learn: How to take the pressure off writing; how to build an enthusiastic, creative atmosphere and feed it; how the experience transforms students and effects improvement in the rest of their work.
Sensory Connections in the Classroom, Lori Dixon, Performance Learning Systems
Sensory connections build the foundation of interactions necessary to achieve quality and success in school and in life. Learn the importance of early brain development and how to design opportunities for true learning that occurs when multi-sensory experiences, ideas, and activities create emotionally-based responses to stimulation within the environment. Mathematical Problem Solving – (An Inquiry-Based Approach), Tom Clark, VideoText Interactive
In this workshop, you will learn how to teach the five analysis-questions that must be asked to solve algebraic reasoning problems. The correct answers to these questions are guaranteed to lead students to the relation (equation or inequality) they must solve in order to find the answer to the problem. Engaging Gifted and Advanced Learners in the Classroom: Practical Instructional Strategies
Peter C. Laing, Gifted Education / Advanced Placement, Arizona Dept. of Education Jaime A. Castellano, Ed.D. Office of English Language Acquisition Services, Arizona Dept. of Education Here you will learn practical instructional methods, processes, and procedures that will provide the opportunity to engage all learners – particularly your gifted and advanced learners. Taken together, these strategies will lead to qualitative improvements in the ability of your students to think critically, creatively, and problem solve – skills which are crucial for both academic success and lifelong learning. Participants will: · Raise their expectations for achievement and future outcomes for all learners through capitalizing on their strengths and potential;
· Become talent scouts for actively identifying talent and potential in all learners;
· Engage in practical and engaging instructional activities, and receive templates and strategies to assist in differentiating instruction;
· Become champions for providing access to rigorous, challenging, and relevant curriculum for all learners
The Service of Mentoring - Building Leaders Among Us, Robert Wagner and Alison Westerlind, Great Hearts Academies
The schools within Great Hearts Academies are implementing a mentoring and student leadership program that shepherds every new student into the school with the guidance of an outstanding upperclassman. In this session: 1. Attendees will get a list and understand the specific purposes of the student mentoring program used among the Great Hearts Academies in building the school community among the students. 2. Attendees will receive an outline of the structure of a complete mentoring program including a look at how this structure complements the role of the faculty, and explaining the demands the program places upon the faculty. 3. Attendees will receive a checklist of the resources necessary which are scalable to start and sustain a student mentoring program within a school such as the one developed and expanding within Great Hearts Academies
What is Montessori?, Khalsa Montessori Elementary School
In this session, we will explore the Montessori perspective of the classroom triad: the child, the teacher, and the environment; as well as examine the principles and rationale of a Montessori classroom: freedom, structure, order, nature and reality, hands-on materials, and community life. We will discuss Montessori’s planes of development; the integrated cultural curriculum; and how the laws of work, independence, attention, will, imagination, and spiritual life manifest within multi-age classrooms. We will describe some of the ways that a Montessori classroom is prepared and managed, and bring some examples of manipulative materials. Because it can be difficult to imagine an orderly classroom in which each child or small group is peacefully and independently engaged with a different work, a video will be included.
Let's Fight for Inquiry Science Teaching and Learning!, James Manley, Northern Arizona University
How can you make your school stand out from the traditional schools solely focused are test preparation without regard for the whole child? Teachers will receive many curriculum ideas for integrating inquiry investigations integrating arts and sciences toward critical thinking skills that will prepare students for their tomorrow.
Best Practices for ILLP Development: Special section on ILLP’s for Exceptional Students, Kelt Cooper and Adela Santa Cruz, Arizona Department of Education
Abstract Pending Socratic Teaching Across the Curriculum, Kiann Mapes and Reginald Johnson, Great Hearts Academies; Andy Tafoya, The Humanities and Sciences Academy
How is the Socratic Method of instruction distinguished from traditional lecture/presentation in both practice and results? How do we create a classroom environment rich in student/teacher and student/student dialogue, and how does this approach manifest itself across the curriculum – from seminars over literature, history, and philosophy, to high school mathematics and science classrooms? Join us for this breakout panel discussion with representatives from Great Hearts Academies and The Humanities and Sciences Academy who will describe the practice and benefits of Socratic teaching at their schools. Do We Teach Students to Use INFERIOR Reading Strategies and Expect Them to Become SUPERIOR Readers? Pat Doran, M.Ed., Rio Salado College This presentation will help attendees (a) understand the causes and complexities of ineffective strategies and (b) provide practical help to teach skills necessary for successful decoding and reading comprehension based on systematic, synthetic methods recommended by The National Reading Panel. Learn ways for all teachers of all subjects at all grade levels to use systematic and synthetic phonics instruction using quick and efficient strategies to diagnose and correct problems related to decoding and encoding. Five Keys to Unlocking the Alphabetic Code; A Multi-modal Approach to Beginning Reading Instruction Laura Conlon, Rowland Reading Foundation In this session we will explore the evidence-based principles of beginning reading including a strong language foundation; explicit, systematic instruction in the alphabetic code; application of the alphabetic code; integration of all language arts to support and surround reading instruction; immersion in visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile learning experiences; and motivation to establish a culture of joyful reading. Participants will: 1. Learn about key principles in early reading instruction. 2. Understand the current research which supports these principles. 3. Participate in activities which illustrate these principles. 4. Reflect on and apply these concepts to their own classrooms. Opening Minds with Arts Integration Maney Kyllan, New School for the Arts and Academics Attendees will take home a clear understanding of the importance of art integration, a simple way to present ideas and projects, art integration lesson plan resources and example lesson plans. This material will help teachers find a simple way for this type of lesson planning and find enjoyment in these activities with their students. When Students Learn More, Test Scores Soar, Gordon Carlson, DataWORKS Educational Research Inc.
This workshop shows you 11 specific teaching strategies that should be in every lesson so you can successfully teach all students grade-level work every day. The presentation is not just theory but focuses on nuts and bolts practices in real classrooms. Attendees will learn lesson design and delivery techniques that will improve the effectiveness of instruction in the classroom and be able to identify what effective instructional techniques look like when implemented in the classroom. In addition, they will be able to provide meaningful support to others to help students learn more and learn faster. Learning Environments that Empower Both Students & Teachers, Susan Simon, Desert Star Community School
In this session, you'll discover how your classroom and school environments empower students to achieve their best. The four components of environment (physical, social, emotional, academic) will be explored. Attendees will leave this session with strategies to: 1) balance academic and social components; 2) teach "positive talk"; and 3) institute an acknowledgment program. If you're ready to provide an environment that meets the academic, physical, social and emotional needs of your students, this session is for you! Identifying and Breaking Down the 3 Barriers to Learning, Bob Duffy, Career Success Schools
Attendees will learn how to teach under-achieving and under-performing children at any grade level to learn by giving them the strategies for Learning-to-Learn. Three barriers exist in all learning and the child needs to learn how to identify and overcome these barriers. Participants will learn first hand how Learning-to-Learn works and how the strategies can be applied to close the gaps in reading and math deficiencies for each child through individualized instruction in the classroom. Assessments, both pre and post, are included in the handouts. Cat-a-pults, Bezoars and More!, Dianne McKee, Arizona Science Center
Whether you are teaching about ancient civilizations, photosynthesis or how to write a story, it is a daily challenge to engage and motivate your students. In this hands-on, interdisciplinary session, we will use intriguing objects, toys and tools to explore ways to engage your students, assess prior knowledge and build inquiry skills. This session is appropriate for teachers of all grades and subjects. REACH for Excellence, Sue Douglas, Mesa Arts Academy
Abstract Pending BASIS Schools: Creating A Culture of Student Accountability, Dr. Michael Block, BASIS Schools One of the primary elements in building a successful school is cultivating assets within the students that make them successful individuals. This session will outline how BASIS strives to cultivate self-reliance among students as early as 5th grade. The goal is not to simply make students responsible for knowing certain information, but to make them responsible and accountable for their own education.
Back To Top Tools to target school-wide and individual teacher needs Glenn Liebeck Director of School Leadership Development NYC Center For Charter School Excellence
Ideal for schools trying to close the achievement gap, this interactive session provides school leaders with training and a set of tools to target school-wide and individual teacher needs. Session attendees will learn how to conduct a school-wide needs assessment, identify evidence and analyze data using the school review toolkit. The tools highlight specific areas where schools must succeed in order for students to excel. Answers to Top Five Most Frequently Asked Questions with Anonymous Q&A for Questions You Have But Are Too Afraid to Ask, DeAnna Rowe, Arizona State Board for Charter Schools
Members of the Board’s staff will provide background information and answers to frequently asked questions in addition to answering anonymous questions from the audience. Recruiting and Hiring Highly Effective Teachers Panel, Dr. Peter Bezanson, Great Hearts Academies; Margo O’Neill, Villa Montessori; Pam and Greg Miller, Challenge Charter School
Learn the secrets of leaders who have both recruited and built talented and very diverse teams. From recruiting reservoirs to interesting interview questions to red flags you should avoid, this session will offer valuable insight into the art of recruiting and hiring successfully. LEADING THE LEADERS-Support for Site Level Administrators, Jack Rowe, Phoenix Advantage Charter School
One of the most common concerns among administrators is that they lack support and have no guidance as they work with their teaching staff. This presentation will provide the participants with information to help them address the most critical areas for school level administrators as they work to create the best learning environment for their students. This workshop is designed to help administrators both improve student achievement and maintain the momentum of a successful school. Title ll/Highly Qualified Teachers
Jan Amator, Arizona Department of Education, Patricia Hardy, Arizona Department of Education, Kathy Wiebke, Arizona K-12 Center, Maryn Boess, Arizona Board of Regents This panel discussion will cover the definition of Highly Qualified in the charter school context, legal guidelines and reporting requirements and tips for how to grow your own highly qualified teachers. Attendees will also learn the best uses of Title II and other funding sources to improve teacher effectiveness.
Introducing Critical Friends Groups as a Teacher Support Community, Susan Cameron, Salt River High School
The mission of the Salt River Critical Friends Group is to provide a framework for collaborative and reflective teaching in order to impact student learning. Critical Friends Groups (CFG) is characterized by: an active communication structure, the deprivatization of practice, a spirit of shared responsibility and mutual support for the learning of all students. First developed by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, the CFG process focuses on developing collegial relationships and encouraging reflective practice. This session will focus on 1) How a CFG works, 2) The Power of Protocols, and 3) Some of the bumps and successes experienced the first year at Salt River High School. Self-directed Coaching: Sustaining the Deepest Change, Judi Gottschalk, Center of Cognitive Coaching
Learn how Cognitive Coaching creates and sustains learning environments that support self-direction among teachers that results in benefits for students. Core learning objective include: to become familiar with the essence of Cognitive Coaching, to understand how this model of interaction can positively influence your school culture and to emphasize the power of data as one of the feedback strategies in this coaching model. Success Measured: A Leader with a Purpose, Rebecca Gau, Vice President for Research and School Quality, Arizona Charter Schools Association
Success starts with a school leader - and for charter schools, the school leader's longevity and flexibility are key to a healthy school climate and culture. Learn the key characteristics of highly effective charter school leaders, and specific examples and suggestions for how to become a Leader with a Purpose. Success Measured: A Culture That Promotes Teamwork, Marcella Gemelli, Ph.D. Associate Director for Research and School Quality, Arizona Charter Schools Association
Create the critical infrastructure and pathways to allow your teachersprofessional time for collaboration - time that is useful, planned, and self-designed. Shared Decision Making – Imagine Schools’ Joy at Work Philosophy, Imagine Schools Abstract Pending Quality Standards: Road Map to Success for Charter School Leaders, Dr.Mark Francis, Arizona Charter Schools Association
Learn more about Association member-driven and designed Quality Standards, created to help you objectively measure your school effectiveness and to serve as a quality evaluation for charter schools in Arizona. The presentation will identify four standards, indicators for each standard, and rubrics for successful charter school operation. Quality Standards will guide future initiatives to certify schools through the state association and has received positive input from the National Association of Charter Authorizers. Back To Top Success Measured: A Process For Solving Problems, Rebecca Gau, Vice President for Research and School Quality, Arizona Charter Schools Association
As a teacher you have access to a plethora of student data, but what do you do next to help each child master the material and grow as a young person? Learn strategies displayed by some of the best schools in the state to leverage data in making strong child-centered decisions - and it's not always test score data! Individualized Education Plans for All Students
Kerry Clark, South Ridge High School This presentation will provide school administrators and teachers with practical techniques for implementing data driven instruction. It has never been as important as now to provide quality, individualized instruction so schools and students can meet state and national standards. Gathering data is generally not difficult but many educators struggle with how to use the data they collect in order to improve instructional practices and interventions for their learners. Creating a truly data-driven instructional program necessitates the examination of existing programs and curriculum in order to determine individual and overall effectiveness. Attendees will learn: 1) The ingredients necessary to craft meaningful Individualized Education Plans for each of their students 2)How to create a quality master schedule that meets the needs of all students 3) Proven intervention strategies that will maximize student success and achievement. Trouble Spots in Math, Tom Clark, VideoText Interactive This entertaining and enlightening session is designed to stimulate thinking, relative to several of the traditional “trouble spots” in math. Topics discussed may include “Division of Fractions” (using that mindless rule), “Equations and Inequalities” (an inquiry approach), “Percent” (using logic, not tricks), “Problem-Solving” (critical thinking skills), or others as suggested by the audience. Using Data to Enhance the Quality of Student Learning, Nancy Clark and Dr. Shirley Stow, Curriculum Alignment Associates
During this session academic leaders will review how to designate data sources, create an assessment calendar, and disaggregate data for the decision making process. Today's call for accountability means educators must valid evidence that shows what they are doing is working. Three major questions will be addressed: Why is a data inventory chart that displays data sources important? Why is an assessment calendar a helpful tool?, and How do you use disaggregated data to inform instruction? To assist with your plan of excellence, the "Take Away" items from this session will be samples of a data inventory chart that identifies possible data sources, an assessment calendar, and a format of disaggregated data. Mapping Your Curiculum to Support Data Driven Decisions
Janet Burreson, Rubicon International This interactive workshop will show how schools world-wide are using the curriculum mapping process to engage teachers in professional learning communities to look at curriculum data. The session will cover how to review the taught curriculum, assessed curriculum, alignment to standards, and scope and sequence. Participants will work in small groups and take away handouts on the key steps to implementing mapping regardless of technology used, a checklist of how to form professional learning communities to review and discuss curriculum and sample learning logs. The workshop will draw on examples for charter and other schools around the country. Participants will leave with a plan for key steps in implementing curriculum mapping in their schools. Understanding Your Student Test Scores – High Level Strategies for Leveraging AIMS Data to Improve Student Achievement, Rebecca Gau, Vice President for Research and School Quality, Arizona Charter Schools Association
Even with the most basic AIMS data, teachers and school leaders can develop a plan to meet each student's needs. Learn to effectively combine the detailed strand-level information and formative assessment benchmarking, and you have a powerful tool to grow each student's knowledge and skill base - and ensure that they are prepared for college or a career. Back To Top Learn to Balance the Interests of Your Employee, Your School, and the Law, Jill Osborne, Udall, Shumway, & Lyons
This session focuses on winning strategies to manage employee overtime and discrimination issues. Learn why an employee's title does not determine overtime pay. Recognize the difference between a reasonable disability accommodation and an unnecessary or impossible request. Finally, understand how good intentions can lead to claims of racial or national origin discrimination. Arizona’s New Employer Sanctions Law – What You Need to Know, Roger Hall, Buckley King
The presentation will discuss Arizona's new (Jan. 1, 2008) Employer Sanctions law: a brief history of the law and what led to it; what the law requires of employers; sanctions for non-compliance; how to protect against complaints and what will happen if one is filed against an employer; problems with the law; recent legislative changes to the law (May 1, 2008), and the status of a federal court case challenging the law. This topic always generates a large number of questions, and as a result there is generally a great deal of audience participation. Calculating Student Absences, Bob Dohm & Wynette Birecki, System Training and Response (STaR), Team Arizona Department of Education
Topics covered in this session include procedures for calculating and reporting student absences and the use of the "ADE STaR Team Absence Calculator Workbook". Suggested participants are those personnel who are responsible for tracking student attendance for state reporting purposes. Charter School Renewal Process, Martha Morgan and DeAnna Rowe, Arizona State Board for Charter Schools
State Board for Charter School staff will provide up-to-date information on the development of the renewal process. Topics to be covered include historical compliance - what the data tells us, the renewal application - who submits what and when, and renewal application criteria. The Structure for a Successful Core Knowledge Charter School, Greg and Pam Miller, Challenge Charter School
Interested in building or enhancing a Core Knowledge school? Learn from Greg and Pam Miller, founders of Blue Ribbon Award-winning Challenge Charter School. Greg and Pam will walk you through four structural elements of a successful Core Knowledge school including: 1. Organizational Structure
2. The Academic Structure
3. The Accountability Structure
4. The School Climate & Community
Don’t miss this informative session and live Q&A with two of Arizona’s nationally recognized charter school leaders.
Overview of ELL Regulations for Charter School Leaders: Kelt Cooper & John Stollar, Arizona Department of Education
Abstract Pending
Fingerprinting Compliance: Avoiding Common Mistakes, Andrea Leder – Arizona State Board for Charter Schools and Mike Timmerman, Arizona Department of Public Safety
To ensure your school’s compliance with statutory fingerprinting requirements, the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools and the Arizona Department of Public Safety will: · Provide information on the law’s two fingerprinting processes
· Update schools on key changes made during the 2008 legislative session
· Help schools avoid common mistakes
Best Practices in Charter School Board Governance, Deanna Rader and Ellis Carter; Fennemore Craig
Regardless of the charter school's organizational structure, all charter schools must have a Governing Board that is responsible for policy decisions for the school. We will look at board structures (and potential legal issues related to those structures), by-laws and policies that will assist in effective board governance, defining and dividing tasks among board members to enhance decision-making processes, and ensuring compliance with the charter contract, and Open Meeting Law. Understanding Financial Reports, Doug Alf, Great Hearts Academies
Have you ever asked these questions? * What do all these numbers mean? * Why do we spend so much time on finances? * How did we get here? * What is my Business Manager saying? This session will address these questions and many more. You will leave with a basic understanding how your school is funded, the major expenditures, and how these impact your ability to accomplish the mission statement. The session will also help you understand what your roles and responsibilities are as a board member. The Seven Outs: Strategic Planning Made Easy for Charter Schools, Brian Carpenter, National Charter Schools Institute
Are you tired of writing strategic plans that result in little more than dead trees and an unused three-ring binder? Join national charter schools expert Brian Carpenter for this workshop which is titled after his new book, The Seven Outs. Brian will walk you through an easy to remember strategic planning process that can lead your school to greater achievements. The book on which this workshop is based is the only strategic planning book written exclusively for charter schools and it answers key questions, such as what the board should do, versus what the executive should do. All participants will receive a complimentary deck of 28 cards (an $8 value) which contain the key points of the book and the workshop. You can use the deck to review the key points again and again. The Five Dysfunctions of Charter School Boards, Brian Carpenter, National Charter Schools Institute
Ever spend an hour in a board meeting talking about paint colors for new classrooms or grass cutting services? Former superintendent and charter school board member, Brian Carpenter has. And as the CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute, Brian is on a crusade to end this kind of board dysfunction in charter schools. You’ll be challenged to improve your board leadership while laughing at real examples of boards aspiring to new heights of mediocrity. As a nationally known governance consultant and author, Brian works with charter schools across the country in strengthening their governance capacity. A free eight-page monograph is included with the workshop. Board Recruitment: Strategies for Identifying and Engaging Effective Board Members, Ed Roth, National Charter Schools Institute
Wish there was a Match.com™ or e-Harmony™ for finding good board members? Join Ed Roth, of the National Charter Schools Institute, for an interactive and dynamic session where you will learn proven strategies for identifying and interviewing potential candidates. Asking the right questions will help identify the right people to best serve your school – and more importantly your students. Back To Top Leave No Dollar Behind: Maximizing Participation in NCLB Programs, Michelle Doyle, Catapult Learning
Maximizing participation in NCLB programs can be a challenge for Charter School leaders, considering all the other responsibilities they hold. Learn about all the NCLB programs, uses of funds, and ways to maximize their impact for your school.
Facilities Financing Panel: Beating the Credit Crunch: William Gelm, Buckley King, John Snider, RBC Capital, Pat Tanabe, Wells Fargo, Michele Diamond, Charter Building Fund
The credit crunch has impacted the life of every individual and business in America including charter schools. This session aims to inform the participant about the state of the market and the availability of credit to charter schools for the acquisition and construction of facilities and capital projects and evaluate some alternative funding sources to meet charter school needs. Professionals representing the legal, banking, construction and financing industries will speak to the impact of the credit crunch from their professional perspective and what actions each industry sector is doing to facilitate the growth of the charter movement. The Triangle of Tension: How Leaders Find the Right Trade-offs to Make Ends Meet, Peter Hilts, the Classical Academy
This session explores the three largest factors in a charter school’s ability to maintain financial stability—Personnel costs, Facilities Costs and Enrollment Revenue. Most charter school offer smaller class sizes. Unfortunately, smaller class sizes mean lower revenues. At the same time, many charter schools either have to find their own facilities or occupy older facilities with higher-than-average maintenance costs. To complicate matters, charters have to compete with other schools for teachers. Depending on the state, charters may have to hire certified teachers, which adds pressure to meet market salaries. This session shows how authorizers and operators can balance this delicate equation over the short term and for the long haul. For example, how does a charter determine market salary? Is it based on the region, the district, or other charter schools? Should you include private school salaries in the comparison? What is the right amount to invest in a building versus remodeling or repairing a facility? Are there ways to manage the budget and maintain small class sizes? Are class size determined relative to traditional schools or driven by educational philosophy? What happens when you have to compromise? Every charter school lives with the triangle of tension. How can you make the best of it? Strategic Compensation: Overcoming the Failings of Pure Merit Pay, Peter Hilts, the Classical Academy
Merit pay systems can be subjective and confusing, but step-and-lane models can reward behaviors that don’t fit your school’s values and goals. As the next generation of differentiated pay, strategic compensation aligns incentives with organizational objectives. There is an emerging wave of second-generation systems that incorporates performance as one part of a strategic, differentiated pay system. The best systems recognize performance, longevity, inflation, value added, market factors, and leadership to create a system where teachers know what they can expect from the school both now and in the future. Students, staff and the school benefit from systems that create transparency for teachers and add value to the school’s mission. Join us far an interactive working session facilitated by veteran school leaders who have developed and implemented innovative salary systems to hire and retain excellent teachers. Participants will apply ten principles by practicing a process they can use to help transition their schools to a strategic compensation model. New Auditing Standards and how they Impact You, Heather Jones, Heinfeld Meech & Co.
Attendees will leave the session with a general understanding of how to compile and prepare their financial statements in order to comply with the new SAS 112 Requirement. The presenters will introduce an overview of the Heinfeld, Meech & Co., P.C. interpretation of SAS 112. Attendees will receive a checklist for compiling the financial statements, review the checklist during the presentation and learn tips about which items they will need to prepare in order to support their financial statements. Attendees will also benefit from a discussion of internal controls over financial reporting, including best practice scenarios for small to large charter schools. Best Practices in Business Policies and Procedures, Doug Alf and Kelly Snyder, Great Hearts Academies
Policies & Procedures aren’t dirty words. This session will explain the difference between a policy and a procedure. As a board member, you will learn your function regarding the policies of your school. You will also discover why it is vitally important that procedures are established. The session will bring an understanding that a school operating using well defined procedures with proper policies will lead to a structured environment, efficient operation, and employee effective. Strategic Budget Management, Symone Opara, Mitaji Consulting
There are many techniques to planning and managing budgets. The goal of this session is help schools think about financials holistically. Managing financials is much more than just establishing the federally regulated budget. How does a CFO think? What tools does a CFO use to tackle day to day money management concerns and still maintain financial integrity? These questions and many more will be answered in Strategic Budget Management. Through the seminar, participants will learn how to: develop tools and reporting that will allow them to manage their financials from a total revenue and expense perspective, make informed business decisions based on financial results, and understand the benefits of strategic budgeting and financial management. Prop 301 Funds: There’s a Hole in the Bucket, Michele Diamond, Diamond Financial Solutions
Ever think you were in compliance with Classroom Site Fund only to learn from your auditor that you are not? This session will delve into the details behind properly accounting for your proposition 301 funds so that there are no more surprises. If your aim is to obtain “yes” answers to all the Classroom Site Fund questions on the Compliance Questionnaire, this is the class for you! Arizona State Retirement System Programs, Mark Muraoka, Arizona State Retirement System
Our discussion will include an overview of ASRS member employer responsibilities. This overview will include reporting requirements, definition of compensation and membership and other benefits available. The discussion will also include an overview of the benefits and qualifications of ASRS membership. This overview will include retirement benefit calculation, leaving employment prior to retirement, service purchase and survivor benefits. Finally we will provide a comparison of Defined Benefit (ASRS) plans and Defined Contribution (401k) plans. Back To Top Marketing 101: Designing Your Brand & Creating Demand, Alison Francis, Armstrong Troyky, Andrea Plucker, Arizona Charter Schools Association, Raena Janes, La Paloma Academies, Monte Lange, Imagine Schools
This interactive session will walk you through steps for developing a strong school message, provide strategies for building an effective student recruitment program, and share proven best practices in community outreach and grassroots marketing to help you fill your classrooms to maximum capacity. Hear from local leaders whose innovative ideas have generated dynamic student growth and long term sustainability for their schools. Arizona Advocacy Update, Eileen Sigmund & Jay Kaprosy, Veridus
Please join the Association’s advocacy team to find out effective advocacy techniques. Learn how to make your voice heard and how to educate legislators about charter schools. Tell the Association’s advocacy team what issues are of most concern to you and learn how legislative changes may be used to improve Arizona’s charter schools.
Communicating about Charters with the News Media and the Broader Communities, Gary Larson, Larson Communications, Stephanie Grisham, Arizona Charter Schools AssociationIn this session, we will go over the basics to garnering positive PR for a school. We will also talk about how to react to negative stories in the media. Attendees will gain the following from the session: 1. Pitching the media 2. Crisis Communications and reacting to negative press 3. How to draft a press release 4. Dealing with the media
Honing Your Media Message… Live from Carefree, Gary Larson, Larson Communications, Stephanie Grisham, Arizona Charter Schools
This session will offer 20-minute individual training sessions, scheduled in advance, for charter community members to put their media skills into practice and receive coaching from media relations experts Getting Policy and Politics to Align: Charter Schools and Their Impact, Brooks Garber, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Michael Musante, Edison; Phillip Stutts, Phillip Stutts and Company
With over 4,000 charters across the country, the charter school community can have a powerful voice. Hear from national experts on how they have utilized this voice, engaging in advocacy efforts to enact legislative change. With major elections on the horizon, learn how your charter can have an influential voice. Round Table: Middle School Genetics Made Easy, Interesting & Fun, Pat Lewis, Lab-Aids
Okay, maybe not easy, but interesting and fun? Definitely. “Joe may have Marfan’s syndrome” is an example of one of the many engaging activities from the Genetics unit in SEPUP’s Science and Life Issues program. Students are asked to advise Joe after building the concepts of heritability, nature v. nurture, and analyzing pedigree charts of Joe’s family. Join us for this hands-on overview and discover some better methods and materials to teach genetic concepts. Key learning objectives: * Experience an engaging science issue * Become a part of an inquiry experience * Do the science, use the evidence and write the advice to solving the problem. ROUND TABLE: Techniques and Planning Guides for Implementing Educational Software, Josh Leitz, Backbone Communications
We will focus on Best Practices for a Successful Implementation Plan, Implementation Planning Guides, Monitoring Student Progress, and Roles and Responsibilities. These techniques can be used with any educational software.
ROUND TABLE: Credit Recovery Programs: If you build it… they will SUCCEED, Jennifer Blackstone, Blueprint Education
Looking for tangible ideas on how to… ü Increase AIMS Scores? ü Decrease dropout rate? ü Increase graduation rate? ü Make AYP? ü Save money by decreasing the number of fifth year seniors? ü Decrease class size? ü Minimize credit recovery obstacles? Don’t miss this jam packed 45 minutes presentation! We’ll present an effective, research based and data driven method for running either credit recovery or credit acceleration program at your school. You’ll leave with a written starter plan in hand filled with innovative ideas PLUS you’ll make valuable contacts in this session to help make this type of program work even with limited resources! What makes this seminar so unique? It discusses a different type of curriculum and delivery method that decreases classroom distractions and allows students to move at their own pace through the curriculum. The presenters will discuss maximizing your school resources, capitalizing on school partnerships, and overcoming the David and Goliath like scenario that most schools feel they are up against in the educational world.
ROUND TABLE: In the beginning... We created a charter school network
Sue Henderson, ASU Arizona State University has created a model for improving public education by the creation of University Public Schools. The goal of University Public Schools is to establish charter schools, and partner with existing charter schools, to test best practices and educational innovations. Once proven worthy, ASU will share the successes with all schools in Arizona via a virtual innovation initerchange center. This session will focus on how this initiative began and the many lessons we have learned in creating this new model of a charter school network Growth by Design: A guide for planning the future of your charter school, Terry Warren and Tracy Banker, Warren & Banker, PLC.
We will present an interactive seminar to inform and discuss the issues of and planning for charter school growth and expansion. Discussions will cover such operational categories as governance, finances, marketing, facilities and regulation. We will facilitate discussions related to developing goals, objectives and growth plans. To promote discussion, we will use participant input and specific case studies. Participants will be exposed to the various topics related to growth planning, will develop a rudimentary goals/planning worksheet and will take away a general guide to growth planning. As a follow up to the seminar, we will host a round-table discussion where participants can discuss specific concerns and discuss case studies.
Understanding the Banking Needs of Your Charter School, Pat Tanabe and Jesse Alderete, Wells Fargo Bank
This session will focus on understanding the banking needs of charter schools. Many charter school operators are educators and focus their attention on the education of our Arizona children. However, in order to maintain a successful charter school, focus must also be paid on the financial aspects of running a charter school. This session will cover on-line banking services, how to bank from your office, fraud protection services, tax credit collection services, how to establish a line of credit, how to plan for the staff's retirement needs and how to establish employee banking services. Attendees with take home a packet of information on each of these services. Diagnosing and Providing Interventions for Reading Skill Deficits, Diane Merkel, 95 Percent Group
Accuracy and fluency are two foundational skills for being a successful reader. The session will provide information to determine whether or not a child is an accurate and fluent reader. If deficits are determined, how to diagnose the specific needs and focus the intervention on those needs will be discussed. Attendees will take home an Error Pattern Analysis worksheet for data anlysis.
ROUND TABLE: Student Expectancies and Teacher Response in an Online Environment, Damian Creamer and Jared Richardson, Primavera Online High School
What students consider success is the primary component of how they perform in traditional and online clases. Teachers must recognize the type of expectation the student uses in order to respond appropriately. Such information is easy to recognize, yet must be continously monitored, since students can change at any time. A researched model for curriculum design and instruction will be presented and attendees will recognize three major student expectations, devise appropriate strategies to deal with each expectation, and recognize instructional design functions that can most effectively modify expectations. ROUND TABLE: Learning Environment Matters, Molly Smith, thinkSMART planning, inc.
Planning and design factors are critical components of learner- and teacher-centered classrooms. How to achieve the right balance in any learning environment is central to success whether renovating a building or building a new facility. By understanding learning styles, seeing the classroom through the eyes of students becomes much more focused and clear. We will discuss design elements that respond directly to different learning-style strengths and the supporting research, as well as other factors in the physical environment that easily can affect student success, motivation and behavior. ROUND TABLE: Meaningful Job Embedded Professional Development, Imagine Schools at Cortez Park: Jeniffer Skoczen- 2nd grade ELD, Kathy Troutman-Media Center/Reading Specialist, Cathy Scovil-3rd grade, Paul Woodhull- Technology Lab, Carla Hughes-Middle School Math, and Heidi Koski-2nd grade
Imagine Schools at Cortez Park is basking in the light of professional learning. In this session, we will discuss how we have made the journey from unplanned, one shot in-services that were unrelated to student achievement, to brighter days of focused, data-driven professional learning opportunities that clearly impact student achievement. The umbrella of Professional Development Learning Academy (PDLA) has clarified the purpose of using data-driven instruction to minimize the gap between data collection and utilization of the information to guide professional learning through collegial collaboration. This round-table discussion will focus on the importance of developing a historical perspective of the school, using data in developing the SMART goals to drive instruction to maximize student achievement, and tools and techniques that will help keep the faculty focused on the established goals. Round table: 2009 Advocacy Initiatives Eileen Sigmund & Jay Kaprosy, Veridus Priority Legislation for 2009 (Round Table) This interactive lunch session will update school leaders on how the Association is setting its policy statements and selecting its 2009 legislative agenda and gather their insight as to potential priority bills. Back To Top |
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