Sunday, March 5
8:00 – 9:15 AM

Safety Dance
Mark Houser - Assistant Principal, St. Clair R-XIII
No, you do not actually have to dance. We are going to stop for a moment, drop what we are doing, and roll into a conversation about school safety. This session will include talking about safety drills, SRP, safety walls, and more. During this session, we would also love to hear some of the great things you are doing.

Take Your School from Ordinary to Extraordinary!!!!
Leigh Ragsdale-Knoderer - Primary Principal, North St. Francois County R-I
Is your school SUPER AWESOME, but currently in a rut? Still feeling deflated from COVID and the teacher shortage? Do you and your staff just need a shot of adrenaline to finish the year strong? If so, this high-energy session is for YOU!!! The goal of this session is to provide administrators with simplistic tips and tricks to transform your schools from ordinary to extraordinary. It will focus on connecting with families and communities with trauma-sensitive and inclusive approaches to create a sense of belonging for ALL!!! You will walk away with immediate ideas and approaches that you can implement within your school the very next day. Take your school from ordinary to EXTRAORDINARY!!!

Ensuring Curriculum Success: Dewey Elementary' s Journey
Shauna Stephanchick - Counsultant, STEP Up Consulting
Melanie Rucker - Elementary Principal, Chillicothe R-II
This session will provide a step-by-step journey of how Chillicothe School District’s National Blue Ribbon school, Dewey Elementary, expedited the process of developing a guaranteed and viable curriculum, while also creating a framework for competency-based learning. Curriculum Specialists will share how they utilized a unique process to expedite aligning current resources to state priority standards, while also creating a sustainable and organized curriculum management system. Dewey’s principal will discuss consistent expectations, monitoring the fidelity of instruction and pacing guides, and assessments directly aligned to the MLS. The session will share effective practices used at the district and building level to create streamlined communication among district leaders, building administrators, and building leadership teams. Unique structures and processes that sustained the work will also be shared (administrator PLCs, instructional focused protocols) as well as key structures and supports provided by the building principal to support teacher learning and student growth.

Oh Behave! A Proactive Approach to Addressing Behaviors
Dr. Joshua Depoe - Elementary Principal, Neosho R-V
Autumn Mosby - Teacher, Neosho R-V
A proactive approach to address behavior problems with intentional data tracking, analysis, and decision-making. This approach will help pinpoint patterns and find the root causes of behavior issues in students, as well as provide them with goals to replace negative behaviors with replacement behaviors.

Doing What's Best for Kindergarten Students? Soft Placement!
Dr. Danielle Todd - Elementary Principal, Wentzville R-IV
Alicia Hooton - Assistant Principal, Wentzville R-IV
Kindergarten soft placement is a new way of thinking. One of the challenges in an elementary building is class placement. It becomes even harder when thinking of placing kindergarten students. Without knowing much about the students, it can be difficult to create balanced classes. Soft placement makes it possible for classes to be divided evenly, both academically and socially. This helps to build classroom culture and lay the foundation for a successful year. During the first few days or week of school, students will be observed. By observing student needs, friendships, and interactions early on, “right fit” classrooms can be developed for all students.

Implementing Effective Staff Learning Labs
Deidra Brinker - Assistant Principal, Sullivan
Megen Booker - Primary Principal, Sullivan
This session is designed to support administrators and teachers in creating a process that allows for collaborative and effective peer observations, reflections, and conversations. These conversations will support future instructional practices we would like to see implemented throughout the PK-2 setting.

Be of Service to the Story: Shaping School Culture
Micah Fritz - Assistant Principal, Lee's Summit R-VII
Dr. Christine Johnson - Elementary Principal, Lee's Summit R-VII
Every great novel has a beginning and an end. As a reader, we know the plot thickens in the middle. This session will share ways an elementary administrative team leads with intentional relationships, and creates a collaborative school culture while empowering others to see themselves in the story. Come learn with Dr. Christine Johnson and Dr. Micah Fritz how to move past your writer's block and draft a narrative to reshape your school's culture.

New & New to Conference Principal Session
Ramona Dunn - Middle School Principal, North Kansas City 74
Are you a new school principal or new to attending the MAESP conference? Join us for a dynamic and informative event specifically tailored to meet the needs of new school leaders. One of the greatest values of this conference is the opportunity to connect with other school leaders, new and experienced. These connections will not only provide you with a valuable support network, but also an opportunity to learn from your peers and share your own experiences. Don't miss this opportunity to learn and grow as a school leader, and gain valuable insights, tools and resources for success in your role. You will leave the conference feeling equipped and empowered to lead your school community

"You can be my wingman anytime..." Promoting Teacher-to-Teacher Feedback with Instructional Rounds & Peer Coaching
Dr. Rena Hawkins - Elementary Principal, Smithville R-II
Ashley Doll - Assistant Principal, Smithville R-II
Learn how Maple Elementary in the Smithville School District implemented teacher-to-teacher feedback through instructional rounds and peer coaching. These practices took flight this school year and were built into teachers' professional development plans to promote a culture that looks for strengths in one another and ties those strengths to best practices, resulting in teacher growth and the development of a strong and respectful school culture. Through reflection and collaborative conversations, the belief "the answer is in the room" allows each participant to get what they need through job-embedded, teacher-centered learning experiences.

Sunday, March 5
10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Federal Programs 101 - The Essentials
De Frink-Hedglin, Consultant, DFH Consulting
Elementary leaders carry many responsibilities and fill many roles. One of the roles often required of elementary leaders is that of Federal Program coordination and implementation. This presentation will focus on an LEA’s Federal Programs (Title IA, IIA, IVA, etc.) and will include practical advice on epegs consolidated applications, budgeting, planning, compliance requirements, program possibilities, and tiered monitoring submittals. Materials will be appropriate for new or returning federal program coordinators and will include resources and examples of required submittals.

Seek Input and Advocate for Change
Rachelle Banhart - Coordinator of Early Childhood Education, Lexington R-V
Toni Smith - Elementary Principal, Lexington R-V
Kyla Waters - Elementary Principal, Norborne R-VIII
Do you have some good solutions for previously scheduled school procedures and events? Your students, staff, and community might really appreciate a much needed change. Do your research, plan your change with feedback from your stakeholders, then make it happen. Participants will ponder the changes they have experienced and reflect on why some changes were effective and others were halted and never attempted again.

K/1 Success Program
Emily Koenig - Elementary Principal, Perry County 32
Lacey Amschler - Assistant Principal Perry County 32
Valerie Doran - Success Teacher, Perry County 32
The Success Program was developed to meet the social/emotional needs of students in the early elementary grade levels that enter school with limited school ready skills. This is a regular education program that is flexible, fluid, and assists any and all students that are in need. Through this program implementation, we can meet all students needs, preserve the learning environment in the classroom, and move students through phases of development giving them the tools they need to be successful in school. This program is the resource schools need to meet the needs of ALL students.

My First Year - Tips and Tricks
Dr. Rachael Marchetti - Elementary Principal, Smithville R-II
Justin Orscheln - Assistant Principal, Smithville R-II
From the moment of hire until the last day of school, this presentation will review tips and tricks for success in your first year as a lead principal. Based on best practice tips from the books, “Lead Like a Pirate”, by Beth Houf and Shelley Burgess, “What Great Principals do Differently”, by Todd Whittaker, and “Be the One for Kids”, by Ryan Sheehy, this presentation will give the learner confidence to be a success in their critical first year as a leader.

Learning Walks - Appreciating Greatness Down the Hall
Jared Tharp - Elementary Principal, Fulton 58
Morgan Beamer - Assistant Principal, Fulton 58
Kaitlin Chew - Teacher, Fulton 58
Ashley Heins - Teacher, Fulton 58
Inspired by the great instructional practice that exists in all of our buildings, join Morgan Beamer, Kaitlin Chew, Ashley Heins, and Jared Tharp as they dive deeper into the concept of peer observations. This session will include methods for implementing learning walks, strategies to increase buy-in, identifying and reinforcing teacher strengths, improving the culture within the building, and more. Come learn how this can be utilized in any building at any level!

How to Restructure Your Team to Support Student Behavior and Meet Their Social/Emotional Needs
Dr. Keisha Panagos - Elementary Principal, Scott City R-I
Laura Pletcher - Behavior Interventionist, Scott City R-I
Do you have a high number of at-risk students? Do you have students who are chronically disrupting the learning environment? Are your teachers at their wits end and don’t know what to do? If you answered yes to any of these questions then come and let us share our journey with you. By adding a Behavioral Interventionist we have decreased the number of suspensions and increased the level of support for the student population. Teachers are smiling, students are smiling, and the principal is smiling. The transformation has been amazing! Let us share our story with you.

Culture from the Inside Out: A Look at Learning Walks
Samantha Hamilton - Elementary Principal, Neosho R-V
Learning Walks: The process when a team of teachers, administrators, coaches, and other team members come together to learn from each other and grow. This presentation will explain the why behind learning walks, different structures for them, successes to look forward to, and failures to avoid. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to facilitate their own learning walks and the steps for a successful implementation!

Together WE Lift to Lead MO!
Johna Sutton - Elementary Principal, Platte County R-III
Monica Shane - Elementary Principal, Fort Osage R-I
Join us in exploring the implications of current research in our roles as female leaders. Discuss challenges, successes and collectively analyze the role of creating sisterhood networks as a pathway in strengthening individual leadership in creating collective success for all women. This session will be led by experienced female leaders from across the state who will share their personal experiences and insights on how to lead with authenticity, build effective teams, and balance the demands of work and life. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights, strategies, and connect with other women who understand the unique challenges we face as female leaders. All because we are stronger together.

Normalizing Positivity
Jenifer Ward - Elementary Principal, Blue Springs R-IV
Kerri Mears - Counselor, Blue Springs R-IV
Amy Johnson - Founder, I AM Noticed
Jaime Lyon - Founder, I AM Noticed
Are you looking for ways for your school to grow a sustainable positive school culture?  What if you could create an environment where students, staff, and families are motivated to carry out healthy habits that lead to confidence and personal positivity? In this session, we will explore strategies that support practical proactive approaches to SEL, belonging and mental wellness.  Over the past 6 years, Voy Spears Jr. Elementary and I AM Noticed LLC. have partnered to bring positive school culture to life. We hope you join us!

"I Am Not Alone"
Joanna Brockwell - Elementary Principal, Springfield Public Schools
Misty Ramsey - Elementary Principal, Springfield Public Schools
Are you a new principal? Aspiring principal? In this session, we will share some of our tips and tricks for navigating those first few years. Protocols...  culture...  expectations...  resources...  all the things that support you as you start your leadership journey.

Next Level Coaching
Ted Huff - Leadership Specialist, Education Plus
Toni Bass - Leadership Specialist, Southwest RPDC
Bob Currier - Leadership Specialist, South Central RPDC
Dr. Becky Gallagher - Leadership Specialist, Kansas City RPDC
Mrs. Lorie Rost - Leadership Specialist,  Heart of Missouri RPDC
Next Level Coaching seeks to directly improve instruction by adding effective practices and/or substituting effective practices for ineffective ones. Using observations and conferencing, the school leader will support classroom teaching in improving instructional practices. The instructional coaching model is direct, straightforward, and positive. Active participation and practical application are part of this session. This session is for school leaders who are ready to move beyond 30 Second Feedback and Craft Conversations.

Monday, March 6
8:15 – 9:30 AM

Create a Positive Culture with Dismissal: Community Connections, Investment, and Parent Buy-In
Jen Bardot – Parent & Best-Selling Author
Josh Crowell, Ed.S – Assistant Superintendent, Support ServicesDr. Leslie Lause – Associate Superintendent
Dr. Brad Owings – PrincipalDr. Bo Ricker – Principal
& More school safety leaders and stakeholders that will be participating in a Q&A panel on school safety, dismissal, and accountability.

Join us for a panel-style presentation with various principals and other key stakeholders (office staff, parents, safety coordinators, etc.). Learn how an integrated and automated dismissal, including carline, bus, after-school, walkers, visitors, and all-day office traffic, will improve relationships between school staff and community, while providing additional layers of safety and accountability for students. With backgrounds from small, large, suburban, and rural districts, the presenters will share their best practices for dismissal and how they leverage these innovative and relevant tools. Learn how to make your carline a significant PR tool and so much more.

Closing Gaps- Moving Houses
Dr. Tracy Daniels - Elementary Principal, Springfield Public Schools
Explore one school's journey with data and how they identify levels of achievement to prioritize action steps to meet the needs of students. Building-wide data conversations determine Focus Five needs and steps for ABC checks. Participants will understand how Sunshine Elementary uses the work of Moving Houses to support long-range site goals.

Celebration and Appreciation of Staff and Students
Kristy Richart - Assistant Principal, Ozark R-VI
Dr. Morgan Kelly -  Elementary Principal, Ozark R-VI
Gain ideas on how to meet the social and emotional needs of your staff and students through monthly building-wide celebrations, staff appreciation events, and community outreach.

Connecting the Dots
Brad Royle - Elementary Principal, Gasconade County R-II
Jennifer Lindemeyer - Teacher, Gasconade County R-II
Randee Schatz - Teacher, Gasconade County R-II
Jess Toelke - Teacher, Gasconade County R-II
Stephanie Royle - Teacher, Gasconade County R-II
If you ask the students (and teachers) at Gerald Elementary what their favorite part of each week is, most of them will say, “Family Groups”.  As schools reach the advanced tiers of PBIS, they are looking for ways to bring the school and community together. GES has created multi-age groups of students to help build positive relationships with students, their families, and the community. In this session, you will see what family groups look like at this Preschool-5th grade elementary building, how groups were formed, how it has affected relationships throughout the building and community, and brainstorm what this could look like for your school.

Don't Forget THE MIDDLE!
Dr. Charity Williams - Middle School Principal, Neosho R-V
Leading and developing capacity in team members is work! Hard work! Middle school life is also hard work! This session will explore building capacity in team members in a successful middle school using a collaborative process.

S.B. 681/662: The Science of Reading in the Classroom
Terry Clinefelter - Author/Founder, Pathways to Reading
Jennifer Phillips - Instructional Coach, Blue Springs R-IV
The passage of Missouri Senate Bill 681/662 will have a significant impact on reading instruction. Assessments will be required for all students in K-5 so that data-driven, evidence-based reading instruction is offered to all students, "especially those identified as having substantial deficits in reading".  Districts will need to increase teacher knowledge and provide instructional materials that allow for explicit, systematic, and diagnostic instruction in the following areas: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In addition to best practices in teaching reading, these components are also foundational for the implementation of the Science of Reading. When used intentionally, these practices help students improve their independent decoding skills which will lead to better comprehension. This session will explore the growth that can be made for all readers when these components are taught with fidelity.

Visible Learning and the Power of Clarity
Chris Gabriel - Elementary Principal, Liberty 53
John Hattie's work around educational reform has opened many new pathways for schools around the world and at Lillian Schumacher Elementary we are on the journey to become a Visible Learning School. Let us take you through our implementation journey, where we are now, and where we plan to go next. See how we have integrated existing Professional Learning Community and Data Team Structures with Visible Learning Practices in our efforts to support ALL learners.

Be Their Hero: Trauma Informed Care
Josh Varner - Professional Speaker and Mental Health Professional, Josh Varner Consulting
Two out of every three students in the United States are impacted by a traumatic event. When students experience trauma or an extremely stressful situation, it's normal and natural for them to have a hard time coping afterward. I'm passionate about teaching educators how to support individuals impacted by trauma. I specialize in inspiring teachers so that they can support these students and be the hero in their life journey.

During this training participants will learn:

1. Learn how many students are impacted by childhood trauma and how to identify them.
2. Learn how the brain and body respond to trauma and how that impacts student behavior.
3. Leave with a ‘Call to Action’ and be equipped with many specific tools that are easy to use to support their students.

Principal Problems = Principal Opportunities
Stacy Fick - Elementary Principal, Jefferson City Public Schools
Brandi Benz - Elementary Principal, Jefferson City Public Schools
Things come at you pretty fast in this profession!  Come together with colleagues to hear others' ideas on these everyday issues that seem like BIG problems, but are really opportunities to catapult your leadership skills into supporting successful, happy students and staff!  opportunities like running successful Support Team Meetings, discipline, professional development, and more.  Come with a growth mindset, and questions, and leave with ideas!

Monday, March 6
9:45 – 11:00 AM

How to Thrive Not Just Survive Your 1st Year as a Building Leader
Dr. Natalie Gibson - Intermediate Principal, Ralls County R-II
Do you feel like you star on Survivor day in and day out? Stop by for a few tips on how to finish your day thriving, not just surviving! A few simple changes in your organization and management can positively impact the flow of your day and help you learn to love your new position! I promise it will be a relaxed and interactive conversation that will leave you with minor adjustments to your day-to-day to help you learn to thrive!

Grow Your Own: One Proactive Solution for Dealing with Teacher Shortages
Dr. Ed Schumacher - Professor, Columbia College
An ASCD publication noted, "There's no use sugarcoating it: After two-plus pandemic years, the education profession is in a period of crisis." October, 2022

Teacher shortages are just one aspect of this crisis that many school systems face. Grow Your Own programs recruit and train teachers within communities to bring racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity into schools. Partnerships between school systems and teacher preparation programs provide one proactive solution to the teacher shortage issue. In the fall of 2017, Columbia College initiated a Grow Your Own partnership with Columbia Public Schools. Join us as we share benefits and challenges of this partnership and learn of other proactive solutions that address the teacher shortage dilemma.

The Impact of Knowledge-Building Curricula on Reading Achievement: Closing the Poverty Gap
Dr. Amanda Coleman - Elementary Principal, Raytown C-2
The purpose of this session is to share the presenter's dissertation study results which examined the effects of knowledge-building curricula on closing the opportunity gap between students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds compared to more affluent peers. Data consisted of more than 57,000 fourth through eighth-grade students’ reading achievement levels on statewide summative reading assessments from 2015 to 2019 attending US school districts in three separate states implementing, and not implementing, knowledge-building curricula, and meeting state criteria for high poverty. Four separate knowledge-building curricula were analyzed among six experimental districts compared to matched control districts. Statistically significant differences in achievement were found between districts that implemented a knowledge-building curriculum versus districts that did not. Study results found evidence for the claim that exposure to knowledge-building curricula closes the opportunity gap in reading achievement for students residing in economically disadvantaged environments.

Hot Legal Topics
Emily Omohundro - Attorney, EdCounsel
This program will discuss some of the most relevant legal topics that elementary and middle-level leaders are dealing with today and will provide practical guidance on how best to navigate these issues.

Difficult Conversations: A Leader's Toolkit for High-Stakes Conversations
Annette Cozort - Leadership Specialist, Southwest RPDC
Tiffany Otto – Leadership Specialist, Northwest RPDC
John Schuler – Leadership Specialist, Central RPDC
Joe Beydler – Leadership Specialist, Central RPDC
Are you dreading difficult conversations? Not sure how to tackle tough challenges? Join us to learn how to prepare for difficult conversations, and the steps to take to address the issue and maintain the relationship! Participants will walk away with a toolkit of strategies to help them polish their active listening skills, brainstorm solutions, review legal steps, and avoid the emotional drain following the conversation when working with individuals, groups, and community stakeholders.

Student Loan Solutions and School Partnerships
Robert Curtis - Territory Leader, Horace Mann
Do you find yourself or your educators struggling to make student loan payments? We know that on average an educator enters the classroom with $37,000 in debt. Frequently, this challenge in finance drives new teachers to question the profession as they struggle to make student loan payments on a new teacher’s salary. This also makes school districts face a daunting challenge to retain quality teachers and build a strong veteran staff. Attend this session where Horace Mann has developed a presentation that outlines student loan forgiveness programs for qualifying educational employees. Over the past two years, Horace Mann agents have helped MO public school employees save over 13 Million in student loans. Administration, teachers, and support staff may benefit from these different loan forgiveness programs.

Beyond the 8:00-3:00: Equipping and Meeting Families Where They Are
Samantha Hamilton - Elementary Principal, Neosho R-V
Tal Clubbs - Social Services Coordinator, Neosho R-V
Can you think of any students who are given every intervention and still aren’t making progress academically? Maybe high behaviors and trauma-filled actions? Parents are doing exactly what they know how to do, and the best they can, it’s just not enough for many. The time has come when we must educate, provide, and equip parents with more than just a well-educated child. We must go beyond the 8-4 school day and use our time to make a ripple effect in which we may never quite know the impact. Come hear one school’s idea on how to include the families, community, resources, and so much more...  all to do what is best for these kids! They deserve it!

School Culture, Celebration, & Appreciation Success
Bryan Campbell - Elementary Principal, Lebanon R-III
Cindy King - Assistant Principal, Lebanon R-III
We will share how we cultivate a positive culture for teachers, staff, students, and families. We'll share ideas, tips, and secrets on ways we've established a positive and exciting culture. You will learn about our teacher field trips, students coming to school in the fire truck, families loving the car line, and more. We have high attendance and low turnover.  When teachers, staff, and students love to come to school it is a #winwin.

Destroy Complacency
Dr. Garrett Prevo - Intermediate Principal, Mt. Vernon R-V
Melissa Hurt - Assistant Principal, Bolivar R-I
Would you consider yourself to be a driven person? If so, how does the word “complacency” make you feel? Have you experienced a complacent culture or worked with a complacent colleague or team? Complacency is an acceptance or embrace of the status quo. We guess that, as a leader, you want to destroy complacency! In this session, we will share experiences of leading within and positively influencing complacent cultures. We will also explore what Kotter calls “false urgency,” the attributes that describe it and identify the pitfalls we can avoid as leaders that may inadvertently encourage it. Finally, we will explore real urgency and discuss strategies you can use to help a teammate, or potentially your entire team, experience the insatiable drive to grow and improve that burns inside of you.

The Power of Collective Positivity
Dr. Paul Godwin - Elementary Principal, Rockwood R-VI
Dr. Aaron Burd - Elementary Principal, Union R-XI
Dr. Lori Elliott - Elementary Principal, Springfield Public Schools
Chris Gabriel - Elementary Principal, Liberty 53
Are you searching for creative ways to establish or foster a positive school climate?  Join four principals from around Missouri for an engaging, interactive session where they will share best practices that have helped shape the school climate in their respective communities.  This is more than a "sit and get" presentation. Participants will be encouraged to share successes from their buildings. Attendees will leave with additional tips and tricks to enhance their own school's climate.  Come and enjoy the Power of Collective Positivity!

Managing the Unmanageable: How to Deal with Increased Stress in Schools.
Josh Varner - Professional Speaker and Mental Health Professional, Josh Varner Consulting
Recent studies have shown that it has never been more stressful to be an educator than it has been over the past two years. Teacher burnout is at an all-time high. So many of our stressors are out of our control (pandemic, lack of subs, increased student issues) but we can control how we manage our increased stress load. During this presentation, you will learn how stress is stored in the body and evidence-based ways to release it.

During this training participants will learn:

1.  How stress gets stored in the body.
2.  Evidence-based practices that complete the stress cycle.
3.  How to make an individualized stress management plan that meets the needs of each person.

Monday, March 6
2:45 – 4:00 PM

Leveraging Balance Between Culture and Growth in Your Staff
Jennifer Dillard - Elementary Principal, Carthage R-IX
Sarah Lee - Primary Principal, Webb City R-VII
As leaders, we are constantly working to balance the push and pull. The push is the intentional coaching conversations we have that help staff in their areas of needed growth. The pull is the intentionality of growing the culture within the building to make it an environment everyone wants to work in. We will show practical and intentional ways we find balance in both of these.

Hiring, Firing, and Thinkin 'bout Retiring
Tim Thompson - Director of Human Resources, Jefferson City Public Schools
This session is geared toward administrators in smaller school districts that are their own Human Resource teams. In this workshop we will go over best practices in posting positions, interview processes, hiring and onboarding, as well as evaluation practices, written reprimands, terminations, teachers breaching contracts, and a host of other items to help the lone ranger principal.

Lessons Learned: Teaching, Learning, and Leading in a Virtual Environment
Dr. Joy Brigman - Director of Online Academy, Lee's Summit R-VII
Dr. Melanie Hutchinson - Director of Secondary Learning, Lee's Summit R-VII
Korie Boenker - Instructional Technology Specialist, Lee's Summit R-VII
Explore how one district embraced its instructional technology resources and expanded its learning opportunities for students throughout the district. This session will explore online learning options; from programming (HB 1552, MOCAP) to instructional technology resources. During the pandemic, the educational community had to swiftly pivot to create online learning environments for students K-12.

Join us to explore how the district was able to reimagine learning and move toward meaningful change. We'll share lessons learned and best practices with continued expansion of the Learning Management System and Instructional Technology resources (Schoology, Google Meets, Lumio, EdPuzzle, and Kami).

20 Keys to Surviving as an Elementary Principal
Chauncey Rardon - Elementary Principal, Lathrop R-II
Being a new principal is an exciting, stressful, and challenging endeavor. A major concern for many principals is finding a way to manage their time, while also prioritizing the many demands the leadership role requires. Over my 20 years as a building principal, I have discovered through many trials and errors, several keys to not only surviving the life of a principal, but also thriving as a lead educator, building leader, colleague, mentor, and parent. This session will provide participants with ideas for motivating staff, increasing morale, managing difficult people and situations, implementing positive discipline, building relationships with stakeholders, and maximizing your work time while also ensuring a healthy work-life balance. This presentation is intended for those newer to the field or anyone in need of effective strategies for managing a principalship.

Creating, Developing, and Sustaining High Functioning PLCs Through Positive School Climate and Culture
Sara Strohm - Middle School Principal, Springfield Public Schools
Being a school leader requires us to wear many hats, including cheerleader, instructional support specialist, de-escalation ninja, and ‘other duties as assigned’. This session will walk you through systematic ways you can create, develop, and sustain a positive climate and culture with highly functioning PLCs that promote academic achievement and teacher development. This session will not only walk you through ways you can achieve this for your building, but also offer timesaving and delegating strategies to allow school leaders to focus their efforts, increase efficiency, and build the capacity of others.

No One Wakes Up in the Morning Planning on Wrecking Their Day
Beth Tiller - Assistant Principal, Warrensburg R-VI
This workshop will cover areas that are crucial to building a strong learning community, where students feel valued and appreciated.  An interactive time of collaborating around concrete ways to engage students that struggle with school.  All students have baggage that they carry to school each day. Helping students carry or unload their baggage so they can succeed will be the focus of this workshop. Concrete items that I have used in my building to ensure students have the skills and ability to face their day of learning will be shared.  Examples:  mentoring programs, mini-lesson ideas, morning meetings, student incentives, and behavior plans.  Seeing students and their potential is how we help them not wreck their day.

Lead with Literacy
Bryan Campbell - Elementary Principal, Lebanon R-III
Cindy King - Assistant Principal, Lebanon R-III
Join us as we share how we lead with literacy throughout our day to create and nurture the love of reading each and every day all year long. We'll share our school-wide activities that promote literacy with students, staff, and parents. We'll cover everything from book podcasts, book talks, and birthday books for students and teachers, share our newest favorites, share tips on how to fund books, and look forward to learning from you about your new favorite books.

How to Incorporate a Teacher Flex Day and More!
Tammy Berneking - Elementary Principal, Moberly
Bobbi Martin - Assistant Principal, Moberly
Olivia Gooch - Teacher, Moberly
Teaching has changed. Student needs are at a maximum, and because of this, teacher time is at a minimum. There's never enough time. We've created a model that treats teachers like professionals by giving them the time (a flex day) to do what they need. Within this model, students get more support through co-teaching, enrichment and reteaching. In this presentation, we will also share schedule variations.

Behavior Interventions that Get Results
Amanda Jackson - Teacher, Sedalia 200
Angela Meyer - Elementary Principal, Sedalia 200
Where are the intervention strategies!? Are you constantly radioed to classrooms, walking in to find a student running around the room, crawling under tables, refusing to follow expectations? Do you feel like your building-wide expectations are in place, but are wondering what to do with your students who do not qualify for special services? Are the same 5% of your students disrupting classrooms and racking up behavior referrals? If you answered yes to these questions, attend this session to learn how our district has streamlined our behavior process to increase student time in class.

MAESP Boom Session!
Dr. Jodi Oliver - Elementary Principal, Parkway C-2
Dr. Megan Sutton - Primary Principal, Wentzville R-IV
Dr. Ta'keshia Parker - Elementary Principal, Lindbergh Schools
Dr. Lorinda Krey - Elementary Principal, Rockwood R-VI
Dr. Nathan Burch - Elementary Principal, Parkway C-2
This session is modeled after the NAESP boom sessions that have been offered at the NAESP National Conference over the last few years. Thanks to the nationally known principals who have agreed to let us borrow their presentation idea. In this upbeat presentation, you will hear from 6 experienced Missouri principals to inspire, engage, and ignite your daily work. Each principal will present an idea that is currently working within their school and how you could take it back to your school community immediately.