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Concurrent SessionsSunday 9:00 - 10:15 Navigating Change: Social Security, Student Loans, and Weather-Related Impacts on Educators’ Finances As your Partner in Education, we are committed to helping educators navigate financial changes that impact their future. This session will provide important updates on potential Social Security changes and their effects on retirement, the latest developments in student loan policies, and how weather-related events can influence insurance premiums and claims. Gain expert insights and practical strategies for yourself and to share with your team to stay informed and financially prepared for the road ahead. Leading From the Back: Student Leadership This session will focus on how implementing student leadership in your building will make a major impact on your building's culture. Our students have shown a new sense of ownership and pride in their school that has been carried into the community and improved our stakeholders’ perspectives. In this session, you will learn ways to promote and implement leadership opportunities for both students and staff in your building through opportunities to increase a sense of belonging. We will take a live look at how to organize, schedule, and create consistency with leadership. Our jobs are extremely difficult - use your greatest resource, your students! By empowering your students and staff to take ownership and lead, you will grow leadership capacity and improve your culture all while adding opportunities for all students to belong in our schools. Check the Temperature! A positive school climate is key to academic and personal growth, equipping students and staff with the skills and confidence to thrive and succeed. This starts with ensuring staff feel that they BELONG. Come see some of the ways to "check the temperature" and keep teachers' spirits high with recognition, appreciation, and fun team building challenges. The goal of this presentation is to provide you with immediate examples to take back to your building. The ideas shared here can be modified to meet any schools' needs! By investing in these strategies, you can create a school climate (and ultimately culture) that makes staff feel valued, respected, and motivated. Are You Ready to Thrive, Not Just Survive? As a school leader, you’re juggling countless responsibilities. Learn proven strategies to optimize your time, boost your team’s morale, and create a thriving school culture. Don’t miss out! 22 Tricks of the Trade for Elementary Principals Our jobs as elementary principals are never-ending, ever-changing, and oftentimes exhausting! After 22 years as an elementary principal, I have identified 22 tips to not only survive the principalship, but also thrive as a building leader. This session is geared toward newer principals looking for ideas and ways to balance their workload, assistant principals interested in taking the next step in leading a building, or experienced principals looking to add a few tricks to their bag. Gain ideas for establishing trust with stakeholders, staff and student motivators and incentives, ways to smoothly transition to a new building or school district, and working with various personalities in your building and community. Anchoring Your School for Behavior Success! Pevely Elementary cut office behavior referrals in half and increased attendance over one year's time with a staff-created behavior system that is easy to replicate in any school! This session will include all the resources needed to get your system started, show you ways to make a huge impact on behavior, teacher support, parent collaboration, and attendance in your school. Tabletalk Discussion - Supporting our ML Students While striving to provide the best educational experience for all students, it's often the case that some of our most underrepresented populations, such as Multilingual Learners (MLs), face challenges in achieving success. This session aims to spark a conversation about effective programming, curriculum, and interventions to better serve this student population. Our presenters will guide the discussion, but the true value will come from the insights and ideas shared by you, our colleagues. Let's come together to explore how we can create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students. Put a Ring on It: Engaging Staff in the (Collective) Commitment Process In this session, leaders will walk away with practical strategies and a step-by-step approach to creating and maintaining collective commitments along with strategies to involve their staff in the process of “putting a ring on it." Just as a ring symbolizes a promise, creating shared commitments strengthens the team’s unity, focus, and dedication to common goals. Leaders will explore why shared commitments are crucial for building a cohesive team, ensuring everyone is aligned with the vision, and fostering accountability. Instructional Leadership: Turning Goals into Action Join us for an engaging and informative session designed for school administrators focused on the pivotal role of instructional leadership in driving positive educational outcomes. This session will explore key strategies and frameworks that can transform your school's approach to teaching and learning. We will dive deeper into the role of exhibiting instructional leadership through professional development plans, annual evaluations, and classroom walkthroughs, all within a school Professional Learning Community. Participants will leave the session with practical tools and actionable strategies to strengthen instructional leadership within their schools, ultimately leading to improved teaching practices and enhanced student outcomes. Join us to empower your leadership and transform your educational environment! Priming the Pump: Are you Ready to Recruit, Retain, and Develop High Quality Teachers? Are you prepared to welcome additional high-quality teachers into your community? Are you able to retain staff members? Do you provide professional learning that challenges your staff to become better classroom leaders? Create a “Great Place to Work” using the research of contemporary educational experts to address these three key questions facing today’s school administrators. We will take a look at teacher retention data and discuss practical tools to implement in your school. We want to ensure your teachers are valued, appreciated, recognized and developed. Let’s transform our schools together as we recruit, retain, and develop high quality teachers for our schools!
Creating and Sustaining PLCs that Support the Whole Child: Team Building, Holistic Interventions, and Crucial Conversations This presentation will be a "bring it all together" discussion on the challenges our young students bring with them, how we intervene when expectations aren't met, and how those interventions may be more or less effective depending on the level of trauma of our students. As a former K-8 administrator for Title I schools, K-8 at-risk teacher, and current high school administrator for a diverse community, I will bring together my personal experiences, my recent research, and testimonials to discuss how our interventions impact our students' behavior in the moment and beyond high school in order to create an effective behavior intervention system that can be beneficial beyond the early years.
Sunday 10:30 - 11:45 OLE Revisited Are you an OLE alumni? Have you heard of OLE and want to learn more? Join us for a look back at the Outdoor Leadership Experience (OLE) over the years and the impact it has had on former participants as leaders. Participants will revisit past experiences at OLE and how these experiences have impacted them as leaders. They will engage in a roundtable discussion about the tools they have taken back and implemented in their schools. We will review Tom Leahy’s toolbox, as well as some of the foundational tenets that make OLE a unique experience. Be prepared to move, as we will share an initiative or two as well! Kindergarten Academy Have you ever wanted to create better kindergarten classes? Have you ever struggled to find balanced classes, especially in kindergarten? Compass Elementary, in collaboration with Sedalia, implemented Kindergarten Academy at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. Our kindergarten teachers and administrators collaborated to create better-balanced classes based on behavior, KOF data, and/or gender. Come and see how you can also pilot this in your district to help balance your incoming kindergartners! "It's Elementary" - Federal Programs 2024-2025 Building leaders must understand the elements of an LEA’s federal programs. An LEA’s program is based on several key components, including analysis of student data and needs, background knowledge of the requirements of the available programs, such as Title I-A, II-A, IV-A, etc., an understanding of how to incorporate and utilize funding from available programs, annual program requirements, the triennial tiered monitoring process, and yearly plans and actions to set the LEA program up for continued success. This presentation will focus on practical advice for new or returning coordinators. Materials and information will include resources and examples of required submissions. Step up to Success in Tier 2: Guaranteeing Grade Level or Better for all Students Join us as we explore innovative strategies to ensure every student receives instruction at grade level or above. Discover how data-driven targeted interventions, repetition and practice, and collaborative approaches can transform the learning experience and empower students to be in the driver’s seat of their own learning. Let’s take bold steps toward success in Tier 2, ensuring that every student not only meets but thrives at grade level and beyond. Unlocking Creativity: Arts Integration as a Pathway to Whole-School Success Discover how to transform your school's approach to learning through arts integration! In this dynamic session, we'll explore how incorporating the arts (visual, performing, and STEAM) across all subjects not only enhances student engagement but also boosts academic achievement, creativity, and social-emotional learning. Walk away with actionable strategies for creating a school-wide culture that fosters artistic expression while meeting instructional goals. Let’s inspire curiosity, build deeper connections to content, and spark a creative revolution in your classrooms! RTI & PLC Our Five Year Journey Mark Twain Elementary has been on a five-year journey to establish our RTI and PLC processes. We have had some wins and woes along the way. We will share our roadmap of what worked and what we learned from our experiences. Instructional Leadership that Empowers: Exploring Personalized Competency-Based Learning Shauna Stephanchick - Consultant , Step Up Curriculum is the backbone of student achievement, yet it is often one of the most overlooked pillars in districts and buildings. This session will walk participants through the emerging curriculum initiative of Personalized Competency Based Learning. Participants will leave with an understanding of how the initiative affects current and future curriculum practices, as well as gain innovative ideas on creating clear sustainable systems in curriculum. Leaders will leave with practical ways that they can improve their instructional leadership practices. Belonging: The Heart of a School Community Research defines belonging as an experience of connection, security, and community. It’s about feeling at home in one’s place, without reservation. Learn how two North Kansas City administrators strengthen engagement, productivity, resiliency, and commitment in their school families by utilizing the five pillars of belonging. As Dr. Brené Brown says, "True belonging is not passive. It's not the belonging that comes with just joining a group. It's not fitting in or pretending or selling out because it's safer. It's a practice that requires us to be vulnerable, get uncomfortable, and learn how to be present with people without sacrificing who we are." Stakeholder Communication Effective stakeholder communication is the cornerstone of student, educator, and community growth. In this dynamic breakout session, you’ll dive into the strategies and techniques that will elevate your ability to engage, inform, and influence stakeholders across various levels. Join us to learn how to control the narrative and start telling your school district’s story. Using Special Education High Leverage Practices to provide Specially Designed Instruction for Students with Disabilities This session will explore how High Leverage Instructional Practices (HLPs) can effectively support the provision of Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) for students with disabilities (SWD). Participants will learn how HLPs can be integrated into instruction to ensure that it is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of students, providing them with significant and meaningful educational benefits. Results Driven Leadership: Empowering Leaders For Success With MSIP 6 In this session, elementary principals will explore key leadership strategies and behaviors that drive measurable improvements in student achievement and school performance, specifically in relation to academic achievement under the status and growth standards of MSIP6. Leaders will leave this session feeling inspired, motivated, and equipped with essential strategies to ensure a strong foundation is set, giving their students and staff the best chance for success in reaching their full potential!
Monday 8:30 - 9:45 Earn Your Career Certificate with Micro-Credentials In Missouri, 15 Micro-Credentials have been developed to specifically align with the Missouri Leadership Development System (MLDS). You can earn your career certificate by completing these Micro-Credentials and save both time and money. In this session, Ed Leaders Network Director Arlin Peebles will walk you through the process and demonstrate the Micro-Credential portal and the ELN learning management system. Implementing Successful Early Childhood Strategies into Kindergarten Classrooms (For Smoother Transitions) Are you seeing an influx of students lacking pre-academic and/or social skills? Are your kindergarten teachers struggling with basic classroom activities, such as Circle Time, transitions, and recess? This session will provide successful strategies that can be used RIGHT NOW to assist your students who are lacking these skills. Teachers will see dramatic results as they reframe their approach to supporting these students. The uniqueness of each student will be supported in a way that is most beneficial to them! Are you Feeling the Budget Crunch? - Restructuring our Tier II and Tier III Behavior & Support System 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? Do you have limited funds but need behavioral support positions? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then come and let us share our journey with you. This year we had to totally restructure our program after having to consolidate due to budget constraints. We went from two Behavior Interventionists to one and were able to streamline our Tier II and Tier III supports. We have decreased the number of suspensions and increased the level of support for this student population. Teachers are smiling, students are smiling, and the principals are smiling. The transformation has been amazing! Let us share our story with you. Strong Enough to be Flexible This session is designed for administrators, emphasizing the balance between strength in leadership and adaptability in practice. Leaders will explore new ways to influence staff through common language and self-reflection. Values learned in our time together will enable leaders to empower staff to try a new way while focusing on what they can control. I know what you're thinking.... Yep. Yes. It will be good, and most importantly, it will be REAL. Lewis and Clark's Story of Learner Agency (The Journey Continues) THE SKILL. THE WILL. THE THRILL. (The Learning Continues) Come hear one example of one school who is working to build learners who can answer: What are we learning? How are we doing? and Where are we going next? (THE SKILL). You'll also hear how dispositional thinking and learning is taking place to help learners know what to do when they get stuck in their learning and what they do when learning gets hard (THE WILL). Come also hear how Lewis and Clark answers the 4th Assessment Capable Question: “Who is my audience?” (THE THRILL).
Introduction to Missouri's Framework for School-Based Mental Health What is School-Based Mental Health (SBMH)? How can the Missouri Framework for SBMH be helpful to you? What are the best practices that can help your school create effective partnerships and integrate multi-tiered systems of support for your staff and students? Please join us as we explore the new Missouri Framework for SBMH and share additional resources and opportunities.
SEL-RTI Synergy: A Roadmap to Resilient Learners This session will explore the powerful integration of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) within the Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. This presentation highlights how combining SEL strategies with RTI can address both the academic and emotional needs of students. By implementing a tiered approach, schools can foster resilience, improve behavior, and enhance student well-being, leading to stronger academic outcomes. Participants will leave with practical tools for building supportive learning environments where every student can thrive.
Start Your Day Off Right! In this interactive session, we will explore the power of effective morning routines to set a positive tone for the day ahead. Participants will engage in discussions, share experiences, and discover practical strategies to enhance their morning routines, both personally and in the classroom.
Leading PLC’s To Maximize Tier 1 Instruction Tier 1 instruction is high-quality instruction that meets the needs of ALL learners. Research shows that principals are a big determinant of student achievement and can affect the learning and outcomes of all students and staff in a school. But principals do not have all the answers! Discover key strategies you can take in creating and leading high-performing professional learning communities with staff focused on strong instructional practices centered on grade-level standards, classroom observations/feedback, student achievement data and collaborative school teams. Learn practical tips to help you and your staff build a strong foundation of Tier 1 instruction and practices at your school.
WE Lead MO: Sharing our Stories Together Building Connections Women in school leadership thrive when they share their stories and build meaningful connections. In this session, participants will hear from women leaders across Missouri who have faced challenges like implicit bias, limited mentorship, and balancing personal and professional responsibilities. Together, we will explore the power of storytelling and the importance of sisterhood networks in overcoming barriers and fostering growth. This session is a celebration of accomplishments and a space to connect with others who understand the unique challenges of leadership roles. Participants will leave with new perspectives, practical tools, and a strengthened sense of community. By sharing our stories and building connections, we can create collective success—because we are stronger together.
Creating Change Using an MTSS Model We all know that staff, students, and families thrive in a safe, nurturing, positive, predictable, and reinforcing environment that is also stimulating. By combining MTSS with implementation science principles, educational institutions can enhance their capacity to address the diverse needs of students and staff while improving overall outcomes. It's an ongoing and adaptive process that requires collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Monday 10:00 - 11:15 Started from the Bottom, Now We're Here: Building Effective Systems for PBIS Success In this comprehensive workshop, participants will explore how to build systems from the ground up to ensure the long-term success of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Beginning with the foundational principles of PBIS, we will examine how to establish effective processes, procedures, and systems for collecting, tracking, and reporting behavioral data. This session will walk through the step-by-step creation of efficient, scalable systems that support consistent, data-driven decision-making. We’ll cover how to align behavior tracking with school goals, build systems that ensure proactive and equitable interventions for students. Participants will learn practical methods for establishing data collection protocols, reporting tools, and decision-making frameworks that foster collaboration among staff while driving a positive school climate. Whether your school is just starting or seeking to enhance its existing PBIS framework, this workshop will provide you with the tools and strategies to build, implement, and refine systems from the ground up, transforming your PBIS efforts from foundational to flourishing.
Model Classrooms: Applying the Elements of Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Curriculum-based professional learning is anchored in the materials that address the content and pedagogy that teachers will use with their students. Explore how this professional learning method builds the capacity of teachers, offers support for successful implementation and instructional agility, and results in high-quality, deeper learning experiences for all students. School-wide Collaborations Lead to Student Success McMillan Early Learning Center administrators will share how the restructuring of school systems led to a four-year increase in student achievement. Through their evolving data team processes, the administration, Title and classroom teachers, as well as the school counselor, recognized additional student needs. With only one Title teacher and counselor on site, collaboration focused on how to efficiently use all building resources to meet the needs of students. Join administrators as they share how data team collaboration led to improved processes, master schedule changes for counseling and how our Title teacher worked to add whole class interventions into the schedule.
Stay, Grow, Inspire: Empowering Teachers to Stay and Succeed This session aims to increase teacher retention in elementary schools by addressing burnout, heavy workloads, and limited leadership opportunities. Key strategies include new teacher support programs, developing systems for instructional and behavioral support, and offering intentional opportunities to develop building leaders. It will also focus on fostering collaboration among teams that help promote a healthy work-life balance and embed opportunities to celebrate. If we can turn our focus on investing in our people, then we can inspire them to stay and succeed.
Building Leadership and Belonging in the First Week of Kindergarten Come join Willard North kindergarten teachers and the principal as we share how we created a leadership community that instills belonging, friendship, and a love for school in our students from the first week. We will share our story and process of how students explored all three kindergarten sections with different peer groups daily. Students received their final placement on Day 5, creating the most well-balanced classrooms. Through this soft-start mindset, our school generated great excitement around what is now known as Tiger Academy!
Identifying and Building School Culture Whether your building has a culture like homemade cookies - warm, inviting, and nurturing - or more like Sour Patch Kids - a bit rough around the edges but with potential for sweetness - this session is for you. School culture influences everything: staff morale, student success, and even community perception. In this session, we’ll focus on where your school culture is right now, where you want it to be, and how you can get there. In this interactive 60-minute session, you will assess your current school culture, define your desired future state, and develop a roadmap to bridge the gap. You’ll also have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with fellow school leaders, sharing insights and gaining ideas on how to create a culture that fosters collaboration, trust, and student success. Building a Powerful Guiding Coalition This session is tailored for school principals who want to strengthen their leadership by empowering teacher leaders and fostering collaborative leadership within their schools. We’ll explore strategies to:
Fuel Your Year: Igniting Positive Energy for a Thriving School Culture Start your school year off with a powerful jolt of positive energy! In this session, we’ll explore how to plan an engaging and inspiring back-to-school staff meeting using the principles from The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon. You'll walk away with practical ideas and actionable strategies that you can implement immediately to fuel your life, your work, and your team with positive energy. Learn how to weave a theme of positivity throughout the entire school year, creating an atmosphere where staff, students, and the entire school community thrive. Don’t miss this opportunity to kick off the year with the kind of energy that can transform your school culture!
Empowering Connections: Prioritizing Relationships for Lasting Impact This session explores the vital role that strong, authentic relationships play in crating a positive, thriving school culture. Delve into practical strategies for fostering meaningful connections among students, staff, and families, leading to increased engagement, trust, and collaboration. Participants will gain insights into relationship-centered leadership, explore real-world examples, and leave with actionable steps to cultivate a culture where everyone feels valued and supported. Boom Session 3.0 We are back! This session has been at MAESP the last two years and we are modeled after the NAESP boom sessions that have been offered at the NAESP National Conference! 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 back to your school community immediately. Creating a Positive Environment for the ADULTS We can’t expect students to have positive SEL skills if the adults cannot be role models around the skills. During this session, come and learn how to help educators build their expertise and skills to lead social and emotional learning initiatives. You’ll explore the ability to positively model prosocial behaviors, label emotions, and demonstrate empathy, positive relationships, social awareness, and self-awareness to students. Walk away from this session with skills and activities you can use tomorrow with your staff.
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