Breakout Sessions
Thursday, October 6th
3:30 – 4:45 pm
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Title: ”Policy Proposals to Improve Missouri Charter Schools”
Room: Valencia A
Presenters: Mark Fogal and Kelly Garrett
Strand: Governance, Advocacy and Policy
Description: FOCUS St. Louis and Kauffman Foundation have both recently issued reports and made recommendations to improve charter schools in Missouri. At this session, representatives from both organizations will review the recommendations and discuss with participants.
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Title: ”How to Build Something From Nothing, a Practitioner’s Guide to Multi- Resource Development”
Room: Grenada A
Presenters: Alan M. DuBois, Retired Charter School Founder and Jerry Kitzi, Francis Child Development Institute
Strand: School Leadership
Description: Are you a member of a charter school executive team, a charter school parent or a board member with an idea (or budget challenge) but no resources to implement ? There is an answer. Learn how to build and sustain strategic relationships that help others in your community while creating the resources you need for your school. These leadership practices were proven successful at Genesis School, Inc. and assisted them in serving 6000 students over 30 years as they transitioned from a GED program in 1975 to a U.S. Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1991. Genesis School moved beyond the DESE foundation formula for all their budget needs, enhancing organizational capacity and program quality to meet student needs. Participants will learn how leadership practices can leverage resources available in all sectors: private, public, nonprofit, faith-based and neighborhood. Leadership practices are taught through an interactive workshop and will be applicable to your own school environment.and challenges.
Title: ”Response to Intervention: Putting Together the Pieces for Student Success”
Room: Valencia II
Presenters: Jill Dunlap, Dunlap Educational Visions, LLC and Kristi Shinn, Principal at Lincoln County R-III, Troy, MO
Strand: School Leadership
Description: You’ve heard about the philosophies behind RTI. You’ve been to the workshops and you understand the pyramid. You know the theories, but the question still remains, how do you make all the pieces fit together in your school? Implementing RTI is complex. It takes time, flexibility, outside the box thinking, and most of all tips from people implementing it successfully. This workshop will cover the big pieces that must be in place to implement RTI successfully. In addition to this, ideas will be shared for managing how you can align your building to prepare for this structure.
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Title: ”Building School Board/Administrator Working Relationships”
Room: Escolla
Presenters: Paul L. Pitchford, PhD, U. of MO. – Hook Ctr. for Ed. Leadership & Gene Vinson, UMKC Charter School Center
Strand: Governance, Advocacy & Policy
Description: Effective charter school boards seek to create powerful working relationships with their school administrators. This interactive session will provide school boards with critical information on how to develop “ends policies and procedures” and helpful oversight processes to support the work of their school administrators.
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Title: ”Most Common Mistakes and How Not to Make Them”
Room: Grenada C
Presenter: Heidi Atkins Lieberman, Thomeczek and Brink, LLC
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Description: Drawing on her years of experience at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as both Legal Counsel and Assistant Commissioner, Heidi’s presentation will focus on common errors and misconceptions regarding the legal aspects of delivering special education programming. Examples of areas she will cover include: discipline, transfer procedures, records access/confidentiality and state-wide assessments.
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Title: “MAP for Primary Grades”
Room: Grenada B
Presenters: Susan Klassen, Northwest Evaluation Association
Strand: Performance, Accountability & Compliance
Description: This session provides an overview of the three components of MAP for Primary Grades (Screening, Skills Checklists, and Survey with Goals) as well as how to access MAP for Primary Grades Reports and Instructional Data Statements.
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Friday, October 7th
9:15 – 10:30 am
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Title: ”Fraud – What Every Administrator and Board Member Should Know!”
Room: Grenada C
Presenters: Rick Westbrook and Brad Steele, Westbrook & Co., PC
Strand: Operations
Description: Fraud is on the loose. No organization is exempt from fraud. This session will cover why fraud occurs, how management participates in fraud, preventative actions and real live cases. Rick Westbrook, CFF, CPA will discuss actual cases he has experienced in school environments.
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Title: ”Social/Emotional Foundation: The Bridge to Academic Success”
Room: Grenada B
Presenter: Anna Rich, Walton Family Foundation
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Description: This interactive session will present several promising approaches that bring social-emotional supports and assessment strategies into the classroom. Presentation will demonstrate specific techniques to incorporate into current curriculum, which will help to close the academic gap for students that are at risk or have special needs.
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Title: ”Student Discipline/Special Education”
Room: Escollo
Presenter: Heidi Atkins Lieberman, Thomeczek and Brink, LLC
Strand: Operations
Description: This session will review the requirements of the Missouri Safe Schools Act (for both students who are non-disabled as well as students who are disabled) and the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act connected to disciplinary actions involving students with disabilities. You will learn what you are allowed to do, and what you are not allowed to do when dealing with challenging behaviors of kids who are disabled; practical tips will be provided.
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Title: ”Missouri Student Information System (MOSIS) & Core Data Collection System ~ Are You Ready for MOSIS Reporting?”
Room: Valencia II
Presenters: Peggy Arians and Jacque Lane, Academie Lafayette
Strand: Performance, Accountability & Compliance
Description: A Power Point presentation and (possibly) an on-line live demo of accurate state reporting, timing of reports and importance of reporting accurately.
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Title: ”Missouri Legislative Agenda – Panel Discussion”
Room: Grenada A
Presenters: Senator Jane Cunningham, Senate Education Committee Member – Representative Scott Dieckhaus, House Education Committee Chair – Representative Tishaura Jones, 2011 Charter School Bill Sponsor
Strand: Governance, Advocacy & Policy
Description: Come to this session to hear elected state officials discuss the progress of charter school legislation in the Missouri State Capitol. They will review legislative action from the 2011 General Assembly and listen to your suggestions for charter school legislation in 2012.
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Title: ”No Gifted Child Left Behind: How to Challenge Your Gifted Students in the Classroom”
Room: Valencia I
Presenters: Heather L. Mosley Linhardt, PhD, HML Educational Consulting
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Description: Particularly since NCLB, schools have been forced to focus on those students who struggle to succeed. But what about everyone else? What do we do with those students who already know the material and need to be challenged? Find out what it means to be a gifted student in the classroom today as well as strategies for engaging and challenging these students while still meeting required standards and not losing your mind.
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Friday, October 7th
10:45 am – Noon
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Title: ”Implementing Project Based Learning in K-3”
Room: Grenada C
Presenter: Jennifer Ryan and Laura Hirschman, St. Louis Charter School
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Description: Have you always wondered about project-based learning but struggled with a starting point? This session will address your questions about what project-based learning is, how to implement and build a classroom community to support this learning style and provide data that supports this method of instruction in the classroom. See examples of process and products and come away with ideas that can be applied at your grade level for each content area!
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Title: ”Aligning Common Core Standards to Formative Assessments”
Room: Valencia I
Presenter: Marty Bennet, Common Goal Systems
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction, Performance
Description: This session will show how Common Core Standards (and GLE’s) can be aligned and tracked to Curriculum, Lesson Plans and Assessments during the grading period using Common Goal System’s solutions. This will allow educators to learn when RTI is necessary sooner and with less effort. Common Goal systems has several Missouri Charter schools as clients.
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Title: ”Advancing Quality Education Through Outstanding Financial Services”
Room: Escollo
Presenters: Timothy J. Hennessey CPA & Linda Howdeshell CPA, Schmersahl Treloar & Co.
Strand: Operations
Description: Identifying and implementing truly outstanding Charter School financial services are a vital contributor to advancing quality education initiatives. Please join us in a robust presentation on strategies to transform each school’s financial disciplines by Certified Public Accountant professionals experienced in delivering exemplary audit, tax and consulting services.
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Title: ”Preparing Today for Renewal Tomorrow”
Room: Grenada B
Presenters: Dr. Deborah Carr and Suzanne Love, College of Education, University of Missouri-Columbia
Strand: School Leadership
Description: Participants will: *Understand how to navigate through the renewal process. *Know resources to utilize during the process. *Know the importance of consistent, systemic data collection in the renewal process. *Understand the sponsor’s role in the renewal process. *Understand DESE’s role in the renewal process. *Submit a successful application for school renewal. *Leave with a better understanding of a performance accountability model.
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Title: ”School-wide Positive Behavior Support: Paving the Way for Success for All Children”
Room: Valencia II
Presenters: Tricia Buchanan & Karen Westhoff, Cooperating School Districts of St. Louis
Strand: Performance, Accountability & Compliance
Description: School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) is the systematic application of evidenced-based strategies that result in decreased problem behavior, increased academic performance and the establishment of a positive school culture. SW-PBS is structured on a three tiered model of prevention and intervention related to the implementation and sustainability of systems, practices and data-based decision-making. It is a change process that guides a school as they plan and create a preferred future that encompasses the development of a culture of competence.
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Title: ”Free Homemade Cookies: Engaging Parents as Charter School Advocates – Panel Discussion”
Room: Grenada A
Presenters: Robbyn Wahby, Deputy Chief of Staff for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay
Tricia Workman, Stinson Morrison Hecker, MCPSA Lobbyist
Jeff Smith, Former Missouri Sate Senator
Joseph Knodell, Missouri Education Reform Council
Strand: Governance, Advocacy & Policy
Description: Parents hold the power to help charter schools in Missouri, but too few know why their voice is important or how they can use their voice to protect and promote charter schools. This lively panel discussion of experts and practitioners will help school leaders discover how to build an effective parent engagement program. Participants will also learn tools to connect parents to legislators, the “do’s” and “don’t” of advocacy, and the secret power of cookies.
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Friday, October 7th
2:15 – 3:30 pm
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Title: ”Facilities 101: Lessons Learned From Across the State – Panel Discussion”
Room: Escollo
Moderators: Michelle Gleason and Andrea Underwood
Panelists: Rhonda Broussard – St. Louis Language Immersion
Kirk Farmer – Academy Lafayette
Christie Huck – City Garden Montessori
Mike Malone – South City Prep
Danny Tipton – Hogan Prep
Strand: Operations
Description: It’s no secret that one of the biggest challenges still facing charter schools today is the securing of adequate facilities – whether you’re a new charter school opening next school year or an existing operator looking to expand. Come hear a panel of your peers discuss their experience with locating, renovating, and paying for their school facility. Panelists will share lessons learned as well as offer advice that can aid in your current or future facility planning.
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Title: “Fundraising with Confidence”
Room: Valencia I
Presenters: Leslie Peters and Jami Dix, Elements Partnership
Strand: Operations
Description: Do you hate fundraising? Go ahead … admit it. Does it scare you? Or maybe you’re vaguely intrigued by the whole concept? How you think about, talk about and plan for fundraising can determine the success (or failure!) of your efforts. In this fun and interactive session, you’ll find out where support comes from, develop creative ways to invite support and engagement on behalf of your school, and gain new perspectives on fundraising.
Title: “RTI Squared: Response to Instruction and Intervention”
Room: Grenada C
Presenter: Karren Colbert – Write Brained Learning
Strand: School Leadership
Description: Prior to implementing an intervention, we must analyze the effectiveness of the core instruction a student has received. This session will share one building’s successful journey toward refining core instruction by focusing on three essential elements and developing common language and expectations for engaged instruction.
Title: “Preparing Student to Succeed in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) Careers”
Room: Grenada B
Presenter: Laura Loyacono, KC STEM Alliance
Strand: Curriculum & Instruction
Description: We live in a technically advanced world with ever growing demand for high skilled professionals. At the same time, there is a concern among education and business leaders that we are not cultivating a workforce prepared to meet the challenges of the future. The KC STEM Alliance, a new in Kansas City initiative is looking to develop an environment that leverages the strengths of educators, STEM organizations and local industry to create a collaborative network to encourage interest in STEM careers.
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Title: ”Leading Change with Data You Can Use”
Room: Grenada A
Presenters: Tamika Chambers and Jim Emrich, Northwest Evaluation Association
Strand: All Tracks
Description: Come learn about NWEA’s computerized adaptive assessments and resources help educators measure and easily understand individual student achievement, needs and growth. These highly formative assessments are aligned to each state’s standards, connect to instructional content and provide immediate results that include national norms and proficiency probabilities for state assessments.
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