Breakout Session A
Tuesday
9:30 - 10:15 am
| Title | Abstract | Presenter(s) | ||
| Designing Dynamic PD: Strategies for Engaging Adult Learners | In this session, participants will explore strategies to create impactful, needs-based professional development by conducting thorough needs assessments and designing targeted, engaging sessions grounded in adult learning principles. They will focus on creating data-driven professional development and storytelling to engage their program participants. Through these approaches, participants will enhance their ability to support mentors effectively, ultimately contributing to the professional growth of new teachers and the success of mentoring programs. | Joanna Oceguera, Chicago Public Schools | ||
| Building Resilient Educators: Fostering Confidence, Connection, and Growth in New Teachers | Supporting new teachers requires leadership that builds confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging. This interactive session shares actionable strategies to create environments where new teachers thrive. Learn how to foster psychological safety, enhance teacher self-efficacy, and prevent burnout during the critical early years of teaching. With practical tools and inspiring insights, this session equips leaders, mentors, and administrators to strengthen connections, promote well-being, and empower educators for long-term success. Join us to elevate your leadership impact and build a strong foundation for your new teacher community. | Kasi Lacey, H & L Legacy Consulting | ||
| The Joy Factor: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Learning | This session dives into the critical role joy plays in energizing educators, inspiring students, and creating thriving school communities. Come to this session if you are ready to lead with both heart and strategy, breathing new life into schools and setting a foundation for growth that lasts. | Ming Shelby, Batavia School District | ||
Punk Rock Principalship: Creating Positive Culture & Building Leaders through Unity | To bring about student growth, both emotionally and academically, educators must empower those they serve. This empowerment will come from taking risks, collaborating and showing humility in areas of growth which will all lead to trusting relationships. Attendees will walk away with strategies to build a positive culture in their building and team that can be implemented tomorrow! Once a trusting team approach is in place there is not stopping a student’s potential to succeed! | Michael Earnshaw, Lansing SD 158 | ||
| AI in the Classroom: Tools for Teaching and Learning | Discover how educators can integrate AI to enhance planning, instruction, and student engagement. Inspired by NSF's INclusive Intelligent Technologies for Education (INVITE) AI Institute and emerging educational tools, this session highlights how AI can support personalized learning while empowering teachers and students. Attendees will explore real-world examples of classroom-ready and Teacher-Moderated AI tools, learn how they can be applied to their classrooms, and understand important considerations around ethical and responsible use. Whether attendees are new to AI or looking to deepen their practice, this session offers practical and adaptable strategies for classroom use. | Chris Palaguachi, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | ||
Breakout Session B
Tuesday
10:25 - 11:10 am
| Title | Abstract | Presenter(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting Mentors Where They Are: Personalized Learning for Professional Growth | In this session, participants will discover how Chicago Public Schools’ New Teacher Induction and Mentoring Team has differentiated professional development targeted toward school-based new teacher mentors. We will a) explore systems and structures used to facilitate personalized learning for mentors, b) understand the impact of this personalization on mentor satisfaction, agency, and performance, and c) audit your current program status and create a plan for implementing differentiated professional learning for mentors in your district. The ideal participant for this session is engaged in an existing program and looking to develop professional learning that better meets mentor needs and increases buy-in. | Olivia Bertels, Chicago Public Schools | ||
| School-Wide Behavior Support Teams to Support New Teachers | Teacher attrition is, in part, attributed to unaddressed student behavior and limited administrative mentorship with behavior support. School leaders often find themselves repeatedly responding to behavioral incidents, possibly with limited time and expertise, leading to this inadequate mentorship. Therefore, this session aims to equip school and district leaders to establish, improve, and sustain school- or district-wide behavior support teams that deliver high quality mentorship. This session will offer a discussion of real-life challenges and low-resource solutions. Leaders will leave with relatable lessons from the field, legal and ethical considerations, research-based recommendations, and practical steps for immediate use as they support their early-career teachers. | Rebecca Folkerts, Rebecca Folkerts Educational Consulting | ||
| Trauma-Informed De-Escalation | This presentation explores the vital role of de-escalation skills within a trauma-informed approach, emphasizing their importance in effectively supporting youth in crisis. It examines how crisis impacts brain and body responses, with a special focus on adolescent brain development and its influence on crisis behavior and de-escalation strategies. The session highlights the pervasive role of trauma and offers practical tips for engaging with traumatized youth during crises. By fostering therapeutic relationships and deepening understanding, professionals can make a meaningful difference in the lives of vulnerable young people. |
| Joe McQueen, Menta Academy Galesburg | |
| Three-Dimensional Science Teaching: What it Should Look Like in Every Classroom | This session will cover the basics of ILSS/NGSS and what it means to teach three-dimensional science. Come learn how to help teachers properly structure lesson plans and make classroom activities more engaging using the Science and Engineering Practices and the Crosscutting Concepts. Learn what an NGSS-aligned classroom should look like and how you can support and encourage teachers. | Carol Baker, Science Consultant | ||
| Building Trusting Relationships and a Strong Sense of "We" | Discover what it takes to build mentor-teacher and teacher-administrator relationships and trust. Explore common obstacles to trust-building and identify specific steps that school leaders and mentors can take to increase the level of trust in their schools especially in the context of mentor support. Examine how the characteristics of kind-heartedness, reliability, competence, honesty, and openness inspire hope, optimism, and a passion to “do your best work.” Discover ways to enhance your mentor and school-leader credibility, strengthen relationships, and build a strong sense of “we” instead of a feeling of us vs. them. | Bobb Darnell, Achievement Strategies | ||
Breakout Session C
Tuesday
1:20-2:05 PM
| Title | Abstract | Presenter(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What is Your Story? The Evolution of a Mentoring Program | What story is your mentoring program telling? Through learning about the ongoing evolution of a school district's mentoring program, you will have an opportunity to reflect on the alignment of your program goals with your current program impact. You will engage in collaborative learning groups and walk away with ideas, strategies and questions that will push thinking about the goals and impact of your mentoring program. | Iris Hildreth, Chicago Public Schools | ||
| Strategies to Reduce Burnout- Leaders Growing Leaders | Special Education is facing a crisis of teammates leaving the field due to the tough nature of the job. Who will be left to work with our neediest students who rely us on most? As leaders and educators we have to help support and coach our young teachers and budding leaders in how to learn grit, resilience, coping strategies, and effective self care strategies to remain in the field. Come join me as I share successful strategies for staff retention and long term professional relationships to create lifelong networks of support systems for educators. | Angela Williams, Elgin SD U46 Nancy Santoro, Turning Pointe Autism Foundation | ||
| Trauma 101 for School Leaders | About two-thirds of preK-12 students are impacted by trauma (CDC, 2024), which can occur inside and outside of the home and even at school. This session equips administrators to advocate for students and teachers by exploring trauma’s impact on the brain and how trauma can manifest in the classroom. With Illinois working to integrate trauma-informed practices in educator licensure per state law, participants will begin shaping collaborative school policies that balance predictability, flexibility, connection, and empowerment (Venet, 2021). School leaders will leave ready to better support the trauma-informed practices of their teachers. | Annie McClellan & Lynn Burdick, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | ||
| Leading a School Culture Where Everyone Feels Appreciated | Stakeholder appreciation increases staff moral, community engagement, student wellness, a collaborative environment, and leads to positive outcomes academically and culturally overall. Time and resources can be a very challenging factor when it comes to staff, student, and community appreciation. Learn purposeful easy strategies and examples for quick implementation on how to make everyone involved in your school culture feel appreciated and seen. | Kathleen Coleman-Spreitzer, Oak Lawn-Hometown SD 123 | ||
| Finding, Supporting, and Maintaining High-Quality New Teachers | With teacher shortages and an 89.6% retention rate for Illinois teachers (Illinois Report Card), those in the field are asking the question, “How can I keep quality talent in my school?”. In this session, participants will identify strategies for hiring new teachers that fit their schools unique needs. Additionally, participants will consider support strategies that will allow for them to monitor their new teacher’s satisfaction, and will increase retention. Finally, participants will consider how to leverage positive relationships in order to impact new teacher retention. | Justin Tressler, Chicago Public Schools |
Breakout Session D
Tuesday
2:15-3:00 PM
| Title | Abstract | Presenter(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Picasso: Why the “Art of Teaching” Matters | We love to recite that “teaching is both an art and a science,” and while we can point to plenty of professional development on the “science” side of education, how are we developing the “artist” side of new teachers? This session explores this conflict and challenges schools to give teachers time, freedom, and permission to develop their individual potential. | Aaron Sitze | ||
| Work-Life Balance: Time Management for New Teachers | Are you a new teacher looking to thrive in these challenging times? Do you need assistance in thinking through your first year and all of the highs and lows? Work-Life Balance: Time Management for New Teachers is a conference session that will meet you were you are in your profession and provide you with education, tips and strategies to help you manage your personal and professional time. | Raven Talley | ||
| Establishing Home to School Connections for Beginning Teachers | This session examines the experiences of the Mentor-Mentee relationship as one reflects on how to support early career teachers in developing and maintaining productive parent-school relationships. Participants analyze dispositions and processes inherent to the mentor-mentee relationship and how one can intentionally transfer these processes to the mentee’s practice in initiating/developing productive family partnerships and establishing success strategies with families. We’d like you to leave the session considering how the mentoring relationship can be thought of as parallel to that of the classroom teacher and families. | Maryellyn Friel, NBCT Laura Newmeyer, NBCT Anna Quinzio-Zafran, EdD, NBCT | ||
| Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Educators: A State Perspective | Representatives of the Educator Effectiveness Department at ISBE and the DLRT Network will speak about the state’s Diverse and Learner Ready Teacher initiative, which includes developing culturally responsive teaching and leading standards, establishing professional development for practicing educators, and assisting educator preparation programs in developing diverse educator recruitment and retention plans. The session will cover work completed by a network of stakeholders and ongoing work planned for 2021 and beyond. | Sam Fogleman Louise Johnson | ||
| Fostering Reflective Practice in Teacher Interns During Challenging Times | In my reflection seminar at a Swiss teacher education institution, aspiring high school teachers exchange around scenarios drawn from day-to-day school life. In this session I will share how I took my seminar online during covid-19-related school and university closures in spring 2020, focusing on how I kept the interns informed, motivated, and on track. I will also reflect on what I myself learned, as well as reporting on how one recent graduate is putting the seminar learnings to use in her new teaching role. Participants will leave the session with a snapshot of institution-specific Swiss teacher education in action. | Lynn Williams |