Creating Supportive Environments That Beat the Odds
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 | Heather Schmidt Davis,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
 | Dr. Adam Drummond,
Author and Senior Director, Center for Model Schools
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Why Do Some Schools Improve More Than Others? Schools serving similar communities often experience very different outcomes. Why?
Research points not to demographics, but to the organizational conditions principals create. This session examines how principals intentionally build supportive environments that reduce the impact of poverty on learning. Using the 5Essentials Framework, participants will explore how leadership choices shape student–teacher trust, safety, academic personalism, peer support, and future orientation—and why these conditions matter most in high-poverty contexts. Rather than focusing on programs or initiatives, this session highlights what principals can do to design, align, and sustain the conditions that allow students and teachers to thrive—despite the odds.
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Increasing On-Task Behavior
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 | Kimberley Tribbett,
Professional Learning Consultant, Center for Model Schools |
The greatest challenge isn't just "managing" classroom behavior—it’s igniting it. Ambitious instruction demands a different kind of "on-task" behavior—one where students are cognitively active, vocally collaborative, and intellectually challenged. When the cognitive demand is high and the engagement strategies are clear, off-task behavior naturally decreases. This fast-paced, "no-fluff" session moves beyond theory to provide educators with a toolkit of actionable strategies designed to increase student ownership of learning.
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Laughing Together
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 | Chris Gethard,
Co-Founder, Laughing Together |
Laughing Together brings together professional comedians and clinical supervisors to bring comedy into the classroom, using peer reviewed research to focus our exercises on skills that help students with anxiety reduction, comfort in the spotlight, peer-to-peer connection, resilience in the face of failure, and more. Bringing improvised comedy back to its social work roots, Laughing Together workshops have been taught to over 10,000 students and educators in the past two years. Co-founded by comedian Chris Gethard (seen on The Office, Parks and Recreation, Broad City, and more), the program utilizes interactive theater games to strengthen social-emotional muscles in students.
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Leading Data Teams: Developing Individual Capacity and Collective Efficacy
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 | Robert Thornell,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
Nuanced school and district leaders serve as change agents, creating and sustaining a culture to build teacher efficacy and live in a model of continuous improvement. Participants will learn about the importance of defining data team expectations, protocols and processes of data team work, and most importantly why you are committed to it. Using data sources such as MAP Growth, 5Essentials, state and local assessments, student work, student feedback and many others are all important. Discover ways leaders at campus and district levels have important data conversations and strategies for sustaining data work over time.
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Leading with Purpose: A Real-world Guide to School Leadership with the 5Essentials
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 | Marc Cohen,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
This session is designed for teachers aspiring to become school leaders, offering both motivation and a realistic glimpse into the roles of assistant principals and principals. Participants will explore the critical impact school administrators have on student and teacher success, with a focus on instructional leadership, vision for teaching and learning, and strategic planning. Through research-backed insights and practical discussions, this session will reinforce the importance of strong leadership in shaping school culture and driving continuous improvement. Attendees will leave inspired and better prepared to take the next step in their leadership journey.
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Now Is the Moment: Why Focusing on Student Groups Is the Fastest Path to Transformational Change
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 | Danny Konopasek,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
| Dr. Adam Drummond,
Author and Senior Director, Center for Model Schools
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Districts do not transform by moving faster—they transform by focusing more intentionally. This session confronts a hard truth: systems that claim to serve all students often fail to meet the needs of those who need us most. Student-group focus is not a side initiative; it is the lever for whole-system improvement. Drawing from national data, lived school experiences, and district-level case studies, this session challenges leaders to move beyond generalized improvement goals toward urgent, targeted action for historically marginalized and overlooked student groups. When schools design for the margins, the entire system improves. This is both a call to action and a roadmap for leaders ready to stop waiting for the right time and start creating meaningful change now.
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Quick-Prep, High-Impact Formative Assessment Moves
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 | Alisa Braddy,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
Discover fun and easy formative assessment techniques to instantly gauge student learning and adapt your teaching on the fly. This session will equip you with practical tools to keep your students engaged and on track. Join us for an interactive experience to enhance your formative assessment mojo!
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Talking is Thinking
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 | Denise White,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
Learn how to plan for and facilitate high-impact classroom discourse that invites every student—regardless of skill or confidence level—into meaningful conversations about their learning. In this session, you’ll discover simple, low-prep strategies and talk moves that are easy to implement yet powerful in practice, helping you spark curiosity, sustain engagement, and deepen the academic rigor of student discussions.
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The Greatness Formula: Student Mental Health, Belonging, and Academic Performance—How Schools Can Rebuild Hope & Fuel Achievement
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 | Duane Kyles,
Educational Consultant - Youth Mental Health Advocate, Uanesworld LLC |
Students across the nation are facing an unprecedented mental health and motivation crisis that directly impacts attendance, achievement, and classroom engagement. This session introduces The Greatness Formula, an identity-based mental wellness framework that schools are using to restore student hope, increase sense of belonging, and elevate academic performance.
Grounded in research on protective factors, belonging, and self-worth, this approach provides educators with practical strategies—including scripts, reflection prompts, and micro-affirmation routines—that help students rebuild confidence, take ownership of learning, and maintain resilience through challenges. Participants will leave with tools that support everyday classroom practice, educator-student connection, and schoolwide culture-building.
"When students rediscover their worth, they rediscover their willingness to work.
When hope rises, performance follows."
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This Is How We Do It: Creating Your DI Playlist
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 | Dr. Akecia Owens-Cunningham,
Educator, Academically Victorious |
Join this engaging session focused on exploring how Differentiated Instruction (DI) can transform classrooms and learning environments into inclusive, responsive spaces. Participants will learn how to remix instruction to increase engagement, access, and success for every learner because one size never fits all. Using the J.A.M. framework, educators and instructional leaders will explore Just-Right, Authentic, and Multimodal learning strategies, including visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic approaches across content, process, product, and environment. Leave with practical ideas and strategies to take back and apply in classrooms, teams, and professional learning communities.
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Toolbox Envy
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 | Stascia Hardy,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
Show up to tool up. Whether polishing your existing skills or looking for a major upgrade, these innovative, fun, engaging (and effective!) instructional strategies equip any teacher to step up their game. Don’t blame us if your colleagues get jealous.
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Unlocking the Inner Superhero in Every Educator
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 | Aaron Patterson,
CEO, Aaron Patterson LLC |
Teaching is more than a profession, it’s a calling. Yet too often, the weight of responsibilities, the emotional toll of working with struggling students, and the constant pressure of academic performance can leave even the most passionate educators feeling exhausted, overlooked, and burned out. When teachers are running on empty, it not only impacts their well-being, but also the culture of the classroom and the success of their students.
In this interactive, uplifting, and practical workshop designed to help teachers, counselors, and school leaders rediscover their inner “superhero.” Using the powerful metaphor of superheroes and “kryptonite,” participants will explore how to overcome the forces that drain their energy and instead harness the unique strengths that empower them to thrive.
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Workshop Your Words
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 | Oatanisha Dawson,
Instruction and Leadership Coach, Center for Model Schools |
Deepen your ability to provide meaningful feedback. Join this session to learn precise, nonjudgmental sentence stems for offering feedback, inquiry prompts for receiving it, and reflective language for co‑creating next steps; practice these in a workshop‑style scenario rotations whether classroom teacher, instructional coach, department lead, and/or administrator. You will apply a concise written template (Observation; Impact on learners; Suggested next step; Timeline), and rehearse accountability conversations. Leave with scripted language, a role‑specific scenario plan, a ready-to-use debrief template for their school community.
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