Wednesday, June 10
Concurrent Sessions

If there’s more than one session you’re interested in per time slot (and there will be!), participate live in one and catch up on the others later. Your registration gives you access to recordings of all sessions for 30 days after the conference!

Registrant Access to Video Showcase

All TASA Virtual SummerCon registrants were sent an email from Vimeo (no-reply@vimeo.com) on Thursday, June 11, that said “Texas Assoc of School Admin shared a Showcase with you on Vimeo.” It included a link to the online showcase of session recordings as well as your personalized password (look for the red text). If you did not receive the email from Vimeo, please first check your spam/trash folders. If it is not there, please ask us to resend it.

10:15-11 am Central

Remote Learning EdTech Smackdown

Looking for tools to help you with remote learning? Join us as we share our favorite and most useful tools for remote teaching and learning.

Miguel Guhlin

Director
TCEA

Diana Benner

Director
TCEA

Protecting Public Education During the COVID-19 Crisis

Moak Casey staff will examine the current state of the Texas economy, and what is being discussed regarding formula funding.

 

Josh Haney

Associate
Moak, Casey & Associates

Catherine Knepp

Associate
Moak, Casey & Associates

Joe Wisnoski

Associate
Moak, Casey & Associates

“Quarantine 15”? … Not a Chance!

The past three months have been filled with stress, change, and emotion. Now, more than ever, leaders must recognize the importance of prioritizing their health, both above and below the neck. Todd Whitthorne and Tim Church, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., will share the impressive results from the Naturally Slim program, a digital weight loss and health improvement intervention that will soon be available to school districts across the state.

Todd Whitthorne

Chief Inspiration Officer
Naturally Slim

Dr. Tim Church

Chief Medical Officer
Naturally Slim

Crisis Communications: How Your District Can Prepare Before the Crisis Strikes

In light of the global pandemic and subsequent statewide school closings, districts are focused more than ever on crisis communications. The key to successful communications with employees, families, and the community during a crisis is ensuring that you aren’t in a crisis with communication. Learn how Klein ISD has created both low-tech and high-tech solutions to engage ALL stakeholders with good communications, rapid response, and customer service at the heart of their plan.

Jenny McGown

Superintendent
Klein ISD

Rachel Trotter

Director of Communications
Klein  ISD

Justin Elbert

Assistant Director of Communications
Klein  ISD

School Calendars and ADSY

TEA staff will discuss redesigning school calendars, adding (optional) days, and getting extra funding to do it.

Brian Doran

Special Projects
TEA

UIL Related COVID-19 Update

Dr. Charles Breithaupt and Dr. Jamey Harrison will provide updates on the impact of COVID-19 on UIL activities and plans for moving forward into the 2020-2021 school year.

Jamey Harrison

Deputy Executive Director
UIL

Charles Breithaupt

Executive Director
UIL

Planning for 4 Possible Futures

To be prepared for anything, you have to consider everything! At engage2learn, we are using scenario planning to provide the most highly relevant strategies and support to our partners. The time of COVID-19 has created tremendous challenge and simultaneously tremendous opportunity. This session will provide participants an overview of our examination of Four Possible Futures and our thoughts on how you and your teams can be prepared for whatever comes next.

Shannon Buerk

Chief Executive Officer
engage2learn

11:15 am – 12 pm Central

Assessment Updates

TEA staff will provide information related to implementation of HB 3906 and other general updates that may be available on: online transition; through-year pilot; RLA redesign; and 75% MC.

Shelly Ramos

Curriculum Division Director
TEA

Tyson Kane

Associate Commissioner, Strategy and Analytics
TEA

Iris Tian
Division Director, Student Assessment
TEA
Julie Cole

Director of Policy and Publications, Student Assessment
TEA

José Ríos

Director of Test Administration, Student Assessment
TEA

Texas Safe and Supportive Schools Program: From Threat Assessment to Safe and Supportive Schools

This session will involve a discussion of the evolution of the Safe and Supportive Schools Program from its origins in behavioral threat assessment team formation and training to what our new vision has become for the program including all its six components. Also included will be updates on the various Senate Bill 11 milestones and discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on those milestones.

Craig Goralski

Safe and Supportive Schools Program Manager
TEA

Effectively Communicating Back to School

Effective back-to-school messaging will be the cornerstone of attendance for the entire school year. Join Dr. Todd Rogers to learn research-based strategies for communicating back to school in a way that will support day-one and sustained attendance throughout the year. Learn about: communicating in a way that enhances family-school partnerships; leveraging families as a support system for attendance; and strategies to sustain communication all year long, even in the instance of a building closure.

Todd Rogers

Director of the Harvard Student Social Support R&D Lab
EveryDay Labs

Hedy Chang

Executive Director
Attendance Works

Using Special Education Data to Identify Impactful PD and Narrow Achievement Gaps

Schools have gaps in achievement between all students and students with disabilities. Data Driven Instruction can be used to narrow these gaps. In this training, we will discuss how to use formative and summative assessment data to identify areas of focus for students who struggle. Administrators will walk away with an action plan on how to start the new school year with a data driven focus to help students with disabilities.

Edward O'Neill

Director, Special Education Special Projects and Strategy
TEA

Mandy Young

Manager
TEA

Carolee May

Project Specialist
TEA

After the Pandemic: Small and Mid-sized Schools on New Paths

COVID-19 has caused schools to redesign instruction from in-class to in-home learning with school leaders being incredibly adept and creative in the process! School districts have coordinated meals, virtual instruction and related services, technology upgrades, and maintenance needs. Small and mid-sized schools managed all of these tasks, often with fewer staff and fewer resources. Join us as we move forward to build the right calendars with the right method of instruction to help students succeed.

Crystal Dockery

Deputy Executive Director
Texas Association of Community Schools

Joe Burns

Superintendent
Copperas Cove ISD

Jill Siler

Superintendent
Gunter ISD

Barry Haenisch

Executive Director
Texas Association of Community Schools

Walking a Tightrope While Remaining Flexible!

Do you feel like you are walking a tightrope? Executive leaders will reflect and discuss how their individual roles have changed yet remain the same during the pandemic crisis. Flexibility is key in the response to meeting the needs of principals, teachers, students, and the community. Discussion will focus on being better prepared to lead productive conversations with members of your team.

Susan Borg

Senior Associate
N2 Learning

Sheri Sides

Senior Associate
N2 Learning

Lisa Garcia

Senior Associate
N2 Learning

Talking About the Pandemic: Building the Skills for School Personnel to Meet the Dual Challenges of COVID Re-entry and SB 11

School closings have taken a toll on students, families, and school personnel. As schools prepare to restart, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that “teachers and school personnel should receive training in how to talk to and support children ….” Learn how Fort Bend and Alief ISDs have used Kognito’s simulation platform to give educators the opportunity to practice those conversations in a safe online environment so they can do to it well in real life.

Jennifer Spiegler

SVP Strategic Partnerships
Kognito

Glenn Albright

Co-Founder and Director of Research
Kognito

Graduation and End-of-Year Texas District Discussion

Co-create through moderated discussion with fellow attendees and share your experiences and questions around graduation and EOY processes.

Michelle Carroll Smith

Superintendent
Lytle ISD

12:30-1:15 pm Central

What’s Next? Planning for the Unknown in the Fall

What are the key ingredients of successfully providing at-home learning in the midst of this pandemic? This session will focus on the experience of Bryan and Clint ISDs. These two districts successfully navigated the hurdles of this crisis to ensure their students continued to engage in meaningful instruction. This session will focus on what they learned through the process that will help guide your decisions for the fall.

Jennifer Bergland

Director of Government Relations
TCEA

Barbara Ybarra

Associate Superintendent of Teaching & Learning
Bryan ISD

Julea Johnson

Executive Director of Technology
Bryan ISD

Christie Whitbeck

Superintendent
Bryan ISD

Manuel Verduzco

Chief Technology Officer
Clint ISD

Assessment and Opportunity During COVID-19

At-home learning presents challenges to the traditional methods of high-stakes assessment. This session will review how Advanced Placement adapted in 2019-2020, preview plans for SAT in the 2020-2021 school year, and highlight College Board’s Opportunity Scholarships as a way to support students in continuing to complete key steps along their path to college.

The College Board

Presenter TBA

Reading Academies

TEA staff will provide updates on implementation and contingency planning for the Reading Academies.

Cherry Lee

Reading Academy Director
TEA

Lily Laux

Deputy Commissioner of School Programs
TEA

Back to Better: A Roadmap to Connectedness

SEL thought leader and creator of Capturing Kids’ Hearts®, Flip Flippen, alongside former Texas principal Kristin Booth will discuss: the impact of this pandemic on the social-emotional well-being of students, teachers, and administrators; feedback from over 1,000 educators on how they are reframing their mindset; and ways this pandemic has given us the opportunity to reignite our purpose and passion and refine and improve practices for the future.

Flip Flippen

Founder & Chairman
Capturing Kids’ Hearts | Powered by Flippen Group

Kristin Booth

Leadership Development Strategist
Capturing Kids’ Hearts | Powered by Flippen Group

Family Engagement Matters!

How is your district’s partnership and communication with families and the community in your town? Did your people trust the district’s message and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic? This session will share vital information on how one district focuses on meaningful engagement with families and the community to help survive the unknown.

Julie Gauthier

Assistant Superintendent, Port Neches-Groves ISD
State President, TEPSA

Opportunities for Returning to “School”

In an effort to make sense out of unprecedented times, DLR Group gathered firsthand data from school leaders, teachers, students, and parents in Texas and across the country. This information was synthesized to understand school district commonalities and outliers. Findings were then shared with district participants to help inform their return to school plans for fall. Join the discussion around the challenges and incredible opportunity that this new-normal could provide for all learners.

Emily Froese

Teaching & Learning Designer
DLR Group

Kedrick Wright

Executive Director of Facilities
San Antonio ISD

Martha Salazar-Zamora

Superintendent
Tomball ISD

Raechel French

Educational Researcher & Planner
DLR Group

Cyber Security Texas District Discussion

Co-create through moderated discussion with fellow attendees and share your experiences and questions around cybersecurity and tech.

Robert Bayard

Chief Technology Officer
Clear Creek ISD