Coffee for First-Time Attendees

Join other first-time attendees and staff from USA-Kansas and KASB for a casual meet-and-greet. Get helpful conference info, make connections and start your experience off on the right foot!

KASB Board of Education Member Session

From Surviving to Thriving

Speaker: Dr. Bobbie Meier

If you want the best teachers, you need to treat them like they are the best teachers. Today, more than ever before, It is vitally important to build a school culture and climate that makes teachers want to stay at your school! This session will provide lots of tried and tested ideas to build staff morale and make your school a place where teachers feel valued, appreciated, and validated. Teacher turnover is a real problem that needs to be addressed at every level. As building leaders it is our responsibility to build a culture and climate where teachers want to stay at YOUR building and in education and we are here to help you achieve a thriving school culture and climate.

Lions Tigers, & Paras! Oh My!

Speaker: Andrea Palmer

Maize USD 266 knows that paras play a key role in our schools. We heard from our paras, teachers, and administrators that paras want and need high quality and consistent training. In response, we developed a long range professional development plan to meet the unique needs of paraeducators who serve in a variety of roles. Our new Para Academy equips our paras with the skills they need to best serve students and provides them with opportunities to connect with peers. Through these efforts we anticipate improved retention of staff who are confident and capable of serving our students. We are excited to share our program outline, successes and lessons learned during the first year.

Superintendent Job Alike

Principal Job Alike

Special Education Director Job Alike

Board of Education Member Job Alike

Law & Order: USD 259 vs DOJ

Speaker: Melissa Zieammerman

In the public school system, emergency safety interventions and disproportionate discipline are considered especially troublesome. In Wichita Public Schools, the dedicated staff who investigate these vicious accusations are members of an elite squad known as the Office of Behavior Management Support and Oversight.

In 2020, an investigation led by The DOJ found that USD 259 had ineffective ESI practices, discipline policy and data collection systems that led to improper use of ESI and disproportionate discipline. This resulted in an 81 item Settlement Agreement between the district and the DOJ that created an opportunity to build a more equitable school district by changing practices and procedures. Come learn from the women leading the work and about our experience with the student and staff centered changes that are making USD 259 the premiere school district in Kansas. Participants will hear about the Settlement Agreement, the changes that have occurred in our district, the new systems that have been created and have an opportunity to view data associated with the agreement.

The Juggle is Real - Balancing Life as Working Moms

Speaker: Carrie Mugridge

In this engaging and honest presentation, we’ll dive into the realities of being a working mom—balancing the demands of career, family and personal life. Through candid interviews with our children, we’ll explore their perspectives on how we manage it all—the good, the challenging and the moments in between. Join us for a meaningful conversation on finding balance, embracing imperfection and learning from the voices that matter most: our kids.

Girl Talk to Girl Boss

Speaker: Lori O’Toole Buselt

In today’s leadership landscape, mastering communication is crucial. This session will guide you through balancing directness and warmth in your messaging. Drawing on insights from a seasoned school communications leader and former journalist, you'll learn practical techniques to cut through the fluff and deliver your message with both clarity and authenticity. Discover how to refine your communication style to be both effective and personable, ensuring your voice resonates and drives results.

Relationships & Building Facilities for Early Childhood

Speaker: Juanita Erickson

Staff and students from USD 461 Neodesha Schools will share how the concept of an Early Learning Center for kids from age two weeks old to age 5 came about for a Wilson County Community. Learn how to tie an early childhood goal into a district strategic plan, community needs assessment and high school pathways all to benefit your community and create partnerships for employee retention. We will share the grants we applied for and were awarded through the building process and focus on community relationships during the building process.

Bringing Attendance Home

Speaker: Jane Groff

At every level, family engagement is a key component of effective, comprehensive approaches to reducing chronic absenteeism. It is important to approach the topic of chronic absenteeism using a parent lens. Many times this is a missing component in a district/school approach to increasing attendance. This workshop calls schools to engage families in the process of reducing chronic absenteeism. PowerPoints and workshops developed for schools and families will be available to attendees to use in their own district/school.

Together We Ride

Speaker: Cris Seidel

Navigating the leadership landscape as a female leader can feel like an adventure in the wild west! Kick up your boots and join us for a fun, interactive session as we explore sure-shot leadership strategies that empower us to support one another on this exciting journey to success.

Objectives/Outcomes:

• Women make up 80% of the teaching workforce, 50% of building leaders, and 25% of district leaders.
• Forbes magazine (2023) reports that 46% of district-level leaders plan to leave their positions within the next 2-3 years.
• Participants will leave with actionable strategies to empower female colleagues and strengthen the leadership

Building Bridges: How to Build Trust and Strengthen Relationships

Speaker: Dr. Emily Riner

In today’s rapidly changing and often challenging business environment, trust is the bedrock upon which effective leadership is built. This presentation, drawing insights from Charles Feltman’s “The Thin Book of Trust,” will explore how women leaders can cultivate and sustain trust within their lives, teams and organizations. By focusing on trust-building strategies, women leaders can enhance their influence, drive positive change and foster a supportive and high-performing school/board culture.

Building a Culture of Belonging in Schools

Speaker: Michele Ingenthron

In today's diverse educational environments, fostering as sense of belonging is crucial for the well-being and academic success of students. This presentation will explore the concept of the "Compass of Shame" and provide actionable strategies for building a culture of belonging within school communities.

Trailblazing Women in Leadership Build Collaborative Relationships

Speaker: Ascendra Donald

Building collaborative relationships with the colleagues, staff, students and the families you serve is an imperative skill to develop on your journey to truly becoming a trailblazing woman in school leadership. Many leaders value collaboration, yet many fail to successfully see positive results from their efforts. As a school leader, building collaborative relationships will ensure that your school is a place where team members can actively participate and engage in conversations that will help you achieve improved work satisfaction, staff retention and ultimately student academic achievement and success.

During this interactive session, attendees will identify three collaboration strategies and mindset shifts needed to promote norms of collaboration on their school teams. Building collaborative relationships is a continuous process. Attendees will assess their current relationship building strategies, assess their effectiveness and develop an action plan to implement at least one new strategy with their current school team right away. Let’s discover how to blaze the trail and build collaborative relationships together!

Leading with Purpose: Maximizing Growth through Learning Walk Process

Speaker: Angela Dick

In this interactive session, participants will explore the powerful impact of the Learning Walk Process in fostering reflective practice and continuous improvement among educators. The session will highlight how school and district leaders can implement learning walks as a tool for collaborative learning, professional growth, and creating a culture of shared accountability. Participants will discuss how the learning walk process, paired with strategic follow-up through instructional coaching, professional development and the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process, can drive lasting improvement in teaching and learning.

Own Your Energy - Tools for Personal & Professional Journey

Speaker: Mena Patron

In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining balance and intentionality is critical to personal and professional growth. Drawing from personal experiences, professional insights and dissertation research, this session offers participants practical strategies to understand the critical role personal beliefs, attitudes, cultures and experiences have on relationships and interactions. Key resources include Onward, Wise Mind Living, and Leading While Female to name a few. Grounded in mindfulness, reflective practices, cultural competence and self-efficacy, this workshop offers tools to support individuals’ development. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies to "own their energy" and foster resilience on their journey toward personal and professional success.

Get in Gear - Operating in the Right Gear at the Right Time

Speaker: Holly Ingram

Do you ever fight the pressure of your to-do list but have people who need your time and attention? Do you want to be more cognizant of how present you are with others at work, at home and in other important relationships? This session will unpack key concepts and learning from the book by Jeremy Kubicek & Steve Cockram, “The 5 Gears - How to Be Present & Productive When There is Never Enough Time.” You’ll learn a simple visual tool that you can begin applying right away. This is a great session to attend with your team or accountability partner, but everyone is welcome.

What You Permit, You Promote

Speaker: Lacy Warren

It’s easy to praise, it’s harder to critique. Whether it’s imposter syndrome, feeling out of our comfort zone or unsuccessful attempts in the past - this session aims to equip participants with tools to prepare for those conversations we often dread or even avoid as leaders. Centered around the book, “Crucial Conversations,” we will provide a summarized framework for planning and navigating those tough conversations that are necessary to drive progress forward. The session will include personal stories, opportunities to share out and ask questions, along with a set of book study questions and a raffle to give away copies of the book.

Blazing the B/SEL Trails

Speaker: Jen Smith

Charting a new path from a system of many schools to one school system, Maize MTSS director, Jen Smith, and Resiliency coach, Shelley Jennings, united their passion for improving student outcomes and increasing collective efficacy of staff to become trailblazers for improved and consistent behavior and SEL processes.

The Maize journey is focusing on neuroscience, relationships, and evidence-based practices for behaviors and SEL to build a district-wide protocol. We took a look at our varying resources and practices related to the implementation of BSEL and MTSS and found we needed to clean up our data and streamline our system. Our goal is to arrive at Sustainability Town where processes are efficient and well-being is thriving for students and staff alike. Making the decision to partner with TASN’s Kansas MTSS and Alignment has given us another perspective to challenge traditional paths and blaze new ones as we provide professional development and implementation support to build capacity throughout the district.

Lipstick & Leadership - Elevating Your Personal Brand

Speaker: Sara Richardson

Are you a female school leader ready to leverage your personal brand to enhance your leadership? Join us for Lipstick and Leadership, an empowering session where you’ll discover how to use your unique qualities, strengths and style to make a lasting impact. Personal branding isn’t just a trend—it’s essential for effective leadership in today’s education landscape.

In this session, you’ll learn how your personal brand shapes perceptions, empowers decision-making and aligns with your school’s culture and goals. Gain practical strategies for building trust, inspiring others and navigating leadership complexities, all while staying true to your authentic self. Whether you want to attract top talent, strengthen stakeholder relationships or expand your professional network, this workshop will equip you with the tools and confidence to lead with purpose, clarity and charisma.

Step into your leadership power and amplify your influence—because great leadership starts with you!

Shift from Sped Referrals to Data

Speaker: Cara Shrug

To make managing significant behaviors a team effort, we must leverage specific data, implement targeted team meetings and provide ready-to-use tools. Just as we approach deficits in math and reading, behavior challenges require a data-driven strategy. As leaders, it is our responsibility to equip general education staff with the tools and knowledge they need to feel confident in working with these students. The reliance on special education as the sole solution must shift. The first step is establishing systems that ensure teachers feel supported and prepared for the challenge.

Fact or Fiction

Speaker: TinaRae Scott

I am an avid reader of all genres and a resource librarian at my local library. I will be providing attendees with information on free and useful applications and resources centered around books. I will talk about services that are provided by local libraries and the State Library for free. I will also talk about ways that we can enjoy books, no matter how busy our schedules, our commitments and obligations. And finally, I will highlight free applications that we can use to find books that are either fact (non-fiction) related to our roles or fiction, that we read for enjoyment.

Veteran Educator Retirement Workshop

Speaker: Angela Ford

Retirement brings plenty of questions. How will changes to KPERS affect your plans? Which of the 42 KPERS options is the best fit for you? Can you purchase additional pension years? How do KPERS, Social Security, and your investments work together in your retirement plan? Get answers to these questions and more at this informative session!

Trailblazing Women, Transforming Leadership

Speaker: Pam Lewis

In this session we will provide a framework for building leadership capacity in your district/school. District and building leaders will model individual “Team Time” coaching sessions that focus on relationships, instruction, student data and leadership skills. Participants will leave this session with resources they can use and adapt to their district or building site.

Self Defense

Speaker: Carrie Mugridge

Hear from a survivor of an attempted abduction tell her story and what she did to save her life. Participants will practice and learn basic self-defense tips and tricks. You will be able to use what you learn today to feel more confident to protect yourself.

Improving Student Behavior & Enhancing Caregiver Wellbeing

Speaker: Rachel Furlong

Student behavior has a direct and significant impact on teacher well-being and job satisfaction. This session will equip leaders with essential resources, tools and tips to effectively implement trauma-informed practices and address challenging behaviors while prioritizing staff wellness.

BLT is Not a Sandwich

Speaker: Cassie Gorman

We have made a lot of progress in the past couple of years with the addition of a building leadership team. We have representation from each grade level, a school counselor, our Title I teacher and administration. Admin has attended Elevate Leadership and uses this training to help our BLT grow. The BLT attended a 3 day summer training in 2023 and a refresher this past summer. The information that we have learned in our Elevate sessions and our BLT trainings has helped us grow into a strong BLT thus helping our school improve. We are excited to share our journey with others who may just be getting started with a BLT.

Two Paths, One Goal

Speaker: Nikki Heiman

Leadership is a journey that looks different for everyone. In this session, we’ll dive into the stories of two resilient women and explore how their paths to leadership took wildly different turns. One had the privilege of mentorship at every step—both formal and informal—while the other carved her own way, without the safety net of guidance or support. Through lively storytelling and interactive discussion, we’ll compare how mentorship (or the lack of it) shapes not only professional growth but also personal resilience. Come ready to engage, share your thoughts and reflect on your own leadership journey. Together, we’ll unpack the lessons learned from these two leaders and uncover how we can foster more inclusive opportunities for future women in leadership.

All About YOU

Speaker: LaKrystal McKnight

Just like the safety instructions on a flight require you to put your oxygen mask on first, leaders must first ensure they are healthy overall before they can lead the educators they serve. Ladies, we don’t talk about it enough, but YOU are important and you deserve to take some time to dedicate to yourself and your health! Join us as we take some time to focus on the many facets of your personal self and your many roles that you may serve as a mom, partner, sister, aunt, daughter, etc. Your personal health impacts every area of your life. You won’t be able to lead that important meeting tomorrow if you aren’t physically able to show up to work!

Elevating Voices of Educator Mothers

Speaker: Alex Supple

Presenting the study, findings and recommendations from my dissertation successfully defended in the Winter of 2023.

The qualitative study centered around the semi-structured interviews of educator mothers with young children. The objective of the study was to expand understanding of how these women are managing work/life obligations on a day to day basis, how the education system served them/could have served them better in the transition to parenthood and how districts can best support and retain them. The findings produced recommendations for both building and district level administration regarding policy, practice and leadership.

Insights of a New Board Member

Speaker: Brandi Miller

Science of Reading 101 for Parents

Speaker: Dr. Maria Rocque

The Science of Reading focuses on how children learn to read and emphasizes the importance of developing strong foundational skills. These include phonemic awareness (recognizing sounds in words), phonics (understanding the relationship between letters and sounds), vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. For parents, understanding these basics can help support their child’s reading development at home.

Phonemic awareness and phonics are essential for decoding words, while vocabulary and comprehension help children understand what they read. Fluency bridges the two by allowing children to read smoothly and focus on meaning. Unlike older methods that may have emphasized whole-word recognition, the Science of Reading prioritizes explicit, systematic instruction in phonics. This helps prevent reading difficulties and supports struggling readers. Parents can reinforce these skills through activities like reading aloud, playing sound games and encouraging daily reading practice.

Tech Tools that Save Time & Sanity

Speaker: Megan Abott

Join me as I share my favorite tech tools and tips designed to simplify your workflow and give you more time for what matters. From Gmail and Google tricks, to the power of Google Keep and essential browser extensions, you'll walk away with practical strategies to streamline tasks and save both time and mental energy.

Creating a Cybersecurity Culture for Classrooms

Speaker: April Boyd Noronha

Step into the world of cybersecurity and learn practical strategies to create a safer, more secure environment for today’s classrooms. In this dynamic session, you'll explore the basics of protecting passwords and data, break down key cybersecurity terms and trends and dive into real-world examples of common threats like phishing, smishing and AI-powered impersonation scams like deepfakes. We'll simplify essential safety rules - like signing in and out, using multi-factor authentication (MFA) and recognizing suspicious links - so you can confidently safeguard both personal and professional data. From mastering secure communication to handling sensitive information, this session will empower you to build a culture of cybersecurity in every aspect of your life, from the classroom to your home, and beyond. Whether you're in the classroom,working from home or traveling, you'll leave equipped to protect yourself, your students and your school community!

Empowering Leadership Teams through Collective Efficacy

Speakers: April Lutz, Jaymee Brady

In this session, Principal April Lutz and Instructional Coach Jaymee Brady will share their experiences in fostering collective efficacy within their Building Leadership Team (BLT) to achieve school-wide goals aligned with their district’s strategic plan. Their collaborative approach emphasizes data-driven decision-making, purposeful professional development and actionable leadership strategies that empower teams to take ownership of school improvement.