Presented by Dr. Amanda Alzena Sullivan, Senior Program Developer, The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP); Dr. Amanda Strawhacker, STEAM Coordinator, Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston (MA); and Lori Lynch, VP of Professional Learning, Britannica Education
Presented by Dr. Matthew Murphy, Retired Superintendent, Ramsey School District (NJ); Dr. Chandra Orrill, Executive Director, Rethink Learning Labs; and Dr. Erik Gundersen, Superintendent, Suffern Central School District (NY)
Moderated by Larry Cocco, Senior Professional Learning Consultant, edWeb.net
It’s more important than ever to equip students with the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving work world. Creativity, flexibility, communication, and problem solving are among the most highly touted skills in the workplace today, yet they are often left out of the traditional K-12 curriculum.
Presented by Dr. Marina Umaschi Bers, Professor, DevTech Research Group, Tufts University; and Jason Innes, Director of Curriculum, Training, and Product Management, KinderLab Robotics
Presented by Dr. Lazaro Lopez, Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Township High School District 214 (IL); Bob Brown, Computer Science, MobileMakersEdu Teacher, John Hersey High School, Township High School District 214 (IL); and Mike Drenth, Business, INCubatoredu Teacher, Rolling Meadows High School, Township High School District 214 (IL)
Moderated by Evo Popoff, Senior Vice President, Whiteboard Advisors
A common refrain of 21st century education is that teachers are educating students today for jobs that don’t even exist yet. But while schools may not be able to prepare students for an exact occupation, they can give them the skills they need to succeed beyond high school.
Presented by Bekah Sosland Siegfriedt, Flight Director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Naomi Meredith, K-5 STEM Teacher & Coach (CO)
Moderated by Bryan L. Miller, Sr. Director Global Strategic Outreach, Wonder Workshop
They call them the “reading wars”—divisive debates about the “best” approach to developing foundational reading skills. But there doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing solution to helping young children learn to read and write with competence and pleasure.
Presented by Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D., Researcher and Consultant, JH Educational Services, Inc.; Margie Gillis, Ed.D., President, Literacy How, Inc.; Jeannine Herron, Ph.D., Research Neuropsychologist, Director, Talking Fingers; and Jan Wasowicz, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Learning By Design, Inc., SPELL-Links
Moderated by Terrie Noland, Ph.D., CALP, Vice President of Educator Initiatives, Learning Ally
It was great to kick off conferences in 2023 by attending FETC in New Orleans. I was only there for two days, 1/24 – 1/25, but the time was jam-packed with networking, learning, and celebrating being together. The fun began on the plane ride down when I was seated across the aisle from Saki Dodelson, the founder and CEO of Beable and the founder of Achieve3000, where I had the pleasure of working as a member of her team and learning so much from her! I attended a session on Academic Engagement and Achievement Through Literacy and Career-Related Learning, presented by Ed Hidalgo, Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer, and Karen Minshew, Assistant Superintendent, from the Cajon Valley Union School District. They demonstrated how the RIASEC assessment and Beable’s life-ready literacy system boost student involvement in academic subjects and get high levels of engagement as students connect real-world learning to the classroom.