Conference Sessions

Strands

Friday, February 20

Session A 9:30 AM–10:45 AM

Session AB 9:30 AM–12:15 PM

Session B 11:00 AM–12:15 PM

Session C 2:15 PM–3:30 PM

Saturday, February 21

Session D 9:30–10:45 AM

Session DE 9:30 AM–12:00 PM

Session E 11:00 AM–12:00 PM

Session D

D1

Tumultuous Transitions Be Gone! Moving from Middle School to High School with Ease
Robin Shrode, Founder/Consultant/Co-founder AAIS (American Alliance for Innovative Schools, Inc.), TX

The transition from middle school to high school can be a year of tumultuous change for students, but with focused and intentional planning, identified transitional processes and protocols in place, and a systemic communication structure implemented, the ease of movement can be increased. This session will discuss and demonstrate successful transition programs from various schools around the nation and how those processes and protocols might be put into place.

Strand: Middle School to High School Transition, NEW SESSION

D2

The Bridge Program
Chris Piercy, FOS Mentor/Chair, Serrano High School, Snowline Joint Unified School District, CA

If enrolling every graduate in a post-secondary program is your goal, this is the program for you. Learn how to collaborate with a local community college to make this goal a reality. This is a complete program that takes the student from lessons and activities to the actual enrollment process with applications, financial aid, and placement testing at the high school site. Participants in this workshop will receive a step-by-step plan for implementation.

Strand: College and Career Education

D3

Building Critical Mass for Sustainable Reform
Kris Olsen, Principal; Jill Long, SLC Project Director; Tony Vicnair, Director of Curriculum, McMinnville High School, McMinnville School District, OR

McMinnville High School is in its fifth year of SLC reform, characterized by strong freshman teams, highly articulated career pathways and academies, extensive College Credit Now offerings, and impressive business and post-secondary partnerships. In this session, participants will learn about and explore specific elements within the three domains of sustainable reform-culture, structure, and instruction-and come away with a plan of action, articulating future objectives and activities for each domain.

Strand: College and Career Education

D5

Structure and Support for Student Success
Pam Carter, Principal, Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley Unified School District, CA; Sara Leibman, Assistant Principal, University Charter Middle School, CA

Preparing today's youth for the realities of the 21st century means redesigning schools and reforming programs. This workshop offers ideas, tools, and resources to assist schools in promoting student achievement through structures and strategies such as advisors, smaller learning communities, interest-based academics, flexible scheduling, and senior projects.

Strands: Smaller Learning Communities & Small School System Redesign, NEW SESSION

D9

Building Developmental Assets in School Communities
Matthew Barnes, Trainer, Vision Training, CA; Tobias Gautschi, Teacher; Kevin Potter, Teacher, El Dorado High School, El Dorado Union HSD, CA

This workshop will describe the connections between Search Institute's Developmental AssetsÆ and student achievement, show you how to build assets for every student and empower educators to initiate, increase and strengthen the asset-building efforts that already exist in their school. As a result of participation in this training, teachers, counselors, administrators and other education professionals will be familiar with the asset model, begin to create a plan for the asset model in their school or classroom, and commit to becoming an asset builder for youth.

Strands: Support for Teaching and Learning