9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Character Education from the Inside Out...Making all the Pieces Fit
5 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VI
Sharon Carr, Assistant Principal and John Gallucci, Principal, Montville Township School District
Hands on activities such as:orchestrating an advisory group (class divided for group discussions) based upon current "student issues;" group activities that identify good listeners/good communicators; scenarios to come to resolution/conflict resolution; written material/examples used in advisory programs; "sculpting' to create "live" situations to discuss; plus any examples based upon requests or needs of the group.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Families and Schools Together (FAST); Helping The Child Succeed!
5 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon III
Daffonie A. Moore, Chief FAST Coordinator, Salem County Inter Agency Council of Human Services
FAST is a prevention/early intervention program that empowers parents to be the change agents in their families. Participants will experience the communications games of "feelings charades" and "scribbes" as well as demonstrate the Special Play Activity that takes place between the parent and focus child during each FAST session.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Funding and Energy Efficiency Plans, Presented by SunEdison
24 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon V
Type Action Lab, Facilities
Jason Kliwinski, AIA, LEEDap Director of Sustainable Design and Scott Spiezle, AIA, LEEDap, Chairman and CEO Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc.
Recent changes to funding sources, incentives, and electric rates create an opportunity to employ photovoltaic systems on new and existing schools. Energy cost savings, environmental improvement, and educational programs combine to produce significant advantages to taxpayers, school districts, and communities. We will add an attorney as a speaker to discuss the legal aspects. Presented by SunEdison
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
Website www.sunedison.com
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
OPRA: Should You Really Say No?
13 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon I
Type Action Lab, School Law-Policy
Jenna Rottenberg, Esq, Schwartz Simon Edelstein & Celso, LLC ; NicholasJ. Dotoli, Ed.M., Esq. , Schwartz Simon Edelstein & Celso, LLC
"As record custodians and their attorneys continue to navigate the murky landscape of the Open Public Records Act since its adoption nearly eight years ago, a myriad of requests often times presents public entities with challenging questions. Specifically, custodians often struggle with making "public record” determinations when OPRA law does not specifically except from disclosure seemingly confidential or privileged material. This action lab will explore all facets of OPRA, including exempted documents, valid requests and applicable fees including the "special services fee.” Participants will have the opportunity to examine documents and determine whether they fall into a valid exemption or whether they must be disclosed.
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Role of the Board President
39 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VIII
Diane Morris, Field Service Representative, New Jersey School Boards Association; Mark H. Zitomer, ESQ, School Board Attorney, Schenck, Price, Smith & King, LLP; Terri Lewis, Field Service Reprresentative, NJSBA
Being the Board President can be a challenging position. A board president must balance the needs of all to be heard with the need to use the board's time efficiently and effectively. Whether the issue is personnel, a divided board, or public participation, the board president's leadership can help guide the board through these difficult situations. Using scenarios brought by both the presenters and those in attendance, the attendees will be given legal and practical information to navigate through the challenges they face. The roles and responsibilities of the Board President before, during and after the board meeting along with the Board President's relationship with fellow board members and the administration will all be part of this discussion.
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Transitioning Students to and Within Special Education, Presented by Centris Group
6 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon IV
MaryAnn Joseph, Special Education Consultant, NJ DOE - Learning Resource Center
Participants will learn how to analyze key aspects of instruction as a part of a systematic planning process to successfully transition students with disabilities to and within general education settings. Strategies that enable families and educators to work collaboratively throughout the transitioning process will be emphasized. Presented by Centris Group, visit them at www.centrisgroup.com
Limited Capacity Max 36 attendees
Website www.centrisgroup.com
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Writing Across the Curriculum and Write to Learn Strategies
16 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VII
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Karen Wood, Superinendent, West Long Branch Schools
"Writing Across the Curriculum is an important technique utilized to incorporate writing strategies in all subjects
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Your Inner Community-Your Inner Team
4 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon II
Kathy Brennan, Adjunct Professor of Play Therapy Theories, Rider University and Tim Brennan, Acting Executive County Superintendent of Schools, NJDOE
Participants will take a "checkup from the neck up," analyze their results, pick a challenge that they can attack during the workshop, participate in interactive exercises to contact memories that may be holding them back, change the role of those memories to make them springboards toward success, make a list of actions to get started, pick one, and use "Try It Now" exercises from Kathy's work at Rider with beginning guidance counselors, and Tim's recentyly published book "Life in Balance: The DREAMER Way.(XLibris, 2010)"
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
A SMARTer Way to Integrate Technology
19 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon I
Type Action Lab, Curriculum, Technology
Carolyn Bennett, SMART Certified Education Consultant , Keyboard Consultants, Inc.
Discover how technology provides education solutions to improve student engagement and learning outcomes. Based on Universal Design for Learning, districts can differentiate instruction by implementing the tools and techniques of the SMART Board with the document camera and student Response system to create and deliver learning activities while gauging student progress. Participants will be able to utilize their SMART products and applications in their districts to differentiate instruction. Participants will also be shown how to design their curriculum based on the principals of Universal Design for Learning.
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Costing Out the Labor Agreement
24 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VIII
Type Action Lab, Labor Relations
Speakers to be determined
Now more than ever, boards are faced with limited financial resources and, in some cases, unrealistic demands by unions. In order to develop your bargaining parameters and to counter the union's demands, the board must have a firm handle on its starting point in terms of all dollars, and how these dollars are distributed. This action lab will provide the necessary tools to calculate the cost of the existing salary guide, increments, employee health benefits, as well as how potential salary increases and proposed salary guides will affect district finances. The program illustrates how a "total compensation" approach can help districts maintain control over the total cost of any negotiated settlement. Please bring a calculator with you.
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Health Benefits & Collective Bargaining, the New Dynamic
41 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon V
Type Action Lab, Labor Relations
Lou Della Penna, Jr., President, LDP Consulting Group, Inc. and Andrew Brown, Esq., Partner The Law Firm of Schwartz, Simon, Edelstein, & Celso
Become better educated on what is happening within the world of health benefits for NJ Boards of Education, National Healthcare Reform, and ideas on what steps might be necssary to deal with the second largest line item of a budget that can't be controled without significant effort within the collective bargaining process. (REWRITE)
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Literacy Success through Experiential Learning
8 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VII
Carmine Tabone, Ed. S., Executive Director, Jersey City/Educational Arts Team
Participants will engage in higher order thinking activities used in two large-scale (2000 students) literacy projects with fourth to seventh graders and their teachers. The project, funded by the US Department of Education, helped participating students outscore a control group by 20% on the language arts section of the New Jersey ASK test.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Policies and Best Practices That Can Improve Student Achievement
22 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon II
David Wm. Bosted, Esq, Policy Consultant, NJSBA Legal & Policy Services and Melissa Benford, CSA Chief School Administrator, International Charter School of Trenton
Policy is how boards can contribute to improving student achievement. This Action Lab will give you skills and confidence to draft specific policies that contribute to learner success. Some of the policies covered are "tried-and-true," others are "hot-and-new." Has your board set policy on Option II (alternative educational programs leading to HS graduation)? Have you led the charge to have Personal Learning Plans? How about policy on RTI (Response-to-Intervention)? The presenters bring legal and policy skills to this session, plus the essential chief school administrator experience in implementing programs that are proven to improve student achievement even in the most challenging schools.
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Powerful PowerPoint Portfolios
9 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VI
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Arielle Goldstein, Computer Teacher, Watchung Boro
PowerPoint allows students and teachers to create an interactive portfolio that includes documents, images, sounds, video, and more either created by the user or taken from creative commons. The presentation goes beyond your typical PowerPoint and allows the viewer to choose their own path to see all the information. Participants will develop an interactive presentation in PowerPoint from planning to the final product.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Starting and Running Education Advisory Groups
20 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon III
Deborah Lynam, Haddon Heights School District/SPAN Statewide Parent Advocacy Network
Federal and state education laws require that parents have a voice in improving education. Here is an interactive powerpoint training on how to develop and sustain NCLB/Title I Advisory Councils, School Leadership Councils, Bilingual Education Advisory Councils and Special Education Parent Advisory Groups. Activities include a reflective questionnaire on commitment to "Parents as Advisors", small group work around personal vs systemic input and barriers to success, and focus work on the steps involved in establishing a group as well as best practices in holding effective meetings. Participants will spend time reflecting on current district practices and brainstorm ways to improve parent involvement through the development of advisory groups. "As parents and professionals come together to advise on policy and program issues in education, both are enriched!" Upon completion of this session, participants will have a clear understanding of the role and importance of parent advisory groups; as well as, practical strategies for developing and running groups within their local school districts.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Successful Transition to a New Chief School Administrator
22 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon IV
Susan McCusker, Field Service Representative and Paul Breda, Field Service Representative, NJSBA
The Board-Superintendent relationship is at the center of effective school governance. This year's pension law changes are expected to lead to record numbers of superintendent retirements, leaving many Boards with the challenge of transitioning to a new Superintendent. This Action Lab will examine the key elements that make up an effective Board-Superintendent relationship and explore the respective ways that the Board and the Superintendent can make the transition to a new Superintendent a success. Small group hands on activities will include assembling a Board/Superintendent roles puzzle, role playing, brainstorming, and a quiz.
Limited Capacity Max 36 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
AVID Tutorology Study Sessions: Collaboarting to Raise Student Achievement
7 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VIII
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Joseph Jones, Superintendent, Woodbury City School District; Donna Cohen, AVID Teacher Coach; Maria Lario-Schuman, Teacher
Understand how students can initiate AVID tutorology sessions in their districts in order to enable them to ask and answer higher-level thinking questions, use them for group discussions and to master challenging material or engage in a Socratic Seminar. Use reading, writing, and inquiry to take interactive notes that engage students and enhance achievement. Board members will write higher-level questions and engage in a tutorology session. After using questioning strategies to understand a text, board members will form a Socratic Seminar to collaborate in discussing the controversial aspects of the reading to deepen their understandings. To enhance their learning they will take interactive notes (Cornell).
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Charter School Governance
3 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon II
Type Action Lab
Gain a better understanding of your roles as a Charter Schools Trustee.
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Differentiated Instruction for the Low-Level Math Learner
5 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VII
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Holly Terrill, Special Education Teacher/T^3 Regional Instructor, Vernon Public Schools/Texas Instruments
Come up with ways to differentiate instruction for special needs and low-level math learners. Participants will also experience what it feels like to be a student in a multi-sensory classroom and have sample activites to bring back to their district for implementation. This presentation will place hands-on activities in each participants hands so that they may experience the role of the student. Each participant will also be introduced to ways to present generally material in a new, innovative way.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Implementing Energy Savings Improvement Plans
32 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon I
Ronald J.Ianoale, Esq., Attorney, McManimon & Scotland, LLC; Guy Vander Vliet, Account Executive, Phoenix Advisors ; David Thompson, CEO, Phoenix Advisors, Inc; Jason Kliwinski, AIA, LEEDap Director of Sustainable Design: Scott Spiezle, AIA, LEEDap, Chairman and CEO Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc.
School district are always looking for opportunities to make their faclities for energy efficient but often don't have the funds to undertake such improvements. ESIPs, authorized into law in early 2009, allow school districts to undertake "off balance sheet financing" by having the energy conservation measures pay for the costs of financing them, thus avoiding the need for a school district to obtain voter approval to authorze bonds for this purpose. The seminar will include an attorney, energy services company representative, and financial advisor that have completed two of these ESIPs for New Jersey school districts.
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Inspiring Innovation and Creativity in the Classroom
17 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VI
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Kenneth Zushma, Executive Director, Executive Director
In this session, attendees will learn about hands-on design based activities that can inspire meaningful learning and STEM integration as well as 21st Century Skills. Vehicles for delivering "soft skills” such as teamwork, leadership and problem solving will be explored.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
School Literary Magazine
1 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon III
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Lisa Hannah, LAL Teacher - 7th & 8th Grade, Tinton Falls Middle School; Linda Balogh, Building Supervisor
This dynamic action lab will demonstrate effective, expedient ways to initiate an inter-disciplinary school literary magazine which showcases the creative literary and artistic talents of students. Innovative strategies to incorporate both the content areas and related arts will be presented. Participants will be actively engaged in using rubrics for analyzing written and visual submissions, utilizing software to layout and design the final published school literary magazine. Participants will be given practical suggestions for forming a school literary magazine club, ways to build student leadership in promoting and publicizing the magazine, and strategies for publishing the magazine.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Special Education: You're Invited to an IEP Meeting and Mediation Session
18 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon V
Type Action Lab, School Law-Policy
Isabel Machado, Esq., Counsel, Jasinski, P.C.
Participants will be instructed on the legal constraints of IEP meetings and Mediation. The entire group will be presented with a general fact pattern. Each participant will be assigned one of the following roles: case manager, child study team member, supervisor, building level administrator, advocate, parent or student, and will be given goals specific to his / her role. Each participant will only be privy to the fact sheet for his or her role. The participants will then convene an IEP meeting within respective groups and develop an IEP for the student. Discussion will follow. At least one of the groups will then proceed to a mock Mediation session.
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
9:30 AM
to 11:00 AM
Strategic Planning for School Districts
33 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon IV
Joanne Borin, Field Service Representative; Diane Morris, Field Service Representative, New Jersey School Boards Association
Understand strategic planning as a unique opportunity to set your district's course in line with your identified needs, being aware of the interests and demands of your district, attuned to future possibilities and aware of both the internal and external forces that will influence your journey. Attendees will take part in an activity that recognizes the strength of an organized process, will brainstorm the elements of excellence, will participate in a quiz, and will discuss their educational beliefs.
Limited Capacity Max 36 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
A Dose of 'New Attitude'
15 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon III
Mary Kay Wedel, Board Member/ Managing Partner of company, Monmouth Beach/ CHOICE Leaders Consulting Group
Understand how leadership attitude impacts an organization's people, performance and productivity. Learn what contributes to optimistic and pessimistic leadership attitudes and how to bring new energy to their school district-Identify the 7 major types of Leadership attitudes. Shift their attitude so they can lead with confidence, and be a supportive energetic leader to others. Gain insight and learn techniques to focus on a "what's right" perceptive.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Digital Learning Communities; Global Collaborating for Staff and Students
12 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon IV
Type Action Lab, Technology
Cynthia Pope, Gifted and Talented Enrichment Teacher/District Technology Coach, Kingwood Township School District
21st Century technologies allow teachers and students to connect anytime/anywhere to educational opportunities. This workshop will demonstrate creation of on-line communities of practice for teacher's to meet for professional development and students to meet for education, enrichment and enjoyment. Web 2.0 technologies including Skype and Adobe Connect will be demonstrated. Participants will be able to use free Internet tools to create an on-line meeting place for educational professional learning communities to meet. Participants will also be able to create an on-line community for students which can be used for book clubs, learning circles or interest clusters. Participants will also visit other Internet resources which can augment learning communities such as video conferencing, podcasting, blogging and Skyping.
Limited Capacity Max 36 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Facilitating Effective Professional Development Communities
4 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon V
Muneerah Higgs, Social Studies, Grades 7 - 8 and PLC Team Leader; Lisa Merlino, Grade 4 Teacher and PLC Team Leader; Leslie Daniels, Grade 3 Teacher and PLC Team Leader, Lawnside School District
Lawnside School District is among an ELITE group of districts in New Jersey selected by the state to participate in the EIRC Professional Learning Community Program.Participants will not only be presented with the research undergirding effective PLCs, but will be involved in a simulation of effective PLC teacher and school administrator work using student data, assessment of student work protocols and other hands-on activities regularly used in Lawnside's PLCs. The team and all staff have been trained by Steve Barkley, national PLC expert and by Dr. Tracy Severns, national expert on using data to inform and inspire instructional improvement.
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Finding New Jersey's Energy Banks
19 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VI
Michael Fischette, PE - President, Concord Engineering Group; Jennifer Edwards - Vice President, Acacia Financial
Tap into available resources to implement your energy conservation measures. Execute building upgrades and infrastructure projects NOW at discount rates with extended terms using alternative financing and privatization.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
New Teacher Induction: A Recipe for Success
1 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon I
Lewis Stonaker Jr., Staff Development Coordinator and Stephanie Goldberg, Staff Development Coordinator, Monroe Twp. Public Schools (Middlesex County)
We will open with a self assessment activity, and then lead them through our five-tiered induction program using PowerPoint and handout materials along with paired and/or small group activities. Using a Graphic Organizer, participants will be able to infuse those parts of the program that are of interest to them into their current induction programs.
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Problems as Opportunities: Understanding 21st Century Learning
13 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VIII
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Richard Freedman, Principal, River Dell School District; Dr. Nancy Sulla, President of IDE Corp
When it comes to developing 21st century skills in our students, it's not about changing the content of our courses, but reimagining our instructional approach. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills challenges us to help our students develop their critical thinking, time management, creativity, flexibility, and technological literacy. In the real world, it is often a problem that requires new learning and innovation. Problems require us to look at the knowledge and information we have and apply these skills. How can we capture this thinking pattern in our classroom? How can we help our students apply content knowledge and information to real world situations? In this session, we will revisit the concept of problem-based learning as the core of a 21st century classroom. Participants will examine how an authentic problem is the best model for engaging this generation of students as active participants in the learning process. In this session, participant will experience a classroom simulation in which they grapple with content in order to solve an authentic problem. During the simulation, participants will manage their own time, make decisions regarding learning experiences, and collaborate with others to work towards a solution to the proposed problem. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore classroom materials that teachers are currently using to implement this instructional approach into their classrooms.
Limited Capacity Max 30 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
STEM: Preparing Students with 21st Century Skills
20 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon VII
Type Action Lab, Curriculum
Dr. Eva M. Ogens, Assistant Professor at Ramapo College; Carol Shields, Senior Curriculum and Professional Development Specialist, Stevens Institute of Technology
Participants will be actively involved in problem-solving challenges that promote K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning that connects with literacy and social studies. Participants will be guided in the process so they can determine how district curricula can be enhanced by incorporating activities that foster 21st century skills.
Limited Capacity Max 24 attendees
3:00 PM
to 4:30 PM
Superintendent Search-The Process
11 Attendees
Location
Palace: Salon II
Joanne Borin, Field Service Representative; Charlene Zoerb, Field Service Representative, New Jersey School Boards Association
Participants will become familiar with the full search process: determining important areas of responsibility, preparing the board and community, processing applications, conducting interviews and making the final selection. This hands-on action lab will cover all aspects of the superintendent search process. We will explain areas of responsibility for the CSA and have small groups reach consensus on their expectations. The next step is the Preparation Stage where we will discuss the decisions that have to be made. In small groups the attendees will participate in a hands-on activity setting up the search criteria. The next step is the Processing Stage. In small groups the participants will review the legality of interview questions. The last phase is the Final Selection Stage. We will discuss choosing the finalists, districts visits and picking the new superintendent.
Limited Capacity Max 54 attendees
