Building Solutions Conference: Tools. Systems. Results.

Identifying and Removing Barriers to Attendance

Lancaster-Lebanon Room

How can schools leverage community organizations to help identify and create strategies to remove barriers to attendance? Hear about the work Pittsburgh Morrow PreK-8 is doing to build systems and tools and get results.

Presenters: Jennifer Wagner, Robert White, Tiffini Gorman 

Presenter schools/organizations: Pittsburgh Public Schools: Morrow PreK-8; A+ Schools 

Continuous School Improvement: Creating Evidence-Based Strategies for Impactful Change

Susquehanna Room

The focus of this session will be to highlight the use of evidence-based strategies for creating effective long-term and impactful change throughout the cycle of improvement. This session will demonstrate the collaborative approach between school leaders at the Charter School of Excellence in Erie with the School Improvement Facilitator and Regional Lead for Continuous School Improvement focusing on systematic planning processes, the use of a variety of assessments, and identifying and addressing individual student learning needs in ELA and Math. This session will include successful examples of student-centered supports promoting a positive school environment and the implementation of an evidence-based system of schoolwide positive behavior interventions.

Presenters: Dr. Renee Gordon, Laura Patterson, Dr. Michelle Felton 

Presenter schools/organizations: Charter School of Excellence; IU5; Statewide School Improvement Team 

Intervention Victory: Using Data to Drive Language Success at the High School Level

Dauphin Room

The Norristown Area Instructional Support Team (IST) successfully executed a data-triangulation strategy, utilizing both STAR and MAP Growth assessments to drive targeted, evidence-based language intervention. By establishing a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and fostering a culture of cyclical professional development, the cohort achieved significant gains in Lexile growth over the course of the 2025-2026 school year. The success was underpinned by a unified commitment from faculty and administration to the "monitor and adjust" phase of the Pennsylvania Cycle of Improvement. 

Presenters: Kirstin Colloton, Jaime Swierczek, Mary Agnew 

Presenter school/organization: Norristown Area School District: Norristown Area HS 

Attendance First: Designing an MTSS Team That Works--High School Edition

Lancaster-Lebanon Room

This session highlights how our high school established an MTSS team to address chronic tardies and class cuts as a starting point for improving overall attendance. Participants will learn how to build clear systems, structures, and team processes that create consistency and accountability. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to strengthen school culture, increase student engagement, and support improved academic outcomes. 

Presenters: Tracy Jones, Kiley Krizan, Chrissy Loeffert

Presenter school/organization: Pittsburgh Public Schools: Brashear HS 

Beyond Penmanship: Handwriting for Literacy and Learning

Susquehanna Room

This session explores how handwriting instruction—often reduced to penmanship—can be leveraged as a high-impact literacy practice grounded in the science of reading. Participants will examine the cognitive benefits of handwriting and learn explicit, classroom-ready routines that can be integrated into the PA Cycle of Improvement to strengthen literacy outcomes across tiers. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to move beyond compliance toward meaningful, system-wide implementation. 

Presenter: Michelle Trostle

Presenter school/organization: CAIU

Overview of Implementation Science

Dauphin Room

Come explore the “why” behind implementation science. Implementation science builds the bridge between what know are evidence-based strategies to effectively implementing them into practice. We will focus on the Active Implementation Formula that contains the critical components needed to improve student outcomes. Participants will engage in learning activities that apply implementation frameworks, strategies, and tools to support continuous improvement. 

Presenters: Kris Earl, Correy Watkins, Yolanda Perkins

Presenter school/organization: National Implementation Research Network at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Making Every Assessment Count: Crafting a Differentiated System

Lancaster-Lebanon Room

This interactive session will guide educators through developing a purposeful and differentiated assessment system that serves student needs and maximizes instructional time. Participants will collaboratively draft an assessment philosophy using an AI generator and create a practical decision-making tree. The guiding prompts and questions will assist in determining the right assessments, for the right purposes, for the right students, at the right time. Test the generated assets by applying them to real-world Firefly/CDT assessment scenarios. This session empowers participants to learn innovative assessment planning strategies, connect with peers and AI tools to refine their philosophy, and activate a differentiated system that optimizes assessment for student needs, instructional planning, and goal monitoring. 

Presenter: Carrie Soliday

Presenter school/organization: PDE (CDT and Firefly Statewide Co-Lead)

Learning from New PA Educator Human Capital Reports

Susquehanna Room

Learn more about research on educator retention and pipelines across Pennsylvania. What do the statewide data say? What do recent trends suggest? What does this mean for your work in LEAs and schools? This session with PDE's Research and Evaluation team will help address these questions. 

Presenters: Candy Miller, Rhonda Johnson, Megan Foley 

Presenter school/organization: PDE Office of Administration

The Driver's Seat: Taking Control of Your Learning Journey

Dauphin Room

Shift the focus from "test scores" to student agency by learning how to empower learners to analyze their own benchmark results. Participants will discover practical strategies for helping students in grades 5-8 to identify their unique strengths and pinpoint specific areas for improvement, turning raw data into a personalized roadmap for success. You will leave with actionable tools to help students own their progress and confidently bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be.

Presenters: Stacey Hoffman, Victoria Achenbach, Katie Kehm 

Presenter schools/organizations: Reading School District; Berks IU

From A-TSI to Blue Ribbon School

Lancaster-Lebanon Room

Participants will walk away with a deeper understanding of how building culture and MTSS can have a positive impact on student achievement for all students, especially special education students. Success criteria is as follows: Identify common stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding various subgroups in your buildings and create two action steps to disrupt. Identify strengths and weaknesses in the current instructional design of classrooms within your building and begin a professional development plan to support. Articulate the importance of IEP goals being tied to standards.

Presenter: Andrea Pyles

Presenter school/organization: Shippensburg Area School District: James Burd Elementary School 

Utilizing Community Partnerships to Build Academics in and out of the Classroom

Susquehanna Room

Enhancing academic instruction is multifaceted but utilizing community partnerships is one way to provide new content, informed by experts, and offers them an opportunity to build a connection with your school. These opportunities can be aligned to curriculum and maximize impact through intentional and embedded work. Participants will be able to understand the opportunities, process, and continuous improvement cycle for rigorous community-connected classroom instruction through a developed framework that helps enhance academics, in a time-efficient and financially responsible manner. 

Presenters: Michele Duroni, Dr. Alex Rohrer

Presenter schools/organizations: School District of Lancaster: Burrowes Elementary School; Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster 

Stop Guessing, Start Planning

Dauphin Room

Learn about NIRN's Implementation Stages, a process that teams can use to systematically shape implementation through a stage-based approach, and leave with a tool that can be applied to support your implementation journey. Whether using something new, scaling an established program or practice, or supporting an initiative composed of multiple programs and practices, successful implementation takes intentional planning and time. 

Presenters: Kris Earl, Correy Watkins, Yolanda Perkins

Presenter school/organization: National Implementation Research Network at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Attendance as an Academic Driver: What Pennsylvania's Data Reveal

Lancaster-Lebanon Room

This informative session draws on statewide data to provide real-time evidence of the connections between attendance and academic performance in Pennsylvania's brick-and-mortar schools. We will share insights from statewide findings that reveal emerging post-pandemic attendance and achievement trends across Pennsylvania. 

Presenters: Michael Imburgia, Karen Henrichs

Presenter school/organization: Statewide School Improvement Team

From Plan to Practice: Progress Monitoring Systems for Instruction and Intervention

Susquehanna Room

We will share how Blockson MS created systems to progress monitor instruction and interventions across all MTSS Tiers as part of our comprehensive school plan. Participants will learn about structures and practices that can be transferred for their academic and behavior monitoring.

Presenter: David Lugo

Presenter school/organization: Norristown Area School District: Blockson MS 

From Strategy to Success: Using Small-Group Coaching to Power the Cycle of Improvement

Dauphin Room

This breakout session will highlight how small-group coaching can effectively support the implementation of Evidence-Based Strategies (EBS) within School Improvement efforts. Presenters—a classroom teacher and an instructional coach from Phoenix Academy, a School District of Lancaster–contracted school identified for School Improvement in 2022–2023 and exited in 2025–2026—will share practical strategies that built staff ownership and led to successful schoolwide implementation. Attendees will gain actionable insights grounded in real-school experience that can be adapted to their own improvement initiatives.

Presenters: Kristen Lefever-Schuller, Dana Fogg 

Presenter school/organization: School District of Lancaster: Phoenix Academy 

Mentorship -- A Call to Action: Impacting Educators of Color, Both Now and the Future

Lebanon Room

In this session, a collective of Black and Brown male principals and an assistant superintendent from the Neubauer Fellowship will present the Astute Network Partners’ Black and Brown Male Empowerment Pilot Program — a two-year, dual-component initiative designed to build a sustainable pipeline of future educators of color while simultaneously supporting the retention and advancement of current male educators of color in Philadelphia schools. Participants will gain a deep understanding of the program's three-phase cycle of improvement model, including recruitment strategies, structured mentorship frameworks, and measurable outcome targets tied to college credit attainment and professional certification.

Presenters: Brian Johnson, Dr. Khary Moody, Dr. Darryl Johnson, Dr. John Smith, Dr. Alphonso Evans, Jamal Dennis, Bahir Hayes

Presenter schools/organizations: School District of Philadelphia: John Bartram HS, James R. Ludlow School, Carver Engineering and Science School, High School of the Future, Philadelphia Learning Academy North & Crossroads School, William C Bryant School 

Quite the FEAT: Strengthening Family Engagement for School Improvement

Lancaster Room

In this interactive session, participants will utilize the Family Engagement Assessment Tool (FEAT) to evaluate their current school systems and pinpoint critical areas for growth. Educators will learn to shift from random acts of involvement to integrated strategies by identifying high-leverage priorities and linking family engagement goals directly to student learning outcomes. Attendees will identify one or two priority areas for strengthening partnerships that drive continuous school improvement.

Presenter: Dr. Rita Perez

Presenter school/organization: Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium 

How Tiger Time Turned School Improvement Priorities into Daily Student Support

Susquehanna Room

This session will highlight how Truman High School leveraged Tiger Time as a schoolwide systems strategy to operationalize through data analysis, targeted supports, progress monitoring, and continuous refinement. Participants will learn how we moved from identified student needs and root cause conversations to a structured, flexible intervention block that integrates academic recovery, acceleration, SEL, executive functioning, and targeted student grouping within an MTSS framework. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for designing and sustaining a CSI-aligned structure that translates school improvement priorities into daily practice.

Presenters: Jon Craig, Ted Beatty, Suzanne Denny 

Presenter school/organization: Bristol Township SD: Harry S Truman HS 

Manufacturing Tomorrow: Empowering Student Pathways to Success

Dauphin Room

This session highlights an innovative, year-long high school program designed to prepare students for successful careers in manufacturing. Through a structured classroom experience led by a dedicated teacher, students engage with a comprehensive virtual curriculum that builds foundational knowledge of modern manufacturing processes, technologies, and career pathways.

Learning extends beyond the classroom as students participate in onsite visits to local manufacturing facilities, gaining firsthand exposure to real-world environments and industry expectations. In addition, students connect directly with human resources professionals to develop essential employability skills, including résumé writing, interview techniques, and workplace readiness.

The program also provides meaningful pathways for students to transition into the workforce, offering opportunities for internships, co-ops, and even full-time employment upon completion. Grounded in the principles of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and implemented through the Keystone Education Center, this initiative supports both the academic and behavioral development of students while fostering strong connections between education and industry. 

Presenters: Katelyn Wolford, Diane McGaffic 

Presenter schools/organizations: Keystone Charter School; Midwestern IU4