Concurrent Sessions

1.  Building and Leading Inclusive and High Achieving Schools (Going Deeper)
Andy Farley, Brookfield East High School and Misa Sato, Milwaukee Reagan High School
Misa and Andy will build off of their keynote presentation going into greater depth about practical strategies for creating a nurturing school culture that values emotional intelligence and student well-being while still achieving outstanding educational outcomes.

2. Empowering Educators: Creating a Culture of Highly Engaged Employees
Mike Slowinski, Aaron Herm and Luke Cromwell, Kaukauna School District

Highly engaged educators are the foundation of successful schools. Research shows that engaged teachers are more committed to student learning, foster stronger relationships, and contribute to a more positive school environment. In this session, participants will gain valuable insights into how the Kaukauna Area School District has successfully leveraged the Gallup Q12 survey to measure and improve staff engagement. Through a strategic and intentional approach, the district has seen an increase in staff engagement, retention, and student achievement. Attendees will hear directly from principals about how they utilize Q12 data to create actionable plans that foster a positive and productive school culture. This interactive session will include a combination of data-driven insights, firsthand experiences from school leaders, and practical takeaways for participants to implement in their own districts.

3. Continuous Improvement Cycles: From Vicious to Virtuous
Yaribel Rodriguez, AWSA

School leaders will explore why most continuous improvement efforts fail to generate lasting impact, often getting stuck in a vicious Plan-Do loop. This repetitive cycle leads to initiative fatigue, erodes staff culture, and stalls student outcomes. Leaders will learn how to transform this pattern into a virtuous improvement cycle by fully embracing the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) process. Through real-world examples, reflective discussions, and practical tools, school leaders will leave with a clearer understanding of how to escape the Plan-Do rut and cultivate a data-driven culture of sustainable improvement.

4. Combining Counseling Psychology and Principal Leadership: Practical Validation Strategies That Work to Build Highly Effective Collaboration Culture
Mark Hoernke, Poynette School District and Dr. Haley Bell, Mayo Clinic, La Crosse

Although middle and high school principals may be highly adept and skilled when it comes to curriculum, grading, and PLC systems, most educational leaders lack training in effective validation practices. Truly validating others is a highly challenging skill that enhances support, collaboration, and conflict resolution. This session, led by Dr. Haley Bell (Counseling Psychologist) and Dr. Mark Hoernke (Poynette High School Principal), will focus on providing and practicing specific validation strategies for middle and high school principals.

5. The Full Story: Using Feedback Tools
Tammy Gibbons, AWSA
Leaders are pretty clear about the impact of feedback on teacher performance but there are many ways that school leaders can and should solicit and use feedback to gauge school climate, the impact of professional development, coaching entry points, etc. This fast-paced session will provide a variety of tools for school leaders to review and identify for use.

6. X's and O's With WIAA
Stephanie Hauser and Med Dow, WIAA

The WIAA proposes to make a presentation on the process and purpose on how the WIAA works with the member schools to assist and serve their needs. They will have key staff and committee members take part in the session so that the attendees can hear how the WIAA serves its members, clear up any misconceptions about the association and answer any questions the members may have. The WIAA is an open and transparent organization, willing to provide solutions, that assists student athletes and their schools.

1. BOOM Sessions: Best Practices for Impactful Leadership
These fast-paced "Boom Sessions" deliver high-impact insights in just 8-10 minutes. Our presenters will share proven best practices in Leadership Strategies that Improve Student Outcomes and Leadership Strategies to Strengthen School Culture. Get ready for quick takeaways, followed by a 5-minute Q&A to deepen your understanding.

• The CGB Way - Connections - Growth - Beliefs: Building A School Where Every Student Learns
  Josh Ketterhagen, Cedar Grove-Belgium High School
  What does it look like when a school makes connections for all students the priority? This Boom session will share the purposeful actions, processes, and procedures that we implemented to put people first to pave the way for all people to be connected. At CGB, we create a school culture where every student has a trusted adult, every staff member feels connected to a shared purpose, and families see themselves as true partners in learning.
  Participants will walk away with actionable ideas to implement that will allow for a focus on strengthening relationships, improving student outcomes, and creating a culture where all students can succeed.

• Creating a Learning Environment
  Mike Roemer, Reagan High School
  A healthy educational environment reflects a culture of success. At Reagan high school, inspiration, safety, and achievement are visible across campus. Through the INSIDE OUT project, 84 portraits of staff and students welcome visitors, while indoor monitors showcase events, policies, and motivational highlights. College pennants, scholarship maps, IB/ACT achievements, staff awards, and student spotlights celebrate progress. Semi-transparent cultural portraits, an 80-cabinet art gallery, and IB Learner Profile displays reinforce global-mindedness. Our pristine campus, maintained by staff and students, fosters pride, ownership, and the belief that success is attainable for all 

• Hang in There Kitty: Growing Through Vulnerability
  Jim DeBroux, Gibraltar High School
  Stop avoiding your greatest challenges and start owning them instead! Jim shares how acknowledging personal leadership vulnerabilities became the catalyst for professional growth and clearer focus on what’s important. Make time for honest reflection and turn that into a concentrated action plan. Turn moments of discomfort into opportunities for clarity, confidence, and connection. This session invites fellow leaders to consider what might be possible when we stop hiding our blind spots and start confronting them head-on. Face the hard things. Grow faster. Gain confidence.

• Leveraging AI for Teacher Feedback
  Katie Spadoni, Pewaukee School District
  ChatGPT- Using AI to assist in providing staff feedback, specifically how it organizes observation notes, aligns them to rubric components, and generates strengths-based feedback with reflective questions. 

• See Them, Know Then, Teach Then: Reaching Students Where They re
  Heather Schmitz, Barneveld School District
  When students know you believe in them, their achievement increases and their wanting to come to school increases. We will share key strategies to boost student success and school culture. Strategies will include Classroom Walkthroughs for instructional feedback, implementing Sources of Strength and K-12 assemblies to foster belonging, and leveraging Homeroom for SEL and academic support. We’ll explore Methodize to support ACT practice, Gold Sheet for weekly grade checks, increased Tier 2 reading/math interventions, freshman literacy supports via screeners, and the role of Mentor/NTC Instructional Coaches to strengthen teaching practices.

2. Equitable - Multi Level Systems of Support: A Proactive Approach That Ensures all Students get What They Need
Jenna Rosienski, Franklin School District

This session will provide educators and school leaders with practical strategies for implementing an Equitable Multi-Level System of Support (EMLSS) to ensure all students receive the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional support they need. Participants will explore the tiered framework, learn how to use data-driven decision-making to allocate resources equitably, and discover ways to integrate culturally responsive practices.

3. You as  Learning Leader: Transforming Your School Through Data-Informed Improvement Cycles
Joe Schroeder, AWSA

The work of a school administrator inherently focuses on the urgent and will remain that way unless one learns how to intentionally disrupt it.  Short cycles of data-focused analysis and reflection can empower school leaders to create meaningful and sustainable change. In this session, you’ll explore strategies to effectively design and implement data-informed improvement cycles that prioritize what matters most for your school community.  Leave with actionable tools that are informed by Wisconsin school examples to lead with clarity and purpose for more impact, even amidst the demands of daily operations.

4. Elevating Your  Impact Through Distributive Leadership
Anna Beatty, Manitowoc School District

There is never enough time to do it all as a building principal; effective leaders utilize the strengths of their staff in order to increase learning for all (adults and students). Through the use of distributive leadership, you can strategically form teams within your building to tackle areas for improvement to elevate your impact on student learning. The key is to have each team think about their specific focus (attendance, behavior, instructional practices, etc.) and determine what work they can do to positively impact your overall school goal. In the end, each team develops its own SMART goal, plan of action, and determines what its measure of impact will be. Teams are given scheduled time to work collaboratively to create a 100-day plan, monitor their work, analyze data, and make needed adjustments. At the end of semester one, teams share a semester report of their progress. Following the semesterly report, teams form their next 100-day plan.

5. Preventing the SILOs - Leading for Collaborative Continuous Improvement and Conscious Practice
Tammy Gibbons, AWSA
High-performing collaborative teams have a significant impact on both the culture and the outcomes of a school. Silos in schools can lead to misaligned priorities, low morale, and disjointed decision-making. Paying attention to growing and/or perceived silos is a challenging role for any school leader. This session will focus on how to lead a building culture that embraces singletons, challenges historic rhetoric about use of time, and supports continuous improvement and collective efficacy.

6. Strategies to Support Rightful Presence of Each and Every Learner in your School
Daniel Parker, Iris Jacobson and Rose Kilmurray, DPI
“Rightful Presence” is a term used nationally and the work in schools to move toward rightful presence for each and every learner is supported through the National Center on Inclusion Toward Rightful Presence, SWIFT Education Center.  DPI was identified as one of a handful of SWIFT states receiving federal funding to work with LEAs to improve systems of rightful presence of students with significant disabilities in their school communities.  In short “Rightful Presence” means that each and every voice is valued from the start and integrated into the system and community as opposed to “included” as an afterthought without appropriate structures in place.  Rightful presence is a term to designate those students, and the systems that support them, that often find themselves at the end of the margins.  This presentation will share some of the work happening in Wisconsin and provide some strategies toward rightful presence that may be utilized in any school.  This session is also designed for school leaders who want to deepen their understanding of inclusive delivery strategies for specially designed instruction. 

1. BOOM Sessions: Best Practices for Impactful Leadership
These fast-paced "Boom Sessions" deliver high-impact insights in just 8-10 minutes. Our presenters will share proven best practices in Leadership Strategies that Improve Student Outcomes and Leadership Strategies to Strengthen School Culture. Get ready for quick takeaways, followed by a 5-minute Q&A to deepen your understanding.

• All Means All: Data-Driven Leadership That Grows Every Student
  Sherri Stengel, Oostburg Middle School
  What happens when school leaders focus on all students’ growth, not just grade level proficiency, as the end goal? In this session, discover how intentional leadership around core curriculum, intervention, and enrichment can lead to meaningful gains for every learner. Learn how one middle school principal engages teachers to use growth data to create a school-wide culture that values growth, not just achievement. 

• Literacy Acceleration
  Ken Metz, Middleton-Cross Plains School District
  This session will focus on system coherence through relationships of trust, starting with the administration team. I will share the use of the 5 literacy accelerators in our goal of increasing reading for all students and the three-year professional development process of learn, do, and reflect that allowed Glacier to show growth in reading for four straight years. I will highlight the participation of all staff in the process and the importance of a strong Universal Curriculum over an intervention focus.

• Beyond the Grade: Seeing the Full Story of Student Learning with Progressions
  Rachel Quill, Holy Hill School District
  Tired of wondering if your students "get it"? What if you could see the entire path of their learning, not just a single grade on a test? Learning progressions are a powerful tool for doing just that. They help you clarify what students know and where they're going next, transforming "I don't get it" into "I'm ready for the next challenge."

• Sync Your School
  Jeff Eichelkraut, New Glarus Middle School
  At New Glarus School District, professional development and staff meetings are intentionally aligned across every building to reinforce and strengthen systems district-wide. By syncing agendas, topics, and strategies, we ensure consistency so that what’s implemented in one building is implemented in all. This connected approach builds a shared understanding, strengthens collaboration, and helps all staff feel invested in our collective goals. In this session, discover how our planning process creates unity across schools, improves communication, and drives positive outcomes for both staff and students—and leave with practical steps to bring this level of alignment to your own district.

• Creating a "We Belong" Environment
  James Kamoku, Madison School District
  The importance of creating systems and processes with a clear vision, non-negotiables, distributed leadership, and a feedback cycle to gauge effectiveness of the systems.

2. AI Powered Collaboration: Accelerating the Impact of School Teams
Yaribel Rodriguez, AWSA
School leaders will learn how to accelerate the effectiveness and impact of their collaborative teams by integrating AI tools and adopting a laser-sharp focus on student outcomes. Too often, team meetings focus on surface-level discussions or broad instructional practices, resulting in minimal impact on student growth. This session will introduce a practical framework where teams:  Rapidly Break Down Standards into Key Skills: Using both AI-powered analysis and team expertise, leaders will guide teams in deconstructing complex standards into the essential skills necessary for mastery and common misconceptions quickly.  Use Student Work to Drive Decisions: Use student work to identify skills students have mastered and identify where supports are needed. Name the Gap by Skill: Using both AI-generated insights and teacher expertise, teams will pinpoint the precise skill gaps in student learning, moving beyond generalizations like "comprehension" or "engagement" to specific, actionable skills. Identify a Targeted Teaching Strategy: Using both AI-generated insights and teacher expertise, teams will pinpoint the precise teaching strategy to help students achieve mastery. Through interactive discussions, practical examples, and AI demonstrations, participants will leave equipped with a streamlined process and AI-powered tools to transform collaborative teams into high-impact, results-driven forces for student success.

3. You as a Learning Leader: Transforming Your School Through Data-Informed Improvement Cycles
Joe Schroeder, AWSA
The work of a school administrator inherently focuses on the urgent and will remain that way unless one learns how to intentionally disrupt it.  Short cycles of data-focused analysis and reflection can empower school leaders to create meaningful and sustainable change. In this session, you’ll explore strategies to effectively design and implement data-informed improvement cycles that prioritize what matters most for your school community. Leave with actionable tools that are informed by Wisconsin school examples to lead with clarity and purpose for more impact, even amidst the demands of daily operations.

4. Communication & Relationship Building as a School Leader
Jennifer Johnson and Doug Beattie, Wautoma School District
Effective communication and strong relationships are the foundation of successful school leadership. As a school leader, your ability to communicate clearly, listen actively, show empathy, and foster positive relationships with staff, students, and parents directly impacts the school’s culture, climate, and overall success. This session will explore strategies for improving communication and building relationships by being a visible leader, enhancing school leadership, and supporting student success.

5.  Preventing the SILOs - Leading for Collaborative Continuous Improvement and Conscious Practice
Tammy Gibbons, AWSA
High-performing collaborative teams have a significant impact on both the culture and the outcomes of a school. Silos in schools can lead to misaligned priorities, low morale, and disjointed decision-making. Paying attention to growing and/or perceived silos is a challenging role for any school leader. This session will focus on how to lead a building culture that embraces singletons, challenges historic rhetoric about use of time, and supports continuous improvement and collective efficacy.

6. Increasing Achievement for Struggling Readers: The One Thing All Principals (and Teachers) Should Consider
Adam Broten, Sheboygan School District
When we know better, we can do better. The ACT Study and other similar studies clearly show what the number one focus should be to increase reading achievement for students. This study is one that helped to inform our state's new elementary reading mandates and required practices. Do you know what this is? Do your teachers know? In this session, we'll take a look at what the ACT Study discovered and why all MS/HS principals should ensure it is considered in every classroom. Then we will learn practical ways to plan and instruct with this in mind. Our presenter has worked with numerous districts, principals, and educators across the country to facilitate this learning through a workshop format (including leading workshops for DPI). This session will be based on that workshop content.

1. CH-CH-CH-Changes - Deeper Learning, Generative AI and the Road Ahead
Myron Dueck, Keynoter
David Bowie offered a timeless warning to all educators. As things change, our students may ‘be immune to [our] consultations…they’re quite aware what they’re going through.’  Education gets a little more complicated with each passing year, and educators need to continually adjust to remain relevant. Since 2023, generative artificial intelligence (or GenAI), most notably Chat GPT, has dominated the headlines and many of our educational conversations. How are educators and schools supposed to adjust to the reality that computer platforms and robots can perform tasks typically reserved for intelligent beings – us! Could AI help teachers engineer environments rich with inquiry? What are ways we might redesign assessments?  Perhaps we need to revisit a few historical lessons to help manage change. With a clear sense of who we are, and the service we provide, perhaps we can heed Bowie’s warning and look at technology and change with a little less trepidation and a lot more confidence. 

2. Building the Capacity of Teacher Leaders and Learners
Luke Spielman and Stephanie Blue, Mukwonago School District

In schools, the most impactful and lasting changes stem from teacher leadership. Teachers are in the best position to understand the needs of their students and can drive meaningful improvements in the classroom and beyond. In this session, we will share the steps our school has taken to build teacher leaders and learners through establishing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), developing teacher leadership capacity, and systems designed to support ongoing professional growth. One key initiative has been creating new teacher leadership teams to amplify teacher voices and enhance collaboration across departments. We've cultivated a culture of shared leadership and continuous learning by empowering teachers to take on leadership roles. This session will highlight actionable strategies for fostering teacher leadership, instituting leadership teams, and developing systems that support ongoing learning and growth in your school community.

3. Creating a Positive School Climate: Building Powerful Teams for Tier 2 Behavior Support
Yaribel Rodriguez, AWSA

This session is tailored for principals seeking effective strategies to address Tier 2 behaviors through a culturally responsive lens. By fostering inclusive problem-solving approaches, educators can create supportive environments that empower both students and staff. Join us as we explore practical techniques for forming powerful teams dedicated to supporting student and educator success. Through examples, case studies, and discussions, participants will gain insights into reducing disciplinary incidents and the need for intensive supports.

4. Legislative Update
Dee Pettack, SAA
Dee will provide an overview of the Legislative issues of most importance to secondary school leaders.

5. Energy Leadership: Keeping Educators Motivated in a Challenging Socio-Political Climate
Tammy Gibbons, AWSA
What does it take to keep educators motivated when every corner of their world and life may present obstacles and perceived barriers to student impact?  This session will focus on leading a school community that energizes one another, sees change as an opportunity, and focuses on thriving, not just surviving.