Full Schedule

Wednesday, February 10, 2027 

11:00am Convention Registration

12:00-4:30pm Pre-Convention Session: Secondary Principals Legal Seminar
12:00-1:15

Legal Update and Q&A: Hot Topics for School Principals

Malina Piontek, AWSA Retained Legal Counsel & Kara Conley, WASB

In this engaging and practical session, attorneys Malina Piontek and Kara Conley will break down the latest "hot topics" affecting Wisconsin public schools, including key agency guidance, regulatory developments, and noteworthy court decisions. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of their legal responsibilities and strategies for navigating complex challenges in school administration. This session will also include dedicated time for any legal questions you have related to your daily work in public schools. Bring your questions! Malina and Kara will be prepared to tackle whatever question you throw their way!

1:15-1:45
Fund WI Public Schools: The Lawsuit That Could Change Everything

Julie Underwood, Dean Emerita UW Madison School of Education, Jeff Mandell & Rachel Snyder, Law Forward 

Wisconsin PTA is the named plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit filed in February 2026 by Law Forward and WEAC against the Wisconsin State Legislature. The lawsuit alleges that the Legislature is failing its constitutional obligation to adequately fund public schools — and that years of underfunding have shifted the burden of paying for public education onto local taxpayers.  Come learn about the lawsuit and its implications for Wisconsin education.

1:45 Break

2:00-3:15
Suspensions, Expulsions, and Special Education

Tess O’Brien-Heinzen, Renning Lewis & Lacy

The procedural requirements for suspensions and expulsions can be tricky—especially for students in special education. Join Tess O’Brien for a practical overview of key suspension and expulsion requirements for all students. As an added bonus, Tess will share her current top 10 list of things administrators need to know now about students with disabilities. Attendees should come ready to learn and participate!

3:20-4:30
Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children?

Brian Goodman, Boardman & Clark

Join attorney Brian Goodman for an interactive session covering the most pressing legal issues involving students. Attendees will navigate issues integrating the new boundary invasion, grooming, and mandatory reporting laws.  In addition, the session will provide practical insight for navigating LGBTQ+ student issues including staff and student use of chosen pronouns plus bathroom and locker room use.  At the same time, administrators need to monitor for bullying and harassment against LGBTQ+ students need to be addressed. The goal is to comply with all legal requirements while respecting the dignity of students.  

1:00-4:30pm Pre-Convention Session

1. Rethinking Teacher Supervision, Coaching and Evaluation
   Kim Marshall, Author of The Marshall Memo

The traditional teacher evaluation process rarely improves teaching and learning, consumes large amounts of educators’ time (for principals, about 17 full days a year), and contributes to an uneasy, top-down dynamic between supervisors and teachers. A better approach, Kim Marshall believes: short, frequent, systematic classroom visits, each followed by a face-to-face coaching conversation, which is then is summarized in a brief narrative. Mini-observations, along with other points of contact, are summed up in an end-of-year rubric evaluation, with teacher input. This process takes about the same amount of time as traditional evaluations but is far more effective at building trust and continuously improving teaching and learning. The details: 

• To get an accurate sense of daily reality in classrooms, visits need to be: 

1. Frequent (about once a month) and short (10-15 minutes) 

2. Systematic (sampling different parts of lessons, times of day, and student groups) 

3. Unannounced (essential to accurate sampling and authentic feedback)

• Administrators need to have a good “eye” for instruction, which means being: 

4. Curious, low-tech, and humble 

5. Perceptive about instruction and able to focus on what’s most important 

6. Cognizant of the big picture – unit and lesson plans and each teacher’s improvement goals 

• To make a difference, the follow-up with teachers needs to have these elements: 

7. Brief face-to-face conversations with each teacher after each mini-observation 

8. Courageously addressing mediocre and ineffective practices 

9. Followed by a brief narrative summary of each conversation; with the teacher’s permission, an AI tool can summarize the conversation. 

10. Observations, conversations, and other points of contact are summed up at the end of the year in a detailed evaluation rubric, with teacher input. 

Throughout the workshop, Kim will use Poll Everywhere, videos, and small-group discussions to surface reactions and ideas.

2:00-4:00pm Pre-Convention Sessions

1.  Strategically Preparing For Student AI Use
   Danielle Bosanec, WASBO and Anthony Pizzo, Pewaukee SD
   We know students are likely using AI tools outside of school for academic assistance and more, so when is the right time to allow students access to AI tools inside of school?  The challenge to move beyond guidelines and toward access requires thoughtful exploration and implementation. In this interactive session, participants will examine an emerging high school case study that explores early decisions, lessons learned, and questions that surfaced when students began using AI tools. Participants will assess their own school or district’s readiness for student AI use and explore how an AI Blueprint can help align instructional purpose, student expectations, staff readiness, ethics, and leadership decisions. Participants will leave with a clearer picture of where their organization is today, the critical questions that each community needs to answer, and next steps for moving forward strategically.       
    

2. Planning for Your Retirement
   Joel Craven, Astraios Financial
   This session will provide information on the three legs of a solid retirement: the WI Retirement System, Social Security and personal savings (e.g., Roth, 403(b) plans, etc.). The session will also cover what educators should know about putting savings to good use and public service loan forgiveness. Come with your questions and leave better prepared for your future. 

5:00pm Welcome Reception Sponsored by Fenworks

Kim Marshall, a former Boston Public Schools teacher, principal, and central-office curriculum director, now coaches principals, gives workshops and courses on school leadership, and consults with schools, often on teacher evaluation, time management, and curriculum unit design. He publishes the weekly Marshall Memo, www.marshallmemo.com summarizing best practices from 60 publications, and is the author of Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation (3rd edition, Jossey-Bass 2024).

10:30 am Concurrent Sessions Round 1

1. Leveraging Disciplinary Literacy for Whole High School Improvement
Chad Harnisch, Lynn Frick, Sauk Prairie SD
Sauk Prairie High School has used a building-wide focus on disciplinary literacy to create a lever every staff member can push on simultaneously to increase student academic growth (40th percentile in growth in 2021-22 to 89th percentile in 2024-25). Join us for an engaging and interactive exploration of how you could get your welding instructor and your AP Literature teacher pulling in the same direction.

2. From Gaps to Access: What Leaders Must do Differently
Yaribel Rodriguez, AWSA Director of Urban Leadership

Closing achievement gaps across race, ability, socioeconomic status, and language is often framed as needing more interventions, more

programs, or more time. In reality, the greatest opportunity lies in strengthening Tier 1 core instruction. Using case studies, research and local

examples, leaders will identify the small, high-leverage shifts in core instruction and schoolwide practices that produce disproportionate gains

for all students, accelerate learning, increase teacher efficacy and most importantly close gaps.

3. Making MLSS Matter: Turning Systems Into Student Success
Jenna Taylor, Franklin SD

In this session, we will examine how our 6th-grade MLSS team analyzed student data to identify the crucial 5th-to-6th grade transition as a key priority area. You’ll learn how our team utilized instructional rounding, by visiting each elementary feeder school, to observe practices firsthand, gather actionable insights, and align cross-grade expectations. We will highlight how this collaborative MLSS process directly strengthened our Tier 1 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) framework, ensuring every incoming student experiences a seamless transition into middle school.

4. Party of One: Mastering the "Singleton" PLC
Stephanie Leonard, AWSA District and School Leadership Consultant
School leaders know the value of collaborative learning communities, but supporting "singleton" educators, teachers who are a party of one in their subject area, requires a nuanced approach. From vertical skill alignment and interdisciplinary teams to content-neutral PD facilitation, this session will provide a variety of actionable tools for school leaders to review and identify for use.
Target Audience: PK-12 Principals, New Secondary Leaders

5. From Initiative to Impact: The Systems Paradox
Jacob Hunter, Poynette SD
Strong systems are only effective when they become part of how a school operates every day. In this interactive session, middle and high school leaders will explore practical ways to build systems that staff understand, value, and use consistently. Through real-world examples and collaboration, participants will examine how clear expectations, shared ownership, communication, and ongoing reflection can turn good ideas into sustainable practices. Leaders will leave with actionable strategies for creating systems that strengthen instruction, support staff, engage families, and ultimately improve student outcomes.

11:45am Luncheon and Principal of the Year Ceremony (Lunch sponsored by Modern Classrooms Project)

12:45pm Dessert with Exhibitors

1:15 pm Concurrent Sessions Round 2

1. Building Distributed Ownership That Turns School Improvement Into Daily Practice
Brian Cox, Verona SD
Sustainable school improvement is a collective endeavor. Principals play a critical role in establishing vision, creating conditions for success, and aligning resources, but lasting improvement is strengthened when leadership, ownership, and decision-making are cultivated throughout the organization. Using Verona Area High School as a case study, this session will explore how a comprehensive high school has strengthened its capacity for continuous improvement by building distributed leadership, clarifying ownership, aligning structures and resources, and creating meaningful opportunities for staff to lead. Participants will examine evidence that helps schools understand where they are, surface assumptions that may influence improvement efforts, and consider how professional learning, meetings, budgets, and leadership structures can work together in service of shared priorities. Through reflection and practical application, participants will identify the assets already present in their schools, consider opportunities to further develop leadership capacity, and explore ways to strengthen the connection between improvement priorities and daily practice. Participants will leave with practical tools and an action plan to strengthen distributed ownership and build systems that enable school improvement to thrive beyond any one individual.

2. High Impact Leadership Practices: Reflect on the Research, Return on the Investment Back Home
     Joe Schroeder, AWSA

John Hattie is a globally recognized researcher who describes the impact of over 250 influences on student learning. Typically, the focus of his work is on teaching practice. However, in this session, we will focus on the leadership practices that Hattie’s meta-analysis and others show have the highest effect size on student learning. This session will help you gauge your own practices alongside these top few and leave with approaches for bringing them to life powerfully in your school.

3. HR for School Principals: Balancing Legal Compliance With Daily Leadership
Brian Grabarski , Waunakee SD and Julie Grotophorst, Greendale SD

John Hattie is a globally recognized researcher who describes the impact of over 250 influences on student learning. Typically, the focus of his work is on teaching practice. However, in this session, we will focus on the leadership practices that Hattie’s meta-analysis and others show have the highest effect size on student learning. This session will help you gauge your own practices alongside these top few and leave with approaches for bringing them to life powerfully in your school.

4. Justice is in the Details of Teaching and Learning: Investigating Ways to Increase Growth and Achievement in Secondary Literacy
Adam Broten, Sheboygan SD

The research is clear: readers grow more and achieve more when they receive routine practice with complex, grade-level text. Our students are deserving of us "teaching up" to the grade-level standards, and not "modifying down" to less rigorous tasks. On the surface, this can appear challenging if teachers are unfamiliar with the appropriate scaffolds to use. In this session, we'll investigate the scaffolds that support grade-level reading at the whole-text, sentence, and word levels. These Tier I strategies can be used with students who read below or above grade level. Building leaders will learn these scaffolds and consider practical ways to implement them in their buildings. Our presenter has worked with numerous organizations, districts, principals, and educators across the country to facilitate pedagogy that supports K-12 literacy. This content aligns with Wisconsin's Elementary Act 20 initiatives and brings structured literacy alive in secondary classrooms. 

5. From Professional Learning to Professional Practice: Building the Conditions for Instructional Change
Michelle Simpson, South Shore SD
Effective professional learning goes far beyond any one professional development session. As leaders, we get to create the systems and structures that turn professional learning into improved instructional practice and ultimately improved student outcomes. Yet this is not easy when you are responsible for leading learning for teachers and content areas across grades 4K-12 while also balancing everything else on a principal’s plate. In this session, we will explore practical strategies leaders can implement to build the conditions for sustained instructional change and meaningful impact on student learning.

2:30 pm Beverage Break with Exhibitors

2:55 pm Concurrent Sessions Rounds 3

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.

• Micro-Touch Leadership: Simple High Leverage Routines to Shift Staff Culture
  Jessica Gierny, Germantown SD
  Transforming school climate doesn't take hours of professional development. Micro-moments of intentional connection can make a macro-difference in your culture. Learn simple strategies that build trust, boost morale, and increase visibility without adding hours to your workday. Walk away with an actionable framework for non-evaluative check-ins, handwritten appreciation, structured peer shoutouts, and a strategic classroom visibility plan you can start on Monday.

• What Happens to Your School's Improvement Work When the Principal Isn't in the Room?
  Brian Cox, Verona SD
  Sustainable school improvement is strengthened when leadership, ownership, and decision-making are cultivated throughout the organization. Using Verona Area High School as a case study, this interactive session will explore how distributed leadership, shared accountability, strategic alignment, and intentional structures can transform improvement priorities into daily practice. Participants will examine the assets within their own leadership systems, identify opportunities to expand ownership and leadership capacity, and explore how structures, resources, and professional learning can be aligned to support shared priorities. Participants will leave with practical tools they can put into action immediately to strengthen distributed leadership and build organizational capacity for continuous improvement.

• The 20 Minute Learning Staff Meeting
  Michelle Simpson, South Shore SD
  Time is finite, and every minute we have students and staff in our school matters. As school leaders, we have a powerful tool to improve instructional practices and impact student outcomes: our staff meetings. In this fast-paced session, we will explore how to leverage your staff meetings to keep student and staff learning moving forward in pursuit of your school goals - even if you only have twenty minutes. Whether you are the leader of a small 4K-12 school or a large high school, you will walk away with strategies you can turn around and use at your next staff meeting.

• The 20 Minutes I will Never Get Back
  Tom Sauve, Elmwood SD
  What began as a simple weekly gathering evolved into one of the most impactful culture-building strategies in our school. Discover how intentional Morning Meetings use storytelling, student voice, celebration, and leadership to create connection, reinforce expectations, and inspire students. You'll leave with practical ideas and a framework you can begin using next week. 

• Leading With Intentionality: Turning Instructional Priorities Into Practice
  Luke Spielman, Mukwonago SD
  How we choose to use instructional time sends a powerful message about what we value as a school. This session will explore how school leaders can identify and clarify instructional priorities, translate those priorities into clear classroom expectations, and evaluate whether they are evident in practice. Hear about how we've established common instructional priorities and classroom expectations designed to create greater consistency across classrooms, strengthen the student learning experience, and improve student outcomes.

2. Who Do You Aspire to Hire?
Tammy Gibbons, AWSA Director of Professional Learning
Hiring is a routine responsibility for school leaders, yet in an era of limited applicant pools and uneven candidate quality, the challenge is building strong, effective teams that truly serve all students. A 2016 High Impact Leadership study found that only 48% of leaders are perceived as driving change and innovation, and just 44% are seen as developing talent for competitive advantage. This session will explore essential principles for thoughtfully planning and executing a hiring process that ensures the candidates you select deliver on the promises made in the interview.

3. From Isolation to Collective Efficacy: Learning Together to Impact All Students
Yaribel Rodriguez, AWSA Director of Urban Leadership
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. From Systems to Students: Comprehensive Approaches to Middle School Success
Nick Ryan and Drew Halesma, Burlington SD
Karcher Middle School leaders and support staff share how compassion has shaped comprehensive systems, strong collaboration, and proactive Tier 1 strategies. This session will highlight successes in character education, social-emotional learning, and targeted student supports, demonstrating how intentional structures create meaningful outcomes for students and staff in terms of attendance, engagement and student growth. Karcher was recognized as a 2025 Blue Ribbon School for Exemplary Gap Closing.

5.  The Principal's Playbook: Strategic Leadership in Education-Based Athletics
Stephanie Houser, WIAA Executive Director
As a building principal, your leadership shapes how athletics drive school culture. This session provides practical tools to build an education-based athletic mission, establish a long-term strategic plan, and effectively support your athletic director. WIAA staff will share actionable strategies for navigating critical operational challenges, such hiring certified and volunteer coaches, managing athletic trainer shortages, and providing department professional development.  Attendees will gain clarity on key Association rules, including coaching contact guidelines and competitive balance initiatives. Using real-world examples, WIAA leadership will demystify the association’s democratic rule-making process, empowering principals to exercise their vote and shape statewide policy. Leave with the frameworks needed to manage risk, ensure compliance, and maximize the positive impact of interscholastic sports on your campus.

4:00 pm Female Leader's Reception

4:30 pm Reception Sponsored by Jostens

6:00 pm Joe Schroeder's Retirement Dinner (optional + additional fee)

After more than fourteen years of outstanding service to AWSA members, plus decades of service as a teacher, principal and superintendent, our dear friend, Dr. Joe Schroeder, has announced his plans to retire at the end of this school year.  This informal dinner will allow members to congratulate Joe and share perspectives on how he has positively impacted Wisconsin education.

Friday, February 12, 2027

7:15am Optional Fellowship Breakfast

School administrators support the boundless needs of those they lead and serve. But who supports them – especially in ways tending to the heart and spirit? Join AWSA’s Associate Executive Director, Joe Schroeder, and administrative colleagues from across Wisconsin in this Christian fellowship breakfast option that, now in its sixth year, is proving for many to be an annual highlight of encouragement and assistance for the next leg of the leadership and life journey.

8:00am Breakfast Program: "I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me That!" - Kindhearted Considerations From an Old Hand
  Joe Schroeder, AWSA Associate Executive Director

For over three decades, I have been privileged to work across Wisconsin as either a school/district leader or in support of folks doing such work. Through these experiences, I have witnessed consistent patterns in leaders who can find themselves “stuck” when facing a given challenge, doing the best they know in a demanding role with a high learning curve. In this session, I will share both (A) the common developmental dilemmas experienced among leaders as they move through stages of an impactful career and (B) a bank of key resources/approaches that I have gathered over time which can be employed to get “unstuck” and bridge those key developmental challenges well. Regardless of your current career stage, this session aims to accelerate your personal resourcefulness in anticipating and meeting future challenges while also equipping you to grow the capacity and resilience of those around you similarly.

9:15 am Concurrent Sessions Round 4

1.  Better Together: How Two Principals are Building One Secondary Experience
Jessica Gieryn and David Smith, Germantown SD
Students experience the entire school system, not just their individual building. How should that shape the way principals lead? Learn how a middle school and high school principal intentionally partnered to create a seamless secondary experience for students, staff, and families. Through shared leadership, aligned expectations, collaborative planning, and consistent communication, they built systems that strengthened transitions, improved relationships, and fostered a unified culture across grades 6–12. Participants will leave with practical tools, meeting structures, communication templates, and collaborative strategies they can immediately adapt in their own districts.

2. Shaping the SAA Legislative Agenda: A Two-Way Legislative Update
Cody Lundquist, SAA Director of Government Relations
Join SAA Director of Government Relations Cody Lundquist for an overview of the upcoming SAA’s 2027–2029 Evidence-Based Policy Agenda, and a conversation on how we bring your voice to state and federal lawmakers. Moving beyond a standard legislative update, this session launches a statewide engagement strategy built on real-time feedback from practicing school leaders. Hear what is on the horizon in Madison, share what your administrative team is experiencing on the ground, and help align our statewide policy priorities with your local realities.

3. "I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me That!" Exploring and Applying Impactful Tools and Approaches to Common Leadership
Joe Schroeder, AWSA Associate Executive Director

In this session, which extends the previous breakfast general session learning, you will explore actionable ways to move forward amid real-world challenges that can stall leadership growth and impact. Building on decades of experience, Joe unpacks common developmental dilemmas and guides participants through a bank of relevant and practical strategies, tools, and resources to address them. Attendees will engage with these resources to build personal capacity, improve decision-making, and effectively support others. Overall, this interactive session will equip you with tangible methods to get “unstuck” and apply new learning directly to daily work across a host of common leadership challenges.

4. Pardon the Interruption
Tammy Gibbons, AWSA Director of Professional Development
Leadership is filled with constant interruptions, but what if those moments were opportunities rather than obstacles? In this session, participants will reflect on how daily disruptions can serve as catalysts for growth and service in schools. Drawing on 2022 research showing that 73% of people feel overwhelmed by interruptions, we’ll examine the biggest productivity distractors and strategies for setting boundaries that balance focus with meaningful connection.

Following a 36-year career in education, Kevin recently retired after 14 years as Superintendent of the Oostburg School District. Oostburg raised its ACT scores from the 44th percentile (2008-2015) to the 95th percentile (2016-2025) while being among the highest districts in both attainment and growth in our state. For the past ten years, he has partnered with AWSA as a SAIL Academy Coach, working with school districts to strengthen leadership practices and improve student outcomes. Kevin is passionate about helping schools align purpose and practice, with a particular interest in how schools serve students who receive specialized support. Outside of education, he enjoys SCUBA diving, biking, hobby farming, and spending time with family.  Kevin and his wife, LuAnn, live just outside Oostburg, where their children and grandchildren are teaching them as much about life and learning as his more-than-three-decade career in education ever could.

11:40am Adjourn