Explore how newer AP course offerings create meaningful entry points into rigorous, accelerated learning while helping students prepare for life after graduation. Courses highlighted include AP Seminar/AP Seminar English 10, AP Business with Personal Finance, AP Precalculus, and AP Cybersecurity.
Participants will gain practical strategies to expand AP programs, strengthen alignment to graduation pathways, and equip students with the career-ready skills needed for success beyond high school.
What happens when creativity becomes the heartbeat of instruction? In this engaging and practical breakout session, participants will explore how arts integration can transform student engagement, strengthen academic achievement, and build a thriving school culture. Through real classroom examples, interactive experiences, and ready-to-use strategies, attendees will discover how the arts can move beyond "specials" and become a powerful tool for deeper learning across all content areas. Whether you are a classroom teacher, instructional coach, arts specialist, or school leader, this session will leave participants inspired with creative ideas, collaborative strategies, and practical next steps for bringing learning to life in your school.
Being the District Testing Coordinator is a heavy lift. With new assessments and assessment monitoring coming at us each year, having a system for tracking who was supposed to and who successfully attempted an assessment is paramount to having a successful testing season. Determining eligibilities, managing students expecting to test as students continuously move into and out of the district, and ensuring you reach 95% tested for accountability purposes can all be accomplished by pulling data from the TIDE platform, feeding the dataset into R, and producing an interactive Google Sheet. These sheets allow for tracking of student enrollment along with test completion and produces an overall snapshot of percent tested as we move throughout the testing windows. Completing these sheets at the district level saves schools time and people hours during testing.
District Testing Coordinator, Springdale Public School District
I am the district testing coordinator for Springdale. This is my 21st year in education. Having started out in math education Missouri, I came to Arkansas to attend grad school and never left. I have experience working with accountability models and large data sets.
Starting the school year as a new administrator can feel overwhelming, especially when navigating the complexities of special education. In this session, experienced special education leaders from across the state will share the most critical information new administrators need from day one. From understanding the process of referral to dismissal and everything in between, participants will gain practical guidance to ensure compliance and support student success. This session is designed to build administrator confidence, strengthen decision-making, and set new administrators up for a successful start in leading special education programs.
School improvement efforts are most effective when teachers understand the "why" behind the work and have access to systems that make data meaningful and actionable. This session is designed for principals, assistant principals, and instructional leaders seeking practical strategies for building staff capacity around school improvement initiatives.
Participants will explore how school leaders can increase teacher understanding of state accountability systems by translating complex accountability measures into clear, relevant information that connects directly to classroom practice. Presenters will share strategies used to help teachers develop ownership of school performance goals and understand their role in improving student outcomes.
Additionally, attendees will learn about systems developed to monitor, analyze, and discuss student achievement data throughout the school year. The session will highlight processes for tracking student growth and proficiency, facilitating data conversations, and aligning intervention efforts with school improvement priorities. Through real-world examples from a large junior high school, participants will gain practical tools for connecting accountability, data analysis, and instructional decision-making in ways that strengthen teacher efficacy and improve ATLAS results.
How can we anchor our teaching in innovation to ensure every adolescent learner succeeds? This session introduces the Arkansas Adolescent Literacy Intervention, an approach rooted in the internationally recognized Strategic Instruction Model (SIM). Operating on the foundational principle that all students can achieve when provided with research-validated tools, SIM offers a powerful framework for transformative teaching and learning. Participants will explore an overview of innovative strategies and routines designed to boost student engagement, academic growth, and overall success. We will focus on two core components: *Content Enhancement Routines: Discover teacher-focused tools designed for planning and leading learning for a diverse group of students, ensuring content is clear, accessible, and memorable. *Learning Strategies: Explore student-focused strategies that teach students how to learn, equipping them with essential skills for acquiring, storing, and expressing knowledge independently.
Additionally, we will introduce Xtreme Reading, a spiral curriculum designed to help close reading gaps, and discuss its correlation to the Science of Reading.
You will leave this session able to identify specific teaching routines and strategies to enhance literacy and academic success for students in grades 4-12.
Join us to discover how Arkansas’s own SIM powerhouse, the Mashburn Center for Learning at the University of Central Arkansas, supports educators in implementing these evidence-based practices to meet the needs of all learners. Partner with us to explore how to equip your students with the strategic tools they need to thrive and leave with a comprehensive overview of routines and strategies you could learn to implement in your classroom.
Explore how Advanced Placement resources can support subject acceleration and advanced coursework readiness. Participants will explore how AP formative and summative data, provided through AP Classroom and AP Instructional Planning reports, can be used to monitor student progress and guide instructional adjustments. Participants will also explore how AP Potential can be used to identify students for future accelerated coursework through AP.
Participants will leave the session ready to create action plans for using AP data to impact student outcomes.
Starting the school year as a new administrator can feel overwhelming, especially when navigating the complexities of special education. In this session, experienced special education leaders from across the state will share the most critical information new administrators need from day one. From understanding the process of referral to dismissal and everything in between, participants will gain practical guidance to ensure compliance and support student success. This session is designed to build administrator confidence, strengthen decision-making, and set new administrators up for a successful start in leading special education programs.
Conway High School Principal, Conway Public Schools
Dr. Katti Worley has dedicated 15 years of service to the students, staff, and families of Conway Public Schools, building a career centered on instructional leadership, organizational growth, and a steadfast commitment to student success. She began her career at Conway Junior High... Read More →
