2026 AAEA Summer Conference

In this session, Springdale School District's district leadership and communications director will present effective strategies to communicate with all stakeholders when significant events occur in a school or district. Participants will receive tools they can use when crisis events occur so leaders do not have to start from scratch while under significant pressure to act.

Recruiting and retaining a multigenerational staff starts with recognizing that each age group defines a “great place to work” differently. School and district teams today include brand‑new teachers, seasoned veterans, and everyone in between—a mix that becomes a real strength when leaders know how to harness it.

In this session, we will examine what attracts and keeps educators from different generations—an essential piece of today’s staffing puzzle. We will help you make sense of generational differences in a way that’s practical and relatable. You’ll explore what motivates each group, why certain communication styles clash, and how to turn those differences into opportunities for stronger teamwork. Finally, we’ll dig into everyday strategies for fostering collaboration so staff can work together more smoothly across PLCs, grade levels, and leadership teams.

The leadership ability of the principal or the superintendent determines the level of effectiveness of the school district or the building. You can improve your leadership and in so doing you can improve the effectiveness of the organization that you serve. We can blame funding, state laws, or demographics. But, the truth is that every problem is a leadership problem. We can improve our leadership and that is a choice. Do we own the failure? Or do we fix it? I will discuss The Leadership Challenge as the operating system and the Leadership Practices Inventory as the treatment. All of our students deserve the best. Let's choose to improve our leadership skills such that all of those whom we serve receive our very best.

Learn about the development of an in-house merit pay system with connections to instruction, professional growth, and VAM. Mena School District is thinking and working outside the box with educator growth, recruitment, and retention, all while maintaining a focus on student growth and outcomes.

Learn about the development of an in-house merit pay system with connections to instruction, professional growth, and VAM. Mena School District is thinking and working outside the box with educator growth, recruitment, and retention, all while maintaining a focus on student growth and outcomes.

The art of leadership is one that has to be developed.  As leaders in our District we must help develop the next generation of educational leaders.  This presentation will give you some ideas of how we do it in Siloam Springs that you can adapt to your district's needs.

District leaders navigate increasingly complex financial, legislative, and operational challenges. This fast-paced session will break down five of the most important finance topics impacting Arkansas K-12 schools right now, including the new State Captive Insurance Program, property tax pressures and assessment trends, shrinking or shifting enrollment patterns, and economic development incentives. Participants will gain practical insight into how these issues impact school systems across Arkansas.