2026 AAEA Summer Conference

Math leaders face a daily challenge: supporting stretched teachers while meeting the needs of every student. In Mayflower Public Schools, this sparked a shift from one-size-fits-all instruction to a more personalized, student-centered, mastery-based approach.

In this session, co-presented with The Modern Classrooms Project, district leaders will share how they are equipping educators with aligned resources and coaching to move beyond lecture toward targeted, responsive support. Participants will hear Mayflower's story, gain practical strategies, and see how this partnership is driving stronger engagement and measurable growth in math outcomes.

This presentation will examine the journey undertaken by stakeholders at Leverett Elementary School during the 2025–2026 school year to improve school culture and climate while increasing teacher retention and satisfaction through the use of the DILTS Nested Levels of Learning framework.

School systems often implement initiatives aimed at improving culture without achieving sustained success. This session will explore a more intentional, research-based approach by highlighting the strategies, processes, and lessons learned throughout this initiative. Participants will gain insight into the multiple factors that influence school culture and climate and learn how school leaders can make a meaningful impact through purposeful planning and implementation.

The presentation will provide an overview of the DILTS model, share practical examples of how the framework can be applied and adapted across various K–12 settings, and present data demonstrating its positive effects on school culture, staff satisfaction, and retention.

This session will highlight how administrators in the Searcy School District successfully designed, built, and implemented after-school tutoring programs as a Tier III Response to Intervention (RTI) support for students requiring intensive academic assistance. Participants will gain insight into the systems, structures, and leadership decisions that made the program effective and sustainable.

The session will explore both quantitative and qualitative evidence of success, including measurable student growth and stakeholder feedback. Additionally, attendees will learn how district leaders developed strong partnerships with staff, families, and community stakeholders to ensure consistent participation and long-term impact.

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.

Based on a research study of principals whose schools were recognized for academic growth, this session focuses on the leadership moves that some Arkansas principals are making to lead schools that demonstrate the highest academic growth on end of year assessments. Interviews with principals, examination of data, and analysis of leadership practices points to a few fundamental principles and practical strategies that consistently make a difference for student academic growth.