Assessment

You have a vision for student achievement. Now it’s time to take action. During this workshop, you will discover how to foster rich, rigorous, and authentic learning experiences through an effective system of standards-based learning.

Bridget Cahill was a middle school teacher in Westminster Public Schools in Boulder, Colorado, before becoming a leader at the district level. There, she planned and implemented competency-based instruction in science, literacy, and English language development.

Rea Smith is an elementary mathematics and science curriculum specialist in northwestern Arkansas. She passionately supports the work of professional learning communities with a focus on common assessments to improve student and teacher learning.

Jonathan G. Vander Els specializes in supporting teachers and administrators in schools and districts across the country in developing, sustaining, and enhancing structures to support all learners.

Given the complexity of today’s educational landscape, it might feel as if we have to choose between assessing our students or supporting their social-emotional wellness. However, when we assess with intention and care, and use the results to support intellectual needs while also attending to social and emotional needs, we don’t have to choose!

With more than 35 years of experience as an educator, Peter Marshall most recently served as a school administrator and in a central office position as the principal for leadership and staff development.

Schools that truly want to “create lifelong learners” must understand the influence that their actions in the classroom have on realizing this mission. Creating lifelong learners depends on more than good intentions; it depends on intentional actions designed to encourage students to realize that they have the capacity to move their own learning forward regardless of life circumstances or experiences. While this truth is likely something that most teachers already believe, integrating practices that build student self-efficacy into daily instruction remains elusive in most classrooms. Creating lifelong learners happens only when teachers move from knowing about the importance of student self-efficacy to doing something about it.

Gain tools and protocols for designing quality assessments that enable teams to collect meaningful data and respond appropriately with interventions and enrichments.

During this workshop, teams of teachers, counselors, building administrators, and district administrators will study four distinctive leadership behaviors proven to promote positive change: (1) communication, (2) trust building, (3) professional capacity, and (4) universal accountability.

Dr. Jill Kind is the director of learning and achievement for Osseo Area Schools in a diverse suburb of Minneapolis. Her areas of focus are curriculum, assessment and standards-based instruction, and grading at the secondary or system levels.