Student Support as a School Value​

What if, instead of seeing support as something only “struggling” students get, we saw support as a systemic feature that ensures all students are seen, heard, affirmed, and appreciated for who they are? What if, instead of making student support the exclusive domain of psychologists, counselors, and learning specialists, we expected and empowered all staff to contribute to students’ success? What if, instead of assuming support professionals will provide all aspects of care, we both eased their burden and elevated their expertise, recognizing them as essential leaders within the school? In short, what if student support were not only a program and a position but also a community value? In this highly interactive session, we’ll explore what values are, how student support can be a value everyone brings to their practice, and what we make possible when student support becomes a value that defines the school community.​

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Reclaiming and Sustaining Equity and Inclusion as School Values

Instead of only treating equity and inclusion as standalone programs, we can also make them defining qualities of everyday teaching and learning. Instead of only assigning DEI work to a dedicated office or a single coordinator, we can also expect and empower all educators to build schools where every student belongs and thrives. Instead of relying only on initiatives that can be cut, we can embed equity and inclusion into instructional design, professional collaboration, and decision-making — so they become inseparable from how schools operate. Whether you’re reclaiming equity and inclusion in the face of restrictions or sustaining this work in an evolving landscape, the key is to shift from initiatives to embedded practice. This highly interactive session will explore what it means to make equity and inclusion defining values of a school community, how they can be enacted through instructional design and day-to-day interactions, and what becomes possible when schools commit to equitable and inclusive learning​

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Emotions Are Everywhere: Designing Instruction So Students Honor and Learn From Their Feelings

“Cheer up.” “Chill out.” “Calm down.” Our language is full of expressions that tell us we should control or change how we feel. Even when we say “it’s OK to be sad” or “you have every right to be angry,” we imply that these emotions are allowed but not ideal. What if we were to honor the full range of students’ emotions wherever they are? In this session, we’ll learn a protocol that helps students notice their own emotions, name the values those emotions are connected to, and choose actions in accordance with those values. After exploring some of the messages students receive about their feelings and learning the protocol by trying it ourselves, we’ll explore how to use it in academic classes so students can bring their values to their learning and experience a greater sense of vitality at school no matter how they feel.

 

Instructional Leadership for Student Engagement
Authentic engagement means building a fulfilling relationship with someone or something important. For students, authentic engagement means building fulfilling relationships with the content, their work, and each other. The teacher’s role is to design instruction such that students can build those relationships and make school a source of meaning, vitality, and community in their lives. This session will first summarize ten elements of instructional design that invite and enable students to connect authentically to the content, their work, and each other. Then, we will explore some of the ways instructional leaders can invite and enable teachers to develop an engagement pedagogy. Participants will leave with a set of tools and protocols they can use to promote student engagement in their schools.​​