Todd Nesloney (@techninjatodd), author of Kids Deserve It, will open our conference on Wednesday with "Building a Powerful School Culture." Todd is the Principal/Lead Learner at a PreK-5 school in TX. Todd has been recognized by the White House as a Connected Educator "Champion of Change", the National School Board Association as one of the "20 to Watch" in Education, and by the BAMMYs as the "National Elementary Principal of the Year" among many other accolades. Todd is passionate about education and innovation. Todd was a classroom teacher for 7 years before taking the leap straight to campus principal in Navasota, TX. Todd took over a struggling campus, brought in a brand new staff, and used creative ideas to transform a school culture. Todd also co-hosts two iTunes Top Rated podcast series called "Sparks in the Dark" with Travis Crowder and "Kids Deserve It" with Adam Welcome.

Dr. Clay Cook (@ClayCook_phd) will kick us off on Thursday morning with "Going Beyond Why Awareness of Trauma is Important: Focusing on the What and How of Integrating Trauma-Informed Practices." In this session, we will go beyond the awareness that trauma negatively impacts student development and functioning and go deeper: we'll dive in to what schools can do to integrate trauma-informed practices and procedures into their school. Dr. Cook is the John and Nancy Peyton Faculty Fellow in Child and Adolescent Wellbeing at the University of Minnesota in the School Psychology Program. Clay has extensive research and practical experiences involving the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support to promote children's mental and behavioral health. In addition to his research, he consults with school systems throughout the US to integrate a continuum of social, emotional, and behavioral supports to enhance student academic and life success.

10:00-11:30am | 1 CEU | $20 – Includes free books and resources!

Presented by 2018 National Distinguished Principal Curtis Slater and a team of principals, this pre-conference session will focus on useful tools for integrating social-emotional learning into literacy in your school! Schools are an excellent setting through which to promote mental health and well-being, and educators are well-positioned to provide related instruction and support in our schools. However, educators often report that they lack the knowledge, skills, and confidence to deliver social-emotional learning instruction and to support students who struggle with mental health challenges. At this pre-conference session, we are going to share strategies that are working around the state and work together to collaborate around how literacy can help support social-emotional learning for your students, staff, and families. Free books and resources will be provided by Scholastic, and 1 additional CEU will be granted to participants. More information coming soon! 

Does your school have a phenomenal makerspace that you'd like to share with your colleagues? We'd love to have you join our Makerspace Showcase! Please complete this form to be notified when more information and sign-up is available.

Our exhibitors made our conference a huge success! You can still check out our list of exhibitors and get in touch for great resources, products, and FUN for your school!