2026 Great Ideas in Education Conference

2026 Great Ideas in Education Conference

7:00am CDT

Registration Eagle Ballroom Foyer

8:00am CDT

Continental Breakfast/Coffee Eagle Ballroom Foyer

9:00am CDT

At-Risk and IT support Eagle BallroomDr. Frank Harwood Literacy Summit Redbud A & BLaurie Curtis • Trina Spencer • Dr Dale Webster Mental Health Coalition Day Cypress A Safe and Secure Schools Redbud CJohn Calvert • School Bus Safety Unit

10:30am CDT

AM Break Promenade and Eagle Foyer

12:15pm CDT

Lunch Eagle Ballroom

2:45pm CDT

Break Promenade and Eagle Foyer

7:00am CDT

Registration/Breakfast Eagle Ballroom

8:00am CDT

General Session Ealge BallroomMitch Holthaus, Keynote Speaker

9:30am CDT

Cohort Collaboration that Supports Each System Redbud B 210Megan Storey-Kupersmith • Nicole Stevenson • Jean Rush PRISM (Partnership to Review and Improve Student Performance via Multiple Measures) Project Cypress B 209Julie Ewing At-Risk Accountability and Q & A Eagle BallroomDr. Frank Harwood Introducing the Computer Science Toolkit Maple 205Stephen King Discipline, not just IDEA Cypress A 209Steve Backman • Brian Dempsey Balanced, Developmentally Appropriate Assessment in Preschool: What It Looks Like in Practice Cedar 204Natalie McClane From Standards to Student Writing: A practical approach to aligning instruction to the KSDE ELA Writing Standards Birch 203Mary Lonker Establishing & Enhancing Work-Based Learning Experiences: Work-Based Learning K-12 (Awareness, Exploration and Career Preparation) Walnut 208Anthony Meals Youth Teacher Apprentice Program Redbud C 210Dr. Joel Gillaspie Beyond the Math Standard: Using PLDs to Drive Depth, Rigor, and Alignment Redbud A 210Amber Boyington • Samantha Wright • Jillian Kildow Tools, Tools, and more Tools to Align Physical Education and Health with the Four Fundamentals Osage 207?? Beyond the Label: Supporting Students with Dyslexia Through Strong Systems and Collaboration Oak 206Mandy Cundy • Katie Orr

10:30am CDT

Break Expo Hall

11:05am CDT

KESA Basics Redbud B 210Jean Rush From Data to Insight: Constructing a Balanced Assessment System Cypress B 209Julie Ewing At-Risk Accountability and Q & A Eagle Ballroom Stat Smart Onlline: Social Media, Social Engineering & AI Cypress A 209Ryan Kurtenbach Teaching Cybersecurity in the High School Maple 205 The Kansas Preschool and Kindergarten Guides Cedar 204Natalie McClane From Standards to Student Writing: A practical approach to aligning instruction to the KSDE ELA Writing Standards Birch 203Mary Lonker Connecting Literacy Across Disciplines. Osage 207Joyce Huser High-Quality Instruction and Balanced Assesment: How HGSS Strengthens the Four Fundamentals Oak 206Tina Ellsworth • Adam Topliff Science of Reading Licensure Requirements Redbud C 210Shane Carter Moving Beyond Procedures: Strategies for Mathematical Thinking Redbud A 210Todd Flory • Cherryl Delacruz • Jill Kildow Science AND the Science of Reading: Integrating Structured Literacy into Meaningful Science Learning Walnut 208

12:05pm CDT

Lunch Expo Hall

1:20pm CDT

Central Region Collaboration Redbud CMindy Bruce Collaboration by Cohort regions - Urban, Suburban, Private and Special Purpose Schools Redbud AJay Scott East Region Collaboration Redbud B 210Jean Rush West Region Collaboration Cypress AAmber Miller

2:15pm CDT

Break Expo Hall

2:50pm CDT

Implementation Science around School Improvement Osage 207 Focused Walkthroughs, Collective Impact: Aligning Practice Across Schools Cypress B 209Angela Dick • Billie Wallace • Jean Rush • Jay Scott Using Formative Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning Cedar 204Julie Ewing At-Risk Accountability and Q & A Eagle Ballroom Career and Technical Education: Good for Students, Good for Businesses, Good for Kansas Communities Maple 205Natalie Clark Making Thinking Visible: Teaching Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Through Explicit Writing Instruction Birch 203Mary Lonker Standards Alignment and Structured Literacy: How HGSS Strengthens the Four Fundamentals Oak 206Tina Ellsworth • Adam Topliff Registered Apprenticeships Redbud C 210Dr. Joel Gillaspie Beyond the Math Standard: Using PLDs to Drive Depth, Rigor, and Alignment Redbud A 210Samantha Wright • Amber Boyington • Jill Kildow From Vision to Reality: Selecting and Supporting High-Quality Science Instructional Materials Walnut 208Stephanie Alderman-Oler “Connecting the 4 Fundamentals: School Counselors Sharing Their Genius to Support Districts” Cypress A 209 The Structures in Structured Literacy Redbud B 210Laurie Curtis

3:55pm CDT

Connecting Literacy Across Disciplines. Osage 207Joyce Huser Building Students’ Intra- and Interpersonal Skills through High-Quality Instruction with Free Evidence-Based Curriculum and Professional Learning Redbud B 210Chris Cooper • Amy Gaumer-Erickson • Patricia Noonan • Jean Rush At-Risk Accountability and Q & A Eagle Ballroom Computational Thinking in Grades K-5: The Skillset for the 21st Century Maple 205Stephen King From Compliance to Capacity: What Districts and Schools Must Know About Serving Multilingual Learners Cedar 204Emily Scott High-Quality Instruction and Balanced Assesment: How HGSS Strengthens the Four Fundamentals Oak 206 Moving Beyond Procedures: Strategies for Mathematical Thinking Redbud A 210Todd Flory • Cherryl Delacruz "Making Sense of Kansas Science: Standards Alignment and Assessment " Walnut 208Stephanie Alderman-Oler “Connecting the 4 Fundamentals: School Counselors Sharing Their Genius to Support Districts” Cypress A 209 Structured Literacy Data Dives Birch 203Jeri Powers KEDS – Updates and Expectations for 2026-2027 School Year Cypress B 209Julie Cook • Christopher Fletcher • Jennifer Shaffer Stronger Systems, Improved Results: District–School Collaboration in Title I Redbud C 210Joe Jewett • Twyla Sprouse • Roxanne Zillinger

7:00am CDT

Breakfast Eagle Ballroom

8:00am CDT

What Does “Proficient” Really Mean? Understanding Performance Levels Cypress B 209Julie Ewing Introducing the Computer Science Toolkit Maple 205Stephen King Selecting High Quality Instructional Materials for Early Childhood Cedar 204Natalie McClane Every Teacher Is a Language Teacher: Practical Strategies for Supporting Multilingual Learners in Any Classroom Osage 207Emily Scott Stop Lowering the Text: Helping All Students Read Grade-Level Material Birch 203Mary Lonker Standards Alignment and Structured Literacy: How HGSS Strengthens the Four Fundamentals Oak 206Tina Ellsworth • Adam Topliff Electronic Portfolios for Measuring & Reflecting on Student Learning: AIR Developed Guide with Career Readiness Indicators Redbud B 210Kevin Bronson • Denise Lauber KEDS – Updates and Expectations for 2026-2027 School Year Cypress A 209Christopher Fletcher • Jennifer Shaffer Science of Reading -How to report your Seal of Literacy earners to the state Redbud C 210Leslie Bruton • Sarah Eaverson Technical Math Redbud A 210Samantha Wright

9:10am CDT

Panel Discussion - Balanced Assessment Redbud A 210 Panel Discussion - Quality Instruction Redbud C 210 Panel Discussion - Standards Alignment Cypress A 209 Panel Discussion - Structured Literacy Redbud B 210

10:15am CDT

Break Eagle Ballroom Foyer

10:30am CDT

General Session Eagle BallroomNew KSDE Commissioner