Saturday Program

Using Learning Progressions to Accelerate Mathematics Learning

Facilitator:
 

Erma Anderson is a former high school physics and mathematics teacher and Albert Einstein Distinguished Fellow in the United States Senate. She was a Senior Program Officer with the National Research Council assisting in the development of the National Science Education Standards and a Christa McAuliffe Fellow with the National Foundation for the Improvement of Education. She has worked with the National Science Teachers Association on several projects including, the Mentoring Initiative e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS), development of sciLINKS (www.sciLINKS.org <http://www.scilinks.org/> ) and Project Manager of Scope, Sequence and Coordination of Secondary School Science, a science curriculum reform project of NSTA. She was Associate Project Director for the Council for Basic Education’s Schools Around the World (www.s-a-w.org <http://www.s-a-w.org/> ) project, developing and implementing the Evidence to Excellence protocol and a series of professional development activities that use student work from nine participating countries to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. She worked with the Council in the writing of state and district curriculum frameworks and benchmarking of state standards to NAEP and Japanese Standards, and designing a tool for reviewing state science frameworks.  

She has considerable experience developing and facilitating workshops, on site and online with multiple national entities such as Educational Field Studies; National Institute of Medicine; United States Forestry Service; National Park Service, the Jason Project, Kidsnet, school districts, and states. Currently she is a Mathematics and Science consultant working with international schools on implementing the AERO Common Core Plus Mathematics Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. She also serves as Project Director of the Math Specialist in International Schools (MSIS) initiative. In the past fourteen years, she has facilitated conversations about the K to 12 math and science curriculum, instruction, and assessment in over 130 international schools. 

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Student Agency: Personalizing Pacing, Accountability and Assessment in Any Environment - PART I

Facilitators:

Juanjo Moreno's passion is education. He has been teaching for over 15 years, and has taught pretty much everything. His areas of expertise include classroom management, technology integration, incorporating students’ voices, and building relationships. As an educational leader for over 6 years, he gets to motivate, mentor, train, encourage, and work with colleagues who have greatly impacted his career and life. He loves learning new strategies to use in his classroom and as a leader.

Nola Heckmann is a passionate concept based educator with experience as a MS & HS science teacher, curriculum coordinator and instructional coach. She believes deeply in the power of pedagogy to transform lives and the responsibility of teachers to instill in every child self-belief to achieve greatly. Nola works to build students' conceptual understanding, personalize learning, and grow learner agency. A science geek, who loves all 3-dimensions of NGSS, the challenge of online learning & her family.

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Valuing Student Assets through Inclusive Language Policies

Session Code: S03
Date: Saturday October 2nd, 2021
Facilitators: Matt Hajdun & Esther Bettney, The Columbus School
Audience: Leadership, Top Administration and Language Development Teachers
Strand: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, Redefining Teaching & Learning

Description: 
As many international schools begin, or reinvest in, the call to engage in the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, one area that must be included in the conversation is that of linguistic equity. As we unpack the complex relationship between language, culture, and identity, we come to understand that the three truly cannot be separated. Therefore, deconstructing a school's language policy and beliefs is an essential part of the work around diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. In this workshop, we will explore a possible framework for developing a school language policy. We will discuss some of the critical questions facing international schools and explore the relationship between current research and how that may often conflict with stakeholder interests. By the end of this session, participants will leave with a checklist for reviewing/developing a school language policy and have begun the work of analyzing the current language ideologies at play within their schools.

Facilitators:

Matt Hajdun is the Assistant Director of Learning for Language Development at TCS in Medellín, Colombia. He has worked at international schools in Honduras, Brazil, Belgium, and Colombia as well as in the United States. Matt has worked as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, language learning teacher, and school leader. He has regularly facilitated learning experiences throughout Central and South America through Tri-Association, AMISA, and through partnerships with WIDA.

Esther Bettney has spent the past 15 years engaged in multilingual education in Central and South America, as a classroom teacher, school administrator, teacher educator, and educational researcher. Esther’s research explores how international schools engage with innovative approaches to language education by moving away from an “English-only” model to the implementation of equitable language policies and pedagogies. Esther is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Project Assistant with the WIDA International School Consortium and is currently based between Medellín, Colombia and Kingston, Canada.

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Flex Your Power: Personalized Pathways for Student Learning

Facilitator:
Jacqueline Kruger is the Secondary School Principal at the American Nicaraguan School. She first joined the ANS Faculty in 2007 teaching Middle School English and has served the community as a teacher, instructional coach and most recently in the Administration in an instructional leadership role.

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First connect the heart, then the mind will follow

Facilitators:
 

Paulina Sánchez de Aycinena - Inspired by the amazing process of learning, Paulina has been involved in the education world since 1997, where she found her true passion in education. Paulina is an American/Ecuadorian, who has lived in Guatemala for the last 25 years. She graduated from the American School of Quito and obtained her Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida at Gainesville, FL. She holds a Masters in Multidisciplinary Studies from Buffalo State University of New York. She is currently a High School Principal.

Waleska Pérez - Motivating for education and the lifelong process of learning. Eager to guide the students to find their path in their personal and professional life. 20 year of experience in the educational field. Psychologist with a Master Degree in Counseling and Mental Health and an Educational Psychologist certificate.

Sheila Escobedo - Ongoing learner, and always seeking for new opportunities for growing in the educational field. 25 years of experience in the education field. High School Assistant Principal. BA in School Management, and a Masters Degree in Education from Universidad del Altántico, Spain.

Betzabé Orenos - Passionate about learning and educational innovation with 20 years on this wonderful journey through education. Google Certified Trainer. Leader of the Google Educators Group in Guatemala. Instructional Coach, Secondary Level Innovation Teacher, English Language Teacher and Master's Degree in Online Teaching. Dedicated to discovering and learning new technologies and mainly sharing them and empowering other teachers and students.

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Cognitive, Behavioral and Emotional Student Engagement: A predictor of academic performance and school experience. A Case Study

Facilitator:
 

Hortensia Prieto is the General Director of San Roberto International School (ISR), a private school in Monterrey, México. She has been with the school since 1991, and has served as Curriculum Coordinator, Academic Coordinator and Principal. She actively participates in school improvement processes for ISR and other schools of the Region as an external review team member. She is passionate about the use of data and strategic management. She is a proud mother of three ISR alumni and granny of two girls who are ISR students.
 

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Teachers as Travel Agents

Attendees will more fully explore this metaphor of teacher-as-travel-agent, and consider to what extent it may or may not be true. Together, we will design an upcoming unit plan so that it centers student experience and self-navigation rather than a one-size-fits-all model (yes, that includes personalized timelines, too!). We’ll problematize: what kind of experiences are our students seeking in the first place?

Facilitator:

Julie Ward is a high school English teacher at the American School Foundation of Monterrey. Her teaching experiences have spanned socioeconomic demographics, resulting in a teaching framework focused on critical consciousness. She firmly believes in education as a tool for liberation, accomplished through design thinking, collaborative cross-curricular teaching, and fierce student empowerment.

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Going Digital and Back

Facilitator:

Bárbara Estefanía Ramírez Rivas. I have been a math, methodology, and science teacher for the last 14 years. Being a member of the Puebla American School has allowed me to follow my professional passion, educational technology. I have proposed as well as implemented a number of innovative projects for many years. I have been a speaker in various editions of our school's Tech Day, participated in the ISTE 2011 convention, and attended as well as gave a talk at the Live Curious, Go Beyond event in 2020 and 2021.

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Ways of Understanding Culture to build Global Citizens

Facilitator:

My name is Dr. Angela Broeckel and I am currently the Vice-Principal of JFK: The American School in Queretaro, Mexico. I also teach Intercultural and Multicultural Communication at a private university in Oregon State. Having lived and worked in Asia, Central America, North America, and Europe, I have had the privilege of meeting people from all over the world. My work in intercultural communication has helped with my interactions and has helped me build relationships, and make friends, globally.

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Engagement and Agency Through Student-Created Resources

Facilitator:

Austin Levinson is a second grade teacher at Colegio Nueva Granada and runs an afterschool STEAM program. His class is student-centered and he seeks instructional strategies that increase student agency and resourcefulness.

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Convirtiéndose en un Colegio del Carácter

Session Code: S11
Date: Saturday October 2nd, 2021
Facilitators: Liliana Borrero & Marcela Chiaradia, Colegio Nueva Granada
Audience: Leadership Teachers, Counselors and Top Administration
Strand: Bienestar, Relaciones y aprendizaje socio-emocional.

Description: 
En el mundo actual, donde se contrata por el carácter y se capacita en habilidades, el desarrollo del carácter y las habilidades socio-emocionales juega un papel primordial. Los colegios, en colaboración con las familias, están en una posición privilegiada para ayudar a los estudiantes a ser no sólo inteligentes, sino también, personas de carácter. Esta sesión  proporcionará a los participantes una visión general del recorrido del CNG para ser reconocido como Colegio del Carácter Colombia 2020 por Character.org. Cada año, esta organización certifica a los colegios en los Estados Unidos y cada vez más, en otros países en todo el mundo, que demuestran su compromiso con el desarrollo del carácter a través de la implementación de los 11 Principios.  Basado en décadas de investigación sobre prácticas eficaces en la educación del carácter de la educación del carácter, el Marco de los 11 Principios sirve de guía para que los colegios planifiquen, implementen, evalúen y mantengan su iniciativa integral para el desarrollo del carácter. Los colegios reconocidos como Colegios del Carácter han implementado un enfoque integral que inspira a sus estudiantes a entender, preocuparse y practicar de forma coherente un conjunto de valores fundamentales que les permitirán prosperar en el colegio, en las relaciones interpersonales, en el lugar de trabajo y como ciudadanos.

Facilitators:

Liliana Borrero es la Directora Asociada de Programas de Aprendizaje del CNG. Es psicóloga egresada de la U. de los Andes, tiene un máster en educación de la U. de Alabama, y un Certificado en Liderazgo de Profesores de Lehigh. También es especialista certificada en alfabetización temprana por el NBPTS y traductora oficial. Es autora del libro Enseñando a Leer: Teoría, práctica e intervención, libro publicado en 2008. En 2018, tradujo al español Los 11 Principios de la Educación Eficaz del Carácter. Ha trabajado en los equipos de acreditación de AdvancED/Cognia y también es evaluadora de Character.org.

Marcela Chiaradia es la Coordinadora de Servicio a la Comunidad y Responsabilidad Social del CNG. Es Licenciada en Administración de Empresas y fue una de las fundadoras de HandsOn en Japón y Colombia. Con su experiencia en el manejo de programas de servicio y voluntariado hoy inspira a los jóvenes a involucrarse en sus comunidades. Marcela es miembro del CNG Character Education Core Team, lidera el Character for Parents Planning Team, y es miembro del Intercultural Competence Committee, también es evaluadora de Character.org.

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Deep Dive into the 5 SEL Competencies

Facilitators:

My name is Ana Lucía Arce, I have worked in the education field for 14 years. I have a degree in Clinical Psychology and a Masters degree in Family Counseling. I’m currently the School Counselor at Colegio Maya, The American International School of Guatemala. I’ve been fortunate to explore the different ways in which learning comes to life in a school community and how student life and wellbeing play such an important role in this process. I’ve also had the opportunity to collaborate with parents, faculty members and administration in building structures that support students’ living and learning.

My name is Jamie Day. I have 15 years of experience working at Colegio Maya, The American International School of Guatemala. I’m a Secondary Teacher and SEL/Service Learning Coordinator. I’m certified as a Tribes Trainer with experience training teachers and parents at various international schools in Guatemala. Most recently my role has transitioned to Service Learning and SEL program Coordinator for Secondary. I have a BA in Kinesiology, Theology and Philosophy and two Masters, International Education and Educational Leadership. I'm passionate about SEL and how it supports students in building competencies needed to THRIVE, socially, emotionally and academically!
 

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Listen to Your Inner Voice

Facilitators:

Gabriela Campoy, M. Ed., is a Middle School Assistant Principal at the American School Foundation of Monterrey, where she has worked since 2009. She has 30 years of experience in the field, a Master's Degree in Education, and is certified as a teacher trainer, the Fundamentals of Mindfulness, and the Essentials of Mindful Education and Mindful Communication. She obtained a certificate by Yale University for completing the Science of Wellbeing and has been certified as a Mindful coach.

Teresa González, Psy. D., is a lawyer and a psychologist, with a Master’s degree in Education, certified in Positive Discipline, and with a Digital Badge in Inclusive Education. She completed a doctoral program in Children and Adolescent Gestalt Psychotherapy, is pursuing a doctoral degree in Human Development and Leadership, and has 33 years of experience working in education. She has worked at ASFM since 2005 as a learning specialist and department head, and is currently one of the Counselors.
 

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Sexual Diversity in Latin America: Steps and Challenges on the Path to a Safe, Equitable, and Inclusive School Environment

Facilitators:

Patricia Martí has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Occidente, postgraduate specialization in gestalt psychotherapy from the Instituto Gestalt Guadalajara, and a master's degree in education from Framingham State University. She's given different conferences and workshops on topics such as bullying prevention and communication. She is currently an elementary school counselor and gives sexuality classes to six-year-olds.

Gloria Jimenez has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Loyola Marymount University and a master's degree in education from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She's been an early childhood psychologist for over twelve years. She also works intensively with young people struggling with identity and/or sexual orientation.

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¡Tu crecimiento depende de ti! Redefine tu proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje.

Facilitator:

Alejandra Galindo es actualmente Instructional Coach en HS en la Escuela John F. Kennedy. Desde el 2009 es Educadora IBEN para el “Primary Years Programme” habiendo impartido talleres de capacitación y realizando visitas de Autorización y Evaluación en escuelas de EU, México, Sudamérica y España. Es maestra en Ciencias de la Educación Familiar con reconocimiento de CENEVAL por un examen sobresaliente. Egresada del ITESM Campus Querétaro como Ingeniera Industrial y Maestra de Inglés (P.S.T.C) con Mención Honorífica. Ha trabajado en Educación desde 1998 desempeñando diferentes roles (Docente en los Grados 2º - 9º, Coordinadora PYP, Directora de Preescolar, e Instructional Coach en High School). Presentadora en la Conferencia Anual de la Tri-Association 2019.

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The Future of School: Meeting Students' 21st Century Need

Facilitators:

Lauren Berkley
International School of Panama, Middle School Instructional Coach
MTSS Coordination
Intervention Specialist
Reading Coach
Department Head
Teacher for grades 5, 6, 9-12

Geoffrey Godfrey
BA in Literature York College of PA, Minored in Philo and Psych
MA in Writing Temple University
BA French Literature Towson U, Minor in Ed
MA in Teaching from Notre Dame of Maryland University
Taught Writing in the ELECT Writing Program Temple U 93-94
Taught English and Writing (adjunct) at Towson Univ '98-'03
Curriculum Writer for Success for All 2004-2005
Taught English Language Arts at Booker T. Washington Middle School in Baltimore 2005-2006
Taught English Language Arts at WC March Middle School in Baltimore 2007-2008
Taught Humanities at Southwest Baltimore Charter School 2008-2018
Taught MS Social Studies at ISP 2018-Present
 

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Building Sustainability and Empowerment into Our Youth-Led Local-Global Projects!

Facilitators:

Alexcia currently attends the American International School of Kingston in Jamaica. She joined GIN in 2015 and has led projects focused on addressing poverty alleviation, and addressing climate change through sustainable and systemic means such as the implementation of electric charging stations in Jamaica. She is passionate about social change and is the current GIN GAP Youth Director and Head of the Logistics and Operations Department.

Angelina currently attends Golden Valley School in Heredia, Costa Rica. She joined the Global Issues Network in 2020 as a Global Bridge Program Founder and worked towards building sustainable and equitable networks of change makers to grow GIN on a local, regional and global scale. She is currently a member of the GIN Student Admin Team and works in the GIN Learning and Innovation Lab.

Linda Sills, CEO of the Global Issues Network Click here for more information
Ashley Sills, Director of the Global Issues Network Click here for more information
 
GIN Programs and more information here.
 

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The Future of the World is in Our Classrooms: Transformative Teaching,Learning & the Art of education for Sustainable Development & Global Citizenship

Facilitators:

 

Steve Sostak
Following 15 years teaching elementary and middle school on three continents, Steve Sostak founded Inspire Citizens, an independent educational organization working with diverse partners to reimagine schools as thriving community centers of transformative learning.

Steve wears many hats in his work with Inspire Citizens. He guides administrative teams on future-focused strategic planning around transformative learning goals; co-designs Empathy to Impact project-based units with both teachers and students; implements elements of the Global Impact School Self-Study to monitor student learning and agile systems needs; facilitates experiences connected to the Future Now student leadership toolkit; supports Futures Media member communities; and continues to offer professional workshops while leading the Inspire Citizens Master Teacher Endorsement, a 25-week deep-dive into the art of education for global citizenship and sustainable development.

In the end, his goal remains centered on teacher creativity and enhanced student learning. He aims to enable youth to develop more compassionate empathy; think critically about information and global issues; solve problems creatively through the application of interdisciplinary skills and civic literacies; embrace the challenges of uncertainties and complexities; make ethical decisions; and take informed action. 
 

Aaron Moniz
Following 10 years of supporting teachers and students in inclusive education and success strategies for remedial readers and English Language Learners, Aaron brings this frame into his work with administrators, teachers, students, and community members within the three Inspire Citizens’ Impact Frameworks.  Aaron’s experience at the innovative Futures Academy at the International School of Beijing also developed his expertise in Project-Based Learning, Inquiry, Design Thinking, and best practice pedagogies for authentic and impactful action. 

Now, as the Co-founder of Inspire Citizens, Aaron works with schools to link the world’s greatest needs to applied learning and holistic education and move teachers, programs, and schools towards designing impact projects through best practice professional learning and whole school deep implementation approaches. By embedding the tools for global competence, community well-being, and sustainable development into existing curriculum or school programs, Aaron helps any school to become a Global Impact School and strives to help any stakeholders realize that all schools have potential for positive impact in the world.
 

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Making Interdisciplinary Connections with the NGSS

Facilitator:

Paul Andersen is an educational consultant and YouTube creator living in Bozeman, MT.  Paul is an experienced educator having taught science in Montana for 20 years.  Paul was the 2011 Montana Teacher of the Year, and was also one of four finalists for the 2011 National Teacher of the Year.  In addition to teaching Paul has created hundreds of YouTube science tutorials that have been viewed millions of times by students around the world.  Paul has provided training for thousands of students, teachers, and administrators around the world.  Paul enjoys providing meaningful professional development that can be applied immediately in the classroom. 
 

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Meeting the Moment with Fearless Inquiry: Using Questions to Design a Relevant and Just Path Forward for Schools

Facilitators:

Homa Tavangar
For over three decades, Homa Sabet Tavangar’s work has addressed themes of culture, innovation, leadership, global citizenship and global competence, and deep diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion. She connects timely topics of the moment with the timeless desire to work with purpose and make a difference – whatever one’s circumstances.

Homa’s clients range from Fortune 50 corporations to public, international and independent K-12 schools around the world; from an Ivy League university to Disney Channel and numerous not-for-profit public and multilateral organizations and professional associations. Co-founding the Big Questions Institute represents a natural extension of her work, especially during a time of unprecedented global challenges.

Homa is the author of widely-acclaimed Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World (Random House, 2009), Global Kids (Barefoot, 2019);  The Global Education Toolkit for Elementary Learners (Sage/Corwin, 2014), contributor to Mastering Global Literacy, Heidi Hayes-Jacobs, ed. (Solution Tree, Nov. 2013) and the 3-book Take-Action Guide to World-Class Learners (Corwin, 2016) series with Professor Yong Zhao. Growing Up Global  was the inspiration behind NBC-Universal’s animated series Nina’s World, starring Rita Moreno, and has been hailed by international education and business leaders and media ranging from Dr. Jane Goodall to the BBC, NPR, NBC, ABC, Washington Post.com, Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, Boston Globe, PBS, Scholastic, Parents Magazine, Rodale, and many more.

Homa has lived on four continents, has heritage in four world religions, and is the mother of three daughters. She and her husband live just outside Philadelphia.

Will Richardson
A former public-school educator of 22 years, Will has spent the last 15 years developing an international reputation as a leading thinker and writer about the intersection of social online learning networks, education, and systemic change. Most recently, Will is a co-founder of The Big Questions Institute which was created to help educators use "fearless inquiry" to make sense of this complex moment and an uncertain future.

In 2017, Will was named one of 100 global "Changemakers in Education" by the Finnish site HundrED, and was named one of the Top 5 "Edupreneurs to Follow" by Forbes. He has given keynote speeches, lead breakout sessions, and provided coaching services in over 30 countries on 6 continents. (Come on Antarctica!) He has also authored six books that have sold over 200,000 copies worldwide, and given TEDx Talks in New York, Melbourne, and most recently Vancouver.

Will has two adult children, Tess and Tucker, and lives in rural New Jersey with his wife Wendy.

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From Conversation to Action: DEIJ in our Schools

Session Code: S21
Date: Saturday October 2nd, 2021
Facilitator: Alysa Perreras
Audience: Leadership, Administration, teachers K-12 Counselors
Strand: Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, Justice

Description:  
Click here to view full session description
 

Facilitator:

Over a decade in education, Alysa’s work is driven by the question, “what does it mean to be free"?”. She began her journey exploring this question as a classroom teacher, learning, laughing and growing alongside high school students in the literature classroom for eight years. Now her work has expanded over the last five years in curriculum design, adult professional learning, strategic planning and educational consulting, all through an anti bias, antiracist and justice centered lens.

Alysa partners with international schools throughout Latin America on anti bias and antiracist, human centered practices with and has presented on the work of equity, inclusion and justice in education at various conferences and schools across the globe. She combines her own lived experiences and the intentional study of practitioners of abolition and justice who have come before her to bring an intersectional lens into all the work she does. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Education for Social Justice with the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at University of San Diego.
 

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Using Learning Progressions to Accelerate Mathematics Learning

Facilitator:

Erma Anderson is a former high school physics and mathematics teacher and Albert Einstein Distinguished Fellow in the United States Senate. She was a Senior Program Officer with the National Research Council assisting in the development of the National Science Education Standards and a Christa McAuliffe Fellow with the National Foundation for the Improvement of Education. She has worked with the National Science Teachers Association on several projects including, the Mentoring Initiative e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS), development of sciLINKS (www.sciLINKS.org) and Project Manager of Scope, Sequence and Coordination of Secondary School Science, a science curriculum reform project of NSTA. She was Associate Project Director for the Council for Basic Education’s Schools Around the World (www.s-a-w.org) project, developing and implementing the Evidence to Excellence protocol and a series of professional development activities that use student work from nine participating countries to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics and science. She worked with the Council in the writing of state and district curriculum frameworks and benchmarking of state standards to NAEP and Japanese Standards, and designing a tool for reviewing state science frameworks.  

She has considerable experience developing and facilitating workshops, on site and online with multiple national entities such as Educational Field Studies; National Institute of Medicine; United States Forestry Service; National Park Service, the Jason Project, Kidsnet, school districts, and states. Currently she is a Mathematics and Science consultant working with international schools on implementing the AERO Common Core Plus Mathematics Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. She also serves as Project Director of the Math Specialist in International Schools (MSIS) initiative. In the past fourteen years, she has facilitated conversations about the K to 12 math and science curriculum, instruction, and assessment in over 130 international schools. 

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Panel Discussion: Engaging Student leadership to build a culture of dignity in your school

Facilitators:

Rosalind Wiseman: From where we learn to where we work, Rosalind Wiseman fosters civil dialogue and inspires communities to build strength, courage and purpose. She is the founder of Cultures of Dignity; an organization that shifts the way communities think about our physical and emotional wellbeing by working in close partnership with the experts of those communities--young people, educators, policy makers, and business and political leaders.

Rosalind’s most recent publications include the Distance Learning Playbook for Parents: How to Support Your Child’s Academic, Emotional and Social Learning in Any Setting published by Corwin in October 2020 and Owning Up Curriculum, published in July 2020; a comprehensive social and emotional learning program for grades 4-12 which is in widespread use across the world.

She is the author of two New York Times Best Sellers: Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World—the groundbreaking, best-selling book that was the basis for the movie and Broadway Musical Mean Girls, and in 2016 was fully revised for a third edition. And Masterminds & Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World, which addresses the social lives of boys and was awarded Best Parenting Book by Books for a Better Life in 2014.

National media regularly depends on Wiseman’s expertise on ethical leadership, conflict, media literacy, youth culture, parenting, and bullying prevention. She has been profiled in The New York Times, People, Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and USA Today. Wiseman is a frequent guest on national media like The Today Show, CNN, and NPR affiliates throughout the country.

Wiseman has served on many federal and local advisory boards and speaks throughout the US and abroad including, South by Southwest, Microsoft, The Royal Society for the Arts, the Association for the Advancement of International Education, the American School Counselors Association, the Game Developers Conference, the American Association of School Administrators, at the White House many times and numerous schools, governments, organizations, and corporations throughout the US and abroad. She lives in Colorado with her husband and two sons.

Charlie Kuhn is the Co-Founder & CEO of Cultures of Dignity. He is a social educator, facilitator, and education consultant. He loves the intricacies of learning, people, and system thinking. Outside of strategy and development, he currently consults with national and international school communities on school culture.  

He has presented and consulted with a diverse group of schools and educational associations including; the American School of Paris, International School of Prague, Association for Middle-Level Educators, Game Developers Conference, American School Counselors Association, International School of Amsterdam's Centre for Development, Learning & Technology, Association for the Advancement of International Education, European League of Middle Level Education and The United States Library of Congress.

In addition to his work at Cultures of Dignity, he served on the board of Attention Homes, a non-profit organization serving youth experiencing homeless for the past six years and is currently on their Strategic Planning Committee as Special Appointee to Denver, CO. He’s inspired by water, his mother, and cold weather.

Dr. Ginger Carlson has over twenty-five years experience working with individuals and organizations around the world. Ginger has written and presented widely on the topics of creativity, growth, and transformation, and how to uniquely and positively nurture each of them in our personal lives, homes, and organizations. She serves as a consultant for those looking to thrive in a divided world. Dr. Carlson is currently the Director of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the American School of Guatemala. She is also a member of the NWEA Advisory Board and an Executive Committee Member for Professional Learning for the American International Schools in the Americas (AMISA), where she is working alongside other leaders to profoundly change the teacher education and student learning experience throughout Latin America.

Chris Howes

As Mercersburg's assistant head of school for student life and culture, Chris Howes oversees all aspects of the student experience, from citizenship to leadership to residential-life matters and other school policies. He arrived to Mercersburg from Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, MA, where he was the dean of student life, taught history, and coached lacrosse. Chris previously spent three years as dean of students (and eight years on the faculty overall) at Severn School in Seven Park, MD. He has also worked at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, at Rocky Hill School in East Greenwich, RI (where he was chair of the history department and a coach and college counselor=, and at Mitchell College in New London, CT. Chris and his wife, Maggie (who teaches English and history at Mercersburg), live on campus with their children.

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Student Agency: Personalizing Pacing, Accountability and Assessment in Any Environment - PART II

Facilitators:

Juanjo Moreno's passion is education. He has been teaching for over 15 years, and has taught pretty much everything. His areas of expertise include classroom management, technology integration, incorporating students’ voices, and building relationships. As an educational leader for over 6 years, he gets to motivate, mentor, train, encourage, and work with colleagues who have greatly impacted his career and life. He loves learning new strategies to use in his classroom and as a leader.

Nola Heckmann is a passionate concept based educator with experience as a MS & HS science teacher, curriculum coordinator and instructional coach. She believes deeply in the power of pedagogy to transform lives and the responsibility of teachers to instill in every child self-belief to achieve greatly. Nola works to build students' conceptual understanding, personalize learning, and grow learner agency. A science geek, who loves all 3-dimensions of NGSS, the challenge of online learning & her family.

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Courage & Renewal Approach to Leadership Part II

Facilitator:

Over 45 years, Terry Chadsey has built engaged communities of learners as a public school teacher, administrator, change leader, and as former Executive Director and current Senior Fellow of the Center for Courage & Renewal. Terry is also co-founder of Sound Discipline, an organization dedicated to helping all of us rethink how young people and adults solve the inevitable human problems of behavior and relationship in ways that engage and connect. Throughout his career, he’s presented at state, national and international conferences and consulted with organizations and leaders across sectors. Terry holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Chicago and school principal credentials from the University of Washington.

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Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment to Accelerate Learning

Facilitator:

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College. He is formerly an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator.

Doug is the recipient of an International Reading Association Celebrate Literacy Award, an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE, as well as a Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education.

He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as books, including Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, Rigorous Reading, and Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading.

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NGSS Crash Course for K-12 Educators New to NGSS

Facilitators:

Heather Rich - Heather is the Elementary Instructional Coach for Science at ASF-Monterrey, from Nursery to Grade 5. She has also taught elementary aged kids in multiple international schools and in New York City public schools. Heather is trained in NGSS implementation, and ASFM is currently in its 4th year of teaching NGSS-aligned units.

Britta McCarthy - Britta is the Assistant Director of Learning for Curriculum Development at the Columbus School in Medellin, Colombia. She is a former teacher of secondary science and social studies and K-12 NGSS Science Coach. In addition to being a science nerd, she loves Design Thinking, sustainability, systems thinking, and Project Based Learning. She is native to Flagstaff, AZ but has lived and taught in Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Colombia. 

John Mark Filcik - John Mark is a middle school and high school science teacher and NGSS Lead at Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogota, Colombia. Prior to teaching in Colombia, John Mark taught science in the American public school system and worked with Teach for America.

 

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