Every school leader has a vision. That vision hinges on the ability to execute a small number of critical initiatives with surgical precision. But getting countless team and community members to buy into your priorities, not to mention simply finding the time to pursue them, can seem hard, if not impossible. In this session, author and former district superintendent Kim Wallace walks your members through a 10-stage process designed to successfully launch any school-based initiative.

We always knew school accountability was broken — we just couldn’t put our finger on why. In this 50-minute session, veteran education researcher and author John Tanner challenges educators to rethink the protectionist, letter-based accountabilities of the past in favor of a forward-thinking model focused on core student benefits, or what he calls a Benefits-Based Accountability. Learn to talk about accountability with your stakeholders using common, non-technical language and discover a parallel framework to evaluate the success of critical school-improvement programs that puts students, and not test scores, first.

In this session, former school district communications leader and author of Closing the Loop Patricia Weinzapfel shows your members the impact of clear and effective school communication on student and parent engagement, while delivering a set of practical tools and strategies meant to elicit clear, effective and meaningful engagements and conversations with every stakeholder.. Whether your job is working with other educators, or working directly on the front lines with parents and students, the strategies covered in this presentation were designed to help you build trust in your professional relationships.

Moving the needle on student success is hard. Join author and education provocateur Ken Kay and educator and writer Suzie Boss, as they walk OESCA members through a practical four-part framework designed to prepare school district teams for their first Portrait of a Graduate in collaboration with community stakeholders. Learn how to talk about Portrait of a Graduate with your community, what questions to ask and how to get started designing a plan and a process that will have lasting impact on student achievement.

Author of Culture of Love and 2022 AASA Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award winner Dr. Luvelle Brown believes that belonging and inclusiveness is an achievable goal in all schools. In this session, Dr. Brown challenges your members to rethink the very definition of school culture. Drawing from examples in his own work, Dr. Brown shows school leaders how tools like self-reflection and even conflict can be wielded as tools when creating a Culture of Love for students and families.

The former superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, Dr. Hinojosa is nationally recognized for his work in school leadership, especially his work serving hard-to-reach and underserved families and closing the achievement gap. Known for his bold approach, relentless energy and appetite for disruption, Dr. Hinojosa will engage your members in a thrilling conversation about what’s possible in the face of today’s challenges — and what it takes to turn good intentions into meaningful change for schools.

In this session, author, content creator and college professor John Spencer helps your team explore the benefits of Project-Based Learning with a focus on creative thinking and what he calls ‘The Maker Mindset.” School leaders will emerge with fresh ideas and strategies designed to invoke creative thinking in the classroom and a deep understanding of the link between student voice and choice and student success.

Kim Marshall, formerly a Boston teacher, principal, and central-office administrator, is now the author of the weekly Marshall Memo and a highly regarded school leadership coach. In this 50-minute session, Marshall brings more than three decades of experience in public education as a teacher, principal and coach to bear as he discusses what motivates educators, how to cultivate excitement and inspiration among front-line teams and a process and strategies for evaluating and sustaining success.

Dr. Steve Constantino is the best-selling author of 5 Simple Principles to Engage Every Family. A former state superintendent of public instruction, Dr. Constantino will take your members on an interactive journey through his 5 Simple Principles, using a combination of research, case studies and anecdotes to showcase the transformative power of family engagement on student achievement, while also demonstrating practical ideas and strategies to close gaps and build trust — one relationship at a time.

Former Nebraska Superintendent of the Year Dr. Steve Joel has a reputation as a builder. After more than 40 years in public instruction, Joel retired in 2022 amid a tremendous period of growth for the Lincoln Public Schools. In this session, Joel will share anecdotes from his own life and time in the trenches and offer perspectives about how school leaders and educators can leverage the lessons of the pandemic to create new opportunities for students and families.