2026 Leadership Learning Convening Breakout Session Details
Breakout Session Round 1 11:05 AM - 12:15 PM
| Room | Title | Presenter | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Project Believe: Driving Recruitment Success through Strategic Focus |
Inez Mata, MBA Coordinator, Talent Acquisition, The School District of Lee County |
Faced with a daunting projection of 575 teacher vacancies, the School District of Lee County launched Project Believe, a transformative strategic initiative designed to ensure every student is met by a certified teacher on the first day of school. By adopting Franklin Covey's Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX) framework, the district shifted from reactive hiring to a disciplined system of focused goals and shared accountability. This session details how this district-wide alignment allowed Lee County to achieve historic results, reducing vacancies to just 37 by opening day - an unprecedented outcome for a large public system. Attendees will engage in hands-on interactive exercises, beginning with a Vacancy Reality Audit to uncover the true story behind their staffing clusters and a Hidden Talent Inventory to identify internal candidates like paraprofessionals and student teachers. Through Reactive vs. Proactive Mapping and a Priority Decision Matrix, participants will learn to eliminate recruitment "dead months" and align incentives and compensation with the highest-need schools and subject areas. The session further equips leaders to distinguish between historical lag measures and predictive lead measures that influence future success. Participants will explore how to design transparent, compelling scoreboards that foster urgency and healthy competition across all levels of leadership. Finally, attendees will solidify their learning by making a public 90-day Execution Commitment to drive immediate, measurable recruitment results in their own districts. |
| 101 | Appreciative Administration |
Jennifer L. Bloom
Professor, Higher Education Leadership, Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology, Florida Atlantic University |
Looking to add some strengths-based tools to your administrative toolbox? This session will provide an overview of Appreciative Administration, a theory-to-practice framework for leading educational organizations. We will cover the latest research on Appreciative Administration, including specific ways administrators are infusing the framework into their daily practice to build better relationships. |
| 102 | Creating an Effective Ecosystem for School Turnaround Leadership |
Dr. Kenneth Savage
Deputy Superintendent, School District of Lee County, Florida |
When school turnaround leadership fails, the costs are staggering for a school district. From the obvious negative toll on student learning, to the human capital drain of turnover, negative perception in the community, squandering of precious financial resources that have failed to deliver on expectations, and the inevitable leadership turnover, this reactive cycle destabilizes school culture and stalls student progress. Districts simply cannot afford to get this wrong. Instead of seeing this school level problem in isolation, this workshop examines all the interdependent systems through a unified framework: The Turnaround Ecosystem. This framework recognizes that schools are not static systems but living environments full of students, teachers, and leaders interacting through human-responsive processes. In this applied workshop, you will move beyond theory into a practical, evidence-based audit of your district’s eight Core Dimensions. We will analyze how your compensation strategies, leadership pipelines, and instructional analytics either enhance or undermine your turnaround mission. Participants will identify their systems maturity with evidence and expose any misalignments acting as obstructions in the ecosystem. Through high-level peer consultation, you will refine your organized work cycles to ensure a frequent, consistent cycle of planning, implementation, and impact study. Join us to transform district support systems into dynamic forces that address the vast implementation gaps between schools. Leave with a strategic roadmap to align your systems and stabilize your turnaround efforts. |
| 103 | Educators as AI Visionaries: Policy, Practice and Pedagogy |
Dr. Angela L. Moran, President and Program manager, Engineers On Deck, Inc. |
As AI usage reaches near-universal levels among students, school leaders face a critical gap in educator readiness. This 70-minute Interactive Leadership Lab is designed for superintendents, principals, and directors to move beyond administrative automation toward pedagogical innovation. Participants will explore technical fundamentals through a leadership lens, distinguishing between predictive Machine Learning and creative Generative AI to better audit data and verify output. Using a number of real classroom scenarios, attendees will investigate the transformation of AI from a vending machine into a collaborative partner focused on Human-in-the-Loop frameworks that prioritize student inquiry over cognitive shortcuts. Categorizing teacher roles as Co-Learners, Curators, or Sages to customize professional development will be discussed as will the drafting of level of use rubrics to define where brainstorming ends and academic dishonesty begins. Attendees will apply protocols to identify hidden biases and in district software and delve into prompt engineering to reduce workload while maintaining Florida B.E.S.T. standards. Aligned with Florida’s legislative landscape, this session provides the tools to lead with confidence, ensuring schools innovate responsibly while maintaining instructional integrity. |
| 104 | From Reactive to Predictive: A “Moneyball” Driven Approach for School Leaders |
Dr. Joel Herbst, Vice President for PK–12 and Pre-Baccalaureate Programs and Superintendent, Florida Atlantic Laboratory Schools |
“Thus it happens in matters of state; for knowing afar off the evils that are brewing, they are easily cured. But when, for want of such knowledge, they are allowed to grow so that everyone can recognize them, there is no longer any remedy to be found.” — Niccolò Machiavelli This session explores how predictive analytics can shift schools from reacting to results to anticipating them. Drawing on Major League Baseball and hedge funds, participants will learn to identify early indicators of student performance and act before failure occurs, building timely, data driven interventions that improve outcomes. |
| 112 | AI Teacher Tools in Practice: Lessons Learned During AI Integration |
Christina Cornwell
CoFounder, EverForwardEducation and Professional Learning Supervisor - Bradford County |
This interactive presentation will share the journey of one rural district that chose to become an early adopter of AI teacher tools and has spent the past three years learning what meaningful integration requires. Presenters will explain why the district moved forward with AI, how key stakeholders were identified and invited into the conversation, and how the district developed an AI policy to guide responsible use. The session will also outline the rollout timeline, professional learning opportunities, implementation challenges, and the solutions that helped the district move through barriers. Presenters will discuss how AI resources were selected, what criteria guided those decisions, and how tools were introduced to teachers and students. Research findings will be shared to highlight how teachers perceive their role as educators since the adoption of AI. A panel of teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators will provide firsthand accounts of their implementation experiences and answer audience questions. Through panel discussion, participant reflection, and opportunities for audience interaction, participants will leave with practical insights, lessons learned, and actionable ideas for supporting AI integration in their own schools and districts. |
Breakout Session Round 2 1:45 PM - 2:55 PM
| Room | Title | Presenter | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Project Thrive: A Data-Driven Approach to Teacher Retention |
Rebecca Savage, Ed.D.
Jae Quintero
Dana Philpott
Joelle McLaughlin
Jason Kurtz, Ed.D.
|
Retaining high-quality educators is essential for student success and organizational stability. This session explores "Project Thrive," a strategic initiative by The School District of Lee County designed to achieve a 95% teacher retention rate by July 2026. Using the "Four Disciplines of Execution" framework, Project Thrive focuses on a Wildly Important Goal (WIG) supported by rigorous lead measures, a compelling data dashboard, and a weekly cadence of accountability. Attendees will learn how the district utilizes a multi-faceted approach to support its 5,500+ teachers, including:
Participants will walk away with a roadmap for building a sustainable retention culture that moves beyond tracking "lag" data to actively driving "lead" measures that keep teachers in the classroom. |
| 101 | ALIEN SUPERSTAR: Crafting A Plan for Resilient New Teachers From Alternative Places |
Dr. Kevin E. Forehand,
Program Director, Florida State University |
While there is notably a massive teacher shortage, the number of new teachers from non-traditional preparation pathways outnumber new teachers who enter the field from traditional preparation programs. Thus, conventional methods must shift to prepare teachers to enter classrooms and provide the best possible learning experiences.
"Alien Superstar" is a dynamic one-hour workshop designed to equip school leaders with the strategies and tools needed to effectively lead and support brand new, out-of-field teachers, particularly those with non-traditional or no formal preparation programs. Emphasizing resilience, this workshop will provide practical techniques for creating a supportive environment, fostering professional growth, and ensuring the success of these unique educators. Objectives:
|
| 102 | Building Effective School and District Teams for School Improvement |
Daniel Reyes-Guerra, PhD
Professor & Executive Director, Office of Educational Leadership Learning |
Participants are introduced to OELL’s professional learning focused on developing school/district leadership team effectiveness while addressing a defined problem of practice. Grounded in research-based phases - team building, strategic planning, and implementation - participants engage in a structured experience using the Team Readiness and Effectiveness Application Tool (TREAT). Teams analyze results to identify strengths, gaps, and readiness needs, then connect these insights to their problem of practice to inform targeted actions that strengthen collaboration and drive measurable school improvement outcomes. |
| 103 | BUILDing Momentum for Instructional Excellence through Coaching-Based Leadership |
Cynthia B. Bauman, PhD,
Associate Director, Learning Programs, Florida Atlantic University, Office of Educational Leadership Learning |
School leaders influence instruction every day—but how intentional is that influence, and how often does it lead to sustained improvement? This session invites participants to reimagine everyday leadership moments: classroom walkthroughs, feedback conversations, and data discussions as opportunities for meaningful coaching and growth. Grounded in the BUILD framework (Build relationships, Utilize resources, Interpret data, Listen, observe, and question, and Develop others through feedback), this interactive breakout focuses on strengthening leaders’ identity, skills, and dispositions as coaching-based instructional leaders. Participants will examine common leadership responses and explore how to shift from directing to facilitating reflection, from evaluating to developing practice, and from managing to building capacity. Through practical tools, structured protocols, and real-world scenarios, participants will engage in guided reflection and collaborative problem-solving to enhance their instructional coaching moves. The session emphasizes how intentional, relational, and growth-oriented coaching interactions can build collective efficacy and drive improved outcomes for teaching and learning. Participants will leave with actionable strategies and resources to immediately apply in their own contexts, along with a renewed commitment to fostering a coaching culture that supports continuous instructional improvement. |
| 104 | Get REAL: A Framework for Building District AI Capacity Through Professional Learning |
John E. Critelli Jr., s PhD, Director, Director, PROPEL School Leadership Master’s Degree Partnership Program, Florida Atlantic University |
Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering K–12 education, often before systems have established clear guidance or coherent professional learning pathways. As educators and school leaders increasingly encounter AI in their daily work, districts face a practical question: how can professional learning help move AI from curiosity to thoughtful implementation? This interactive session introduces the Reason First, Evaluate Critically, Add Your Voice, Lead Transparently (Get REAL) framework for responsible AI use grounded in the Digital Education Council’s AI Literacy Framework. Rather than attempting to address every aspect of AI literacy at once, the session focuses on two high-impact starting points for districts:
Participants will explore how these priorities can guide district professional learning efforts, strengthen human judgment, and support thoughtful implementation while keeping educator expertise central. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for helping educators and school leaders use AI responsibly, purposefully, and in ways aligned to real work. |
| 112 | Leading for Impact: Principal Supervision that Transforms Teaching and Learning |
Mrs. Jennifer Dale,
Dr. Ducarmel S. Augustin, |
Principal supervisors play a vital role in connecting district priorities to strong instructional leadership at the school level. This session highlights how Broward County Public Schools leverages principal supervision to strengthen teaching and learning across a large urban system. Grounded in national standards and research, participants will explore how supervision practices such as instructional walkthroughs, coaching, feedback, and data informed decision-making support principal growth and improve student outcomes. The session will emphasize the collaboration between regional principal supervisors and Leadership Development to create a coherent system of support for both new and experienced principals and assistant principals. Through aligned professional learning, targeted coaching, and ongoing development opportunities, leaders are supported at every stage of their practice. This coordinated approach strengthens instructional leadership, builds leadership capacity, and promotes consistency across schools. Participants will reflect on their own systems and leave with practical strategies to strengthen principal supervision, align leadership practices, and support continuous improvement across schools. |