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Leveraging Teacher Leadership

Presentation Title Presenter(s) School/District/Org Info Presentation Description Time Slot/Location
Building Cultures That Grow Teacher Leaders Caitlin Colandrea, Ryan Sobin, & Kasey Corsentino The College of New Jersey This interactive workshop explores how schools can create cultures where teacher leadership thrives. Participants will learn practical strategies to foster real shared decision-making and recognize teacher expertise while confronting the reasons that efforts to advance teacher leadership have often failed. Participants will diagnose their current school culture, design small but powerful changes, and leave with a personal action plan to strengthen collective leadership at their schools. SS 128
Hillsborough Educators Unite: Smarter, Stronger Lesson Planning Through Collaboration Sari Hussey & Rebimbas Lisa Hillsborough Township School District As part of a strategic initiative to enhance instructional planning, teachers collaborated to develop and upload lesson plans to the Genesis platform. This workshop will explore how this process minimized time spent on administrative tasks, allowing educators to focus more on preparing instructional materials and engaging classroom activities. The initiative also proved especially beneficial for newly hired teachers by providing a structured framework and easing their transition into the district. Join us to learn how collaborative planning can support efficiency, consistency, and teacher success. SS 105
House Pride, School Wide-Together We Rise! Evelyn Rodriguez Salcedo, Johanna Ojeda, Elizabeth McLaughlin, & Pamela Eduardo Juan Pablo Duarte-Jose Julian Marti School No. 28, Elizabeth School District The house system is a dynamic, exciting, and proven way to create a positive climate and culture for both students and staff. In this workshop, we’ll explore how all houses come together to celebrate and represent their core values, fostering connection and belonging for everyone. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to energize your current system, you’ll leave inspired and equipped to make this year magical—the power is within you! SS 226
Igniting the Spark: Building Culture, Climate, and Leadership Through Empowered Educators Sara Longo & Robert Porche Jefferson Intermediate School, Trenton School District A strong school culture and positive climate are the foundation for lasting success, and teachers are the key drivers. In this engaging workshop, participants will explore practical strategies to build trust, foster collaboration, and leverage teacher leadership. Through interactive activities and real-world examples, educators will create action plans to spark meaningful, sustainable change within their classrooms and school communities. Whether you’re a teacher, coach, or school leader, you’ll leave with tools and inspiration to lead from within and ignite a culture where everyone thrives. SS 230
Teacher Leadership: Bridging Theory to Practice to Impact School Culture Jennifer Donnelly, Kristen Johnson, Leana Malinowsky, & Theresa Maughan New Jersey County & State Teachers of the Year This session equips educators and supervisors with actionable strategies to cultivate teacher leadership, grounded in research, and aligned with New Jersey’s Professional Standards for Teachers (NJPST) and the Teacher Leader Model Standards (TLMS). Theoretical foundations, practical methods, and collaborative activities will be explored to foster teacher leaders who drive school improvement. SS 326
The Leader Within: Exploring the Power of Teacher Leadership with School Leaders & Teachers Joanne Connor, Gaetane Jean-Marie, Margaret Thornton, & Jo Ann Manning College of Education, Rowan University The growing literature on teacher leadership suggests that the phenomenon is a concrete opportunity to improve student outcomes. Teacher leadership can have a positive effect on teacher professional development, which in turn leads to higher student achievement. This presentation is one of the products of a research study performed by Rowan University as part of a grant from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). We offered professional development workshops to teacher leaders and administrators who were study participants. The workshop focuses on honing participants’ leadership skills. SS 321

Reducing Daily Burden on Educators​

Presentation Title Presenter(s) School/District/Org Info Presentation Description Time Slot/Location
Enhancing Teacher Well-Being: Identifying and Addressing Stressors for Improved Job Satisfaction Caitlin Colandrea, Ryan Sobin, & Kasey Corsentino Old Bridge School District This workshop is designed to empower administrators and educators with the tools and strategies needed to assess and address the unique stressors and burdens faced by teachers. Participants will learn how to effectively identify key stressors affecting job satisfaction and create a roadmap for practical methods to reduce administrative burdens. SS 321
Fueling Educator Success: Leveraging Title II, Part A to Foster a Positive School Climate Peter Frank and Antoinette Caldwell-Wong New Jersey Department of Education Leverage Title II, Part A to fuel educator success. Explore its purpose and allowable, evidence-based uses for improving teacher retention, and supporting professional growth, to foster a positive school climate. Enhance your strategic efforts for a thriving educator workforce. SS 228
Franklin Township's Lesson Plan Repository Daniel Loughran & Giselle Perez Franklin Township School District This session will tell a school district's story of how teacher leaders and administrators collaborated to create a Lesson Plan Repository that simplified lesson-planning for a complex reading program, freeing up time for professional collaborationadditional time and the sharing of best practices for small-group instruction. SS 323
New Jersey Tiered Systems of Supports: Setting a Vision and Taking the Journey Together Lu Pereira Office of Student Support Services, New Jersey Department of Education Join us to kickstart your New Jersey Tiered Systems of Supports (NJTSS) journey! This session will focus on building a shared vision rooted in positive school culture and climate, effective family engagement, and strong leadership. Learn dynamic communication strategies to inspire, connect, and drive lasting commitment to NJTSS in every corner of your school community. BSC 224
Reclaiming Educator Time: Centralizing SGOs and PDPs for IMPACT Anthony Fitzpatrick, Brianna Rucci, Teresa Johnson, & George Clark Delsea Regional High School, Delsea Regional School District Delsea Regional and Elk Township School Districts partnered to streamline Student Growth Objectives and Professional Development Plans, reducing administrative burden and reclaiming valuable instructional time. This session highlights how centralized frameworks, collaborative design, and teacher feedback transformed compliance tasks into meaningful professional growth opportunities—demonstrating scalable success for districts of all sizes. SS 130

Increasing Teacher Efficacy and Growth

Presentation Title Presenter(s) School/District/Org Info Presentation Description Time Slot/Location
Creating a School Culture of Empowerment Tony DeMarco, Vanessa Ahmed, Lori Koehler, & Sarah Opdyke Reading-Fleming Intermediate School, Flemington-Raritan R+C2+D2 Discover how shared leadership fosters an empowered, positive school culture. This session explores leadership as an unlimited resource, boosting staff confidence and impact. Participants will engage in discussions and create personalized action plans to empower school teams and drive meaningful change. SS 103
Let The Glitter Settle: Trauma Informed Mindfulness Beyond the Glitter Jar Stefanie Lachenauer, 2024-25 NJ State Teacher of the Year Montgomery Upper Middle School, Montgomery Township School District Mindfulness is widely used in classrooms to support student regulation, but how can we ensure these practices are truly trauma-informed? In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore common challenges in implementing mindfulness and how to adapt practices to be safe, inclusive, and effective. Participants will experience trauma-informed mindfulness firsthand, reflect on the process, and consider how to incorporate these practices into their own lives, with the option to share with students or staff. Whether you're new to mindfulness or deepening your practice, this session offers space to pause, connect, and reimagine mindfulness for healing and community care. BSC 225 East
Paper Cuts to Power Plays: Streamlined Systems that Supercharge Teacher Growth Amy Mount & Suzanne Lynch Gateway Regional School District Discover how five districts collaborated to reclaim teacher time, streamline compliance, and ignite horizontal PLCs. Test drive our step-by-step, replicable systems—from tuning sprints to central knowledge hubs —that boost efficacy, cut busywork, and free teachers to focus on students. Participants leave with templates, facilitation protocols, and the AI prompts ready for immediate adoption. SS 227
Setting the Anchor: Securing Dunellen's Future through Staff Leadership Dan Ross & Meagan Drapkin Dunellen School District Creating capacity for professional improvement is essential for moving a system forward, and in Dunellen we are working to leverage our small staff to do big things. Join us to hear about how committee work, professional development, and improved communication efforts have helped staff members take more ownership of processes designed to help improve outcomes for all students. SS 223
Teacher-Led, Tech-Enhanced: A Scalable Growth Model Shanna Howell, Bruce Henecker, & David Kretzmer Freehold Regional High School District What happens when teachers are given time to truly collaborate, powerful AI tools to lighten the load, and a system that amplifies their best work? This session reveals a bold, scalable model that’s transforming teacher efficacy, slashing prep time, and fueling a culture of innovation and collective growth. SS 324

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence

Presentation Title Presenter(s) School/District/Org Info Presentation Description Time Slot/Location
AI as an Engine for Equity: Reducing the Daily Administrative Burdens for Educators Casey Cuny, 2023-24 CA State Teacher of the Year Valencia High School, Santa Clarita, CA Join the 2024 California State Teacher of the Year and discover how AI can reduce much of the administrative burden placed on teachers while amplifying voices, bridging opportunity gaps, and personalizing learning to meet every student’s needs. This session unpacks powerful strategies for using AI as an engine for equity, empowering educators, engaging students, and igniting transformation in classrooms where every learner thrives. BSC 225 West
Less Paperwork, More Power: AI's Impact on the Future of Educational Strategy Mark McCann & Rebecca Sprang Burlington City High School, Burlington City School District It seems like wherever you look, AI is there. Learn what AI is and how you can best use it in your classroom to explore new curriculum topics, plan your lessons, come up with project ideas and use tools to help provide your learners with feedback. SS 325
Reclaiming Time With AI: The Tech Tools That Gave Our Teachers Time Back Marc Cicchino, Christina Nazarko, Erica Sposa, & Tomas Villa Northern Valley Regional High School District With New Jersey Department of Education grant funding, Northern Valley built and adopted AI tools to streamline assessment creation, administration, and scoring; reducing teacher paperwork and empowering educators to focus on instruction. Learn how we piloted and implemented these practices, and gain hands-on experience with some of the most popular tools we adopted. BSC 222

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Page Last Updated: 06/27/2025