Close reading is a valuable classroom practice to encourage students to read a text multiple times in pursuit of developing rich comprehension of the material as a whole. With each successive reading, the first being general, the teacher can provide students with an Arkansas State Standard. Students are empowered with strategies to reflect upon meanings of individual words and sentences, assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style, as well as how to analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas interact throughout the sequence of a text. Ultimately, the students can explain the central idea or theme as well as supporting details. Teachers will learn how to map lessons to encourage close reading.

AM session - (3 hours) - School Law for Charters - A perennial favorite, this three-hour session hits the really big points of both state and federal school laws and points out where charter schools are different. Perfect for new educators or as a refresher on new updates. We will also forecast anticipated changes, as appropriate.

PM Session (1 hour) - Child Maltreatment - A one-hour session covering the basics of reporting child maltreatment and recognizing human trafficking victims with resources for help.

PM Session (2 hours) -Social Media and the School - Working out the logistics of student and employee speech online, especially through social media is a national challenge! From bullying to inappropriate relationships and beyond, we will discuss not only the areas of uncertainty, but also recent cases giving guidance. We will also discuss current best practices for social media policies, current laws regarding employee social media accounts, and most importantly-- keeping students safe and feeling empowered to alert school officials to dangerous online communications.

Participants will use summative and periodic ACT Aspire data and NWEA MAP data to make instructional decisions that support a student-focused education

AM Session (3 hours) - Hiring, Firing and Everything in Between:  TFDA/non-TFDA discipline and termination best practices; FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title IV, Title VII, Title IX,  eVerify Right to Work Status, EEOC and OPSC investigations, Workers’ Comp, Veteran’s Preference, Investigations, Disciplining Effectively, and Why the School Leader has to be “the enforcer.” We’ve also placed a stronger emphasis on immigration law and workplace sexual harassment issues, to National trends.

PM Session (1 hour) - ESSA requires that schools teach students about responsibly using intellectual property belonging to others: we will talk copyright law and fair use so that students (and schools) can avoid angry letters from lawyers in tall buildings. There will also be a short segment on branding/logo issue: avoiding infringing on others and how to protect your own brand from unscrupulous users.

PM Session (2 hours) - The most frequently asked special education questions and what’s making the news in SPED in 2018.

This PD will be a one-day training centered on the design, scoring, and reporting of ACT Aspire assessments and provide lessons/activities that can be incorporated into the classroom to help support success on these assessments.  This workshop is intended for classroom teachers in grades 3rd-5th who teach science.

This PD will be a one-day training centered on the design, scoring, and reporting of ACT Aspire assessments and provide lessons/activities that can be incorporated into the classroom to help support success on these assessments.  This workshop is intended for classroom teachers in grades 3rd-5th who teach literacy.