Student Achievement needs to be every board's top priority. All board members want their students to succeed but often don't understand their role in creating the vision and conditions for student success. Board members need the knowledge and confidence to discuss student achievement at the board table and collaborately build a system that focuses on improved student learning.
The conversation begins with the belief that all children can learn and board members make the difference in creating districts where all students reach their highest potential!
In order to establish parameters for upcoming negotiations, it is essential that the management team can identify and understand costs in the current contract. We will teach the participants how to analyze these cost factors, emphasizing, but not limited to salary and health care benefits.
It is often a problem for boards to keep track of all the policies that the law requires the board to annually review. This group session will comprehensively cover committee strategies to facilitate and organize the annual board review and revision of policies as mandated by law. The focus shall include harassment, intimidation and bullying, and the code of student conduct as models for the discussion.
The program format shall include Power Point presentation, lecture and discussion. Handouts shall include model and sample policies, a chart of all policy topics that require annual review which details specific review requirements (i.e. public and staff participation, community involvement etc.), committee organization strategies and mock calendar.
Being the Board President can be a challenging position. A board president must balance the needs of all to be heard with the need to use the board’s time efficiently and effectively. Whether the issue is personnel, a divided board, or public participation, the board president’s leadership can help guide the board through these difficult situations.
Using scenarios brought by both the presenters and those in attendance, the attendees will be given legal and practical information to navigate through the challenges they face. The roles and responsibilities of the Board President before, during and after the board meeting along with the Board President’s relationship with fellow board members and the administration will all be part of this discussion.
Understand strategic planning as a unique opportunity to set your district's course in line with your identified needs, being aware of the interests and demands of your district, attuned to future possibilities and aware of both the internal and external forces that will influence your journey. Attendees will take part in an activity that recognizes the strength of an organized process, will brainstorm the elements of excellence, will participate in a quiz, and will discuss their educational beliefs.
Who’s killing your professional learning community? In this simulation, you will be involved in a real-life murder mystery as you listen to suspects, gather clues, and try to identify culprits who have “done in” efforts to establish systemic staff development and professional learning communities. You will examine “pitfalls” including attitudes and practices that kill collaborative culture, bring continuous improvement to a halt, and stand in the way of student learning. Key strategies to enhance student learning through collaborative teams will be shared.
TBD
Student Achievement needs to be every board's top priority. All board members want their students to succeed but often don't understand their role in creating the vision and conditions for student success. Board members need the knowledge and confidence to discuss student achievement at the board table and collaborately build a system that focuses on improved student learning.
The conversation begins with the belief that all children can learn and board members make the difference in creating districts where all students reach their highest potential!
This workshop will provide a comprehensive look at a number of facets of the cyber world of today’s youth. The current trends such as sexting, gaming, social networking sites, blogs, IM threats and others will be presented via guided group discussion, small group discussion, activities, videos and power point. This presentation goes beyond stories of strangers lurking on the internet to catch unsuspecting children. We will explore how some electronic communications are opportunities for bullying, bias crimes and violence among students. In addition, the New Jersey Law as it applies to this topic as well as empowerment strategies for students, parents, and staff will be covered. These strategies will promote adults’ understanding of cyber activity of youth while teaching them realistic ways to help students keep their own rights and guard the rights of others in the cyber-sphere. Sharing of ideas and concerns will be encouraged throughout the workshop.
You and your board worked tirelessly to paper screen resumes, interview candidates, check references, and negotiate a contract to secure the new superintendent to your district. Your board is filled with optimism that is only matched by the hope that your choice to lead the district succeeds. This action lab will help to improve the chance that your new superintendent begins his/her career with the tools to be successful. Board members will have the opportunity to develop a transition plan that will help the new leader navigate through the unique waters of your community. This session will be led by an experienced superintendent who will share his transition plan and facilitate the process of developing a transition plan to meet the needs of your district.
More than ever before, our State's vocational technical schools are providing an enriched academic environment that has dramatically changed enrollment demand.
Innovative program offerings are focusing on a different series of workplace competencies, including creative problem solving and collaboration, to address vital current and future workforce needs - ranging from healthcare services to the green construction industry.
The new Vo Tech fosters an emerging collaborative environment with outside organizations and insitutions of higher education - readying the graduate for either workforce placement or the opportunity for continued education in their track of study.
If planned properly, these collaborations do not require additional built space but can operate within existing building footprints. Time sharing, offsite instruction and outside partnerships can all contribute to the new Vo Tech environment of innovative study.
The program will demonstrate the types of energy-related improvements that can be implemented and financed with the use of bonds, power purchase agreements and energy savings improvement plans. The presentation will display actual energy-related improvements through the use of a power point presentation--namely, boiler replacement, HVAC control systems, lighting, and solar energy panels to name a few. The program will demonstrate the most cost-effective way to finance these improvements by maximizing state aid and energy-related financial incentives--such as rebates and the sale of solar renewable energy certificates.
Being the Board President can be a challenging position. A board president must balance the needs of all to be heard with the need to use the board’s time efficiently and effectively. Whether the issue is personnel, a divided board, or public participation, the board president’s leadership can help guide the board through these difficult situations.
Using scenarios brought by both the presenters and those in attendance, the attendees will be given legal and practical information to navigate through the challenges they face. The roles and responsibilities of the Board President before, during and after the board meeting along with the Board President’s relationship with fellow board members and the administration will all be part of this discussion.
The Board-Superintendent relationship is central to effective school governance. This Action Lab focusses on how the Board can help make their new Superintendent's transition a success. Hands on activities include small group brainstorming sessions on how the Board can help or hinder the transition, a puzzle exercise that defines the roles of the Board and Superintendent, a quiz about the Board's role in governance, and a large group discussion of the key importance of communication in the Board-Superintendent relationship.
This hands-on action lab will cover all aspects of the superintendent search process. We will explain areas of responsibility of the CSA and have small groups reach consensus on their expectations. The next step is the Preparation Stage where we will discuss the decisions that have to be made. In small groups the attendees will participate in a hands on activity on setting up the search criteria. The next step is the Processing Stage, which involves setting up a calendar, the application, and the interviews. In small groups the participants will review the legality of interview questions. The last phase in the process is the Final Selection Stage. In this stage we will discuss choosing the finalists, district visits, negotiating the contract, and picking the new superintendent.
Board of Trustee Members, who are often Charter School Founders, are faced wtih the daunting and conflicting tasks of overseeing educational innovation and student success while at the same time navigating a myriad of unyielding statutory compliance requirements beyond the Charter School Act. The session will explore the role of the Trustees both in theory and in the nuts and bolts practices through both lecture and discussion of every day issues.
The Green Schools Committee of the USGBC NJ chapter is committed to linking sustainable facilities design and operations to curriculum at all grade levels. Committee leadership has developed DOE approved curricula focused on the 5 areas of LEED, as well as vocational school curriculum focused on preparing students for employment in the green buildings industry.
This session will present curriculum related to the 5 areas of LEED (site preservation, water conservation, materials reuse and recycling, energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality) and relate them to specific, developed lesson plans for all grades.
In this Action Lab, participants will be given an overview of Green School objectives, and will have access to web-based resourves and live instruction in preparing a Green Schools Action Plan that they can take back to their school for implementation that can lead to changed behaviors in facilities and reduced operational costs.
Human Spectrogram. Personal pie chart. Role play. Slinkies, mood rings, telepathic atmosphere, You Tube, TED, Speed Chatting, flying dogs and a spot-on way to lose 20 pounds and never gain it back. A little nonsense blended with a lot of common sense you never knew about, but have always used.
The presentation will include hands on activities such as, but not limited to: how to orchestrate an advisory group whereby the class will be divided and experience a group discussion based upon examples of issues facing our children today; small group activities that identify “good listeners” and the skills they possess (has been wonderful for board members and superintendents in the past!!); scenarios presented for groups to brainstorm and come to resolution/conflict resolution; several examples of written material used in advisory programs such as “The Maligned Wolf,’ “The Power of One,” etc; “sculpting’ to observe and assess situations as well as offering specific examples based upon the needs and requests of the group. These activities show how to connect a Character Education program with your crisis management, school safety, discipline, academic, social emotional issues, parent programs, service learning and community involvement. Pro active strategies will be presented to educate parents, students and staff on issues such as cyber bullying, eating disorders, self harm, gangs, school safety etc. An environment of confidence and trust will be created, thus producing an atmosphere where students will feel comfortable, safe from harm and ridicule allowing the prime components for learning.
Participants will be led through the grievance process from the constitutional & statutory requirements to the appeal process. Particular attention will be paid to the necessary contract lanaguge and the standards which may be utilized in grievance arbitration. Participants will be asked to prepare the "issue" presented to the arbitrator based upon a hypothetical fact pattern.
It is often a problem for boards to keep track of all the policies that the law requires the board to annually review. This group session will comprehensively cover committee strategies to facilitate and organize the annual board review and revision of policies as mandated by law. The focus shall include harassment, intimidation and bullying, and the code of student conduct as models for the discussion.
The program format shall include Power Point presentation, lecture and discussion. Handouts shall include model and sample policies, a chart of all policy topics that require annual review which details specific review requirements (i.e. public and staff participation, community involvement etc.), committee organization strategies and mock calendar.
A superintendent who has been involved in two 1:1 initiatives and an author and consultant on transforming learning environments team up to develop a 1:1 differentiated learning environment at the conference. Participants will explore 26 areas (from A to Z) related to implementing a 1:1 laptop initiative. They will work on computers (supplied by Apple Computer Inc.) in a web-based environment, pursuing information based on their needs, and attending whole-group and small-group sessions with the presenters.
The purpose of the action lab will be to provide school board members and school administrators with an overview of a school district’s ability to discipline certified and non-certified school employees. The participants will receive an overview of the applicable statutory and regulatory procedures regarding increment withholdings, tenure charges, suspensions and terminations. The participants will also receive an overview of recent case law illustrating examples of permissible discipline.
The Green Schools Leadership Institute action lab will demonstrate how to use the school building as a teaching tool and investigate options for lowering operating cost of the facility. It demonstrates 21st Century collaboration by connecting green industry professionals from the USGBC-NJ Green Schools Committee with school leadership to developing a green strategic plan
Grab your iPad and let's get tapping! Learn about iPad features and functions and adding content via iTunes and the App store. Discover the growing list of iPad applications for teaching and learning, productivity, references and creativity. Find where you can get free books and resources for your students with print disabilities.
Understand strategic planning as a unique opportunity to set your district's course in line with your identified needs, being aware of the interests and demands of your district, attuned to future possibilities and aware of both the internal and external forces that will influence your journey. Attendees will take part in an activity that recognizes the strength of an organized process, will brainstorm the elements of excellence, will participate in a quiz, and will discuss their educational beliefs.
The evaluation process is critical to the success of the school district. Participants will view the process form start to finish, including our online version for both CSA evaluation and self evaluation. Learn how to write a CSA narrative based on majority opinion and how to construct an effective professional development plan.
"This Old Schoolhouse" is a video program hosted on the Stratford School District website. Each episode provided an insider's look at the construction project that took place during 2010-2011. The series allowed residents to see each step of the construction project firsthand. Attendees will get an overview of how "This Old Schoolhouse" was produced. A practice video will be created during this action lab.
The presentation will inform Boards of Education how to begin the shared service programs. Many BOE's and Towns do not know where to begin promoting shared services. The "Courier" newspaper featured an article in March 7th edition on the Governor's plan to take away state aid if shared services are not instituted. I will discuss how the South Plainfield Board of Education and the South Plainfield Boro Council are working together.
Participants will be given a legal preview on the authority and impact of the Board of Education in Special Education. Then utilizing a case study and working in teams, the participants will prepare the case for a hearing on behalf of either the parent or the school, while identifying typical pitfalls and how they impact the defense of the case. The action lab will conclude with a mock due process hearing.
Participants will be actively engaged in problem-solving challenges that promote K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning that is integrated with literacy and social studies. Participants will experience firsthand how district curricula can be enhanced by incorporating activities that totally engage students while fostering 21st century skills.
In conformance with the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, school districts, principals, other school staff, and board of education members will understand what constitutes bullying and, how to prevent, report, investigate and respond to incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying through lecture, group practice, role plays, DVD segments and appropriate handouts .