On April 25, 2024,TOSS ALI is hosting an event that will be live and in-person. The event will be a look at how leaders can truly personalize learning for all lead learners with the right books. This event is called ‘Book Study Speed Dating” because we want each attendee to leave with at least six book studies, fully developed and modeled, to take back home and implement in their schools and systems. The goal is not just to read a book, but to let us use a book to establish common ground, work better together, and especially to understand our student and community needs over time. Join us for Book Study Speed Date and you will indeed gain a ‘wealth’ of knowledge to take home to your educators. This event is book focused, but it is also learning centered, whole group involvement oriented, and will be engaging in this in-person format.

We are also excited to announce that Nancy Smith from TOSS Platinum Partner, Imagine Learning will be joining us to share.

AGENDA

***7 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

In 2024, we all need and want to learn from each other and from those leaders who have experience in the world of leading learning. The Women in Leadership Cohort 2023-2024: Coaching, Coping, and Creating series will end on April 23, 2024 with featured presenters ALL ALI and SLI members will want to learn from and grow with. All TOSS ALI members and SLI members are invited to join us as we learn more about creating a strong, cohesive team, and leading to support our work in Tennessee’s schools. This is the final event in our three-part series and will focus on Creating in Leadership: Creating a Cohesive Team in 2024. 

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

Registration is now open for “The Educational Leader and Cybersecurity 2024” on April 18, 2024. The event is sponsored by ENA by Zayo and is planned to support the work of all TOSS ALI members. If you are a school leader, a leadership team member, a system supervisor, or a superintendent, you need this training. Cybersecurity is one of the topics that we all know we need to be vigilant about, but that can fall off our radar unless we clearly try to remain current. Long time TOSS platinum partners, and long-time technology leaders in our state, this team will help you know what you need to know about a topic outside your regular scope of work. It matters to learners and to lead learners. Join ENA by Zayo and their team members as we investigate the Cybersecurity needs in our state’s school and districts. When we can have the ENA team available, you want to make sure you sign up to be with us on April 18, 2024. After their presentation, we will continue the day with small group sessions facilitated by Beverly Miller around our most pressing ‘problems of practice’. 

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

The Science of Reading refers to the extensive and ever-evolving body of research that indicates how to successfully teach children to read. Our friends at the Reading League say that instruction based on the Science of Reading “will elevate and transform every community, every nation, through the power of literacy.” In this session, we will explore how to effectively implement evidence-based reading practices through long-term change management. So many of you have requested training on the transition from early literacy to ‘highly effective’ readers, that we held our “first step” on November 1, 2023. We allowed the attendees to tell us exactly what “step two” should be, and without exception, you asked us to bring Dr. Karen Scoggins back and to discuss the impact building knowledge had on reading success. Karen Scoggins clearly understands that “Knowledge is Power! The more you and your teachers and students know, the faster they will learn. Attendees in this session will explore what the research tells us about “why” we must be building knowledge to aid in better reading comprehension, engagement, increased outcomes in other subjects, and equity. Understanding where these opportunities lie in our high-quality instructional materials and how best leverage them for better student outcomes will allow you to support your teachers, school programming, and student success.

*** 4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

This session is designed for educational leaders seeking out ways to strengthen their support through High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) and evidence-based instructional strategies. In this session, leaders will reflect upon how they are supporting others to intentionally make connections between their adopted materials and what we know as great instruction. Leaders will analyze NIET’s Teaching and Learning Rubric descriptors carefully and apply this learning to practice scenarios. As a result of engaging in this learning, leaders will create a plan for supporting teachers within their district moving forward. The day will include deep discussion around how the attendees can lead their schools to improve the connections between evidence-based practices and HQIM, how we can best support teachers by connecting evidence-based practices to HQIM, how school leaders and their staffs can engage in the process of improving learning over time, and how we can best reflect on support that propels teachers forward. You will be able to review the work you have done with these presenters, and you will be renewed as you plan to improve the work you are doing in 2024/2025.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

This session is designed for educational leaders seeking out ways to strengthen the policy and procedures in their schools to support student learning in the college and career preparation program to encourage more students to prepare for their high school summative assessment, the ACT. The program is designed to allow our lead learners to see how two different school systems have approached the process, enhanced learning, and supported both students and staff in the work required to allow all students to perform their best on this assessment. Not only will we look at the assessment process, but we will share ways to strategically plan for ACT readiness by focusing on learning in grades 6-8. This is not a “What teachers should do with students?” event, but a “What should leaders do with their staff” event. ACT staff members Nivia Serrano Atwood and Schwann Logan will be present to provide additional insight into the ACT assessment process in Tennessee.

***4 TASL CREDITS PENDING APPROVAL***

The implementation and monitoring of a successful RTI program takes place in a collaborative environment.  This event will allow you to learn from a variety of presenters to see how you can collect data, implement interventions, and make a very prescriptive process work best in your world of work. This is not a ‘RTI Manual’ overview, but a day for school leaders to come together to learn and share around the topic. You will discuss data, schedules, and interventionist, but also vertical alignment, teaming, and implementation strategies. You will hear about the pitfalls of RTI that can be avoided with five simple steps, and you will hear about how RTI can be used effectively with all groups of students in your school.

Charles Farmer is in his 6th year as principal at Freedom Middle School. Prior to FMS, Dr. Farmer was the Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Schools for Williamson County Schools. He has also served as a high school principal in Williamson County and rural Alabama. Charles and his educational support staff believe student interventions and academic supports are paramount to the learning process. In order to ensure the integrity of RTI at FMS, he and his team have implemented a practical approach to fidelity checks. Their hope is to give your administrative team ideas on how to monitor RTI in your school.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

Pearson will present a synopsis for the upcoming Spring 2024 TCAP administration for ACH, EOC, and ALT, as well as the ELA Stand-Alone Field Test and the Grade 3 Retake assessment. Additionally, an overview will be given about the Summer program with a focus on the assessments that are available in Schoolnet.  

Attendees may register team members as their guests.

***THIS IS A NON-TASL TRAINING***

When school leaders and administrators work together collaboratively to incorporate the arts into the lives of their students, both the students and the community benefit. This event will focus on how school and system leaders can better understand the role the arts play in academic achievement for their students over time. When we start to use assessment data to lead our discussions about student learning, it is often challenging to make time for all the things we want our children to have in their school day. We want strong programming in ELA, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, and STEM programs. As leaders, we must remember that a well-rounded education also includes knowledge, appreciation of, and involvement in the arts.  Join us on March 28, 2024, as we explore this topic in a session titled "Leading Learning for the Whole Child: How the Arts Can Improve and Enhance Learning”. 

As it becomes increasingly important for students to experience a well-rounded education, fully understanding what role the arts play is vital to leaders working with community, student development and discipline plans, and student attendance. This program will look at elements of a thriving arts program in several school systems and share how the neuroscience research has shown that the arts in our schools allow us to support not only student learning, but also students thriving in school and as adults in the communities we serve. 

Our Presenters:

Our first presenters join us from Knox County Schools, Bartlett City Schools, and The University of Tennessee. Dr. Heather Casteel serves as the Humanities Supervisor and Visual Arts Content Specialist in Knox County, Dr. Bradley Foust is the Fine Arts Supervisor in Bartlett City Schools, and Dr. Amanda Galbraith is a Post-Doctoral Research associate in art education at the University of Tennessee. They will be followed by a team from Tullahoma City Schools. Dr. Catherine Stephens, this year’s Tennessee Art Education Association’s Administrator of the Year and Atticus Hensley, Band Director at Tullahoma City Schools will highlight their work in middle Tennessee supporting the arts in the education of the whole child. This event is planned for leaders who manage schools and systems and will support your ability as you create, manage, and expand the arts programs for your students.

 ***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

This past summer, the Safe and Sound Schools organization hosted an event on safe schools in Gatlinburg. At that event, the attendees saw the importance of creating community as we build safety plans. As we continue our event planning for safety in 2023/2024, we wanted this event to look at community and its importance in the planning process. As we continue that strand of work, we want to focus on the principal-school resource officer partnership. That partnership has two important aspects that we will explore in detail on March 22, 2024. First, we will look at the SRO-Principal team and the law, and to help us understand how that impacts our schools we will feature Chuck Cagle, our TOSS Legal Counsel and attorney with Lewis Thomason in Nashville. We will then transition to a principal-school resource office team from Johnson City schools. From Dr. Holly English and Sergeant Jeff Jenkins, you will see how this partnership can develop and flourish over time, build capacity, and create a cohesive team. The presenter team will have about one hour to give you ideas around how your plan can support your school, your system, or your community, then we will share and learn together in facilitated small group discussions.

*** 4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

Join us on March 18, 2024, as we learn from Meagan England, Elementary and Accountability Instructional Supervisor/Assistant Director of Schools from Claiborne County. She will lead our attendees as they work through creating a plan for the next round of textbook adoptions. Participants will identify stakeholders, create committee descriptions, establish committee member well-defined roles, plan for training sessions, plan for the final selection process, and support each other as you plan for and discuss the challenges of ‘rolling out’ a new HQIM curriculum system wide. We will conduct this day with plenty of time between topic presentations to allow you to share your challenges and successes in small groups as well.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

Join TOSS ALI and Platinum Partner, Renaissance, for a day of ‘digging in’ to the common RTI2 concerns and practical solutions. We’ll explore how educational leaders can empower educators and support change using data and applied practices that are targeted specifically for your school’s context and your students’ needs. This event will allow school and system leaders to review data, analyze programming, and focus on improving both formative and summative assessments.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

Learn from Pearson how to administer the TN Grade 3 Benchmark as a Path to Promotion. We will discuss how to request an aimswebPlus account (if your district does not already have one), rostering options, which subtests to administer, how to administer subtests, where to find the materials, and how to locate student scores.

***THIS IS A NON-TASL TRAINING***

In 2024, women may not need other women to help them get a job in educational leadership, but they certainly can use the coaching and mentorship of their colleagues to prepare for and to perform in those jobs and to cope with the challenges or leading and learning. Several years ago, the TOSS ALI agenda added a Women in Educational Leadership event to our schedule each year. From those one-day events, we evolved into a three-part annual series of events that we call the Three Cs of Leadership. I am happy to introduce part one of our three-part series: Women and Leadership Cohort 2023-2024: Coaching, Creating, and Coping. All TOSS ALI members and SLI members are invited to join us as we learn more about coaching others, mentoring for success, and leading to support learning in Tennessee’s schools.

We will hear presentations from Mischelle Simcox, Lori Sexton, and Yolanda Dandridge. Dr. Yolanda Dandridge currently serves as the founding principal of Capstone Educational Group’s (CEG) fourth school, Cornerstone Prep School serving communities in the Memphis area. She recently served the Achievement School District as Chief of School Accountability and Compliance and has had a variety of roles in education, including time as a classroom teacher and principal. We have asked Dr. Dandridge to share with us how she sees coping, coaching, and mentoring supporting her own work and the work of teachers and student learning under her leadership. Each presenter will share their experiences with coaching both in schools, in their careers, and in the community. Dr. Simcox is the current Superintendent of Johnson County Schools, serves on the TOSS Board, and will help us learn how her work in the office, as a mother, an athlete, and an advocate for public education helps her cope with the rigors of the job in 2024. We will also learn from Lori Sexton from Bedford County Schools. Lori currently serves as her system’s Director of Career and Technical Education. Since one of our top five focus topics this year has been on ‘The World of Work’ and student readiness, I asked Ms. Sexton to present today and share her work in what was once a non-traditional field. These three presenters come to use from very different geographic locations, literally representing far west, far east, and middle Tennessee. They also come to us from varied roles and with a variety of challenges. I think this will be an event that ALL ALI members will want to attend on February 7, 2024.

This is part one of our three-part series. We focused on Coaching and Mentoring in the fall, and we are following up with some overlap requested on that area, plus our work with “coping” in this winter 2024 event. This spring, for our final 'Women in Leadership Cohort' series in May, we will dive more deeply into the concept of creating in leadership. I hope you can attend any or all these events and learn how to coach, cope, and create as a woman in leadership or with the women you have on your leadership teams.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

This day finishes out our 'World of Work' series with a look at embedded work force training, work force partnerships, and innovative programming. The event is planned for February 1, 2024. Presenters include Mark Gregory, CTE Supervisor from Robertson County, Holly Whitehead, CTE Assistant Principal at Heritage High School, and Lisa Collins, CTE Assistant Principal from William Blount High School, and Arlette Robinson, CTE, Work Based Learning, and Industry Certification Director from Bradley County Schools. Mark will share both workforce readiness and education/community partnership work, while Holly and Lisa present Blount County’s high school opportunities in CTE, industry credentialing, and work-based learning. Arlette will discuss the importance of embedding workforce awareness and practices in all grades They bring us the ‘school leader’ perspective on post-secondary opportunities.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

As we continue our Assistant Principal Cohort Events for the 2023/2024 we are pleased to announce an event on January 31, 2024.  “Assistant Principal’s Cohort: Leading, Collaborating, and Personalizing Learning for ALL Learners in 2024” will feature two presentations on PLC development at the school level and Personalized Learning. Assistant principals are often tasked with multiple buckets of work. As you join us for this event, you'll have the chance to develop skills that specifically focus on collaboration in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), data analysis, and personalized learning tailored for adult learners. You will also learn how to best create collaborative environments across school and building levels. We invite all Assistant Principals, your Principals partners, and other ALI members to join us to learn from these leaders who are doing the work each day!

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

The third in the series will be held on January 30, 2024, and will highlight your fellow Tennessee Public School leaders as they share the work they are doing in their schools. These presenters will highlight Farm to Table, Internships, and work-based learning plus other programs they want to share! You will hear Tabatha Ogle from Sevier County, Sam Brown and Marisa Wright from York Institute, and Lori Sexton from Bedford County. Tabitha Ogle serves as the CTE Director in Sevier County Schools. Tabitha will focus on the “Sevier Ready” program that aligns student internships and job shadowing experiences with career education and exploration. Then we will learn from Sam Brown, CTE Director and Marissa Wright, Agriculture Educator at York Institute as they share their work to bring the Farm to Fork and Feather to Fork initiatives to fruition in their school. The day will end with a presentation by Renny Whittenbarger with Anne Pearson and Michael Ritchie Cleveland City Schools. They will discuss their post-secondary opportunities and the importance of industry certifications in high school programming.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

The next 'World of Work' event will be held on January 25, 2024, and will be focused on Work Readiness: WorkKeys, Industry Certifications, and PIE Programming. This event will feature Brittany Cannon and Arlette Robinson from Bradley County, Jessie Kinsey from Tullahoma City, and Leslie Eldridge from Cumberland County Schools. Brittany Cannon is the Director of the PIE Center, and Arlette Robinson is the CTE Director in Bradley County Schools and they will share with you their work with the development of WorkKeys, CTE Programming, and PIE. Jessie Kinsey from Tullahoma City Schools currently serves as the system’s CTE Director. She will share the work that their system has done to develop and advance programming in Aviation, Broadcast Media, and STEM in grades 6-12. She will discuss grants and how the ‘application process’ has helped support programs over time in her system. Finishing this day for us will be Leslie Eldridge, the Cumberland County CTE Supervisor. Leslie will present on their system’s career framework and community partnerships.

*** 4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

For the first Assistant Superintendents Cohort event for 2023/2024, we wanted to listen to your evaluation and needs assessment comments and make the event meaningful, presented in shorter time segments to allow you the flexibility to attend while doing your ‘work’ in your system, and still offer TASL credit to those that need that option.

ALI members who serve as Assistant Superintendents or as Supervisors may attend as many of the three days as your schedule allows. If you register and attend all three sessions, you will receive 7 hours of TASL credit, and we will have all the necessary paperwork for you to document your attendance on that last day.

Registration is now open for the Assistant Superintendent Cohort Group: Building Teams to Coach, Mentor, and Support. The event that begins with a presentation on November 30th, continues December 5, and ends on January 24, 2024.

Featured teams with the Superintendent and their Assistant or a Supervisor from Blount County, Cleveland City, and Franklin Special Schools will come together to share their work from 9:00-11:00 Central Time each of those three days. I will open with you in a ‘get to know you’ breakout time between 8:30-8:55 Central Time. This will be time well spent. You will hear about developing the Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent team, Celebrating Success and Developing Leadership, and Recruiting, Retaining, and Developing talent. We have a wonderful group of presenters, some seasoned and some new to the role. You will also learn from leaders who have been in your seats and know the challenges of leading from the middle. This format is new, these leaders are the ones you need and want to learn with, and I encourage you to sign up to participate in round one of the Assistant Superintendents Cohort 2023/2024.

On January 24, 2024 (Session 3), you will have the opportunity to learn from Dr. David Snowden who is in his 22nd year as the Franklin Special School District Director of Schools and was recently named by TOSS as the 2024 Tennessee Superintendent of the Year!  Joining Dr. Snowden will be Dr. Mary Decker, who is in her fourth year as the Franklin Special associate director of schools for teaching & learning.  Leadership development is a high priority in the FSSD, and Dr. Snowden and Dr. Decker look forward to sharing the embedded strategies and approaches that have proven to be effective, all in the interest of optimal student learning.  They will explore personalized professional learning-focused leadership team meetings and the annual leadership retreat, as well as the district’s administrative cohort for principals and assistant principals who are new to their roles and the leadership internship program for aspiring administrators. The title of their presentation is "Preparing and Supporting Effective Leaders for Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond".

*** 7 TASL CREDITS APPROVED - MUST ATTEND ALL 3 SESSIONS ***

When school counselors and administrators work together collaboratively, the students and the school community as a whole reap the benefits. In this session we will explore a toolkit of resources that assess, acknowledge, and celebrate the collaboration of principals and school counselors in school communities. When we complete educational leadership programs at our selected universities, or school counselor preparation programs, very little if any time is spent on the roles of each of these groups or on how creating a collaborative team can impact the success of ALL students.

Join Amy Baltimore as she shares the toolkit, her knowledge, and facilitates time for you to work together to build capacity in this area. TOSS ALI members may invite their school counselor as their guest to join them during this event, or you may attend alone and watch the recording with your school counselor team later. Join us to learn more about how to establish guidelines, build capacity, and lead with the ‘whole child’ in mind.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

This training is an event designed to support the work of school leaders around 504, SPED, and Title IX. Shaundraya Hersey and Taylor Jenkins from the Tennessee Department of Education will be the featured keynote presenters for this virtual four-hour event.

Agenda     

8:30-9:00         Opening Comments and Question Development

9:00-10:15       Shaundraya Hersey     TDOE      SPED and the Lead Learner

10:30-11:15     Taylor Jenkins             TDOE         504 and the Lead Learner

11:30-12:15     Hersey and Jenkins     TDOE        Title IX

12:15-12:30     Evaluation, Wrap-up, Whole group discussions

Times are currently flexible on this draft agenda and will be more firmly developed by the presenters as we get closer to the final event date.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

As we progress through the TOSS ALI event schedule, we are proud to announce our first in-person event for 2023/2024. We know that for leaders, it is often hard to fully understand what is needed by our graduates unless we can see the “World of Work” first-hand. On December 7, 2023, you will have the opportunity to travel to Smyrna, Tennessee and begin at the Nissan Training Center/TCAT Smyrna at 10:00. We will come together to define the skills needed to be successful in this training program, in the automobile manufacturing industry, and in the laboratory-style classes offered in this facility. After meeting and defining the work, we will be taken on a complete tour of the facility, return to the meetings space to work collaboratively with middle Tennessee educators to discuss the planning process to allow students to be both college and career ready in STEM programs. After this tour and discussion, we will share a light lunch and table-top activities, then we will exchange thoughts about where we are in your systems, where we want to be, and what we need to create an environment in grades K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 to enable our learners to excel in this environment.

Make plans now to join us on December 7, 2023, for this 4-hour TASL training on-site at the Nissan Training Center. Registration is strictly limited to 49 attendees plus Wanda Shelton, your facilitator. Superintendents, Supervisors, Principals, and Assistant Principals are all welcome to register and attend. The attendance will be on a first come, first served basis, and if you register but find that you cannot attend, let me (wanda@tosstn.com) or Trisha Martin (trisha@tosstn.com) know as soon as possible so we can let the next person in line enroll.

We will provide a simple boxed/sack lunch and bottled water for each attendee.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

This past summer, the Safe and Sound Schools organization hosted an event on safe schools in Gatlinburg. At that event, the attendees saw the importance of creating community as we build safety plans. As we continue our event planning for safety in 2023/2024, we wanted this event to look at community and its importance in the planning process. As the TOSS ALI begins this next phase of safety training, we wanted to have you, the lead learners, consider three things that can help create a meaningful safety plan/program.

First, attendees will learn from Casey Kelly and the Safety Team in Cocke County, then we will look to Jeff Hicks to share with us the improvements needed and the importance of a highly effective EVENT safety planning process. In this hour, we will think about how we can best use SRO’s, police, and EMA to help school leaders keep everyone safe at graduations, football games, field days, etc., and finally Janet Watkins will join us to share how community involvement can support the implementation of a highly effective threat assessment team.  All three of the presenters will have about one hour to give you ideas around how your plan can support your school, your system, or your community.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

For the first Assistant Superintendents Cohort event for 2023/2024, we wanted to listen to your evaluation and needs assessment comments and make the event meaningful, presented in shorter time segments to allow you the flexibility to attend while doing your ‘work’ in your system, and still offer TASL credit to those that need that option.

Registration is now open for the Assistant Superintendent Cohort Group: Building Teams to Coach, Mentor, and Support. The event that begins with a presentation on November 30th, continues December 5, and ends on January 24, 2024. ALI members who serve as Assistant Superintendents or as Supervisors may attend as many of the three days as your schedule allows. If you register and attend all three sessions, you will receive 7 hours of TASL credit, and we will have all the necessary paperwork for you to document your attendance on that last day.

Featured teams with the Superintendent and their Assistant or a Supervisor from Blount County, Cleveland City, and Franklin Special Schools will come together to share their work from 9:00-11:00 Central Time each of those three days. I will open with you in a ‘get to know you’ breakout time between 8:30-8:55 Central Time. This will be time well spent. You will hear about developing the Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent team, Celebrating Success and Developing Leadership, and Recruiting, Retaining, and Developing talent. We have a wonderful group of presenters, some seasoned and some new to the role. You will also learn from leaders who have been in your seats and know the challenges of leading from the middle. This format is new, these leaders are the ones you need and want to learn with, and I encourage you to sign up to participate in round one of the Assistant Superintendents Cohort 2023/2024.

On December 5, 2023 (Session 2), you will have the opportunity to learn from Dr. Russell Dyer and Dr. Jeff Elliott from Cleveland City Schools.  Dr. Dyer has been the Director of Schools since 2016 and serves on the TOSS Board of Directors. Dr. Dyer has also served as a teacher and administrator in Shelby County Schools as well as Collierville Schools.  He will be joined by Dr. Elliott who serves CCS as the Chief of Staff.  In his 30th year in Cleveland, he served as an elementary teacher, middle school assistant principal, and principal before joining the district staff in 2012. With a strong commitment to elevate instruction and support their principals and teachers through shared leadership and partnership, Cleveland City Schools aims to move students forward academically, socially, and emotionally.  During this presentation, Dr. Dyer and Dr. Elliott will share how they ensure that every student in the district is known by name, ability, and need, and graduates ready for their chosen career path.  The title of their presentation is “Oh Say Can You C: Planning and Preparing for Success in Cleveland”.

*** 7 TASL CREDITS APPROVED - MUST ATTEND ALL 3 SESSIONS ***

For the first Assistant Superintendents Cohort event for 2023/2024, we wanted to listen to your evaluation and needs assessment comments and make the event meaningful, presented in shorter time segments to allow you the flexibility to attend while doing your ‘work’ in your system, and still offer TASL credit to those that need that option.

Registration is now open for the Assistant Superintendent Cohort Group: Building Teams to Coach, Mentor, and Support. The event that begins with a presentation on November 30th, continues December 5, and ends on January 24, 2024. ALI members who serve as Assistant Superintendents or as Supervisors may attend as many of the three days as your schedule allows. If you register and attend all three sessions, you will receive 7 hours of TASL credit, and we will have all the necessary paperwork for you to document your attendance on that last day.

Featured teams with the Superintendent and their Assistant or a Supervisor from Blount County, Cleveland City, and Franklin Special Schools will come together to share their work from 9:00-11:00 Central Time each of those three days. I will open with you in a ‘get to know you’ breakout time between 8:30-8:55 Central Time. This will be time well spent. You will hear about developing the Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent team, Celebrating Success and Developing Leadership, and Recruiting, Retaining, and Developing talent. We have a wonderful group of presenters, some seasoned and some new to the role. You will also learn from leaders who have been in your seats and know the challenges of leading from the middle. This format is new, these leaders are the ones you need and want to learn with, and I encourage you to sign up to participate in round one of the Assistant Superintendents Cohort 2023/2024.

On November 30, 2023 (Session 1), you will have the opportunity to learn from Mr. David C. Murrell, Ed.S., who has a long history with Blount County Schools. For over 25 years, he has served BCS in many roles. From a classroom teacher to the Director of Schools, Mr. Murrell values relationships within BCS. He will be joined by Dr. Courtney L. Whitehead. Dr. Whitehead has served in BCS for over two decades. She is in her second year as the supervisor of Human Resources, and she enjoys working with all employees as they develop throughout their career. The title of their presentation is “Celebrating Employees from Onboarding to Retirement".

*** 7 TASL CREDITS APPROVED - MUST ATTEND ALL 3 SESSIONS ***

After attending our TOSS ALI event on September 19, 2023, titled Rethinking math intervention: Learning acceleration in practice, we had several leaders reach out and ask if we could help provide a more detailed training session on Zearn. Some school leaders had been unaware that this program had been made available to all Tennessee systems.

I spoke to the Zearn representatives, and we are proud to announce that we are bringing you two virtual opportunities to see this program in a great deal more detail. To get the right people at the right place, we are offering two events, one for K-5 leaders and their guests, and one for 6-8 leaders and their guests. We scheduled these events from 9-11 central time, did not apply for TASL training so they can be very ‘product’ specific, and we made the time between trainings long enough to allow you to work with your staff to see what other ‘needs’ you might have prior to the second training. 

Since this is not a TASL event, you may register yourself as an ALI or SLI member, then you will have the option to also register up to three of your school or system staff members as guests.

Please think about your student’s and teacher’s mathematics data reports, the gaps you are seeing in the learning for our new mathematics curriculum, and your needs to support virtual progress for ALL students, and then sign up for one or both events. 

I love training that is hands on, lets you see the program in action, and is supported by people who understand your challenges. This time will help you support teachers, students, and parents. Many parents are not feeling well equipped to support their student’s mathematics homework, and I think TOSS Platinum Partner, Zearn can help there too!

***THIS IS A NON-TASL EVENT***

In 2023, women may not need other women to help them get a job in educational leadership, but they certainly can use the coaching and mentorship of their colleagues to prepare for and to perform in those jobs. Several years ago, the TOSS ALI agenda added a Women in Educational Leadership event to our schedule each year. From those one-day events, we evolved into a three-part annual series of events that we call the Three Cs of Leadership. I am happy to introduce part one of our three-part series: Women and Leadership Cohort 2023-2024: Coaching, Creating, and Coping. All TOSS ALI members and SLI members are invited to join us as we learn more about coaching others, mentoring for success, and leading to support learning in Tennessee’s schools.

Our opening presenter will be Catie Lane Bailey. Catie is a Nashville attorney and a registered lobbyist who represents and advises clients on legislative and public policy matters before the Tennessee General Assembly. Ms. Bailey has worked with TOSS for more than 7 years. She can share her unique perspective on policy, lawmaking, and lead our attendees to a better understanding of the importance of relationship building in this work. We are so excited to have Catie as our keynote and cannot wait to hear her share stories of her work as an undergraduate intern to her representation of more than fifty clients today. Next, we will learn with Kim Worley as she shares her experiences as a teacher, leader, and lead learner in Dyersburg City Schools. Kim will share how she sees mentoring used to improve instructional leadership, student learning, and staff satisfaction in the Tennessee school system today. The day will end with a presentation from Dr. Yolanda Dandridge who currently serves as the founding principal of Capstone Educational Group’s (CEG) fourth school, Cornerstone Prep School serving communities in the Memphis area. Dr. Dandridge recently served the Achievement School District as Chief of School Accountability and Compliance and has had a variety of roles in education, including time as a classroom teacher and principal. We have asked Dr. Dandridge to share with us how she sees coaching and mentoring supporting her own work and the work of teachers and student learning under her leadership. Each presenter will share their experiences with coaching both in schools, in their careers, and in the community.

This is part one of our three-part series. We will focus on Coaching this fall, to be followed by a coping event in the winter of 2024 and finally, a Women’s Retreat in May where we will dive more deeply into the concept of creating in leadership. I hope you can attend any or all these events and learn how to coach, cope, and create as a woman or with the women you have on your team.

                                           ***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

Each year, our Assistant Principal’s Cohort Group meets three to four times to share issues and develop our scheduling, data analysis, and team building skills as we bond with others in the state that are doing the same work. This year, our first event will be in early November and will feature three Assistant Principals, one from each grand division in Tennessee. If you are an Assistant Principal or TOSS ALI member who is often tasked with scheduling, team building, and data analysis, join us on November 14, 2023 for a virtual ZOOM event from 8:30-12:30 central time. We will learn together, bond with our fellow leaders, and grow in our knowledge of how to best lead learning in Tennessee’s public schools. Each presenter will have between 45-50 minutes to present followed by a group discussion either in whole group or in small groups.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***

After attending our TOSS ALI event on September 19, 2023, titled Rethinking math intervention: Learning acceleration in practice, we had several leaders reach out and ask if we could help provide a more detailed training session on Zearn. Some school leaders had been unaware that this program had been made available to all Tennessee systems.

I spoke to the Zearn representatives, and we are proud to announce that we are bringing you two virtual opportunities to see this program in a great deal more detail. To get the right people at the right place, we are offering two events, one for K-5 leaders and their guests, and one for 6-8 leaders and their guests. We scheduled these events from 9-11 central time, did not apply for TASL training so they can be very ‘product’ specific, and we made the time between trainings long enough to allow you to work with your staff to see what other ‘needs’ you might have prior to the second training. 

Since this is not a TASL event, you may register yourself as an ALI or SLI member, then you will have the option to also register up to three of your school or system staff members as guests.

Please think about your student’s and teacher’s mathematics data reports, the gaps you are seeing in the learning for our new mathematics curriculum, and your needs to support virtual progress for ALL students, and then sign up for one or both events. 

I love training that is hands on, lets you see the program in action, and is supported by people who understand your challenges. This time will help you support teachers, students, and parents. Many parents are not feeling well equipped to support their student’s mathematics homework, and I think TOSS Platinum Partner, Zearn can help there too!

***THIS IS A NON-TASL EVENT***

Are you new to your leadership role, new to your school or grade level, or do you just need new ideas around building community, engaging all learners, and school safety? Do you need more information on stakeholder involvement? Can creating a PLC, tutoring, and intervention strategic plan improve your student’s performance over time? Do you need help as you build a safety team? Are you doing everything you can to support those under your care? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is the event for you. 

For this first New Leaders Cohort event for 2023/2024 we will look at leadership and learning from three very different windows. Our goal will be to improve student performance and create a safe, positive learning environment. We will open with John Bush. He will discuss community, team building, and strategic planning. Then we will hear from LaDonna McFall. She will share ideas around the use of PLC’s, intervention, goal setting, and student data. She will also take a bit of time to highlight her new role with TOSS Platinum Partner, Edmentum.

Finally, Chris Stites and I will discuss facility safety. We will outline ways that you can make your school feel safer and be safer for all of those under your care. Platinum Partner Next Generation Underwriter's (NGU) Chris Stites will guide you through a safe facilities walk-through.

Do not miss this event if you are interested in learning from others in your role as they think about building community, helping students move toward college and career readiness, and finding that ‘safe place’ on your campus for you, your staff, and your students.  Whether you are new to the role or just want to feel that old spark of enthusiasm, join us on November 2, 2023, as we dive more deeply into our work around student learning and a safe and positive school culture.

Any ALI member who wants to learn more about strategic planning, PLC’s and Programming, and Event Safety should plan to attend. You do not have to be a ‘new’ leader.

***4 TASL CREDITS APPROVED***