LEAD Education Summit: Full Schedule

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8:00am EDT

Registration Powered by 1Huddle.co

Monday July 27, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am EDT

Speakers

1 Huddle

Monday July 27, 2026 8:00am - 8:30am EDT

8:30am EDT

Opening and Keynote Address

Monday July 27, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am EDT

Host - Kareem Neal
Keynote - Troy Long

Speakers

Kareem Neal

Teacher, Phoenix Union High School District

Kareem Neal is a self-contained special education teacher in Phoenix, AZ. He has taught students with cognitive delays for 24 years. He is the 2019 Arizona Teacher of the Year and is a 2022 inductee into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. He is on the board of directors for The National... Read More →

Monday July 27, 2026 8:30am - 9:00am EDT

9:00am EDT

The LEADership Panel

Monday July 27, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT

Education is at a pivotal moment. The LEADership Panel brings together educators, policymakers, and community leaders to rethink how systems can better serve all students across both urban and rural communities. This conversation will highlight bold and practical strategies to expand equity, increase access, and open new opportunities. The goal is to ensure every learner, regardless of zip code, has access to high quality teaching, modern technology, and clear pathways to success in school, career, and life.

Speakers

Akbar Cook

Matt Carey

Dr. LaRetha Odumosu

Monday July 27, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT

10:00am EDT

From Access to Action: Building Equitable, Community-Driven Tutoring & Enrichment Programs Across Urban and Rural Schools

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Access to high-quality academic support and enrichment opportunities remains uneven across urban and rural communities. In this interactive session, participants will explore practical, community-driven strategies for designing and sustaining tutoring and enrichment programs that address academic gaps, workforce readiness, and whole-child development. Drawing from real-world experience launching both nonprofit and LLC-based tutoring initiatives, this session will highlight how educators, school leaders, and community partners can leverage local assets—churches, nonprofits, families, and data—to expand equitable access to learning. Participants will examine scalable models that work in under-resourced settings, discuss barriers such as staffing, funding, transportation, and trust, and leave with actionable tools to implement or strengthen programs in their own communities. This session is designed for educators, administrators, nonprofit leaders, and community partners seeking practical solutions that move beyond theory into implementation.

Speakers

Sharif Thompson

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Access & Equity Across Urban and Rural Schools

10:00am EDT

Understanding the Law: A Dive into Immigration Law for K-12 Educators and Staff

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Increased immigration enforcement in our communities and on TV are greatly impacting the work of K-12 educators, staff, students, and their families. This presentation will share more about immigration law, ways immigrant families (and faculty/staff) can prepare in case of ICE enforcement, and the very important role K-12 educators play in supporting immigrant youth.

Speakers

Erin Sweeney

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Policy & Community Partnerships

10:00am EDT

CTE Without Limits: Expanding Access, Equity, and Opportunity for All Learners—including Neurodivergent Learners

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Career and Technical Education (CTE) can transform lives when access is intentional, inclusive, and aligned to workforce outcomes. Yet students with disabilities and other marginalized learners are often excluded due to systemic barriers and misaligned practices. Drawing on over three decades of experience as a CTE-certified teacher, school principal, and district leader, this session examines how districts can redesign CTE pathways to ensure equity, compliance, rigor, and meaningful postsecondary success. Participants will explore practical strategies to remove gatekeeping practices, align IEPs and instructional supports with workforce competencies, strengthen cross-department collaboration, and develop inclusive CTE models that lead to certifications, apprenticeships, and living-wage careers. Attendees will leave with actionable tools applicable across urban, suburban, and rural settings.

Speakers

Dr. Patricia Clark-Jeter

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT

Workforce Development & Living Wages for All Communities

10:00am EDT

LEAD the Way: Student Industry Sessions

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 12:45pm EDT

20 Students from AC and Newark are in 3-hour-long sessions with ICEV, ZSpace, and Chick-fil-A

Atlantic City Students
10am - Chick-fil-a
11am - ICEV
12pm - Zspace

Newark Students
10am - Zspace
11am - Chick-fil-a
12pm - ICEV

Speakers

Zspace

Chick-fil-a

ICEV

Monday July 27, 2026 10:00am - 12:45pm EDT

Access & Equity Across Urban and Rural Schools

11:00am EDT

CTE and Special Populations; Why it Works... Strategies to Support Special Populations in CTE Schools

Monday July 27, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT

Speakers

Sabrinah Mubarak M.Ed

Monday July 27, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT

Access & Equity Across Urban and Rural Schools

11:00am EDT

Personalized Instruction and Need-aware Gamification (PING)

Monday July 27, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT

This talk introduces PING, a scalable, AI-powered, web-based education platform designed to transform how students engage with learning. PING delivers modular, grade- and topic-based learning experiences centered on high-impact instructional pain points identified by practicing teachers. These modules are implemented as interactive, gamified activities that generate rich learning signals beyond simple right-or-wrong responses, including misconception patterns, strategy choices, and engagement trajectories. Embedded within these experiences are two intelligent agents. The Peer Agent questions, challenges, and reasons with learners, prompting them to explain, justify, and teach concepts back to the system, thereby fostering metacognitive reflection and learning-by-teaching behaviors. Operating alongside it, the Tutor Agent provides adaptive academic scaffolding in real time. Together, these agents address a key limitation of traditional digital learning systems: they support not only what students learn, but how they think about their learning — at scale.

Speakers

Dr. Ying (Gina) Tang

Monday July 27, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT

Innovation in Teaching & Learning Across Contexts

11:00am EDT

Reclaiming Wellness in Demanding Systems

Monday July 27, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT

Title: Reclaiming Wellness in Demanding Systems. Description: When wellness is treated as an individual responsibility rather than a system-level priority, schools experience increased burnout, turnover, and diminished student outcomes. This session invites school teams to rethink wellness as an intentional design choice embedded into daily practice.

Speakers

Tashia Martin

Monday July 27, 2026 11:00am - 11:45am EDT

Wellness & Whole Child Development

12:00pm EDT

Comprehensive Counseling Meets CTE: Creating Clear Pathways to College, Career, and Life

Monday July 27, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT

This session explores how school counselors can leverage a comprehensive, data-driven counseling program—aligned with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model and RAMP framework—to intentionally integrate Career and Technical Education (CTE) into student success planning. Participants will examine how aligning counseling practices with CTE pathways strengthens academic engagement, supports postsecondary readiness, and creates equitable access to high-quality career opportunities. Grounded in research demonstrating that participation in CTE programs is linked to increased student engagement and reduced dropout rates, this session highlights the critical role counselors play in connecting students to relevant, real-world learning experiences. Attendees will also explore how today’s technical and skilled careers offer high-demand, high-wage opportunities, challenging outdated narratives about postsecondary success. Through practical strategies, examples, and collaborative discussion, participants will leave with actionable ideas to embed CTE into their comprehensive counseling programs—ultimately helping students build clear, purposeful pathways to college, career, and life.

Speakers

Dr. Jennifer Antoni

Monday July 27, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT

Access & Equity Across Urban and Rural Schools

12:00pm EDT

From Passive Learners to Student Leaders: How Project-Based Learning Builds Confidence, Voice, and Ownership

Monday July 27, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT

At the start of a course, many students walk into class quietly, unsure of their voice and waiting to be told what to do. Yet when students have opportunities to investigate real problems, collaborate with peers, and present their ideas to authentic audiences, they begin to emerge as confident leaders of their own learning. This session introduces the Student Leadership PBL Cycle, a practical framework that helps educators transform passive classrooms into student-driven learning communities through project-based learning and cross-curricular collaboration. Participants will explore real-world capstone project examples, including student business pitches, community impact initiatives, and career-pathway research that integrate multiple subjects while building confidence, strengthening communication, and leadership skills. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to transform disengaged classrooms into environments where students develop their voice through meaningful project-based experiences.

Speakers

Tiescheka Stuart

Professional Educator, Roosevelt STAY Opportunity Academy

Monday July 27, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT

Innovation in Teaching & Learning Across Contexts

12:00pm EDT

Social Justice and its connection to Access and equity in urban schools

Monday July 27, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT

Access & Equity in Urban and Rural Schools and how this is a social justice issue. More specific topics will include: Closing funding, equitable access to advanced courses, arts, and extracurriculars, and addressing broadband disparities.

Speakers

Roula Ramadan

Monday July 27, 2026 12:00pm - 12:45pm EDT

Policy & Community Partnerships

1:00pm EDT

V.I.P. NEXT LEVEL Leadership: ABOVE & BEYOND the status quo

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Designed for administrators, aspiring leaders, and beginning teachers, this session addresses the challenge of empowering leaders to move beyond the limitations of the status quo and lead transformational change. While leadership is not defined by position, it is defined by the courage to shape what comes next. Educational Leaders are often expected to lead within systems that unintentionally reinforce the status quo. Especially focusing on those who are believed to be educational agents of change, this session explores how leaders can move beyond these limitations to lead transformational change with clarity, confidence, and influence. Grounded in research and professional practice, the V.I.P. Leadership Framework, Vision, Innovation, and Passion, introduces a central strategy the 5-Star Collaborative Framework, a leadership model designed to strengthen professional capacity, collective impact, and sustainable leadership development. The framework focuses on five essential pillars: (1) Intra-collaboration, strengthening self-awareness and professional growth; (2) Inter-collaboration, fostering meaningful connections and partnerships across teams and organizations; (3) Leadership, cultivating voice, visibility, and influence; (4) Mentorship, developing guidance and support systems for emerging leaders; and (5) Sponsorship, advancing opportunities and advocacy for women in leadership. Through guided reflection and structured discussion, participants will identify practical strategies to strengthen leadership influence and move from awareness to acceptance to action, becoming advocates who elevate others and create pathways for success across educational communities.

Speakers

Dr. Maria Paradiso-Testa

Doctor of Educational Leadership, Monmouth University

Maria is a Doctor of Educational Leadership and an Adjunct Professor with Superintendent/CSA and Principal certifications. Having more than 25 years of educational experience, Maria is a Conference Host, a Grant Writer and a National & International Guest Speaker/Presenter. While... Read More →

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Innovation in Teaching & Learning Across Contexts

1:00pm EDT

Understanding the Law: A Dive into Immigration Law for K-12 Educators and Staff

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Speakers

Erin Sweeney

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Policy & Community Partnerships

1:00pm EDT

“I See You. I Hear You.” Honoring Educator Mental Wellness to Support Retention in Challenging School Communities

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Educator burnout and attrition continue to rise, particularly in under-resourced and high-stress educational environments where emotional labor, secondary trauma, and systemic inequities are prevalent. This conference session explores **mental wellness as a critical strategy for supporting teacher retention and long-term professional sustainability**, reframing wellness as both an individual and institutional responsibility. Grounded in trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches, the session examines how chronic stress impacts educator well-being, instructional effectiveness, and commitment to the profession. Participants will engage in reflective dialogue and practical application to gain actionable strategies that support emotional regulation, healthy boundaries, and psychologically safe work environments, leaving with tools that can be implemented immediately to sustain educators working in challenging contexts.

Speakers

Dr. Charise Breeden-Balaam

Dr. Charise Breeden-Balaam, EdD, LSW, is a higher education leader, licensed social worker, and Founder & CEO of Balaam & Associates, LLC. With expertise in student success, mental health, and equity-centered program development, she advances transformative initiatives that support... Read More →

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Wellness & Whole Child Development

1:00pm EDT

Connecting Arts & Entertainment Production To The Workforce

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Connecting Arts & Entertainment Production to the Workforce bridges creative skills with industry demands. Attendees will learn to integrate real-world production workflows into education. In this workshop, we will also share strategies on how to integrate project-based learning that simulates real-world production scenarios, allowing students to build portfolios demonstrating their skills. Attendees will learn strategies for building industry connections, developing transferable skills, utilizing technology and resources, and fostering entrepreneurship.

Speakers

Mark Beckett

Monday July 27, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

Workforce Development & Living Wages for All Communities

2:00pm EDT

Farm to Table Summer Youth Employment Program

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

This session will highlight how the Essex County Schools of Technology designs and implements impactful Summer Youth Employment (SYEP) experiences that connect students to real-world career pathways in the Agriculture and Hospitality/Culinary Arts Pathways. Participants will explore how structured learning experiences, community partnerships, and workforce development strategies support student growth, equity, and career readiness. The presentation will share practical models, lessons learned, and scalable approaches that align education with industry needs while empowering youth through authentic work-based learning opportunities.

Speakers

Daniel Delcher

Agricultural Educator, Essex County Schools of Technology, New Jersey

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

Access & Equity Across Urban and Rural Schools

2:00pm EDT

It Takes a Village: Building Impact Networks for Parent and Community Engagement in Urban CTE

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

Career and Technical Education (CTE) in urban communities is strongest when families, educators, and community partners function as a connected village. This session invites CTE practitioners to examine parent and community engagement through the lens of impact networks, intentional relationships that align people, resources, and shared responsibility for student success. Participants will explore practical strategies for building trust, strengthening family partnerships, and leveraging community assets across networks that support CTE pathways. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas to shift engagement from isolated efforts to sustained, community-driven impact.

Speakers

Candice Mott

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

Access & Equity Across Urban and Rural Schools

2:00pm EDT

Understanding AI and Why it Matters in all Communities

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

Grounded in clarity and accessibility, our session introduces artificial intelligence in straightforward, understandable language, emphasizing practical understanding rather than technical expertise. Participants will explore: What AI is—and what it is not. How AI tools are already shaping education, work, and daily life. The opportunities and limitations of AI: Digital responsibility, privacy, and ethical considerations. How families and communities can discuss and use AI in healthy, values-aligned ways

Speakers

Delores Connors

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

Innovation in Teaching & Learning Across Contexts

2:00pm EDT

Together, We Build Careers – Inspiring Students to Imagine Future Professions

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

From the first CTE class to the final class in a chosen career pathway, course content should encourage students to envision a future in high-pay, high-growth careers. Learn how to encourage career exploration, provide up-to-date career information, and help students prepare for the job search in their industry. Take home strategies and activities your CTE teachers can implement in the new year.

Focus on strategies for introducing the wide variety of careers available in every CTE course, from middle school to the end of a career pathway. Attendees will learn how to build a career exploration story throughout their programs oriented in student interests, but also their values, goals, passions, and occupational information.

Speakers

Abby Hess

Megan Haislip-Jarrett

Monday July 27, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm EDT

Workforce Development & Living Wages for All Communities

3:00pm EDT

Bridging Rural and Urban Learning Through Nature-Based Innovation

Monday July 27, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

Workshop Description: Innovation in Teaching & Learning Across Contexts This experiential workshop supports educators in using hands-on, creative, and nature-connected learning to bridge rural and urban classrooms. Through gardening, habitat exploration, and climate-focused activities, participants explore project-based, competency-based, and culturally responsive practices using gardens, schoolyards, and local green spaces as living classrooms. The session blends tactile experiences—such as seed starting, nature journaling, and habitat mapping—with simple nature-exploration technologies like photo documentation and observation apps. Educators will learn scalable, low-cost approaches that work in under-resourced schools, including container gardens, pollinator habitats, and place-based climate projects. Participants leave with practical ideas and adaptable tools to create engaging, equitable, and resilient learning experiences rooted in nature and community.

Speakers

Hajjah Dena Corbin

Monday July 27, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

Access & Equity Across Urban and Rural Schools

3:00pm EDT

The Power of Connection: Transforming Lives Through Relationships

Monday July 27, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

The Power of Connection is a powerful, story-driven session inspired by Keshia’s childhood experiences and featured in collaboration with Crayola, centering the life-changing impact of meaningful relationships. Designed for educators, mentors, school leaders, caregivers, and community members committed to creating spaces where youth feel genuinely seen and valued, this session invites participants to reflect on the impact of being seen—and the consequences of not being seen. Grounded in personal narrative and professional experience, it explores how one meaningful relationship can shape a student’s sense of belonging, identity, and future trajectory. Participants will examine the ripple effect of connection across generations, recognizing how small, intentional actions can create lasting impact far beyond the classroom. Through reflection, storytelling, and a simple yet powerful framework—SEE → SUPPORT → SUSTAIN—attendees will leave with practical strategies to strengthen relationships, foster belonging, and create environments where both students and staff can thrive.

Speakers

Keshia Golding-Cooper

Monday July 27, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

Innovation in Teaching & Learning Across Contexts

3:00pm EDT

Turn Numbers Into Next Steps: The DWG Framework™ for Leaders

Monday July 27, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

Great leaders do more than review data—they use it to guide meaningful action. This session introduces the DWG Framework™ (Discover • Work • Grow), a practical leadership model designed to help leaders analyze data, identify priorities, and implement strategic actions that improve outcomes. Participants will learn how to move beyond overwhelming dashboards and reports by focusing on a small number of high-impact data points. Through real-world examples and structured leadership protocols, attendees will explore how to identify trends, add context to data, prioritize instructional strategies, and monitor progress effectively. The session demonstrates how data-informed leadership strengthens instructional systems, supports educators, and improves outcomes across diverse school communities. Participants will leave with a practical protocol they can use immediately with leadership teams to guide conversations, prioritize actions, and turn numbers into next steps.

Speakers