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.
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.
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.
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.
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 →
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
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.
This workshop highlights how the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) program is intentionally designed to meet students where they are—across rural, urban, and under-resourced communities—by equipping them with the skills needed for success beyond graduation. Participants will explore how JAG integrates project-based learning (PBL) to build essential soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and professionalism, while also strengthening resume writing, interviewing, networking, and career readiness. The session will showcase how hands-on projects, leadership development opportunities, and real-world exposure through guest speakers and community partnerships help uncover students’ strengths, expand their confidence, and broaden their postsecondary outlook. Attendees will leave with practical insights into how JAG’s student-centered, culturally responsive approach supports leadership growth and prepares young people for college, careers, and life.
Senior JAG Specialist, Plainfield High School (NJ)
I am currently in my 16th year in education (third year with Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) New Jersey). I worked as an English/Language Arts and Journalism teacher in public and charter schools across Jersey City, Roselle, and Newark. Before becoming an educator, I worked for... Read More →
Tuesday July 28, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am EDT Room 296
College students are a powerhouse of energy, fresh perspectives, and untapped potential—yet many community education initiatives struggle to move them from "interested" to "invested." This interactive workshop explores the unique motivations of today’s learners and provides actionable strategies to build sustainable partnerships between campus and community.
His session will provide practical strategies for aligning education with real work, defining clear standards, verifying readiness through performance, and improving training systems based on results.
Across urban and rural schools alike, student mental health is too often addressed reactively—through crisis response, discipline, or isolated SEL programming. Yet schools that consistently improve outcomes understand something deeper: mental health is not a support service. It is infrastructure. Drawing from experience across middle schools, high schools, residential treatment facilities, and juvenile justice settings, this session explores how to move beyond fragmented initiatives and instead design aligned systems that promote psychological safety, executive functioning development, and sustainable student performance. Participants will examine a practical 4-part framework for whole child mental health that integrates trauma-informed practice, student accountability, family engagement, and leadership alignment. Through real case examples and applied strategies, attendees will explore how to reduce behavioral escalations, strengthen student ownership, support educator well-being, and build school cultures where students are prepared not just academically—but emotionally and developmentally—for long-term success. This session is designed for school leaders, counselors, CTE directors, and educators seeking to implement mental health systems that are both relational and results-driven.
Employers are clear: technical skills alone are not enough. Students must also demonstrate professionalism, clear communication, problem-solving, and attention to detail—skills embedded in the 12 Career Ready Practices, yet too often treated as compliance requirements rather than instructional priorities. This high-impact, 45-minute workshop challenges educators and leaders to reposition Career Ready Practices as core drivers of instruction across Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. Participants will examine how small lapses in precision—whether in communication, documentation, time management, workspace organization, or decision-making—can lead to real workplace consequences, including safety risks, inefficiencies, and loss of credibility. Through engaging, CTE-aligned scenarios across multiple career pathways, attendees will analyze how all 12 Career Ready Practices surface in daily workplace expectations—and how to intentionally embed them into labs, projects, assessments, and work-based learning experiences. The session moves beyond theory, equipping participants with practical, ready-to-use strategies to strengthen career-connected instruction and build a culture of professionalism, accountability, and true career readiness. Designed for CTE educators, instructional leaders, counselors, and workforce partners, this session aligns with LEAD’s focus on real-world pathways—ensuring students are not only trained, but fully prepared to succeed.
