Presenter              Session Description                                                          Audience             
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Administrators and General Presenters                                                                                                             
 
Matt Fore

Matt Fore has been an educator for 11 years.  Along with serving as a classroom teacher, Matt has been a Reading Specialist and is now currently in his 6th year as a principal.  He is the principal at Wall Elementary, which has been an Exemplary campus for the last 3 years.  Matt has a passion for all students, especially at-risk and struggling students.  He uses many innovative methods and enthusiastic approaches to reach his students.  Matt has also presented at staff developments and in conferences all across the state of Texas. 

Administrators' Roundtable - Administrators

Discussion will focus on what schools are doing in regard to Special Education Testing...TAKS-A, TAKS-M, and TAKS-Alt.  Other items that will be discussed will be RtI programs, teachers in need of assistance, strategies for lower achieving students, and campus behavior ideas.  Come ready to listen and SHARE!!!  Multiple heads are better than one!  Matt Fore, principal at Wall Elementary will facilitate.

Campus Team-Building - Administrators

This session will give you easy ideas to utilize with your faculty to promote unity and improve your school climate.  The activities learned in this session will reach all faculty members and show how working as a team everyone can achieve more than flying solo.  Loads of fun, but very applicable to the campus!

"The Top 10 Things At-Risk Kids Need to Know to Succeed" - Administrators and Teachers: All Levels

A motivational and practical session outlining what at-risk kids (and all students) need to hear about class, school, and life. 

Math Activities for At-Risk Kids - Grades 3-8

This session will give you great, concrete activities to work with students to build background knowledge on multiple topics...fractions, decimals, percents, measurement, problem solving, plus much, much more!

For grades...3-8

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 Ella Osorio

  Ella Osorio, M.Ed., has served in education for 8 years, spanning elementary, secondary and tertiary levels.  Currently on the faculty at University of Mary Hardin Baylor, she teaches English as a Second Language, working with international students and developing their distance education for ELLs.  She has designed curriculum for ELL students from beginning learners through advanced speakers needing academic English.  Specializing in online initiatives, she advocates for interactive technology applications (message board tools and web conferencing in real time) that assist immigrants in language acquisition.  Her international travels helped her develop an understanding of other cultures, especially among Hispanics, that has proven invaluable in the classroom.  As a conference speaker, she communicates fundamental principles to help educators:

Exploit available technology resources

Learn how to cultivate student’s intrinsic motivation

Understand the culture of immigrants vs. the American culture

Understand students’ learning styles and make adjustments in instruction

Understand the stages of language acquisition, and

Inspire students to become life-long learners. 

Let her help you find useful strategies to overcome the obstacles you face with ELL students.

Overcoming ELL Obstacles

Overcome ELL Obstacles is a workshop that covers the fundamentals educators need to understand in order to achieve advancement among this growing population. This session will include practical suggestions and online resources to help ELL students learn to help themselves by teaching them principles they need to become life-long learners.  Participants will receive packets with all resources and instructional strategies discussed (resources also available digitally). This session is appropriate for administrators and teachers across all grade levels.

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                                                                                                                             Robin Graves

Robin Graves is a high school math and physics teacher in Miles, TX.  Robin earned her math degree at Texas Tech University and her Master's of Education in School Administration at Angelo State University.  She has taught in all size schools and has taught junior high and high school.  She is married to the BCIS teacher/tennis coach at Miles, and they have two young children.

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Will Hawkins

Texas Association of Secondary School Principals 2008-2009 Outstanding Principal of Region 17

 Mr. Hawkins currently serves as the principal at Brownfield high school.  He maintains the undeniable belief that all students have the desire and capacity to LEARN when teachers and administrators provide current Best Practices of instructional strategies, coupled with essential time and invaluable support.  He continues to invigorate, inspire, and infuse a love of teaching that may lie concealed or complacent in so many teachers…creating Merchants of Hope.  And in impacting teachers, students become beneficiaries to a world presented to them that is limitless.  He considers this his calling.  

Mr. Hawkins is a strong research-driven instructional leader who understands the true power of teacher, parent, and student collaboration; and thus he recognizes that he functions well as a facilitator, one who can be a catalyst for change or the maintainer of excellence.  He grew up in poverty, so as a principal, he merged the knowledge of being a Certified Trainer of Ruby Payne’s Understanding of Poverty, and Jim Fay’s Love & Logic Approach to School wide Discipline with his own personal experience growing up, to create a discipline ideology that is structured and teaches the logical flow of consequences based on choice.  It is reflective of the idea that both dignity and respect must be maintained for both teachers and students. Mr. Hawkins viewed this blending as a critical component in his quest to impact teachers to reach more kids. 

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Kathleen Crooks     

Kathleen Crooks currently serves as the Assistant Principal for Brownfield High School.  Kathleen has previously worked as an Elementary Assistant Principal, an Elementary Counselor, and a Junior High Career and Technology Coordinator and Instructor.  Kathleen has a Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University; a Master’s of Educational Counseling from Sul Ross University, a Master’s of Educational Administration from Wayland Baptist University, and Doctoral Studies with Baylor University.  Kathleen enjoys spending time with her two sons and attending the family’s choices of sporting events.

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Judy Bragg     

Judy Bragg is a 25-year veteran to education, having taught grades 6, 5, 4, and 1. As a 1^st grade teacher, she was nominated as teacher of the year for her campus. Judy is currently in her eighth year as an administrator for Holiman Elementary, a Title I campus in San Angelo, Texas. During her term at Holiman, the campus has focused on climate, relationships, behavior, and academics to bring their campus from “acceptable” to “recognized” to the TEA rating of “exemplary” now for the past three years.   

Judy received her degree in Education from Texas Tech University with a reading certification, and her Master’s from Angelo State University. She is currently working on a superintendent certification. 

During the session she will share her school’s journey to “exemplary” and will allow participants time to share ideas with each other. Philosophies, strategies, and resource ideas will be discussed with regard to Title and Non-Title campuses. 

Favorite quote to educate by: “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  Author unknown.

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 AND MORE!