March 9, 2016

FEA Conference Center, Monroe, NJ

 
Sponsored by 

No Onsite Registrations

This Conference has had great turnout and hit capacity, unfortunately we can no longer accept registrations.

Schedule

8am - Registration & Continental Breakfast

9-10am - General Session

Maree Sneed, Attorney, Hogan Lovells, Washington, DC

10:05 - 11:05am - Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Managing the Administrative Shortage: Recruiting and Building a Strong Administrative Team
Participants in this session will review the research and trends regarding qualified, experienced school administrators, review case studies of searches for Principals, Directors of Special Services, and Directors of Guidance. Recruitment techniques and interview processes will be evaluated based on their effectiveness. The impact that legislation such as salary caps has had on applicant pools will also be analyzed. The presenter will also facilitate a sharing of best practices in administrative recruiting and team building.
Anne Mucci, Superintendent, Mountain Lakes, Mountain Lakes, NJ

Leadership and Effective Collaboration
In this seminar, you will discover your preferred pattern of behavior and how to create a collaborative and positive district/school culture.  Leaders will engage in a self-actualizing process by appreciating their own uniqueness and understanding style differences in others.  The will foster collaboration and create a power of connection among your staff members.  A research based and proven survey tool will be used to allow the participants to reflect on and energize their own attributes while respecting the differences in others. In this seminar, you will discover your preferred pattern of behavior and how to create a collaborative and positive district/school culture.  Leaders will engage in a self-actualizing process by appreciating their own uniqueness and understanding style differences in others.  The will foster collaboration and create a power of connection among your staff members.  A research based and proven survey tool will be used to allow the participants to reflect on and energize their own attributes while respecting the differences in others.
Denise Hecht, Assistant Executive Director and CFO, New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association and The Foundation for Educational Administration, Monroe Township, NJ

Building the Perception of A Brighter Future Through Strategic Branding
A systematic approach to Strategic Branding is one that is tied to the newly adopted vision and mission statement. The marketing and branding campaign helped shape the district and community’s perceptions of Asbury Park School District under the new administration. The branding and marketing campaign is simple and repeatable and learnable through a series of step-by-step procedures in which you: Assess the current images and perception of your school/district (surveys, press, interviews, data) Create a visual image and marketing plan that capturers your vision and mission statement (Hard Hat – represent Building A Brighter Future) Execute your plan by implementing marketing plan and assess the effects of the plan (social media platform to garner responses – T-Shirt campaign where alums get to create a slogan based on mock-ups of designs, preview draft logo for input on color schemes, likability, Blue Bishop 2.0 representing strength)
Sancha Gray, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Asbury Park School District, Asbury Park, NJ

11:10am - 12:10pm - Concurrent Breakout Sessions

The Role of Stress on the Health of the Female Superintendent
Stress has been proven repeatedly to effect worker health (Beehr & Newman, 1978; Cheng, Chen, Chen, Burr & Hasselhorn, 2012; Hobson, Delunas, & Kesic, 2001). While there has been considerable research focused on job related stress for women in the public sector (Bacchus, 2008; Galanakis, Anastasios, Helen, Catherine & Christine, 2009; Monesh & Patil, 2012; Snapp, 1990), fewer studies have been set in the field of education. The purpose of this study was to expand on previous research on the topic of stress in the superintendency by addressing the link between the superintendents’ levels of stress in the position and a superintendent’s health.
Kerry Robinson, Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, Knowville, TN

The Cycle of Complacency: Breaking Gender Roles to Promote Egalitarianism for Women in School Leadership
The feminist movement of yore is now referred to as the "stalled revolution". Is it? An increasing number of women in New Jersey occupy school leadership positions, bringing their numbers to par with men in the state. The major issue now surrounds the types of positions into which women are pigeonholed. What is inspiring this upward trend and how do we promote women to into top positions such as the superintendency? My research has centered on the path that women educational leaders have taken to enter administration as well as the factors that they assert prompted, or inhibited them, from applying for administrative positions (time commitments, family responsibilities, etc.). What steps can we take to inspire and empower women to seek upper-level administrative positions? Discussion will surround factors such as gender roles, the confines of creating a work/home balance, external catalysts, and other influences on women’s professional decision-making.
Kimberly Clark, Assistant Principal, Pinelands Regional, Little Egg Harbor, NJ

Building Principals’ Leadership Capacity to Achieve Unprecedented Results
Research has long established that principals must be first and foremost leaders of learning. Effective principals work relentlessly to improve achievement by having a laser-like focus on the quality of instruction. School leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to student success in school (Wallace Foundation, 2011). Simply put…good principals move district data. Learn how, as a district leader, to build the instructional leadership capacity of your principals. Examine your own beliefs that inform your leadership vision. Recognize the roles that technical knowledge of instruction and district and school accountability systems play in improving student learning. Commit to taking immediate action based on multiple measures of student performance data. This workshop is presented by two award winning principals who transformed five secondary schools within two district school systems.
Lance Dempsey, Principal, Northwest High School, Montgomery County Public Schools, Germantown, MD
Debra Munk, Director of HIgh Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD

12:10 - 1:30pm - Keynote Luncheon

1:30 - 2:30pm - Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Mindfulness 101: For the Over Scheduled and Overbooked Education Leader
Are you over scheduled and overbooked? Are you looking for a way to get more done? Attend this session to learn how being mindful can provide relief in your busy schedule. In this practical session you will learn the basics of mindfulness. An overview of the vast research base that supports the “art of being present” will be shared along with tips and tricks to integrate mindfulness into your daily work and daily be-ing. Learn how one district integrated coaching and mindfulness with staff and students. Design a plan for supporting mindfulness in your district. Take away strategies for supporting mindfulness in your own context. Learn how to do more by being mindful and leave the session reenergized and renewed.
Elizabeth Freeman, Curriculum Director, Fremont School District 79, Mundelein, IL
Jill Gildea, Superintendent, Fremont School District 79, Mundelein, IL

Loving the Leading
We love being school leaders—we hope you do too! Even the most powerful, positive leaders can experience doubt right when needing to be at one's best. This workshop examines the power of harnessing our thought lives, and sharing thinking strategies to release more powerful leadership behaviors. Approaches to examine personal leadership calling and clarifying personal mission will also be shared. Finally, the importance of keeping joy, play, and gladness alive and well in the lives of leaders will also be reviewed.
Theresa Dunkin, Superintendent of Schools, Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102, Buffalo Grove, IL
Catherine Finger, Superintendent of Schools, Grayslake Community High School District 127, Grayslake, IL

Slowing Down the See Saw: Seven strategies for living a harmonious life
“A true balance between work and life comes with knowing that your life activities are integrated, not separated.”—Michael Thomas Sunnarborg At the heart of the work-life balance continuum are two essential and seemingly simplistic concepts: Achievement and Enjoyment. Why then, do myriad women in leadership perceive that finding this balance is so elusive? Perhaps it is because there is no one prescription for achieving a balanced life. Yet if we utilize many of the same skills we use as district women in leadership positions, such as planning, organizing, prioritizing, and delegating, then finding the “sweet spot” on this continuum can be a reality. In this interactive workshop, presenters will share seven successful strategies for women to achieve and maintain balance. Audience members will participate in individual and group activities that will assist them in setting goals to develop strategies that will enable them to live a more harmonious life.
Jane Collins-Fondulis, Director of Beyond School Time, Wareham Public Schools, Wareham, MA
Maureen Manning, Director of Beyond School Time, Wareham Public Schools, Wareham, MA
Kimberly Shaver-Hood, Superintendent of Schools, Wareham Public Schools, Wareham, MA

2:35 - 3:30pm - General Session

Debra Bradley, Director Of Government Relations, NJPSA, Monroe Township, NJ
Sasha Pudelski, Assistant Director, Policy & Advocacy, AASA, Alexandria, VA
Melanie Schulz, Director of Government Relations, NJASA, Trenton, NJ

3:30- 4:30pm - Reception