Calling all music, theater, and visual arts teachers! Let’s talk about assessment. That’s not a scary concept. Assessment is just gathering evidence of individual student achievement. While it might look different in a music, theater, or visual arts classroom than it does in math, we can still do it! Imagine the changing faces of a Rubik’s cube. In this session we will explore three tools that are each a “best fit” depending on your current situation. Most important, each tool can be used for three critical purposes—student reflection, assessment, and teacher feedback. Take away examples ready to use or adapt for your music, theater, or visual arts classes next week.

Designed for early childhood educators and leaders, this session highlights the resources and opportunities available through Child Care Aware of Minnesota. Participants will explore professional development, financial support, capacity-building resources and Parent Aware, Minnesota’s Quality Rating and Improvement System, and learn how these programs can support their early childhood communities.

Strengthen the partnership between principals and administrative assistants by leveraging each other’s unique strengths and gifts. Participants will explore practical ways to increase efficiency, strengthen collaboration and better serve their school’s mission. Attendees will leave with tools for building effective systems that create lasting impact.

School leaders are often called upon to communicate during moments of crisis, uncertainty and change. This session will share practical strategies and real-world examples to help leaders prepare for difficult situations, develop clear and compassionate messages, navigate challenging conversations and avoid common communication pitfalls. Participants will leave with ready-to-use tools and frameworks to communicate with confidence, strengthen trust and lead their school communities through the unexpected.

Great fundraising is a team effort. This session explores how Catholic school leaders, faculty, staff, board members, and volunteers all play a vital role in advancing your school's mission. Learn how to articulate a compelling case for support, engage stakeholders as true partners, and turn everyday conversations into lasting donor relationships. Leave with practical tools to strengthen your school's culture of philanthropy and advance the mission together.

In an increasingly connected world, protecting student data and school networks is a shared classroom responsibility. This fast-paced, 1-hour session equips educators with the practical habits needed to act as a "human firewall," drawing on core security concepts inspired by industry-standard KnowBe4 training. Teachers will learn the "SLAM" method to instantly spot sophisticated school phishing scams, master the golden rules of using AI tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini without violating student privacy (FERPA/COPPA), and adopt quick classroom tech habits—like rapid screen locking—to secure their digital identities. Educators will leave with a 1-page "Quick Wins" cheat sheet and actionable strategies to confidently protect their students and data.

Build confident counters and fluent math thinkers through concrete manipulatives, engaging games, and visual strategies that deepen preschool – second grade students' understanding of addition and subtraction. This interactive session explores playful, hands-on approaches that strengthen foundational math skills without relying on drill.

Any subject can be approached from a Catholic point of view so that it is taught and experienced as part of a coherent, compelling, and beautiful picture of the world. This workshop introduces 4 questions to help any teacher think about any subject in an authentic and integrated Catholic way.

Discover how to integrate developmentally appropriate mindfulness, movement, and social-emotional learning into early education settings. Explore the impact of trauma and stress on children and adults while learning practical, research-based strategies to support self-regulation, manage big feelings, and build classroom community. Leave with breathing exercises, regulating movement, relaxation practices, and SEL activities you can use immediately, along with strategies to support both the children in your care and your own well-being.

Who should attend this session? School leaders, educators, family engagement coordinators, and anyone committed to strengthening enrollment and deepening authentic relationships with Latino families.

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In today’s educational landscape, families are seeking more than academic excellence; they are choosing schools where their children feel known, valued, and supported. This session explores how meaningful family engagement becomes a powerful driver of both student success and school growth.

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Grounded in research, we will examine how strong family-school relationships improve student achievement, strengthen school culture, increase retention, and serve as one of the most effective enrollment strategies available. Participants will move beyond traditional “parent involvement” to learn practical strategies for building trust, belonging, and long-term partnerships with Latino families. Attendees will leave with actionable tools and approaches they can implement immediately to strengthen engagement, build community, and create schools where families truly feel they belong.

Catholic school leaders and teachers are facing increasing student mental health needs, often with limited access to clinical resources. One important and often overlooked protective factor is a student’s sense of belonging. This session reframes mental health as a shared pastoral and educational responsibility. Participants will explore practical, proactive strategies for identifying students who may feel disconnected and strengthening belonging in classrooms and across the school community. Grounded in Catholic identity and the dignity of every person, the session will provide teachers and leaders with strategies that can be integrated into existing classroom practices, student support systems, and school structures. Participants will leave with practical steps for creating communities where every student is known, valued, connected, and supported.

Make more room for challenge and deeper learning with curriculum compacting. Participants will explore how to identify content gifted and advanced learners have already mastered and replace repetitive instruction with meaningful opportunities for enrichment and acceleration. Through practical elementary and middle school examples, attendees will learn strategies for pre-assessment, documentation and planning while maintaining alignment with standards and instructional goals.

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*This session meets Minnesota state licensure requirements. 

Strengthen literacy instruction for students in grades 5–8 with practical strategies that meet a range of learning needs. Participants will explore ways to build reading comprehension, vocabulary, fluency and written expression while supporting students who need additional intervention. Attendees will leave with classroom-ready strategies to make literacy instruction accessible, engaging and responsive to all learners.

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*This session meets Minnesota state licensure requirements. 

Do you find yourself saying the psalms rather than praying with the psalms? These ancient prayers of the church are recited at every Mass, and prayed in the Liturgy of the Hours by all ordained clergy and consecrated religious. Yet, for many, they remain a mystery. This workshop offers an introduction to the beautiful Hebrew poetry of the psalms, their organization and structure, and ways of praying with them that move beyond recitation toward relationship with Christ and peace.

This session will provide an understanding of what a special education plan's (IEP) purpose is, along with knowing when and how to advocate for a student and family to ensure they receive the appropriate services they're entitled to. Information and discussion will also be had around roles of IEP team members, including our Catholic school leadership and teachers, and further tools to use and take with back to your school to use in both working with these students and families as well as your local school district.    

Explore the C-STEM Lending Library through a fast-paced, hands-on workshop featuring engaging K–8 STEM resources, including robotics kits, coding tools, engineering challenges, and scientific investigation materials. Rotate through interactive stations as you test resources, discover what's available to borrow, and learn how to integrate them into your curriculum. Whether you're new to STEM or an experienced educator, you'll leave with ideas and resources to spark curiosity and support student-centered learning.

Culture isn't created by mission statements or strategic plans alone. It's shaped by the conversations we have every day. Whether you're a teacher, administrative professional, or support staff member, the way you communicate has a direct impact on trust, collaboration, and the health of your school community.

In this interactive session, participants will explore how everyday conversations influence workplace culture and learn practical approaches for addressing concerns, navigating conflict, giving feedback, and strengthening relationships. Through reflection and discussion, we'll examine the choices we make when conversations become uncomfortable and how those choices affect the people around us.

Participants will leave with greater awareness of their own communication habits and practical tools for fostering a culture of respect, accountability, and collaboration, regardless of their role or title.

Forming Catholic hearts and minds requires a thriving, aligned faculty. Yet leaders constantly face hiring shortages, turnover, and burnout - challenges that often stem from a fragmented school culture. Discover practical, field-tested strategies to attract, inspire, and retain mission-fit teachers. From rethinking school schedules and professional development to improving communication and staff perks, this session offers actionable insights to help you support and care for your faculty as deeply as you do your students.

This session provides educators with a deeper understanding of dyslexia, including what it is, how it presents in the brain and common characteristics seen in the classroom. Participants will explore the role of the MTSS process in identifying and supporting students with dyslexia and related conditions, while gaining practical information they can apply in their classrooms. The session will also examine the updated definition of dyslexia and what it means for educators.

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*This session meets Minnesota state licensure requirements.