Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference

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10:00am CDT

How to Start a Podcast for Your School or Program.

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT

This PD session will provide a beginner-friendly overview of how to start a podcast. Participants will learn the basic equipment needed, simple recording and editing tools, tips for planning content, and ways to publish and share episodes. The session is designed to help educators feel confident taking the first steps in creating a podcast for their classroom, program, or personal interests.

Presenters

Morrell Baxter

CTE Supervisor, Central Office Staff

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 96

CTE Digital Citizenship STEM/STEAM Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Career Tech Teachers, Counselors

10:00am CDT

General PowerSchool Q&A

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT

Room 32

Get answers to your PowerSchool questions and learn how to make the most of its features.

Presenters

Joseph Marshall

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Enterprise Department

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 32

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

10:00am CDT

PowerSchool SIS Basics / Tips and Tricks

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT

Room 28

Learn the essentials and expert tips to navigate PowerSchool SIS efficiently.

Presenters

Joseph Marshall

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 28

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

10:00am CDT

Every Student Engaged, Every Lesson--A Taste of Kagan Cooperative Learning

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 271

This session is a dynamic, hands-on session designed to give teachers, district leaders, and school leaders a firsthand look at the power of Kagan Cooperative Learning. Led by a certified Kagan trainer, participants will experience first-hand the power of structuring learning intentionally. Come learn how to transform student engagement by replacing Call On One with structures that engage EVERY learner.

Presenters

Aaron Diaz

Director of Implementation Support, Kagan Publishing and Professional Development

Dr. Aaron Diaz has served as a bus driver, coach, teacher, assistant principal, and principal. He is passionate about improving pedagogy, teacher support, community engagement, relationshipbuilding, and strategic planning—especially through the use of Kagan Cooperative Learning... Read More →

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 271

Arts Community Building ELA ELL Math Reading Science Social Studies

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Special Education

10:00am CDT

Creating Safe & Supportive Environments through Effective Classroom Management

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 269

Classroom Management Strategies

Presenters

Kristie Shankles

MTSS-Specialist, ALSDE

Jonathan Thompson

HPE and AL-MTSS Specialist, ALSDE

Monday July 13, 2026 10:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 269

Health/ Wellness Leadership

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers

11:00am CDT

From the Wide Lens to the Deep Dive: Pinpointing At-Risk Trends and the Students behind Them

Monday July 13, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 202

Learn how to take the pulse of your school and drill down to your most at-risk students in 5 minutes or less. Save future time and effort by quickly finding those "under the radar" kids before they are consuming all your resources. Whether you're developing a school wide initiative or prepping for a parent meeting, PowerSchool's dynamic Analytics and Insights platform has everything you need to get started. Discover how to quickly and efficiently pull meaningful data into an easy to digest format. Participants will also learn about the newest at-risk module coming in the Fall of 2026.

Presenters

Kate Wellborn

Attendance Department, Prevention and Support

Monday July 13, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 202

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, Counselors

11:00am CDT

General PowerSchool Q&A

Monday July 13, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 32

Get answers to your PowerSchool questions and learn how to make the most of its features.

Presenters

Joseph Marshall

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Enterprise Department

Monday July 13, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 32

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

11:00am CDT

PowerSchool SIS Incidents

Monday July 13, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 28

Manage and track student incidents with ease using Simple.

Presenters

Lance Lewis

Supervisor Registrar and SIS Operations, Other

Monday July 13, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 28

Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Pre-K Teachers, Elementary Teachers, Middle Teachers, High Teachers, 504 Coordinators, Career Tech Teachers, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

1:00pm CDT

From Source to Syllabus: Using NotebookLM as Your Inquiry-Based Thought Partner

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT

Room 5

In the age of AI, the challenge for educators isn't just finding information—it's synthesizing it into meaningful, inquiry-driven experiences. Enter NotebookLM, Google’s AI-powered research assistant that stays grounded in the documents you provide.

This session moves beyond generic AI prompting. You will see a "behind-the-curtain" look at how to use NotebookLM as a sophisticated thought partner to design high-level curriculum. We will walk through a live case study: planning an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) unit centered on advanced questioning strategies.

Presenters

Jeremy King

Instructional Technology Coorindator, Central Office Staff

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 5

Artificial Intelligence Technology

Level Central Office, All Teachers, Librarians

1:00pm CDT

Consistency Wins: Building a Districtwide Communication System That Works

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT

Room 201

Strong schools don’t just communicate more — they communicate consistently.

In this session, district and school leaders will explore how to create a unified communication approach that reaches every family, reduces staff confusion, and builds trust across the community. We’ll walk through practical ways to align principals, central office teams, and school staff around one system, clear expectations, and simple workflows that actually get used.

This is not about adding another tool. It’s about using one system well — so families know where to look, staff know what to do, and communication works when it matters most.

Presenters

Bryan Phillips

Regional Sales Director, ParentSquare

Regional Sales Director, ParentSquare | Former Chief Information Officer, Hoover City SchoolsWith over 20 years in K-12 education and technology leadership, Bryan brings a practical, student-centered approach to every conversation. He led one of Alabama’s most innovative tech departments... Read More →

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 201

Community Building Community Engagement Professionalism Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office

1:00pm CDT

General PowerSchool Q&A

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT

Room 32

Get answers to your PowerSchool questions and learn how to make the most of its features.

Presenters

Joseph Marshall

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Enterprise Department

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 32

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

1:00pm CDT

PowerSchool SIS Reporting and SubReports

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT

Room 28

Dive into reporting features to gather valuable insights from PowerSchool SIS data.

Presenters

William Waldrop

Enterprise Systems Professional, Other

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 28

Data Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

1:00pm CDT

Every Student Engaged, Every Lesson--A Taste of Kagan Cooperative Learning

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 2:50pm CDT

Room 271

Presenters

Aaron Diaz

Director of Implementation Support, Kagan Publishing and Professional Development

Monday July 13, 2026 1:00pm - 2:50pm CDT
Room 271

Arts Community Building ELA ELL Math Reading Science Social Studies

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Special Education

2:00pm CDT

Canva Code and Magic Activities

Monday July 13, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT

Room 251

Discover how Canva’s AI tools, Magic Activities and Canva Code (no coding knowledge required), can transform your classroom. In this session, you’ll explore how these innovative features make it easier than ever to create engaging instructional materials, streamline classroom management, and design interactive games and activities aligned with academic standards. Learn how to harness AI to promote higher-order thinking skills, encourage creativity, and save valuable planning time while making learning more dynamic and meaningful for your students. Please bring your laptop for some hands-on learning!

Presenters

Sasha Goman

Canva Learning Consultant, Canva Education

Sasha is a Canva Learning Consultant, and she is a former secondary education teacher. She has a master's degree in Teacher Leadership from Northwestern University, where she studied professional development and coaching. She is excited to help teachers create more engaging and dynamic... Read More →

Monday July 13, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT
Room 251

Community Engagement Leadership Coding

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Librarians

2:00pm CDT

Maximizing Intervention Periods with Student Data to Improve Academic Achievement

Monday July 13, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT

Room 17

This presentation will focus on utilizing prior student data points from the Pre-ACT, ACT, and other assessment platforms to build a school wide ACT study plan during student "intervention/skinny" periods. The attendees will learn to how to collect and analyze data and how to group student data sets to optimize student learning and engagement during ACT prep. Attendees can expect to have an action plan that includes: data collection/analysis, committee formation, creating planning time, teacher selection, and student and teacher incentives for ACT preparation, growth, and achievement.

Presenters

Monica Shaner

Curriculum Leader, Spanish Fort High

Hello, I am Monica Shaner, the Curriculum Leader at Spanish Fort High School. With sixteen years experience in education, my focus is on academic growth and achievement through problem-based learning, differentiated instruction, and data driven resources. I strive to support teachers... Read More →

Zachary Wenzel

Assistant Principal, Spanish Fort High

I am currently an assistant principal at Spanish Fort High School. I have over ten years of experience in education. My background is in data management and analysis. I am currently working on my doctorate in educational leadership at the University of South Alabama. The focus of... Read More →

Monday July 13, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT
Room 17

Data Leadership PLCs