Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference

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9:00am CDT

You Can't Teach A Nervous System That's On Fire: Understanding Student Dysregulation in the Age of Social Media

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Something has shifted in our classrooms. Educators across grade levels and subject areas are reporting the same thing: students who cannot focus, cannot regulate, cannot tolerate uncertainty, and cannot connect the way they once could. And most professional development has responded by adding more — more curriculum, more programs, more policy, more things for already-exhausted educators to implement.

This session takes a different approach entirely.

You Can't Teach a Nervous System That's On Fire is a deep, honest, and surprisingly hopeful look at what is actually happening to the students sitting in our classrooms — through the lens of neuroscience, social media research, and the realities of growing up in an era of unprecedented collective overwhelm.

Participants will leave with:

A clear, accessible understanding of how chronic social media consumption is affecting the adolescent nervous system

The ability to recognize and reframe specific student behaviors through a neurological lens — transforming how they see and respond to their most challenging students

Practical, evidence-informed strategies to support student regulation that require no new budget and no additional programs

Language and tools to share with parents navigating these same challenges at home

This is not a session about blaming phones, diagnosing students, or adding to anyone's workload. It is a session about understanding — because when you truly understand what you are looking at, everything about how you show up changes.

And that changes what is possible in the room.

Presenters

Kristi Bush

Keynote Speaker, Social Media Safety Educator, KNB Communications

Kristi Bush serves as a national education consultant and social media safety advocate. She is a licensed social worker with greater than 20 years of clinical practice and health care experience. She attended Troy and Auburn University where she studied social work and counseling... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Library

9:00am CDT

Interact Differently: Reimagining Teaching with Interactive Displays & Digital Signage

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Room 93

Today’s classrooms require more than just a display — they require tools that actively engage students, support teachers, and create more dynamic learning environments. In this session, educators will explore how interactive displays and digital signage can transform the way teaching and learning happen in the classroom and across campus. Attendees will walk away with practical tips, creative classroom use cases, and simple strategies for using built-in tools from Clear Touch to increase collaboration, participation, and instructional impact.

Presenters

Madison Hunt

Account Manager, Clear Touch

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 93

CTE Data Math PLCs Reading Robotics Science Social Studies Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Pre-K Teachers, Elementary Teachers, Middle Teachers, High Teachers, Career Tech Teachers, Special Education

9:00am CDT

How to Start a Podcast for Your School or Program.

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Room 95

Covering all the ins and outs of getting started with a school podcast

Presenters

Morrell Baxter

CTE Supervisor, Central Office Staff

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 95

CTE Digital Citizenship STEM/STEAM Technology

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

9:00am CDT

Protecting Students in a Digital Age: Laws, AI-Generated Risks, and National Reporting Tools

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Room 202

This presentation is designed for educators, school administrators, counselors, school resource officers, and safety personnel to better understand the rapidly evolving threats involving online exploitation, sextortion, AI-generated explicit imagery, and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The session combines the legal perspective of a prosecutor, the investigative perspective of an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Investigator, and the prevention/intervention perspective of school safety leadership.

The presentation focuses on how generative AI and social media platforms are changing student victimization, what schools should do when incidents occur, and what state and federal laws apply to synthetic or AI-generated child sexual abuse material. It also provides practical reporting tools and response protocols schools can immediately implement.

Collaborative Guests for the presentation:

Cpl. David Tetreau
Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office
Investigator/ Digital Forensic Examiner

Assistant District Attorney Sydnee Corello
Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office

Presenters

Jeffrey Spaller

Safety & Security Supervisor, Baldwin County Central Office

Jeff Spaller is a retired Sergeant from the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office with extensive experience in school safety, community outreach, and law enforcement leadership. During his 25 year plus tenure, he served in multiple divisions and retired while leading and supervising the... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 202

Safety

Level Administrators, All Teachers, Counselors, Central Office

9:00am CDT

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

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 10:50am 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 →

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 271

Arts Community Building ELA ELL Math Reading Science Social Studies

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Special Education

10:00am CDT

The Teacher’s Spellbook: Google Scripts + Gemini Edition

Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT

Room 3

Step into The Teacher’s Spellbook and discover how to transform your daily tasks into automated “magic” using Google Apps Script and Google Gemini. This session is designed for educators with little to no coding experience who want to save time, reduce repetitive work, and streamline classroom and administrative workflows.

Participants will explore how Google tools like Sheets, Forms, and Slides can be enhanced with simple scripts to automate tasks such as sending emails, organizing data, generating reports, and creating presentations. The real “cheat code” of the session is learning how to use Google Gemini to write these scripts—no coding background required.

Through real-world examples, including large-scale event management and classroom applications, attendees will leave with practical strategies, ready-to-use prompts, and the confidence to begin automating their own workflows immediately.

Presenters

Miranda Mosley

Instructional Technology Resource Teacher, MCPSS

Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 3

Technology

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education, Registrars

12:00pm CDT

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

Wednesday July 15, 2026 12:00pm - 1:50pm CDT

Room 271

Presenters

Aaron Diaz

Director of Implementation Support, Kagan Publishing and Professional Development

Wednesday July 15, 2026 12:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 271

Arts Community Building ELA ELL Math Reading Science Social Studies

Level Administrators, Central Office, All Teachers, Special Education

1:00pm CDT

Maximizing Intervention Periods with Student Data to Improve Academic Achievement

Wednesday July 15, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT

Room 20

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 →

Wednesday July 15, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT
Room 20

Data Leadership PLCs

Level Administrators, Central Office, Counselors

1:00pm CDT

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

Wednesday July 15, 2026 1:00pm - 1:50pm CDT

Room 92

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