Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference

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8:00am CDT

ACT AIM Reading Training (Pre-Registered Participants ONLY)

Wednesday July 15, 2026 8:00am - 3:30pm CDT

Room G - 9th Grade Academy

ACT AIM Reading Training (2 days- Pre-Registered Participants ONLY)

Presenters

TBD TBD

Wednesday July 15, 2026 8:00am - 3:30pm CDT
Room G - 9th Grade Academy

Assessment

Level Administrators, Middle Teachers, High Teachers, Career Tech Teachers, Special Education

9:00am CDT

Taking the Mystery Out of Executive Function

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

Room 267

Learn to identify specific executive function skills and how they influence academic, behavioral, and social development in children and young adults. Leave with practical activities you can implement in the classroom to bolster students’ executive function skills!

Presenters

Chaelah Jenkins

Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Advanced Behavioral and Educational Consulting, LLC

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 267

Assessment Behavior

Level Special Education

9:00am CDT

MagicSchool for Science Teachers: AI-Powered Instruction Made Simple

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

Room 5

Discover how MagicSchool's AI tools can save you time and enhance your science instruction—from creating differentiated lessons and engaging assessments to generating lab reports and explaining complex concepts. Learn practical strategies for integrating these tools into your curriculum whilst maintaining rigor and authentic student learning. Leave ready to harness AI to focus on what matters most: your students.

Presenters

Jenny McAllister

Ed Tech, Central Office Staff

Hello! My name is Jenny McAllister. I'm a fifteen-year veteran middle school science teacher who recently left the classroom to join Ed Tech. I'm the point of contact for Pear Deck, BrainPOP, and Magic School (secondary). This fall, I will be leading the STEAM cohort for BCBE and... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 5

Assessment Differentiation Science

Level Middle Teachers, High Teachers

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

Library

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

10:00am CDT

Scaffolding for ELs with Easy-to-Implement Strategies & AI

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

Room 91

Teachers of English learners will walk away from this session with ideas for how to accommodate any level of English learner in their classrooms. We will examine the most common barriers to learning for ELs and how to easily bridge the gap between their native language and English for them to be successful in any content area class. Real-life examples of EL strategies from the teachers who use them every day will be shared. We will show you easy-to-use strategies, including the use of AI-produced scaffolds, to reach your English learners with equitable academic content.

Presenters

Debbie Frey

Baldwin County Schools

Shay Stewart

ESL Resource Teacher, Daphne High School

I began my teaching career in Baldwin County as a French teacher at Robertsdale High School in 1993. Since 2002, I have been an ESL Resource Teacher. My passion is to support ELs in their language and content learning and to help teachers learn scaffolds that accommodate English learners... Read More →

Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 91

Artificial Intelligence Assessment Differentiation ELA ELL

Level All Teachers, Elementary Teachers, Middle Teachers, High Teachers

10:00am CDT

Beyond the Tool: Using AI to Simplify Tech and Amplify Learning

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

Room 5

Why spend half a class period teaching technology if your goal isn't to teach technology? It’s time to let AI handle the heavy lifting. In this session, we’ll identify the "hidden tasks" that drain your time and demonstrate how AI can automate the parts of a lesson that aren't being assessed. Learn how to minimize tech-instruction fatigue and maximize the content and skills that define your classroom. The class will focus on both teacher tools and student tools that help maximize instructional time and content focus.

Presenters

Jeremy King

Instructional Technology Coorindator, Central Office Staff

Wednesday July 15, 2026 10:00am - 10:50am CDT
Room 5

Artificial Intelligence Assessment Technology

Level All Teachers

11:00am CDT

Let the Games Begin: Simple Strategies to Increase Student Engagement

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 20

In this session, you will learn quick and easy activities to use in any classroom to boost student engagement. This session will be interactive! You will have a time to try out some of the activities you will be learning about.

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 →

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 20

Artificial Intelligence Assessment Community Building Community Engagement Differentiation eMINTS Technology

Level All Teachers

11:00am CDT

Smart, Strategic, Intentional: Using CERT to Drive ACT Success

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 3

Discover how to use CERT strategically, not just as an assessment tool, but as a powerful resource for driving intentional instruction, targeted remediation, and meaningful ACT growth. In this session, high school teachers and leaders will explore practical ways to leverage key CERT features, reports, and student supports to strengthen classroom instruction, inform PLC conversations, and promote student ownership of learning. Walk away with actionable ideas and practical strategies.

Presenters

Lauren Lavender

ACT AIM Presenter, ACT AIM

Wednesday July 15, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 3

Assessment Data Differentiation PLCs Technology

Level Administrators, High Teachers, Special Education

12:00pm CDT

Magical Strategies for Modern Classrooms with Magic School

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

Room 3

This workshop will focus on the in's and out's of Magic School. You will learn to navigate the platform and explore core features designed to save you time. Figure out how easy it is to generate lesson plans, assessments, and engaging materials in minutes. Lastly, we will learn how to easily adapt instruction for diverse learners without the extra workload. This session is geared toward teachers at all levels/contents.

Presenters

Andrea Niblock

English Teacher, Daphne High School

Wednesday July 15, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm CDT
Room 3

Artificial Intelligence Assessment Differentiation Technology

Level All Teachers, Elementary Teachers, Middle Teachers, High Teachers, Counselors, Special Education

12:00pm CDT

ACAP Bootcamp: Mastery in Motion

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

Room 252

In this session, participants will explore an ACAP Bootcamp model in which students are strategically grouped across classrooms and rotate through a series of focused instructional stations led by multiple teachers. Each data-driven station is designed to address a specific ACAP-aligned standard or skill, allowing students to engage in concentrated practice through varied instructional approaches that directly address student needs and support improved performance on the ACAP assessment.

Presenters

Tyler Barber

Teacher-Math, Daphne Middle School

Wednesday July 15, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm CDT
Room 252

Assessment Community Building Data Differentiation ELA Math PLCs Science Social Studies

Level Middle Teachers

12:00pm CDT

National Boards? Yes, You Can!

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

Room 91

Attendees will receive information on the process of achieving National Board Certification. You will learn how to navigate the NBCT site, download materials for your area of certification, and plan work for your components. Details on component weights and scoring, available resources, and tips and tricks will be shared from a National Board certified teacher.

Presenters

Shay Stewart

ESL Resource Teacher, Daphne High School

Wednesday July 15, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm CDT
Room 91

Assessment Continuing Education

Level All Teachers, Pre-K Teachers, Elementary Teachers, Middle Teachers, High Teachers, Career Tech Teachers, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education

1:00pm CDT

From IEP to Independence: Transition Assessments in the Digital Age

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

Room 202

Explore how technology can transform transition planning for secondary students with IEPs. This session highlights digital tools and strategies to conduct meaningful transition assessments, analyze results efficiently, and use data to empower students toward post-school success. Participants will leave with practical ideas to streamline assessments and enhance student engagement using technology.

Presenters