Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference

You will be able to validate your attendance (Check-In to sessions) using your personal schedule.

12:00pm CDT

Field Trip Mastermind: Planning, Paperwork, and Preparation

Monday July 13, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm CDT

Planning a field trip—especially an overnight trip—requires thoughtful organization, clear communication, and strong systems. In this practical session, educators will learn how to confidently plan and manage both local day trips and more complex multi-day overnight field experiences. Participants will explore step-by-step planning strategies for transportation, budgeting, paperwork, chaperone coordination, student supervision, and day-of logistics. Special attention will be given to the additional layers involved in overnight travel, including room assignments, extended schedules, safety planning, and communication with families. Attendees will leave with practical timelines, organizational tools, and teacher-tested tips to simplify the planning process and ensure field trips run smoothly from the first permission slip to the final bus ride home.

Presenters

Brittany Antinarella

Gifted Teacher, Fairhope West Elementary

I am a Project Jubilee teacher at Fairhope West Elementary. I love making things pretty, traveling, my planner, yoga, spending time with my family and friends, reading, and learning new things.

Monday July 13, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm CDT
Room 20

Professionalism Safety

Level All Teachers

9:00am CDT

Practical AI for Educators: Enhancing Instruction, Feedback, and Efficiency Without Losing the Human Touch

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Room 206

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming education, but many educators remain unsure how to use AI tools ethically, effectively, and confidently in their daily practice. This session provides a practical, educator‑centered introduction to using AI as a support—not a replacement—for teaching and learning.
Participants will explore real classroom examples of how AI tools such as generative text assistants can be used to streamline lesson planning, personalize feedback, differentiate instruction, and support student engagement while maintaining academic integrity. The session also addresses common concerns, including ethical use, bias, transparency, and appropriate classroom boundaries.
Designed for educators at any experience level with AI, this session emphasizes hands‑on strategies that can be implemented immediately. Attendees will leave with concrete prompts, workflow ideas, and guidance for introducing AI responsibly to students.

Presenters

Roland Weldon

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 206

Assessment Chromebook CTE Data Digital Citizenship ELA Google Professionalism Safety Science Social Studies Technology

Level All Teachers, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education

9:00am CDT

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

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Cafeteria/Auditorium

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 →

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Cafeteria/Auditorium

9:00am CDT

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

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT

Room 267

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 →

Tuesday July 14, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 267

Safety

Level Administrators, All Teachers, Central Office, Counselors

11:00am CDT

Practical AI for Educators: Enhancing Instruction, Feedback, and Efficiency Without Losing the Human Touch

Tuesday July 14, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT

Room 206

Presenters

Roland Weldon

Tuesday July 14, 2026 11:00am - 11:50am CDT
Room 206

Assessment Chromebook CTE Data Digital Citizenship ELA Google Professionalism Safety Science Social Studies Technology

Level All Teachers, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education

12:00pm CDT

Big Feelings, Big Behaviors: Helping Students Reset in K–6

Tuesday July 14, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm CDT

Room 19

Big feelings. Big behaviors. Real solutions.

If you’ve ever felt your classroom shift in seconds from calm to chaos, this session is for you. Join us for an energizing, no-fluff deep dive into how to confidently handle escalating behaviors without power struggles, shutdowns, or lost learning time.

You’ll learn how to catch the early warning signs before things blow up, use game-changing de-escalation language that actually works, and put proactive strategies in place that help students regulate and refocus. Built for K–6 educators, this session is packed with real talk, real strategies, and ready-to-use teacher scripts you can take back and use immediately.

Walk in curious—leave feeling confident, equipped, and ready to take back your classroom.

Presenters

Angela Hurst

K3 Project Success Teacher, Pine Grove Elementary

I am a dedicated educator with 22 years of experience teaching 3rd and 4th grade. I currently serve as a Project Success Teacher, where I work closely with Tier 3 behavior intervention students to support their growth and success. I’m a proud wife to David and mom to DJ and Zach... Read More →

Savanah Miller

Special Education Teacher

Tuesday July 14, 2026 12:00pm - 12:50pm CDT
Room 19

Behavior Differentiation Safety

Level Administrators, Pre-K Teachers, Elementary Teachers, 504 Coordinators, Counselors, Special Education

2:00pm CDT

Practical AI for Educators: Enhancing Instruction, Feedback, and Efficiency Without Losing the Human Touch

Tuesday July 14, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT

Room 206

Presenters

Roland Weldon

Tuesday July 14, 2026 2:00pm - 2:50pm CDT
Room 206

Assessment Chromebook CTE Data Digital Citizenship ELA Google Professionalism Safety Science Social Studies Technology

Level All Teachers, Counselors, Librarians, Special Education

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

Cafeteria/Auditorium

Presenters

Kristi Bush

Keynote Speaker, Social Media Safety Educator, KNB Communications

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

9:00am CDT

Field Trip Mastermind: Planning, Paperwork, and Preparation

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

Room 20

Presenters

Brittany Antinarella

Gifted Teacher, Fairhope West Elementary

I am a Project Jubilee teacher at Fairhope West Elementary. I love making things pretty, traveling, my planner, yoga, spending time with my family and friends, reading, and learning new things.

Wednesday July 15, 2026 9:00am - 9:50am CDT
Room 20

Professionalism Safety

Level All Teachers

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

Presenters

Jeffrey Spaller

Safety & Security Supervisor, Baldwin County Central Office

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

Safety

Level Administrators, All Teachers, Counselors, Central Office

10:00am CDT

Big Feelings, Big Behaviors: Helping Students Reset in K–6

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

Room 19

Elementary teachers are increasingly encountering students who struggle to manage big emotions that lead to disruptive or escalating behaviors. This session will equip educators with practical, classroom-tested strategies to recognize early warning signs of escalation and respond with calm, effective techniques that help students reset while maintaining a productive learning environment.

Participants will explore the stages of behavioral escalation, learn de-escalation language that prevents power struggles, and discover proactive strategies that support emotional regulation in K–6 classrooms. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use tools, teacher scripts, and behavior supports they can implement immediately.

Presenters