The Conference
a day of professional learning
MTSU 8:00am
Join us Wednesday, June 7th, at the Student Union Building on the beautiful campus of Middle Tennessee State University for a day of professional learning as teachers and administrators learn ways to lighten their load as they navigate the ever-changing education landscape. Questions? Email learning@leaderutn.com

About Leader U
What is Leader U?
Leader U is the professional learning department of Professional Educators of Tennessee. The annual Leader U conference is an opportunity for educators from across the state to gather for an -in-person day of learning and earning professional development credits. Classes for administrators are TASL accredited, but all classes are open to all attendees. Conference sessions are also recorded and added to the large library of classes in the Leader U Online Learning Portal, which is included with Professional, Support, and Student memberships from Professional Educators of Tennessee or with an annual subscription to the portal.
Speakers
Proud to bring inspirational speakers from across the education world































Sessions

Keynote: Enhancing Educator Psychology Post COVID With the Positive Domino Effect
World renowned psychologist Dr. Shamender Talwar will show educators that there is a solution for teacher/administrative burnout post-COVID. He will reveal to educators how to connect to the psychologist within them and provide methods for students, teachers, administrators, and schools to feel empowered while building a cohesive community.
He will be co-presenting alongside Pamela Lewis, owner, and CEO of PLA Media, a philanthropist and long-time supporter of mental health initiatives.

How to Reach Students Who Have Experienced Trauma
The purpose of this session is to help educators identify and learn how to implement practices that will assist in increasing student motivation and participation while reducing behavioral issues and stress. Target audience—PK-12 Teachers, School Counselors, Adminstators
Speaker:
Stacia Anglin

You Can Work Smarter for Administrators
In this session we will look at ways to make the job of being an administrator easier and more efficient. We will cover helpful websites, iOS and Android apps, and other resources. Some of what we discuss will spill over into helping you organize your personal life as well. It's all about bringing educational supervision into the 21st century! There is another session for teachers that will cover several different resources.
Speaker:
Tim Childers

Collaborative Planning to Support Students’ Needs
Supporting the diverse needs of students in the classroom can sometimes feel like a herculean task. Staffing shortages and scheduling challenges contribute to the seemingly endless demand for our time. Being strategic with staffing and scheduling is even more important than ever. In this session, designed for teachers and administrators, participants will discover and use tools to improve collaborative planning efforts and create shared ownership over the support students receive.Â
Speaker:
Theresa Nicholls

Teacher Liability and the Teacher Code of Ethics
This session will provide educators and administrators with an overview of the laws and resources to assist them in avoiding, accidents, liability, and ethical violations.
Speaker:
Christy Ballard

The Learning Brain: Â Essential Neuroscience for Educators
In the past decade, unprecedented advances in neuroscience research have revealed much about the way the brain learns.  Although most may not be aware of it, educators are tasked with finding the best way to induce brain plasticity in order for students to acquire essential skills and knowledge. Because the most valuable assets for improving education won’t be developed in a neuroimaging lab, educators who possess a greater understanding of neuroscience are best positioned to orchestrate their students’ neuronal plasticity during classroom time.  Let’s find out how!
Speaker:
René Diamond

The Cognia/Memphis Shelby County Schools Turnaround State Pilot
This session will focus on the Turnaround Pilot Partnership developed between Cognia and the Memphis Shelby County Schools which is a four-year legislative pilot grant.   Two schools, Hawkins Mill Elementary School and Trezevant High School are involved in the project and the work is designed to ‘help teachers teach and students learn’ in classrooms. A ‘Boots on the Ground’ model using exemplary educators who have worked in similar school settings, i.e., poverty rural and urban schools, as teachers, principals and superintendents is being implemented with early successes, Hawkins Mill has moved off the State’s Priority List. This session is appropriate for teachers, principals, and school support leaders.
Speaker:
Connie Smith et al.

Using Technology to Enhance Your ESL Instruction
This session will go over some of the technology resources you can integrate into your daily instruction to support the ESL/ELL students in your classroom to build their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. I’ll introduce you to the Britannica Online Dictionary, Edpuzzle, Padlet, Google docs, Kami, and the integrated resources available in Schoology (an online learning platform used in several counties in TN). I’ll also discuss some of the paid resources your schools may use that are also great for supporting our ESL/ELL students: IXL, iReady, Lexia English, Imagine Reading.Â
Speaker:
Jennifer Boyd

Finding A Path in the Gray Areas of Leadership
What do we do when our decisions do not fit neatly into two categories of yes and no or right and wrong? How do we build a positive culture in our schools and on our teams that supports the individual needs of our school community when there is no clear path forward? In this session, we will explore the gray areas of leadership and how we can support teachers, students, and families to build positive, flourishing communities. We lead at all levels in our organizations every day. If you make decisions in your organization, no matter the audience, this session is for you.
Speaker:
Lance Forman

Planbook
Developed by a teacher, Planbook has become the established leader in online lesson planning. Planbook provides teachers with a powerful set of tools to develop, plan, schedule, collaborate, and share their lessons from anywhere using any and all internet enabled devices.
Speaker:
Planbook Staff

You Can Work Smarter for Teachers
In this session we will look at ways to make the job of teaching easier and more efficient. We will cover helpful websites, iOS and Android apps, and other resources. Some of what we discuss will spill over into helping you organize your personal life as well. It's all about bringing teaching into the 21st century! There is another session for administrators that will cover several different resources.
Speaker:
Tim Childers

Don't Let this Job Kill You
Education veterans Dr. Leticia Skae-Jackson and her husband Dr. Ryan B. Jackson (founder of Fit Leaders) detail their journey to create balance in their home life, while maximizing their professional opportunities and responsibilities. This session is guaranteed to impact your life! Learn about the power of meal planning and prep, creating a fitness lifestyle that suits you, the life-changing catalyst of mindful meditation, using social media as a tool and not as a digital pacifier, embracing the journey and not obsessing over the destination...and much, much more!Â
Speaker:
Ryan Jackson
Leticia Skae-Jackson

Creative Classrooms: Inspiring Minds Through Creativity, Collaboration and Convergence
This session discusses the use of creativity, collaboration and convergence in school lessons to inspire pupil learning and development. Being creative often involves breaking rules, challenging assumptions, taking issue with convention, questioning tradition. By contrast, schools are concerned with order and structure, represented by such things as bells, timetables, uniforms, assemblies, rules. It is understandable then why they have to function in this way, but it establishes a mind-set that makes it hard to step outside the norms. Moreover, the modern word is evolving faster, with technology playing an increasingly more important role. As technology develops and converges, providing organisations with more and more automation, the next generation will be increasingly depended upon for creative roles.
Speaker:
Daniel Xander
