2017 Women's Leadership Conference NJ
2017 AASA/NJASA/FEA
2nd Annual Women's Leadership Conference
Online Registration Open
An event designed for women in or aspiring to positions in educational Leadership
Accommodations
Small hotel room block at a reduced rate are available at the Crowne Plaza Monroe for the Conference.
Room rate of $109, valid only until March 8, 2017.
Hotel Information
March 30-31, 2017
Forsgate Country Club, Monroe Township, NJ
Agenda
Thursday,
March 30
9am –
9:15am - Registration & Welcome
9:15-10:15am
– General Session
Sonia Manzano, Author and Actress
|
Sonia Manzano is a
first-generation American of Latino descent who has affected the lives of
millions of parents and children since the early 1970s, when she was offered an
opportunity to play “Maria” on Sesame Street. Manzano was raised
in the South Bronx where her involvement in the arts was inspired by teachers
who encouraged her to audition for the High School of Performing Arts. She was accepted there and began her career as an
actress. A scholarship took her to Carnegie Mellon University
in Pittsburgh, and in her junior year, she came to New York to star in the
original production of the off-Broadway show Godspell. Within a year, Manzano joined the
production of Sesame
Street, where she eventually began writing scripts for the
series. She was thrilled to help write the story line for “Maria’s” marriage
and birth of “Maria’s” baby, played for a while by Manzano’s real-life daughter
Gabriela.
Manzano has
performed on the New York stage in the critically acclaimed theater pieces The Vagina Monologues and The Exonerated andLove
Loss and What I Wore. Movies includeDeathwish,Follow
That Birdand Elmo
in Grouchland. She is an advisor
for literary NY institution Symphony
Space and is often a reader for Selected Shorts. She
regularly reads for their adult literacy program All-Write. Guest appearances
include The Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade. Dinner Impossible (2009). Interviewed on NBC Nightly Newsfor Sesame Street’s 40 Anniversary. Interviewed by Jeffrey Brown for PBS Newshour website in connection with Sesame Street’s 40th Anniversary. Manzano was hired as a spokesperson for Cohn & Wolfe for their child vaccination campaign in 2008.
She has written for
the Peabody Award-winning children’s series, Little
Bill, and has written a parenting column for the Sesame Workshop web site called Talking Out
Loud. Her children’s book, No Dogs Allowed!
published by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing in 2004. In 2005 General Mills selected No Dogs Allowed! for
their Spoonfuls of Stories
series. Over one million copies of No Dogs Allowed! were
given away in cereal boxes courtesy of General Mills. Manzano contributed
poem Chessybreadville toMarlo Thomas and Friends, Thanks and Givingbook and CD. No Dogs Allowed! has
been turned into a children’s musical, with a production at the Actor’s Playhouse, in Coral Gables, Florida and the Atlantic Theaterin New York. Productions included Ridgefield Theater Barn
and Theaterworks at the Milford Playhouse, both in CT. Theatrical Rights Worldwide has licensed No Dogs Allowed! Her
second book, ABox Full Of Kittens, was published in 2007.
Her first young
adult novel entitled The
Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, published by Scholastic was a Pura Belpre Honor. Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx, is a memoir published by Scholastic, 8/25/2015. Miracle on
133rd Street is a
picture book published by Simon and Schuster, 9/25/2015. Donated her
services to the Bronx Children’s
Museum by writing picture book, The Lowdown on the Highbridge. Sale of the book proceeds will go to the operations and efforts
of an actual museum for the children of the Bronx. Volunteers for the Bronx River Alliance.
She enjoys
traveling the country giving comedic speeches with substance. |
10:15-10:30
- Break
10:30 -
11:30am - Concurrent Workshops
Leading
Change using 21st Century Leadership, Management Skills &
Technology
Leading change can be a daunting task
but our presentation will show future and current leaders that it can done and
done efficiently using 21st Century leadership and management skills and
technology. We will discuss the following important elements that facilitate
the change process: improve school climate and culture, build relationships,
being courageous, over-communicating, learning from other cultures and
educational systems, learning from other generations, being adaptive, being
influential, breaking boundaries and silos, achieving integrity, experimenting
and promoting experimentation, and protecting your own physical and mental
health. We will use real-life examples (that we have actually implemented) and
will use technology and web tools like padlet, google forms, twitter,
todaysmeet, mentimeter during the presentation to model how to use technology
to help lead change.
Francesca Amato, Director of Academic
Affairs, Weehawken Township School District, Weehawken, NJ
Suzanne Mera, Principal, Theodore Roosevelt School, Weehawken, NJ
10 tips
to build district-wide LGBT cultural competencies through GSA and other
inclusive clubs/practices
The presenters hail from vastly
different experiences ranging from the private sector, to a conservative, rural
district in the north to a progressive, suburban district in the south. They
will discuss their efforts to provide equity and cultural proficiency training
by using student groups as the catalyst to discuss and act on linguistic and
cultural competencies for diversity and acceptance. This workshop will focus on
LGBT inclusivity and access.
Sarah Bilotti, Superintendent, North
Warren Regional School, Blairstown, NJ
Elisabeth Yucis, English Teacher, Collingswood High School, Collingswood, NJ
From
High School Teacher of English to Superintendent: Lesson from Literature that
Influences Leadership
As an educational leader, I often
reflect upon the themes, conflicts, and characters from literature that I
taught to hundreds of high school students. Bringing my passion for the content
I taught as a teacher into my role as a superintendent is a skill that can be
shared with others who may sometimes struggle with having passion for daily
administrative tasks.
MaryJane Garibay, Superintendent,
Colts Neck Township Schools, Colts Neck, NJ
Relationships
Matter: Getting the Most Out of your Team
This presentation will center around
the skills essential to leaders in 2016. Research suggests that relationships
are the key ingredient in successful organizations. Successful leaders possess
the ability to build their team based upon their leadership and personality
differences. Please join us as we share how to navigate and harness the
collective power of the differing behaviors, temperaments, and personalities in
your workplace.
Nancy Gartenberg, Superintendent,
Montgomery Township School District, Skillman, NJ
Surviving
and Thriving as a School Leader
This workshop is based on my
twenty-five years as a school leader - including seven years’ experience as a
superintendent - as well as my doctoral dissertation on superintendent
longevity. Strategies for entry into and sustainability as a school leader will
be shared. While current and aspiring superintendent may be most interested,
many of the principles are applicable to other leadership roles.
Annette Giaquinto, Superintendent,
Galloway Township School District, Galloway, NJ
Educational
Equity and Morality
The Moral Imperative; the Need for
Interventions Understanding the need to create equitable learning experiences
for all students is backdrop for true educational reform. As educators we have
a moral obligation to ensure that we are creating college and/or career ready
citizens. Our goal must be to Assess the needs of our students; Create an
instructional program tailored to meet the needs of all students and Execute
programs that support the way students learn as opposed to the way teachers teach.
This presentation will focus on why Equity in Education is necessary to
actualize increased student performance and achievement. As the Director of
Curriculum and Instruction in one of the top three Most Rapidly Improving
School Districts in the Nation, the story of how Asbury Park School District
was able change the trajectory for its students through a host of blended
learning programs coupled with intensive instructional and leadership coaching
will be the emphasis.
Sancha Gray, Assistant Superintendent, Asbury Park School District, Asbury Park, NJ
11:45am-12:30pm Lunch
12:30-1:15pm Keynote
Jody Spiro, Director Education leadership, The Wallace Foundation
1:30-2:30pm Concurrent Workshops
Teacher
Leadership: Creating Opportunities
The future leaders of our schools are
currently teaching students in their classrooms. However, the learning curve
that a teacher embarks upon when making the move from a highly effective
classroom teacher to an administrator is a steep one. Fostering opportunities
for teacher leadership is one way that can contribute to future administrators’
success, while also making a positive impact on a school district. This session
will share ways that leadership skills can be developed among teachers in
structured, focused learning experiences that serve the district’s goals as
well. Activities such as mentoring or leading a professional development
session provide school leaders the opportunity to coach future leaders when
they engage their mentors, speakers, curriculum writers, literacy coaches, and
others in formal leadership training and reflection activities.
Debra Gulick, Director of Curriculum
and Instruction, East Brunswick Public School, East Brunswick, NJ
Fostering
Leadership: Pathways to Achieve
Dr. Haimer, Assistant Superintendent,
and Ms. McKim, District ELA Supervisor, share an integral component within
Freehold Township’s journey towards personalized learning. Progressions for
learning have shaped and supported leadership as the district’s vision and its
mission to create “Leaders of their Own Learning.” This interactive session
will focus on the tools and strategies utilized to foster a growth mindset for
leadership in a pre-k-8 school district. Employing learning progressions to
promote the innovative practice of goal setting will be demonstrated. Ways to
incorporate reflection and critique into daily practices will be shared.
Participants will have the opportunity to build their pathway to achieving
their own personalized leadership goal thus creating “leaders of their own
learning” at all levels.
Pamela Haimer, Assistant
Superintendent of Curriculum, Freehold Township School District, Freehold
Township, NJ
Christine McKim, District Supervisor of Instruction, Freehold Township School District, Freehold Township, NJ
Emotional-Social
Intelligence, Leadership, and Gender in Contemporary New Jersey School
Districts
An examination into the relationship
between the self-perceived emotional-social intelligence and the self-perceived
leadership effectiveness of New Jersey educational administrators in relation
to issues potentially complicated by gender will be reviewed. Both
emotional-social intelligence and leadership will be categorized into more
specific aspects for comparison purposes. Several research questions will be
posed and studied. The null hypothesis that will be discussed relates to
whether or not there are significant differences between male and female school
leaders’ responses on the two instruments. Exploration will be made into
whether or not a there is the relationship between emotional-social
intelligence and administrators’ self-perceived performance when analyzing
response variables and explanatory variables of each gender group. Resultant
quantitative and potential qualitative data will be analyzed, triangulated, as
will measures of validity and reliability. The work provides a framework to
better understand the emotional-social acuity, leadership skills, and
experiential history of male and female New Jersey educational leaders in
relation to past and current professional organizational experiences.
Preliminary suggestions for additional research in the area of leadership
development in schools will be explored.
Noelle Jacquelin, Cape May Court, NJ
The
Revolutionary Act of Listening
The most revolutionary way to have an
impact as a leader is to engage in the pure and unadulterated act of listening.
This presentation will detail four ways in which listening has the potential to
transform teaching and learning. The key points are as follows: Effective
listening serves as a form of non-judgmental data collection. Listening
empowers teachers to control the direction of their professional growth.
Educational leaders should demonstrate active listening as a model for teachers
to implement with their own students. True listening is a gift that we do not
often have the fortune to experience in today’s fast-paced society Participants
will be engaged in a two-way conversation about the power of listening, as well
as hands-on experiences designed to simulate engaged vs. disengaged listening.
Presenters will also highlight digital resources to support the act of
listening for educational leaders, including journal articles, podcasts and apps.
Jane Losinger, Supervisor of Language
Arts Literacy, Howell Township Public Schools, Howell, NJ
Grant
Writing: Empowering Teachers, Administrators and You
More and more we are asking our
administrators and faculty to meet the needs of students with less and less
available resources. This presentation will demonstrate how to enhance your
educational programs through engaging your entire faculty and administration in
grant writing. Grant writing is a strategy to empower educators to challenge
themselves to develop creative and meaningful curriculum projects for their
classrooms, their schools, and/or the district; hone a valuable skill; take
ownership; collaborate; and get positive feedback and recognition. Whether your
district is small or large, urban or suburban, grant writing can level the
playing field. In this workshop you will learn about how the culture of grant
writing evolved in one district over five years. You will also learn where to
find resources for grants, strategies, and tips about how to slowly introduce
grant writing strategies in your district, and how to grow your grant writing
program.
Nancy Lubarsky, Chief School
Administrator, Mountainside School District, Mountainside, NJ
Building Partnership to Develop District STEAM Initiatives
An integral to assist students primarily to graduate with STEAM knowledge, skills, & applied learning capabilities necessary for success in STEAM college education & careers and to possess STEAM knowledge, skills, & awareness to positively impact our region, nation, & world. This session will guide participants to build a network of STEAM community partnerships in order to provide rich opportunities for students. Session priorities will assist participants to accomplish four goals: 1) maximize access to high-quality STEAM education for all students, from pre-k through post-secondary students, both in and outside the classroom; 2) develop strategies to inspire & prepare students to achieve proficiency in STEAM disciplines; 3) assist students to consider pursuing careers in STEAM fields, particularly women, people of color, & special needs populations; and 4)develop ways to support educators who teach STEAM subjects to ensure they have access to the resources they need to prepare students with STEAM skills needed for college & career.
Kari McGann, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Delran Township Schools, Delran, NJ
2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-3:45pm Concurrent Workshops
Building Your Capacity and Managing It All: What Aspiring Leaders Need to Know
This session will help aspiring female leaders focus their efforts towards attaining leadership positions and improving leadership capacity. As a new leader you will be faced with new initiatives from teacher evaluation to standardized testing in addition to the daily functions of your job specific role. We will discuss how to manage the competing priorities and what the specific areas of focus should be all while maintaining your personal well-being. We will examine professional development opportunities, professional readings, and how to build your organizational and instructional capacity. We plan to equip you with the professional steps you can take to transition into a leadership role. Our session will provide a personalized, targeted and interactive experience, while keeping all participants actively engaged. Through our planned activities, this session will be informative, interactive, reflective, and collaborative.
Farrah Mahan, Director of Curriculum, Cherry Hill Public School District, Cherry Hill, NJ
LaCoyya Weathington, Director of Pupil, Cherry Hill Public School District, Cherry Hill, NJ
Standards-Based
Report Cards
I am the new Supervisor of Elementary
Education and one of my goals this year was to create a standards-based report
card for our K-2 students. This challenge included changing the physical form
of our report card, and changing the fixed mindset of a traditional grading
paradigm to a more growth mindset. I led a great team of hard-working teachers
who spent many many summer hours researching and collaborating. The teamwork
produced a high quality report card. Our superintendent was very proud of the
final result my leadership produced.
Isabel McGinley, Supervisor of
Elementary Education, Weehawken Township School District, Weehawken, NJ
Anna Rudowsky, Principal of Daniel Webster School, Weehawken, NJ
Clothed
in Garments of Virtue: Exploring Women's Place in the History of Schooling and
How It Impacts All of Us Today
Teachers’ voices are often overlooked,
both within the realm of education and in the public sphere. The
marginalization of educational professionals in America has roots in
education’s history as a feminized industry. The consequence of historical
origins is far-reaching in education today; impacting both respect and
compensation given to teachers, women in leadership roles, and the role of
teacher voice. From the exemplary young woman “clothed in garments of virtue”
to early union leaders, a woman’s place in the classroom has changed over time.
Leave this session with a better understanding of the role women have played in
the history of American education and how women can lead the shaping of its
future.
Amy Mount, Director of Curriculum and
Intruction, Gateway Regional High School, Woodbury, NJ
Leadership
and STEAM: How to create an environment for Learning
Leaders will be able to see first hand
how to transform a Media/Library into a STEAM lab. Strategic planning and
community based programs will be discussed. JoAnn Nocera and her team of
teachers, parents and administration worked together to raise $17,000 in less
than 2 years. In addition, East Dover School was also the recipient of the
Ocean First Model Classroom grant of $10,000 which was used to set up a
STEAM/Makerspace area for teachers to use.
JoAnn Nocera, Supervisor of
Instruction k-5, Toms River Regional School, Toms River, NJ
Leading
as a Team: Panel Discussion
A collaborative climate, the constant
exchange of ideas, ongoing mentoring, necessary reflection and a built-in
support network - are all components of an effective leadership team.
Every leader posseses a different set of strengths, skills, experiences and
perspectives. What better way to ensure a postive and effective
educational environment, then to work together in setting goals,
troubleshooting events, managing groups and interacting with stakeholders, then
to utilize the strengths of all district leaders. A panel of women leaders,
including a Superintendent, Guidance Director, Athletic Director and Assistant
Principal will host a panel discussion demonstrating how working together as a
team, helps to foster this postive and successful environment.
Tara Oliveira, Assistant Principal,
Berkeley Heights Public Schools, Berkeley Heights, NJ
Women’s
Aspirations and Career Pathways to the Superintendency
What drives women to aspire to the
superintendency? Understanding the internal factors that women confront and the
external factors that influence decisions is critical to developing a system
for cultivating the next generation of leaders. This session will explore these
factors and provide proactive solutions for increasing a qualified and capable
pool of future leaders in our school systems.
Jennifer Polinchock, Assistant
Superintendent, Centennial School District, Warminster, PA
Friday, March
31
8:30am –
9:00am - Registration
9:00am – 9:15am - Welcome and Introductions
9:15-10:15am
– Keynote
Kimberley Harrington, Acting Commissioner of Education
10:30 -
11:30am - Concurrent Workshops
Living
in Organized Chaos: Strategies for Leaders Balancing Work and Life
This interactive workshop will engage
leaders in meaningful reflective activities and discussions that focus on their
work/life balance. Participants will learn how nurturing the self helps to
maintain the multiple facets in their life that need to be balanced.
Suzan Radwan, Director of Special
Services, Hillsborough Public Schools, Hillsborough, NJ
Building
Networks to Support and Advance Women in School Leadership
More Than a Power Lunch: Building
Networks to Support and Advance Women in School Leadership. The initiative was
established by AASA to help mitigate the impact of social barriers women face
in ascending to the top leadership positions within our school systems. In this
session, representatives of the AASA National Women's Leadership Consortium
think tank will provide an update on the initiative and share some activities
that have helped to prepare women for leadership roles in school districts.
Participants will: · Gain insights into the barriers and challenges you may
face; · Help prepare you for the next step in your career · Learn about some
resources that are available which will help prepare you to become a women
leader.
Judy Rattner, Superintendent, Berkeley
Heights Public School, Berkeley Heights, NJ
Promoting
Leadership Opportunities for Prospective Female Leaders
An important aspect of the
superintendent’s job is to encourage and motivate staff members to newer
heights. Promoting teacher leadership opportunities lifts the level of teaching
and professionalism for that particular emergent leader and creates a climate
where shared leadership is embraced and supported. It also is a critical way to
build the number of female principals and superintendents in New Jersey, as
data shows the proportion of female principals and superintendents continues to
be low relative to the large number of female teachers in New Jersey.
Barbara Sargent, Superintendent,
Readington Township Public School, Hillsborough, NJ
Moral
Leadership
A leader, by definition, is one who
guides, who shows the way by example. A leader, if she is to be effective, must
have the ability to persuade others. If there is no persuasion, there simply is
no leadership. In order to be able to persuade others to follow a course of
action, a leader must have personal integrity. Moral Leadership is a very
different kind of leadership. Rather than aspiring to being followed, moral
leaders aim to serve. Instead of showcasing their own skills, moral leaders
tend to develop the capacities of others. Moral Leaders know how to manage
themselves, how to temper their egos and how to act with integrity. They are
visionary and affect personal change. They work to overcome obstacles and are
skilled at the art of consultation. They build consensus, navigate diversity,
and establish unity. Moral leaders are the moral compass of learning community.
Debra Sheard, Assistant Superintendent
of Schools, Plainfield, NJ
Professional Standards for Educational Leaders: A Reflection and Growth Tool
The PSEL Reflection and Growth Tool is a set of questions that align to the new educational leadership standards. They include the critical actions that are important for a full understanding about how the standards can positively impact all NJ leaders. The focus is on helping all leaders to grow in the practices that result in higher levels of student learning. In this workshop, participants will understand the impact of the new standards will have on leadership in their school and district; reflect on their own practice; drive collaborative conversations with school/district leadership teams to explore how these standards can build collective capacity to achieve school/district goals; and develop a shared district mindset of what powerful leadership looks like in action.
Patricia Wright, Executive Director, NJ Principals & Supervisors Association, Monroe Township, NJ
Patricia Haney, Superintendent, Logan Township Public Schools, Logan, NJ
11:30-11:45am
- Break
11:45am-12:45pm
– Legislative Panel
12:45 - 1:45pm
- Lunch
1:45-2:45pm Concurrent Workshops
Exploration of Barriers & Solutions for Women on the Pathway to Educational Leadership
The purpose of this session is to discover the various pathways women have taken to achieve roles in educational leadership, a position of power historically dominated by their male counterparts. Understanding how women are able to overcome the historical barriers presented before them and break through the glass ceiling sheds light on the pathway and provides inspiration for females who aspire to the roles of supervisor, vice-principal, principal and central office.
Tracy Skinner, Supervisor of Humanities, Wall Township Public Schools, Wall, NJ
Access, Cultural Proficiencies, and Equity: Creating
a Culturally Responsive Environment for All
What does it mean to empower educators
to create a culturally responsive learning environment? The presentation will
focus on three basic principles of learning to help educators understand how to
become agents of change (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking 1999; Donovan &
Bransford, 2005). Through the experience of three female leaders, participants
will gain an in-depth understanding of what it really means to lead with
passion and heart to reach every student and to empower educators alike to
create a safe learning environment for all.
Joanne Sung, Director of Curriculum
& Instruction, Somerville Public Schools, Somerville, NJ
Diversity and Equality in a Time of Homogeneity
Using meaningful discourse and
pedagogical practices to facilitate equal access, equity and cultural proficiencies
are prevalent in daily leadership and educational practices.
Annette Walters, Director of Special
Education, Warren Hills Regional School District, Washington, NJ
Safety and Security in the Social
Media Age
In today's society, students and
families often have details of an incident before school officials can get
accurate information to the community. Hear how the Barnegat School District
recognized the needs of the community, used social media (and other forms of
communication) to keep students safe, worked collaboratively in crisis
situations, and informed families expeditiously. All strategies can be
implemented the next day. They are easy to replicate or customize to the needs
of your district, and have little to no cost to your school budget.
Karen Wood, Superintendent, Barnegat
Township School District, Barnegat, NJ
Leadership
and Effective Collaboration
In this seminar, participants will
discover their preferred pattern of behavior and how to create a collaborative
and positive school culture. Leaders
will engage in a self-actualizing process by appreciating their own uniqueness
and understanding style differences in others.
It will foster collaboration and create a power of connection among all
staff members. A research based and
proven survey tool will be used to allow the participants to reflect on and
energize their own attributes while respecting the differences in others.
Denise Hecht, Assistant Executive
Director, NJ Principals & Supervisors Association, Monroe Township, NJ