Unpacking Idaho's 2017 Federal Programs Conference

 It's great to be back from the 2017 Federal Programs Conference in Boise! Now to unpack what I've learned. . . .

First some highlights for those of you who wonder what it's like to go to a conference like this.

• Keynote speakers Charlotte Danielson, Luis Cruz, Diane Staehr Fenner, and of course rapper MK Asante brought inspiring messages encouraging us to be "merchants of hope," to remember that "If you make an observation, you have an obligation," and to keep doing the work that makes such a difference in the lives of our neediest students. 

Amy with the great Charlotte Danielson

• Breakout sessions deepened our understanding of topics under the Federal Progams umbrella (and at this conference, special education). I learned about reaching English Learners, using multicultural literature for inclusion, leveraging score changes in WIDA Access 2.0, apps that support student accessibility, and Socratic Discussions with my friends Wendi and Kim from the Idaho Coaching Network.

• I presented Choose Your Own Adventure: Writing and Publishing Narratives Using Digital Technology to a great bunch of teachers. Want the slideshow? It's yours! Go to https://goo.gl/c49wS5. The hostess at my session gave me a goody bag with The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore inside. Can't wait to read it!

Amy's presenter badge

• I got to catch up with some of the great folks from CSI who put on the P20 Educator Conference last summer. They're gearing up for this July, and I'll be presenting Choose Your Own Adventure and Faith and the Public School Teacher there again this year.

• Came home loaded up with freebies like animal-photo posters from Discovery Education, a coloring book for my daughter, and oodles of books from Stan Steiner's session, "What's New in Multicultural Children's Literature." More on that session another time!

Multicultural literature

• I got to explore Boise and meet new people. Networking is a huge part of why we go to conferences at all, and I try to take advantage of the chance to get help with issues I'm facing in the classroom, school, or in my district as a whole. (Okay, in my small community, the school and the district are one and the same. But you get what I'm saying).

View from the parking garage near the Boise Centre

What I'd like to see at next year's conference? A session called "Federal Programs 101." After all, some of us (me) are newbies to Fed Programs, and we need to know how to prepare for an audit, manage input from staff members, and make sure our school is doing the best it can to meet the needs of all learners.


More from the conference soon, but in the meantime, what do you think new Federal Programs Directors need to know about their job? Leave comments below! We newbies thank you!

Further Reading:
From eSchool News: 5 technologies to avoid in the classroom-and what to use instead
What Happened When I Interviewed Hip-Hop Artist MK Asante (And a Truck With a Confederate Flag Drove By)
From Dayspring.com: What's in Your Easter Basket?

A Masterpiece of Ministry (I Got Accepted to Grad School!)

I am thanking the Lord today because I just found out I've been accepted to Northwest Nazarene University's graduate school. I'll be working on my M.Ed. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Innovation over the next year or two as I continue to teach, write, and be a wife and mother to my family. Thank you so much to those who have been praying for me! This is a tangible answer to prayer. God has been richly blessing my family above and beyond what I could wish for.

The journey of "What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up?" seems endless for many people today. It hasn't been easy for me to get to the place where I now find myself, confident that God is creating a masterpiece of ministry in me. Getting a master's degree will, God willing, be part of the preparation for that ministry--and also part of that ministry. Slowly the pieces of the puzzle come together and I see that each is a beautiful part of the beautiful whole. I continue to wait for God's will, but I can rest in the knowledge that He is both powerful and good, and He will bring it to pass.

I would appreciate continued prayer for God to open the way for me to begin classes soon and to cover the tuition in His perfect way and time.

Thank you again for your partnership on this journey!

Learn more about my journey in "Teaching as Calling" and "Narratives of Grace."