APS Rising Educator Summit 2026

Ready to move beyond paperwork and get to the heart of achievement? Join this energetic, hands-on session to transform how we approach student support. Instead of seeing accommodations as a "compliance check," we’ll explore how the APS Promising Practice of Student Success Systems serves as a bridge to high-level mastery. What You’ll Experience: Collaborative Inquiry: Work with peers across grade levels to solve real-world classroom challenge. The "Support Toolkit": Get hands-on with evidence-based strategies, like tiered graphic organizers and visual anchors, that actually work. Data-Driven Action: Use a cycle of inquiry to ensure interventions are precise and effective. The Takeaway: Leave with a clear roadmap for implementing accommodations with fidelity, ensuring every student—regardless of their starting point—can access grade-level content and feel empowered. Let’s turn high expectations into tangible success!

Join us for a panel discussion with four different perspectives of behavioral support. This panel, with the combined experience of supporting APS students and staff with challenging behaviors for 80+ years, consist of a Transitional Specialist, a Behavior Management Specialist, a Resource Teacher, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Participants will have an opportunity to learn in detail about Self-Efficacy, Social Awareness, Self-Regulation, Perseverance and Sense of Belonging from school staff and how they incorporate and connect the domains into classroom content.

We recognize that many students come to school carrying the effects of stress, trauma, or difficult life experiences. This session highlights the important role educators play in providing stability, care, and guidance. Participants will explore how educators can create dialogue that can help create safe, supportive environments that promote healing and resilience for all students. This engaging and supportive session invites educators to explore how healthy communication can be woven into the everyday life of their school communities. Educators will learn meaningful values that strengthen relationships, build accountability, and help students grow towards their best self through participatory activities and group discussion. Schools and classrooms hold incredible potential to nurture not only academic growth but also the development of compassionate, capable, and resilient individuals. Grounded in the work of Kay Pranis and Carolyn Boyes-Watson, authors of Circle Forward: Building a Restorative School Community, this session will introduce the Seven Core Assumptions that provide a basic idea about human nature and our relationships to the world. Educators will reflect on the “prism” through which we see ourselves and others, gaining insights that strengthen empathy, understanding, and connection. Join us for a collaborative and uplifting experience designed to inspire, support, and empower your work with students and colleagues.

Participants will engage in dialogue to define what it means to be a strategic partner and explore how community partners can support classroom learning through Community Schools Key Practice 4: Rigorous Community-Connected Classroom Instruction. They will brainstorm Genius Hour topics and expanded learning opportunities aligned with the APS Profile of a Graduate, connecting classroom learning to real-world experiences. Participants will then develop a prototype blueprint for implementing their idea, identifying the roles of each stakeholder group to ensure shared responsibility. They will also build an understanding of the importance of data collection and creating mutually beneficial relationships with community partners to support sustainable and impactful work.

Ready to take learning outside but not sure where to start? This interactive session introduces simple, high-impact outdoor learning routines that any teacher can implement immediately. No field trip required. Participants will experience quick, repeatable strategies such as observation routines, nature journaling, and structured discussion protocols that support engagement, behavior, and inclusive participation. Co-facilitated with local outdoor educator Molly Madden, the session includes authentic examples of student work and real-world outdoor learning practices. Educators will leave with ready-to-use tools and a clear plan for getting students outside in meaningful, manageable ways whether for 10 minutes or a full lesson.

This is your time to connect after the June PD about teaming. Come to this session with your Academy Teams to collaborate on what teaming will look like in your Academy this year. Cohort 1 (Cibola HS, Highland HS, Manzano HS) and Cohort 2(Albuquerque HS, Del Norte HS, Eldorado HS, Rio Grande HS, Valley HS, West Mesa HS)

We all want to create meaningful change, but we can't do it alone—or by doing everything ourselves. This session is a deep dive into the "who" and "how" of our collective work. Teams will experience a collaborative mapping process to identify where their strengths overlap and where critical gaps exist. You’ll learn to identify the ten essential roles of social change and how to activate them within your own school site. Using the Social Change Ecosystem framework, this session helps individuals and teams clarify their values, align values with actions, and build a more interconnected, effective ecosystem that lasts.

What if classroom culture became your strongest instructional strategy? This interactive session will focus on intentionally teaching Skills, Habits, and Mindsets (SHM) alongside academic content while using Community Building Circles as a structure to deepen student engagement, voice, and accountability. Participants will explore how explicitly naming and reinforcing skills such as perseverance, self-efficacy, self-regulation, and social awareness transforms school and classroom expectations into lived behaviors. Attendees will experience a modeled Community Circle, unpack practical SHM integration strategies, and leave with ready-to-use prompts, structures, and implementation tools. Whether you are looking to strengthen relationships, increase student ownership, or reduce behavioral disruptions, this session provides a clear, actionable framework to build a culture where students thrive academically and socially.

This session will demonstrate how counseling and SEL lessons can be integrated into middle school teaming lessons to support students and staff. Participants will explore an example scope and sequence and year-long planning, along with discussion strategies that reinforce skills like emotional regulation, communication, and collaboration. The session will also highlight ways teachers and counselors can collaborate to lead Layer 1 interventions seamlessly, ensuring consistent social-emotional support across classrooms that aligns with the school’s curriculum and teaching teams.

We will teach you the problems, promises, and pitfalls of AI, demystifying the mysterious and unveiling the veiled. Do you dare to ask the overwhelming question?