GETCA 2025

Does it feel like you're talking about the same students over and over? Are you wanting to take your PLC's and RTI efforts to the next level? Do your team meetings lack the clarity and purpose you're looking for as a leader? In this session, Lorna will articulate, with multiple school samples and resources, the value of layering collaborative structures and processes within a school and how the introduction of a very intentional collaborative team meeting can work to respond to the needs of students collaboratively, while increasing the instructional capacity of everyone involved. In essence, schools reduce the number of meetings about students...by adding one more! By intentionally layering and connecting our PLC and RTI structures, we leverage and maximize the most powerful resource in any school for supporting the whole child - the teachers working within our building! Come learn what thousands of schools have learned about these purposeful collaborative structures and processes to ensure every student is supported by a team. Please ensure you have a device to access online materials through QR code or URL link.

Over the past number of years, with the growth of tiered response systems in schools, educational organizations have become proficient at tiering students for intensifying levels of support. When done well, it ensures a systematic approach to supporting a greater number of students and maximizing resources. When not done well, it can lead to higher levels of support becoming overwhelmed and resources stretched thin as more and more students are identified as requiring intensified supports. The great news is there is a better way that comes when you STOP tiering students! This session will provide an explanation of the paradigm shift from tiering students to tiering supports and share considerations when establishing, refining and utilizing a continuum of supports in schools and districts that has long standing impact for teachers and students.

In recent years, the teaching profession has faced growing concerns over teacher attrition and absenteeism. Many educators are leaving the field or are increasingly absent, signaling underlying issues that threaten the stability and health of the profession. This session explores the trends driving these concerns, examining the impact of stress, burnout, organizational culture, and systemic challenges that contribute to teacher disengagement. We will also delve into potential solutions, offering strategies to foster a flourishing workplace where educators feel supported, valued, and empowered. Join us to discuss how schools and educational leaders can reshape environments to not only retain teachers but inspire them to thrive.

If you are interested in encouraging mathematical talk, reasoning, deeper understanding and daily practice in a hands on visual method, then this rekenrek session is for you. You will get a chance to try it out and learn the basics. I focus on how to teach the basics using a manipulative that allows children to build, practice and UNDERSTAND the foundations of numeracy. You truly have to see it to believe it. Join in on the rekenrek workshop and you too will be singing the praises of this simple tool.

Curious about the rekenrek? This session is a hands-on introduction to a versatile, visual tool that deepens children’s number sense and fosters rich mathematical discussions. If you’re interested in sparking curiosity and boosting confidence with your pupils through hands-on practice, join us to explore the 100 bead rekenrek in action. You’ll try engaging tasks firsthand and leave with practical strategies to implement right away. Experience how this mess-free tool transforms teaching key mathematical concepts. This introductory workshop is ideal for teachers looking for simple, impactful methods that support children’s mathematical growth and confidence.

Join me for this captivating half-day session where we’ll create our very own digital escape room. This engaging escape room is perfect for concept reviews and exciting holiday activities. Students will be presented with a video hook (as seen in the example below) and then asked to solve a series of clues to "escape" or find a location from the video. Please bring your laptops so we can create clues tailored to your subject and classroom needs. To get a sneak peek of what we'll be working on, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wa1YhEtLik. I'm eagerly looking forward to our time together.