SDE Announces All-Star Lineup of National Conferences for Summer 2014

PETERBOROUGH, N.H., Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Improving student achievement begins with improving classroom instruction. Driven by that commitment, educators from across the country are invited to attend the Staff Development for Educators™ (SDE) 2014 national professional development conferences in New Orleans, LA from June 25-27, and in Las Vegas from July 11–15.

"Educators have the most important job in the world, and we're honored to help them do it to their highest standard," said SDE President, Terra Tarango. "We find that the educations at these national events have very high standards. They want strategies that are not only research-based and proven to be effective, but that are also respectful of the real-world demands they face. So we are staunchly committed to providing just that, the kind of practical strategies that these educators deserve to help them hone their craft and maximize learning in their classrooms."

The conferences offer high-powered content to challenge educators to think critically and creatively in an interactive and engaging setting. These rigorous, multi-day, multi-track events bring the nation's leading education experts together and include nearly 600 sessions.

This year, SDE features a new event—Reading, Writing, Math, and More! Practical Strategies in an Era of High Expectations in New Orleans, as well as the return of a popular favorite, I Teach 1^st! in Las Vegas. The perennially-popular I Teach K!, SDE's National Conference on Singapore Math Strategies, and SDE's National Conference on Differentiated Instruction are all returning, with new and sought-after presentations and innovative, immediately-applicable techniques for making the classroom extraordinary.

Reading, Writing, Math & More! delivers hundreds of practical, proven strategies that educators can use with students immediately. The conference design was shaped by vital feedback from educators the most pressing topics and challenges they face. Crafted with the recent changes to the standards in mind, and designed for K-5 teachers, this conference focuses on interactivity, seeing learning in action, and technology integration.

I Teach 1^st! returns to SDE's national lineup after a two-year hiatus, and appears in Las Vegas for the first time in 2014. Uniquely engineered to focus on the first grade and the needs of children getting ready to be true students, the conference centers around the precise tools educators need to foster independence, recognize and identify gaps in learning, build on literacy and numeracy, and more. Included in both I Teach 1^st! and its counterpart, I Teach K!, will be a full-day option to attend Common Core Camp, led by expert educator and conference-favorite, Dr. Jean Feldman.  

The I Teach K! will energize educators with new teaching methods for early literacy and numeracy, align with the standards, and maximize student learning on a daily basis.  Filled with the practical "how-to's" of keeping fun alive and well in the classroom through innovative "See It In Action" sessions, the conference is filled with sessions from the country's top kindergarten-focused educators and are sure to have a lasting impact on every attendee.  I Teach K! is highlighted by a dynamic keynote with Marc Brown, author of the popular "Arthur" books. 

"This year, educators that attend either I Teach K! and I Teach 1^st! will be treated to presentations by expert, grade-specific presenters, and new popular bloggers whose in-classroom experience teachers' respect and love," says Vice President of Events Kendra Fowler.

Each summer, more than 4,000 educators from across the country attend the four-day National Conference on Differentiated Instruction event to learn about the role of Differentiated Instruction (DI) in education today, an approach to teaching and learning that matches what and how a student learns to the student's readiness level, interests, and learning style in order to foster maximum academic growth. This year's conference is subtitled "Best Practices, Leadership, & Common Core for Today's Educators," which aptly reflect the core areas that educators indicated were at the forefront of their teaching.

"The rigor of the new standards has put additional stress and demands on teachers to meet the needs of all their students," Fowler says. "This makes DI even more critical today than in the past."

Administrators, math coaches and teachers will all benefit from tried-and-true implementation techniques and breakthrough instructional strategies at the National Conference on Singapore Math Strategies. Headlined by world-famous Singapore Math expert Yeap Ban Har, who will host a full-day session, this four-day event features a team of presenters who will share best practices for implementing Singapore Math, supplementing an existing curriculum, or simply looking to enhance math instruction. The conference features a comprehensive combination of math content training and implementation essentials, full coverage of interventions and support for at-risk/struggling students, and numerous classroom modeling demonstration and "Make & Take" opportunities.

"The Singapore Math Strategies conference is such a unique event," says Fowler. "There is something for everyone, whether you are simply thinking about adding Singapore Math to your curriculum, have already adopted it, or are looking for more advanced strategies— this conference has it all."

In addition, SDE will offer Singapore Math and DI attendees two pre-conference events: The  Administrator Summit: Manageable Methods for Success in Leadership, and Power Up! Strategies for Stimulating Your Students through Thrilling Technology. These day-long events are both offered on July 7. The Administrator Summit, designed for central office or building administrators, provides strategy-based, motivating sessions on the most current themes in education, such as Common Core implementation, teacher effectiveness and evaluation, and leading school change. Power Up!, designed for K-6 teachers, demonstrates how to embrace technology as a daily instructional tool. Instructional strategies for meeting the Common Core requirements and raise student engagement and achievement in literacy, math, science, social studies, 21^st century skills, management, and more.

Because of the large breadth and depth of content offered at these national conferences, Tarango is confident that educators will find just the professional development—on just the topics they need—right at their fingertips.

"The presenters at this conferences are the most dedicated I've ever seen," explains Tarango. "The energy, the commitment, and the enthusiasm are tangible as thousands of teachers gain proven, practical strategies to make a real difference in their classrooms. "

To learn more about SDE's professional development seminars, conferences, on-site services and online learning, or to register for any of the national conferences, please call 1-800-462-1478 or visit www.SDE.com.

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