A principal’s job isn’t over when the school year ends. As you wade into summer planning, join us for a deep dive on the skills and motivation you need to put your best foot forward in the new year. This forum will offer a practical exploration of the best practices in planning enriching professional development for your staff, innovative strategies for bolstering your school’s morale, and timely insights on leadership perspectives.
Participants will:
- Hear innovative solutions and inspiration from school leaders;
- Learn best practices for facilitating more relevant, more exciting professional development opportunities for your staff
- Get actionable advice for revitalizing to school morale—both your staff’s and your own; and
- Connect with your professional peers
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Agenda
2:00pm ET
Welcome & Introduction
We’ll highlight key insights from recent reporting on principal leadership.
Mary Hendrie is the deputy opinion editor at Education Week.
2:10pm ET
Interactive Session: Why is Professional Development such a Headache?
Drawing on exclusive EdWeek Research Center data and audience participation, we will explore the challenges of planning professional development for your staff. This interactive session will set the stage for in-depth explorations of best practices in PD.
Mary Hendrie is the deputy opinion editor at Education Week.
2:20pm ET
Industry Perspective: Behavior Academies: Targeted Interventions That Work
Sponsor content provided by Solution Tree
Go beyond check in/check out (CICO) as the “catch all” intervention and begin using interventions that are targeted for all the specific behaviors you wish to eliminate. It is essential to a student’s personal growth and success to address the root cause of the behavior and provide the teaching of necessary and targeted academic and social behavior skills.
Go beyond check in/check out (CICO) as the “catch all” intervention and begin using interventions that are targeted for all the specific behaviors you wish to eliminate. It is essential to a student’s personal growth and success to address the root cause of the behavior and provide the teaching of necessary and targeted academic and social behavior skills.
Jessica Djabrayan Hannigan
Author| Consultant,
Solution Tree
Jessica Djabrayan Hannigan, EdD, works with U.S. schools and districts to design and implement effective behavioral systems. Her expertise includes RTI at Work™, PLCs, MTSS, PBIS, restorative practices, and more.
John Hannigan
Author | Consultant,
Solution Tree
John Hannigan, EdD, is an author and speaker who has served in education for over 20 years as a teacher, instructional coach, principal, and county office leadership coach. His expertise includes RTI at Work™, PLC at Work®, MTSS, PBIS, restorative practices, and more.
2:30pm ET
Panel Discussion: Planning Engaging Professional Development for Your Staff
Teachers and principals both want practical support and resources to improve student outcomes, but they are not always aligned on what that looks like. How can you get teachers excited to participate in professional development? And what actually makes the PD stick? Two experts in teacher PD will join Edweek assistant editor Madeline Will for a solution-oriented panel discussion.
Madeline Will is an assistant managing editor for Education Week, leading coverage of school leadership and general education trends.
Renee Gugel
Program Chair of Teacher Leadership,
National Louis University in Chicago
Renee Gugel is the program chair of teacher leadership and an assistant professor of leadership studies at National Louis University in Chicago. She formerly worked as a department chair, dean of students, and associate principal at districts in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Brooklyn Joseph
Lead Program Facilitator,
Lead by Learning
Brooklyn Joseph is a lead program facilitator at Lead by Learning, a program at Mills College at Northeastern University where she partners with schools across the Bay Area to design professional learning. She has more than 20 years of experience in education in a variety of environments and roles.
3:15pm ET
Industry Perspective: Supportive Leadership: The Key to Student and Teacher Well-Being in School
Sponsor content provided by International Baccalaureate Organization
We’ll explore the crucial role of supportive leadership in fostering both student and teacher well-being within educational environments. Attendees will gain insights into how empathetic and responsive leadership can enhance overall well-being in school, improve teacher retention, and promote a healthier, more productive learning atmosphere for students. The presentation will draw on recent studies conducted by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center on well-being for school teachers and well-being in education in childhood and adolescence.
We’ll explore the crucial role of supportive leadership in fostering both student and teacher well-being within educational environments. Attendees will gain insights into how empathetic and responsive leadership can enhance overall well-being in school, improve teacher retention, and promote a healthier, more productive learning atmosphere for students. The presentation will draw on recent studies conducted by the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Center on well-being for school teachers and well-being in education in childhood and adolescence.
Dr. Magdalena Balica
Senior Research Manager,
The International Baccalaureate Organization
With a background in psychology and educational sciences, Magdalena Balica has over 25 years’ experience in educational research. Her current focus area is wellbeing in education. She has authored a series of policy papers on wellbeing and she managed a set of foundational studies on student and teachers’ wellbeing in partnership with the Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford. She is currently leading the “Wellbeing in school” project for the IB, in partnership with Jacobs Foundation, Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford, Research School International (RSI), Human Flourishing Program, Harvard University and HundrED, piloting evidence-based interventions in the area of student wellbeing and providing action research support for more than 150 schools and over 15000 educators across the globe.
3:25pm ET
In Conversation – Morale: Turning Negativity Into a Positive
It is no easy task to refill your emotional tank in the face of a principal’s endless to-do list—much less when you’re the one setting the tone for a whole school community. In conversation with Edweek staff writer Olina Banerji, high school principal Kambar Khoshaba will share his own strategies for reconnecting with his “why” as an educator, growing from staff feedback, and starting every new school year with a smile.
Olina Banerji is a reporter for Education Week who covers school leadership.
Dr. Kambar Khoshaba
Principal,
South County High School, VA
Dr. S. Kambar Khoshaba is in his fourth year as principal of South County High School in Fairfax County Public Schools, Va. He is the author of Pulling Back the Curtain on School Leadership, and a national advocate for student voice. He represented NASSP at the White House and on Capitol Hill to champion public education. A 2021 Outstanding Middle School Principal of the Year in Virginia and a 2025 Virginia Principal of Distinction, he leads with heart, equity, and boundless Stallion pride. He is a regular contributor to Education Week Opinion’s column, The Principal Is In.
3:55pm ET
Interactive Session: Setting Your Intentions for the Coming Year
Giving attendees time to metabolize their learnings is an essential component of effective professional development. In this second interactive session, we will put that advice into practice by highlighting audience ideas and resolutions for leading stronger in the new school year.
Mary Hendrie is the deputy opinion editor at Education Week.
4:05pm ET
Closing Thoughts
Hear the big takeaways from this forum.
Mary Hendrie is the deputy opinion editor at Education Week.
