2026 SAIL Conference

Becky Berry, 

Monongalia County

This session explores how art educators can use West Virginia’s natural resources to create engaging, low-cost classroom lessons that connect students to their environment and culture. Participants will learn four hands-on lesson plans using locally available materials, including turmeric sun printing, oak gall ink, wild clay with kitchen glazes, and natural pigment paints, along with a bonus lesson on nature printing. The presentation also highlights the philosophy of place-based art education, emphasizing accessible materials and guiding educators through lesson facilitation with hands-on practice. Attendees will leave with practical lesson plans, sourcing strategies, and ideas for integrating environmental awareness and Appalachian identity into their curriculum.

Halie Henkes

Teresa Guill

Educational escape rooms are more than just engaging games, they are structured, collaborative learning environments where solving puzzles requires applying academic knowledge and reasoning. When designed well, the puzzles themselves become the learning experience rather than simply wrapping traditional questions in a game format.

In this session, participants will learn how to use NotebookLM and Gemini as design partners to rapidly create immersive digital breakout experiences aligned to curriculum standards. Educators will see how NotebookLM can ground escape room design in high-quality instructional resources and learning objectives, while Gemini helps generate narrative scenarios, puzzle structures, and interactive elements that transform lessons into story-driven missions.

Participants will explore a practical design process for building escape rooms that combine curriculum alignment, narrative immersion, and varied puzzle types such as logic challenges, pattern recognition, code breaking, and collaborative problem-solving. The session will also highlight strategies for avoiding “reskinned worksheets” by ensuring each puzzle directly requires students to apply the target knowledge or skill.

Derek Oldfield, 

Berkeley County Schools

Uriah Cummings,

School Financial Operations Officer, WVDE

Stacey Losh

Cynthia Sorsaia

Part I – Using a Behavioral Approach to Creating Supportive Learning Environments

Please plan to attend part two scheduled at 11:00 a.m.

This session introduces a behavioral approach to creating supportive learning environments by examining how the environment, neurodiversity, and trauma influence student behavior. Participants will learn to recognize behavior patterns and strengthen their function‑based thinking to respond to challenges with effective, student‑centered strategies.

Jennifer Carpenter

Taffy Robertson

Jennifer Cox

Jamie Armshaw

Eric D. Croasmun

Paige Crawford-Cook

Amanda Mote

WV Healthy Schools in Action Project: Empowering Schools and Communities Through Wellness & How to Start a Kids Run Club 

This presentation highlights the achievement of the WV Healthy Schools in Action initiative over the past three years and outlines current efforts to expand these opportunities statewide. Presenters will walk through the steps to become a WV Healthy School in Action and highlight available resources for educators. 

Presenters will also discuss the past successes of Kids Run Clubs and provide information on how schools can start a Kids Run Club and receive funding through a mini-grant process. 

Emi Tsuda 

Emily Murphy 

Leanne Watson  

India Tarleton Krawczyk

Up and Move - Review: Engaging, Content Focused Movement Strategies 

In this session, participants will engage in hands-on activities from the Pipeline Pathfinders immersion — a lesson generously sponsored by and developed alongside EQT Corporation. This lesson explores how scientists use technology to collect and analyze wildlife data. Just as biologists track animal movements with remote sensors, students will use Micro:bits as simulated game cameras to detect and record sightings of three animal species. GIS tools then bring their findings to life, allowing students to map and interpret animal distribution. Finally, students apply their data to a real-world engineering challenge by evaluating the environmental impact of a natural gas pipeline and determining the most responsible route.

Additionally, discover how the STEAM TAC and the West Virginia K-12 Speakers Bureau work together to strengthen career-connected learning by pairing engaging STEM experiences with authentic interactions with industry professionals. Together, these programs help educators inspire students to explore future opportunities and make meaningful connections between the classroom and real-world careers.

Erica Skorlinski &

Samantha Couch, WVU/WVDE STEAM TAC

Melissa Harrah

Britini Wolfe

Eleanor Gandee

Strong Start, Strong Future: Onboarding and Coaching for CTE Teacher Success and Retention

What happens in a CTE teacher’s first year often determines whether they stay in the profession, or leave it. Focusing on building prepared and effective CTE program staff through intentional onboarding, mentoring, and coaching practices impact retention of CTE teachers. Participants in this session will examine scalable strategies for supporting new CTE teachers—particularly those entering through nontraditional pathways—during their first few years in the classroom. Attendees will learn how to implement structured onboarding systems, strengthen mentor–mentee relationships, and provide just‑in‑time instructional and professional support that improves teacher effectiveness and retention. 

This session is designed for CTE administrators, school and district leaders, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders responsible for onboarding, mentoring, and supporting CTE educators. It features interactive reflection, peer discussion, and collaborative problem‑solving to help participants assess current practices and identify next steps. Participants will leave with practical, adaptable resources, including an onboarding checklist, mentoring frameworks, and actionable strategies that can be applied across schools, districts, and CTE centers to strengthen instructional quality and sustain high‑quality CTE programs.

What’s Next for College Access: Statewide Innovations Through CFWV

The session will provide an in-depth discussion on purchasing policy procedures as well as anticipated changes to the policy that will be forthcoming. Attendees are encouraged to understand their role in the purchasing process and develop a profound knowledge base of these requirements that are critical to a county’s fiscal success.

Uriah Cummings,

School Financial Operations Officer, WVDE

Grow your Pre-Apprenticeship to Apprenticeship Programs in Manufacturing

Carol Howerton, Director for Workforce Development Programs, Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center

Heather Cooper, Director of Apprenticeship Works, Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center

Macel Adams, Director, Ralph R. Willis Career and Technical Center

Stacey Losh

Cynthia Sorsaia

Part 2 - Using a Behavioral Approach to Creating Supportive Learning Environments

This is a two-part session with part 1 taking place at 9:45 a.m.

This session introduces a behavioral approach to creating supportive learning environments by examining how the environment, neurodiversity, and trauma influence student behavior. Participants will learn to recognize behavior patterns and strengthen their function‑based thinking to respond to challenges with effective, student‑centered strategies.

Little Moments, Big Impact: SEL Driven Circle Time Practices

Circle time can be one of the most meaningful parts of a preschool day, but it can also be one of the most challenging. When large group activities are too long, passive, or developmentally mismatched, children quickly lose engagement and challenging behavior increases. This interactive session explores practical strategies for designing circle time experiences that keep young learners actively involved. Participants will examine developmentally appropriate expectations, explore ways to increase opportunities for children to respond, and learn how to use movement strategically to maintain attention and participation. Through reflection and planning activities, educators will redesign a typical large-group routine to be shorter, more purposeful, and more engaging for preschool learners. Attendees will leave with concrete strategies they can implement immediately to strengthen engagement and reduce disruptions during group time.

Marissa Schomaker

Brittany Blankenship

Engaging with Computer Science Across K-12

During this presentation, we will look at how we can engage with Computer Science from kindergarten to 12th grade. We will also discuss the professional development opportunities available to teachers and complete a few sample activities.

Attendees will discover activities that they can implement in their classes, learn about professional development opportunities, and be invited to join the WV CS Educator Community.

This presentation will demonstrate different engaging warm-up activities and instant activities for elementary physical education teachers.  Come prepared to be active!

The Thinking Classroom Equation: WV Educators' Guide + The Mathematical Habits of Mind = Deep Math Understanding

How do we move beyond procedures to build deep, lasting mathematical understanding in high school math classrooms? In this session, participants will explore how the five mathematical representations - Physical, Visual, Symbolic, Contextual, and Verbal - from the WV Educators Guide for Algebra 1 can be intentionally aligned with the practices from "Mathematics Tasks for the Thinking Classroom (6-12)" by Peter Liljedahl. 

Through an engaging, high-cognitive-demand task, attendees will experience a Thinking Classroom in action while identifying and making connections across the five representations and the eight Mathematical Habits of Mind within a single lesson. Participants will leave with practical strategies for designing and facilitating lessons that promote reasoning, discourse, and conceptual understanding for all learners in grades 9-12.

AI in Your Teaching Toolkit

Audience: middle and high school only

Cliff Sullivan

Jennifer Brown

Peter Doherty

Using Formative Assessment to Engage Students and meet Learning Targets

Participants will learn how to integrate formative assessment into daily instruction to meet learning targets by incorporating visible thinking routines and cooperative learning structures throughout the three phases of learning.  Participants will engage with several research-based impact strategies they can easily incorporate in their own classrooms to monitor student learning.

Participants will learn to integrate formative assessment into their instructional design to meet learning targets, utilize visible thinking routines and cooperative learning structures to engage all students and assess their understanding, and understand how formative assessment supports the three phases of learning. 

Small Designers, Big Solutions

This session showcases a fifth-grade project where students used the design thinking process to create a sustainable town. They were explicitly taught each stage to guide problem-solving and creativity, then applied it to explore environmental, social, and economic aspects of communities. Working collaboratively, students researched needs and developed solutions for housing, transportation, energy, and green spaces. They brought their ideas to life using recyclable materials and 3D printing.

The project integrated science, math, social studies, and technology while promoting collaboration, critical thinking, and innovation. This session highlights how design thinking enhances engagement and supports real-world learning.

This presentation explores how classroom technology can go beyond Microsoft 365 and learning management systems like Schoology by incorporating MakerSpace tools and creative digital workflows into everyday instruction. It shows how elements like large format printing, laser engraving, 3D printing, and AI-generated student rewards can increase engagement, support project-based learning, encourage problem solving, and make student achievement more visible and meaningful. 

Rather than treating these tools as extras, the presentation frames them as practical extensions of classroom goals: creating incentives, recognizing achievement, producing authentic student products, and even repairing or improving classroom equipment. It also emphasizes that maker-centered learning supports creativity, iteration, and real-world problem solving when aligned to instructional outcomes and classroom routines.

Beyond the Numbers: How School Counselors Use Data to Drive Student Success

School counselors collect a wealth of information, from attendance reports and grade data to student surveys and pre/post assessments, but many struggle with how to translate that information into meaningful action. This session will demonstrate practical, realistic strategies for using data to identify student needs, implement targeted interventions, and communicate measurable results.

Participants will learn how to select meaningful data points, design simple pre/post assessments, and connect their work to measurable student outcomes. Using real examples from a middle school counseling program, the presenter will walk through the process of setting SMART goals, collecting baseline data, implementing interventions, and analyzing results to demonstrate program effectiveness.

Attendees will leave with ready-to-use strategies for collecting and presenting data that strengthens school counseling programs, supports student success, and clearly communicates impact to administrators, stakeholders, and school communities.

In today’s classrooms, educators face increasing challenges such as limited resources, student disengagement, as well as barriers tied to poverty, geography, and access. Yet, meaningful and impactful learning is still very possible.

In this session, the presenter will share a practical, adaptable framework that she developed in a rural, high-need setting to transform barriers into opportunities for student success. Through real-world examples, student stories from her program, as well as proven strategies, she will walk participants through how she designs learning experiences that are relevant, hands-on, and connected to the local community.

Jennifer La Casella,

Virtual Spanish Teacher, WVDE

Debbie Adams

Heather Waselchalk

Kelli Arthur

Kristen Oxley

This session will focus on the menu of services provided by Summers County Educator Support Network. Services include new teachers (traditional and alternate pathways), new to district teachers, long-term substitute teachers, mentor program, 

and academic coaching.

Christie Shafer

Kristin Richmond

Kevin Green

Kelly Mills

This session examines the intentional review and redesign of the Service Personnel Competency Test to align with CTE programs of study while introducing the new Service Personnel Program of Study. Participants will gain insight into how aligning competencies, instruction, and assessment strengthens workforce readiness and creates meaningful career pathways for service personnel. The session emphasizes how programs of study serve as a foundation for consistency, relevance, and long-term career development.

Veronica Barron &

Tami Maynard,

Coordinators, WVDE

West Virginia’s Clear Future: Statewide Vaping Prevention with the CATCH My Breath Curriculum & Vaping Cessation Resources

Dr. Daniel Doyle M.D. 

Laura Williams 

Bookapalooza-Celebrating Literacy at the Secondary Level

Creating Cross-Curricular Opportunities between Math, ELA, and the Fine Arts

This session is designed to help middle and high school math, ELA, and fine arts educators integrate instruction across disciplines by blending music, theatre, and visual arts with core academic content to enhance engagement and deepen learning. By incorporating creative approaches, teachers can sustain student interest, present authentic, real-world challenges, and provide multiple ways for students to demonstrate understanding.

Participants will gain practical strategies for structuring cross-curricular lessons that align with academic standards while supporting diverse learning styles. In addition to showing how math and ELA teachers can incorporate the arts, the session will explore how fine arts educators can meaningfully integrate math and literacy skills into their own instruction.

Grow, Guide, Thrive: Our Educator Support Model

This session provides an overview of our comprehensive educator support system, including academic coaching, mentoring, and the New Teacher Academy.  Grounded in our district's strategic plan, each component is intentionally aligned to ensure consistency, coherence, and impact across all schools.  Participants will explore how coaches, mentors, and new teacher supports work together to build instructional capacity, reinforce priority initiatives, and promote high-quality, standards-aligned practices.  By focusing on shared language, common goals, and aligned professional learning, we are creating a unified system where all educators are moving in the same direction and engaging in the same critical work.  This session highlights how a cohesive approach strengthens teacher effectiveness, supports retention, and ultimately improves student outcomes.

Kaiti Hillman

Over the last century, technology has transformed nearly every aspect of society, from transportation and communication to the way we access information. Yet in many classrooms, the products students create to demonstrate learning look remarkably similar to those from decades ago. 

This session explores a powerful question: What happens when we redesign the products of learning? 

Using the PICRAT framework and insights from cognitive science, participants will examine how creative digital products can shift learning experiences from simple substitution to creative transformation. When students synthesize ideas through visual storytelling, multimedia design, and symbolic representation, they engage cognitive processes like dual coding, mental imagery, attention, and narrative structure. This strengthens long-term learning. 

Through examples of student work created in Canva across multiple content areas, this session demonstrates how creative design projects can deepen thinking, increase engagement, and help knowledge “stick.” 

Participants will walk away inspired to transform traditional assignments into rich learning experiences that leverage technology to amplify, not replace, student thinking. 

Earning Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) status may sound intimidating, but it’s truly one of the most energizing and rewarding professional journeys a counseling team can take. This session is designed to make the process approachable, purposeful, and yes—maybe even a little fun.

Join us as we share how our school counseling team turned the RAMP process into a celebration of what was already working in our program while using data and reflection to strengthen what wasn’t. We’ll walk step-by-step through how we organized our evidence, aligned with the ASCA National Model, and built strong buy-in from staff, administrators, and even students. You’ll see real artifacts, user-friendly templates, and practical timelines that make each RAMP component—advisory councils, use-of-time analyses, results reports, and measurable program goals—feel both achievable and meaningful.

We’ll also share insights on managing time, staying motivated, and keeping the process collaborative rather than overwhelming. By the end, you’ll understand not only how to earn RAMP recognition, but also why the journey itself improves program structure, advocacy, and student outcomes.

This presentation is perfect for counselors who want to elevate their program without losing their sanity—or their sense of humor. It is also for administrators who want to learn why this is important for their schools and how they can support their counselors' journey. You’ll leave with renewed energy, ready-to-use tools, and a clear roadmap for success. Because at its heart, RAMP isn’t just about earning recognition—it’s about telling your school’s story, showcasing your impact, and celebrating the powerful difference you make every single day.

Heather Pack

Felicia Lester

Lose Students OR Lead Change: Why Virtual Programs Are No Longer Optional

Across West Virginia, declining enrollment is impacting funding, staffing, and program sustainability, with only two counties avoiding losses this past year. As student needs evolve, traditional models alone are no longer enough to keep students engaged and enrolled.

The KCS Virtual Program offers a proven solution. Serving over 1,600 students across our county and six partner counties, our program maintains a 90%+ success rate by meeting students where they are: academically, socially, and emotionally, while keeping them connected to their home schools.

This session will highlight how a strong virtual program can stabilize and even increase enrollment by providing flexible, high-quality learning options. Participants will explore practical strategies, scalable structures, and partnership models that allow districts to expand opportunities without overextending resources. Join us to learn how your county can retain students, strengthen funding, and adapt to the future of education.

Whitney White, Manager, WVDE

Mimi Browning, Coordinator, WVDE

Introducing Group Coaching of The Big 5 Pyramid Model Practices

This interactive session explores practical tier 1 strategies that improve daily activities and decrease disruptions in preschool classrooms.  Participants will learn how a group coaching model is a professional development delivery model that focuses on implementation through working in a small group. Attendees will leave with information on how to implement this professional development model within their own county or agency.

Nicole Shepard

Ashley Whitlatch

Brianna Hutchinson

Erika Anderson

Wayne County Schools’ Master Teacher Program is a strategic, job-embedded approach to strengthening instruction by supporting new and struggling teachers where it matters most—inside the classroom. This session highlights how the district leverages experienced, high-impact educators as Master Teachers to provide targeted coaching, model effective practices, and build teacher capacity through ongoing, side-by-side support. 

Grounded in a focus on standards, student engagement, and evidence-based instruction, the program aligns with key priorities such as PLC effectiveness, walkthrough feedback, and the Science of Reading. Participants will see how Wayne County has moved beyond compliance-based mentoring to a system that drives real instructional improvement. 

A key component is how the program is funded. Wayne County utilizes existing funding streams available to all West Virginia districts, making the model sustainable and scalable—even for counties with limited resources. This approach not only strengthens support but also helps retain highly effective teachers by creating meaningful leadership opportunities. 

Attendees will leave with practical ideas for designing, implementing, and refining similar systems to improve teacher effectiveness and student outcomes. 

Tonji Bowen

Melissa Maynard

AI in Your Teaching Toolkit

Audience: middle and high School only

This session focuses on practical strategies to motivate all students to participate actively and enjoy movement. This session explores inclusive game design, student choice, and creative use of small-sided activities to boost involvement and increase M.V.P.A. Come prepared to be active!

Jeremy Bennett