About the Conference

Academies 101 Pre-Session
(This session is November 8 from 9 AM-Noon.)
Are you just beginning to learn about academies and smaller learning communities? Do cohort scheduling, curriculum integration, teaming and business involvement make your head spin? Do you want to learn what components are critical to the definition of career academies? Do you have a new grant, are you moving your CTE programs into career academies or has your school district decided to embrace academies as a part of school reform? Whatever the reason, this session will provide you the opportunity to learn from two outstanding experts who have guided and evaluated academies in California and nationally. No previous knowledge of academies is required, and there will be no test or dumb questions. You will learn what a career academy is, how to start one and how to get it right!

Session experts are: Charles Dayton, Career Academy Support Network (CASN), University of CA-Berkeley. Mr. Dayton has helped to guide academies in California for over a quarter century, and for the past ten years, nationally. He has written many of CASN’s exemplary free guides and handbooks. His knowledge of the issues affecting successful implementation of this model, and related research, is extensive.

Joining Mr. Dayton, is Karen Shores, Administrator for the California Partnership Academies in the California Department of Education. Ms. Shores led a successful, recognized Health Academy in Sacramento for many years, became a district academy coordinator, and for the past year, has led the network of 340 California state-supported academies. Her knowledge of the issues in successfully implementing and sustaining academies at all levels is extensive.

Scheduling Pre-Session
(This session is November 8 from 9 AM-3:00 PM with lunch included.)
The traditional high school curriculum scheduling process and teacher assignments do not lend themselves well to the innovation needed for scheduling career academies and smaller learning communities. Come learn how to tackle these challenges with strategies on: curriculum analysis, vertical interest based planning, the creation of specific course tags and codes for academies, the use of common software for cohort scheduling, building master schedule visuals by academy and maintaining student/teacher purity. Taught by a national expert on this topic, this session is useful for anyone involved in or thinking about the scheduling process.

The expert for this session is the nationally recognized Mike Neubig. Mr. Neubig was the High School Redesign Coordinator for Westerville City Schools in Westerville, Ohio. He oversaw two US DOE smaller learning community grantee schools and from that experience, along with his background in guidance, began extensive work in the area of scheduling structures for career academies and smaller learning communities. He believes in flexible structures that empower teachers and support the implementation and goals of personalized learning programs. Mr. Neubig travels extensively around the country patiently teaching others how to schedule and has recently published The Practitioner’s Guide to Scheduling SLCs and Career Academies.

Hyatt Regency
Jacksonville Riverfront
225 East Coastline Drive Jacksonville, Florida, USA 32202
Phone (904) 588-1234
Fax (904) 634-4554
www.jacksonville.hyatt.com