This training is designed for new school personnel assigned to work directly with truant students and their families during the 2026-2027 academic year. Veteran truancy representatives who may have questions about the regional office's policies and procedures for addressing truancy are also encouraged to attend. During this workshop, members of the ROE Truancy Division will provide updates on their support services and the required documentation for submitting a referral to the ROE for intervention services. This training will also include a mini workshop titled “Communicating Effectively with At-Risk Students and their Families,” presented by Lisa Atkins, Director of Support Services at the ROE. Participants will learn effective communication strategies to build positive rapport with at-risk individuals and gather relevant information to determine the appropriate support services to offer.

Jim Kestner will present his nationally recognized program in a high-energy session dedicated to helping teachers in their early career years address a wide range of classroom management issues. Teachers who attend will find strategies that lead students to make good choices, replacing controlling behaviors with strategies that lead students to monitor and take responsibility for their own behavior. Specifically, the session will address the following: * Arranging the environment to improve student engagement * Developing and implementing effective classroom policies * Addressing common challenging behaviors * Difference between controlling behaviors and building good decision-making skills * Translating the concept of consistency to a variety of students and settings * Establishing a character-building classroom culture * Teaching self-respect, self-discipline, and responsibility * Self-esteem vs. self-respect * Grading systems that encourage student effort and engagement * Assessing student behavior * Parent and administrator involvement * Keeping and maintaining good records Registration closes Sept. 2, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Time will be given for lunch (on your own).

Monday, Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Sept. 28 & Oct. 5 - 4:00-5:00 PM State standards require teachers at nearly all grade levels to ensure that students learn to write narratives, informational, and argumentative/opinion pieces.  The standards, however, don’t explain how to reach those goals. K-12 teachers and students need a roadmap, and that’s just what The Writing Revolution (TWR)—also known as The Hochman Method—provides.  This 2024 update to the 2017 original discusses deliberate practice of specific techniques (including some connections to grammar too).  The Writing Revolution’s method enables educators to teach writing skills and content simultaneously. There’s no separate writing class. Teachers of all subjects adapt the strategies and activities to preexisting curriculum and weave them into their content instruction.  Join Jennifer Jacknewitz, Belleville #118 Literacy Instructional Coach, who will facilitate virtual meetings to discuss what we have learned.   Who should attend?  General and special education teachers of all subjects and instructional coaches.  Participants must attend all 4 sessions and complete the required reflections and activities to earn the full 12 pd hours; partial pd hours will not be issued.  If you are not able to attend all 4 sessions, please do not register.  Attendees will have to purchase a copy of the book independently; however, the ROE will be raffling off several free copies. Registration closes September 4, 2026 at 10:00am unless it sells out (participants will be notified on this day if they have won a copy of the book; if attendees who receive the book do not successfully complete the requirements, the cost of the book must be reimbursed to the ROE.) Cancellations must be made no later than September 8, 2026 at 10:00am. The Google Meet link will be emailed prior to the first session; the reading schedule will be discussed then as well.

Join ISBE for an interactive professional learning workshop focused on moving beyond assessment scores to a deeper understanding of what student performance reveals about learning expectations and opportunities to learn. Rather than focusing solely on numerical results from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and Illinois Science Assessment (ISA), participants will explore how Illinois' Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) can help educators interpret assessment results in terms of the knowledge, skills, and practices students demonstrate at each performance level. Developed by Illinois educators and aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards, the PLDs can serve as a bridge between statewide assessment results and classroom instruction. Through guided activities and collaborative discussion, participants will examine how PLDs can be used alongside classroom assignments and tasks, local assessments, and other sources of student learning to build a more comprehensive understanding of student achievement and the instructional landscape that helped shape that achievement. The workshop will emphasize the role of summative assessment as one source of evidence within a coherent system of standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Participants will learn how to interpret IAR and ISA results to reflect on the learning opportunities that students experienced, identify strengths and gaps in instructional systems, and consider how curriculum, instruction, and supports can be refined to better meet the needs of future students. To maximize impact, districts and schools are encouraged to send educators who are not only eager to learn but also well-positioned to share their learning with colleagues, helping build a common understanding of how PLDs can inform practice across classrooms. Teams are encouraged to bring a minimum of two years of IAR and ISA reports to support hands-on exploration and discussion. Participants will leave with practical strategies for using PLDs and assessment evidence to foster meaningful conversations about student learning, instructional improvement, and alignment to grade-level expectations. Multiple locations will be offered, but the materials presented will be the same across all sessions.  A light breakfast and lunch will be provided to attendees. Registration closes 9/18/26 at 4:00 p.m. edCount Presenters: Dr. Melissa Fincher  &  Bill Herrera

This is a virtual, make-and-take style session where you'll learn the basics of Sheets (Google’s version of Excel) for tracking, graphing, and easily creating user-friendly charts to monitor progress on progress monitoring and/or IEP goals. While the focus will be on digital tracking and creating visuals that make trends easy to share with students and their caregivers, the course will also cover printable data-tracking forms. This is for Excel beginners or anyone looking to streamline their data collection. Participants are also welcome to bring student goals to input with guidance. Your facilitator, Amy Magers, began her career as a school psychologist and has served students in both small, rural schools as well as a large urban school district in Illinois. Amy has served as a Special Education Administrator, so her educational focus is on meaningful educational evaluations, legal issues in Special Education, and ensuring students have access to a Free Appropriate Public Education. Always a school psychologist, she also has interests in creating robust MTSS systems and data literacy.  A virtual link will be sent prior to the event date.   Registration closes 9/18/26 at 4:00 p.m.

Discover the 7 Commitments that great teams must make to build trust, foster connection, overcome adversity, and achieve extraordinary success. The 7 Commitments of a Great Team is an interactive program facilitated by Dr. Kelly D.  Stewart, IASA 2014 Illinois Superintendent of the Year,that gives leaders and teammates the tools they need to build a great team together. Participants will learn: 

• The secret to building unshakable trust.
• Why positive leadership is the competitive advantage. 
• The best way to hold your team accountable. 
• The formula for giving your best. 
• How to turn challenges and change into growth. 
• The mindset shift that leads to long-term success

Registration closes 9/18/26 at 4:00 p.m. Note: any/all leaders may attend this session, it is not limited to just building principals.

Ready to transform your classroom into an interactive learning adventure? This workshop, facilitated by Emily Flach, from the Illinois LTC, will explore the powerful impact of integrating game elements into your teaching. We'll demystify the difference between gamification (adding game-like elements to existing lessons, like points and badges) and game-based learning (using actual games as the core instructional tool, like simulations or role-playing). Discover how both approaches can boost student motivation, foster collaboration, and enhance learning outcomes across any subject area, K-12. We'll delve into the psychology behind these strategies and explore practical tools and platforms that can help you implement them effectively. Leave inspired and equipped with actionable strategies to introduce game-based principles into your daily lessons, making learning more fun and effective for everyone. Participants should bring a fully charged device to this session.   Registration closes 9/18/26 at 4 p.m.

Discover the 7 Commitments that great teams must make to build trust, foster connection, overcome adversity, and achieve extraordinary success. The 7 Commitments of a Great Team is an interactive program facilitated by Dr. Kelly D.  Stewart, IASA 2014 Illinois Superintendent of the Year,that gives leaders and teammates the tools they need to build a great team together. Participants will learn:

• The secret to building unshakable trust.
• Why positive leadership is the competitive advantage.
• The best way to hold your team accountable.
• The formula for giving your best.
• How to turn challenges and change into growth.
• The mindset shift that leads to long-term success

Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event date. Note: any/all leaders may attend this session, it is not limited to just building administrators or directors.

Engagement 2.0 - Minds ON Are you frustrated because your students do not think critically and have difficulty problem-solving?  Are they disengaged?  If so, this is the workshop for you!  Dr. Kelly Stewart will help define critical thinking and cognitive engagement based on Rebecca Sobaugh’s book 50 Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement: Creating a Thinking Culture in the Classroom. These strategies will be modeled throughout the workshop and suggest ways they can be used in the classroom. This will be a hands-on workshop where you can participate in using these strategies first-hand. Walk away with useful strategies at your fingertips to encourage students to think and problem-solve and be actively engaged in their learning.   Registration closes September 23 at 10:00am.

This academy is being presented by the Illinois Masonic Foundation at a discounted rate of $50.00 per person(lunch is included on site). Administrators can earn pd credit OR academy credit, teachers can attend and earn pd hours, social workers/counselors may attend and earn ceu's. In this academy, school leaders will learn the importance of self-care while building their understanding of the role they play in creating a culture that supports staff wellness. School leaders will work to assess their own levels of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Based on this assessment, leaders will focus on their individual self-care plan that promotes compassion resilience. In addition we will focus on assessing and building a culture for supporting staff wellness while utilizing the core components of a multi-tiered system of support. This flexible framework will guide administrators in promoting wellness for all through the use of data, systems and practices. School leaders will leave with a plan on how to engage existing teams to promote and prioritize a culture of staff wellness. Participants should bring a fully charged device to this session. The application/dissemination must be completed and submitted at the conclusion of the event. Registration closes Wednesday, September 23 at 12:00pm.  Cancellations must be made by Wednesday, September 23 at 12:00pm or the amount paid is non-refundable.