St. Clair County Regional Office of Education

Tang Math: Fractions, Ratios & Proportional Thinking (Grades 5–8)
2026-06-08 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | St. Clair ROE
Do you have students who struggle with fractions, decimals, or negative numbers? Who are tripped up converting units of measure or solving rate, time, and distance problems? Who find percent and rate-of-change problems perplexing?

Join Greg Tang for a math-packed day that will change the way you teach—and the way your students learn, think, and enjoy math. In this Grades 5–8 workshop, Greg shares his “less is more” approach to mastering essential middle school concepts and skills.

Our focus will be on proportional reasoning—the heart of middle school math. Through tape diagrams, double-sided number lines, tree diagrams, and tables, you’ll discover how to help students visualize relationships, think proportionally, solve problems algebraically, and lay the groundwork for slope and high school math.

Math—and you—will never be the same!

Registration closes June 2, 2026 unless tickets are sold out.

Tang Math: A Visual Approach to Solving Word Problems (Grades K–4)
2026-06-09 09:00 - 15:00 | St. Clair ROE
Do your students struggle with word problems—using keywords out of context, guessing at operations, or getting tripped up by subtle wording changes, harder problem types, and multistep problems?

Join Greg Tang for a math-packed day that will transform the way you teach—and the way your students think and learn. In this Grades K–4 workshop, Greg shares his practical, strategic approach to helping students truly understand and master word problems of every kind.

Together, we’ll explore how to use visual models to make sense of problems—the key to developing confident and capable problem solvers. Through part-total models, tape diagrams, and double-sided number lines, you’ll discover how to help students visualize relationships, think both additively and multiplicatively, and build a strong foundation for middle school math.

Math—and you—will never be the same!

Registration closes June 3, 2026.

AA # 2001 Illinois Performance Evaluation: Initial Teacher Evaluator Training
2026-07-15 08:30 - 2026-07-16 15:00 | St. Clair ROE
PDC Member Districts $325.00, Non PD Co-op member districts $375.00 (lunch is included on site).
All pre-work must be submitted no later than Sunday, July 12 at 12:00pm or participants will not be able to attend the academy.
The learning outcomes for the two-day academy include: – Participants will be able to use assessments and measurement models in determining the student growth attributable to individual teachers and to understand how different types of assessments are used for measuring growth. – Participants will be able to use data from the evaluation rubric, other evidence collected and best practices relative to evaluating student growth, to link teacher and school-level professional development plans to evaluation results. – Participants will create, in collaboration with teachers, supportive, targeted professional development plans that consider past results, contribute to professional growth, and assist teachers in aligning professional development and goal-setting to school improvement goals. – Participants will communicate evaluation outcomes and findings in constructive and supportive ways that enable teachers to set goals and improve practice. – Participants will demonstrate a high rate of inter-rater reliability using the required performance evaluation ratings (i.e., excellent, proficient, needs improvement, and unsatisfactory). – Participants will observe instruction competently in multiple subject areas provided to varied and multiple student populations (i.e., English language learners, students with IEPs, students in career and technical programs, etc.) – Participants will use data from the evaluation rubric, other evidence collected and best practices relative to evaluating professional practice, to link teacher and school-level professional development plans to evaluation results. – Participants will know how to create, in collaboration with teachers, supportive, targeted professional development plans that consider past results, contribute to professional growth and assist teachers in aligning PD and goal-setting to SIP goals. – Participants will communicate evaluation outcomes and findings in constructive and supportive ways that enable teachers to set goals and improve professional practice. – Participants will understand sources of personal bias and be able to recognize and control for bias when conducting an evaluation and determining results. Evaluators will be required to complete pre-session learning components for this course. If you do not complete the pre-session learning components in the required time frame prior to the workshop, you will not be allowed to attend the workshop and will still be responsible for the registration fee. This event has a maximum number of 15 attendees. Participants must bring a fully charged laptop to both days of the academy.
Cancellations must be made by Friday, July 10 at 12:00pm or the amount will be non-refundable.

Write on! Instructional Strategies for Building Effective Writers in Grades 3-8
2026-07-15 09:00 - 14:30 | St. Clair ROE
Teaching writing IS hard! This workshop provides a foundational guide for 3-8 teachers on implementing and enhancing effective writing instruction in their classrooms. Participants will explore essential components of a successful writing instruction, including explicit instruction, providing effective writing feedback, assessment, and creating a community of writers. The session will focus on practical, research-based strategies for guiding students through the writing process—from brainstorming and drafting to revising and editing—with a strong emphasis on student choice and voice. Teachers will leave with concrete techniques and resources to boost student engagement and foster confidence in writers of all levels.
Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event date unless tickets are sold out.

Rolling Towards Grades 3-9 Math Achievement: Engaging Games and Activities for Classroom Success
2026-07-20 09:00 - 12:00 | St. Clair ROE
Join Signal Hill # 181 Algebra and Gifted Educator Jody Aldrich in this session designed for educators seeking innovative approaches to enhance student learning in math through games. Delve into a dynamic session packed with dice games and activities to foster both classroom management and mathematical proficiency. Discover how these engaging strategies not only captivate students’ attention but also cultivate a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Attendees will explore a diverse range of activities that can be tailored to many grade levels.
With practical tips and adaptable resources, educators will leave equipped with tools to create an inclusive and stimulating learning environment where every student can thrive. Don’t miss this opportunity to roll towards math achievement and transform your classroom into a hub of success!

Registration will close 4-5 days prior to the event date.

A Deeper Dive into Writing Instruction: Evidence-Based Practices for K–12 Classrooms
2026-07-20 09:00 - 14:30 | St. Clair County ROE
Whether you attended the ICLP (Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan) and Writing series or are joining for the first time, this full-day workshop explores practical, evidence-based strategies that strengthen writing instruction across K–12 classrooms. Join Dr. Alexandra (Niki) Owens, Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs in McKendree University’s School of Education, for a full-day summer workshop designed to deepen understanding of effective writing instruction. Building on the ideas introduced in the ICLP and Writing series offered through the Regional Office of Education, this session focuses on translating research into clear classroom practices that support stronger student writing. Grounded in Joan Sedita’s Writing Rope framework and aligned with the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan, participants will examine how effective writing instruction integrates critical thinking, sentence-level skills, text structure, writing craft, and transcription to support stronger student outcomes. Throughout the day, educators will engage in reflection, discussion, and practical application as they examine their current writing instruction and identify opportunities to strengthen classroom practice.

Participants will:

Dive into a self-assessment to evaluate your school or district’s current writing instructional practices.

Receive a checklist of evidence-based actions needed to build a stronger, more cohesive writing program.

Leave with a personalized list of actionable next steps to guide implementation and strengthen writing instruction.

This interactive workshop is designed for K–12 teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders who want to strengthen writing instruction using clear, research-aligned practices that can be implemented in classrooms right away. Participants who attended the previous series will extend their learning, while new participants will gain a clear and practical entry point into evidence-based writing instruction.

Registration closes July 15 at 10:00am.

Absenteeism & Engagement Strategies in Grades 6–12: Data, Research, and Relationship-Driven Practices
2026-07-21 09:00 - 15:00 | St. Clair ROE
Join Jennifer Ciok, Manager of Coaching and Improvement – UChicago To&Through Middle Grades Network and author of The Meaningful Middle School Classroom: How to Spark Engagement That Fosters Deep Learning, in this interactive session is designed to help middle and high school educators deepen their understanding of student absenteeism and engagement—two closely connected challenges that directly impact learning outcomes. Through a mix of personal reflection, data analysis, research exploration, and practical planning, participants will walk away with actionable strategies to foster stronger connections and improve attendance in their schools.
Workshop Components:

Student Profile Reflection Activity
Begin by reflecting on your own experiences and perspectives to better understand and empathize with the lived experiences of students in your school community.
Data Dive
Examine current absenteeism trends across Illinois and use a variety of tools to explore your own school or district data. Identify patterns and consider the underlying causes behind the numbers.

Research Connection Activity
Engage in a collaborative activity to analyze current research and real-world examples of effective strategies for reducing absenteeism and increasing engagement.

Approaches to Improvement
Learn the difference between continuous improvement and real-time problem-solving, then apply both approaches to a school-based challenge. Compare their benefits and limitations through a hands-on activity.
Building Connection & Engagement
Explore practical ideas drawn from the facilitator’s book, published articles (including ASCD), and successful field-based examples. Participants will design a “Start Strong” plan with intentional strategies to build relationships and engagement from the beginning of the school year.

Outcomes:

By the end of this session, participants will:

Connect research and data with practical application.
Understand root causes of absenteeism and disengagement.
Be equipped with tools to foster a culture of connection, belonging, and accountability.
Leave with a personalized plan to improve student engagement and attendance.

Registration closes July 15 at 12:00pm

Adolescent Development, Data and Engagement in Grades 4-9
2026-07-22 09:00 - 15:00 | St. Clair ROE
Middle grades are a pivotal time for students—academically, socially, and emotionally. This interactive workshop invites educators to explore how adolescent development intersects with student engagement and how data-informed practices can ignite curiosity and connection in grades 4–9.
Join Jennifer Ciok, Manager of Coaching and Improvement – UChicago To&Through Middle Grades Network and author of The Meaningful Middle School Classroom: How to Spark Engagement That Fosters Deep Learning, as we’ll begin with a reflective activity, inviting participants to revisit their own middle school experiences to uncover what sparked their curiosity and motivation during those formative years.
Key Components:

Research & Brain Development
Dive into current research on adolescent brain development and engagement. Learn how developmental milestones, identity formation, and cognitive changes impact how students learn and connect.
Introducing SPARK
Explore the SPARK framework for sustaining meaningful engagement:

Study – What formal and informal data are you collecting about your students’ interests, behaviors, and needs?
Plan – What fresh, student-centered ideas can you bring into your classroom?
Analyze – What patterns emerge as you implement new strategies?
Reflect – What worked? What didn’t? How can you tell?
Kindle – How can you continue nurturing student engagement—and your own passion as an educator?

Participants will explore real classroom examples of each SPARK element and have dedicated time to reflect on and apply the framework to their own practice.
Closing Reflection
Wrap up with a guided reflection to synthesize learning and outline next steps for implementation.

Takeaways:
Educators will leave with:

A deeper understanding of adolescent development and engagement.
A data-informed approach to student motivation.
A personalized plan for SPARKing engagement in their own classrooms.

Copies of Jennifer’s book will be raffled off to participants. Registration closes July 16 at 12:00pm

Making Meaning Visible: Tools for Unlocking Student Comprehension in Grades 3-8
2026-07-23 09:00 - 14:30 | St. Clair ROE
Comprehension is an invisible skill, which is why it is so hard to teach. When students misread a word, you can see their errors, but when students don’t understand a text, it is hard to know where meaning broke down. In this workshop, educators will explore a range of research-based strategies to improve student reading comprehension. We will focus on the essential skills students need to develop strong comprehension, and the instructional strategies and practices that help support and build those skills. This session is designed to move beyond basic recall by equipping teachers with powerful strategies for fostering deeper critical thinking in their readers. Participants will learn how to guide students in making inferences, asking higher-level questions, and synthesizing information from multiple sources. This session will provide hands-on practice with instructional methods, including graphic organizers and collaborative discussion, to help you create a more engaged and effective reading classroom. Participants will leave with a toolbox of new, actionable strategies to support students in becoming independent, proficient readers.
Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event date unless tickets are sold out.

Unlocking Student Potential: Keys to an Engaged Classroom in Grades 2-8
2026-07-24 09:00 - 12:00 | St. Clair ROE
Engagement is the gateway to student learning, let’s unlock the secrets to keeping students motivated and engaged in our instruction. In this session, we will explore a variety of instructional strategies and tools that will actively engage students during typical instructional activities, but also create student ownership of their learning. This session will empower classroom teachers with effective strategies to enhance questioning and discussion techniques. These skills are essential for fostering critical thinking, engagement, and deeper understanding among students. Participants will leave with practical strategies to keep the conversation flowing and ideas blooming! Join us as we look at the latest research on what really works!

Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event unless tickets are sold out.

Fluency Fun! Engaging K-2 Readers with Brain-Based Phonics, Routines & Repetition
2026-07-27 09:00 - 15:00 | St Clair ROE, IL, United States
Get ready for a day filled with fun, engagement, and foundational literacy skills! Christina Decarbo https://www.missdecarbo.com/ shares tons of games, activities, research, and ideas that will help students form strong phoneme-grapheme connections and phonemic awareness throughout the day. You’ll leave with quick but effective foundational practices that you can use during carpet time, morning meetings, small-groups, transition times, whole-group lessons, and more. Christina will share what, why, and how to implement a daily visual, auditory, and blending drill for all readers or various skill levels. Discover research-aligned and differentiated activities for both decoding and encoding skills, as well as games and hands-on activities for word recognition practice. We’ll end our day by studying how to build fluency skills within our K-2 classrooms so that students acquire both accuracy and automaticity in their reading skills. Christina shares ready-to-go routines and research-based strategies that move students from the word level to the sentence level, and beyond! Learn how to model and practice accuracy, phrasing, rate, and prosody while having fun and boosting confidence!

Registration closes July 22 at 12:00pm.

You're Invited! A Celebration of K-2 Vocabulary, Knowledge Building & Little Writer Success
2026-07-28 09:00 - 15:00 | St. Clair ROE
The science of reading is not just about phonics! In this jam-packed day of learning, we’ll dive into the language comprehension strands of the reading rope. Christina DeCarbo https://www.missdecarbo.com/ shows you how to cultivate a classroom of little learners who love words! We’ll study best practices for vocabulary instruction, and discover the importance of oral language, direct and indirect vocabulary instruction, morphology, context, word play, and more! In addition to vocabulary, Christina shares the importance of background knowledge and the critical role it plays in our students’ comprehension skills. Discover creative whole-group and small-group activities that cement understanding and result in rich discussions. Then, Christina shows you how to connect your students’ content knowledge to writing through developmentally appropriate, purposeful, and explicit sentence-level work. Come ready to participate in tons of engaging, sentence-building activities that will turn your students into sentence superstars. Christina leaves you with a toolbox of purposeful comprehension, vocabulary, and writing practices, and a heart that is overflowing with literacy excitement!

Registration closes 7.23.26 at 12:00pm

My Kids Can't Write: How to Advance Achievement through K-8 Cross Curricular Writing
2026-07-29 09:00 - 15:00 | St. Clair ROE
Countless teachers have identified a problem in their classrooms: their kids either can’t–or don’t want to–write. Cognitive writing (Goodwin & Rouleau, 2023) provides a sustainable, research-based approach to embedding writing into all content areas. Like it or not, we are all writing teachers, and we have a responsibility to ensure writing is embedded into instruction across the disciplines. That said, encouraging kids to write in our classrooms can help all teachers reach their instructional goals: research shows that when kids write about what they’ve learned, it’s more likely to stick. What’s more, when we engage students in reflective writing, students are more likely to internalize what they’ve learned about themselves and their own learning habits. All of this can be achieved with cognitive writing (i.e., “journaling”), a structured and sustainable practice that not only gets kids learning to write, it gets them writing to learn, as well.
In our session, we will begin by connecting research to practice, exploring Visible Learning effect sizes that support journaling, such as summarizing (.62), self-reflection (.81), and constructivist teaching (.92). Then, participants will experience journaling to better understand the types of tasks that lend themselves to cognitive writing, a lesson structure that involves journaling, and scaffolds different students require to benefit from journaling. To conclude, participants will reflect on their time in our session, identifying tangible action steps for exploring journaling their schools or classrooms.

Learning Intention:
We will learn to use journaling as a means for writing across the disciplines, building students’ stamina for on-demand writing tasks, and generating student-driven evidence of learning.

Success Criteria:
We will know participants have learned this when:
– they can explain the research that supports using cognitive writing across all subject areas.
– they can identify structures and scaffolds to support cognitive writing in the classroom.
– they can identify 1-3 action steps to begin exploring cognitive writing in their classrooms.

Paul Emerich France is a National Board–Certified Teacher, literacy specialist, keynote speaker, and author of Make Teaching Sustainable, Reclaiming Personalized Learning, and Humanizing Distance Learning and My Kids Can’t Write, K-5. His work with #SustainableTeaching stems from this principle: to make teaching sustainable, we need to first and foremost value the humanity of teachers and create conditions in which they can thrive.

France has contributed to a number of online and print education-related publications, including ASCD’s Educational Leadership. His work has been featured at SXSW EDU and in The New Yorker, WIRED, and The Atlantic. He currently consults with teachers, schools, and school districts and offers educational support to families in pods and one-on-one settings.

Registration closes Thursday, July 23 at 12:00pm.

My Kids Can't Spell: K-5 Inquiry-Based Word Study in 5 Easy Steps
2026-07-30 09:00 - 14:30 | St. Clair ROE
The research is clear: students will not learn how to spell if they are not explicitly taught. However, this doesn’t mean we have to go back to the old ways of teaching spelling, where students are given groups of random, unrelated words, expected to memorize them without context or authentic application. We can “walk and chew gum,” as they say: we can use progressive practices, such as inquiry-based learning, in tandem with tried-and-true research on how students learn to spell, in order to cultivate engaging lessons around English orthography that are also sustainable for teachers.
Building off of the Structured Word Inquiry approach (Bowers & Bowers, 2020), we will explore four key questions for exploring *any* word in the English language:
(1) What does it mean?
(2) How is it built?
(3) What are its relatives?
(4) How is it pronounced?
In this interactive session, teachers will be immersed in several word explorations, understanding how to guide students through these four questions in monosyllabic, phonetically spelled words (i.e., cat, flop, snake); high-frequency words commonly labeled as “sight words” or “red words” (i.e., does, have, pretty); and multi-syllabic words built from morphological constructions (i.e., happy, information, action).

Learning Intention:
We are learning how to sustainably and systematically teach spelling using inquiry, in an effort to increase student engagement and investment, meanwhile growing spelling achievement in order to boost writing fluency.Success Criteria:
– Participants will recall the four questions for exploring spelling patterns through inquiry-based instruction.
– Teachers will identify tools to explore etymology, orthography, and word relatives (including Etymonline, WordSearcher, word matrices, and word sorts).
– Teachers apply tools for exploring spelling to create their own exploration for a commonly misspelled word.

Paul Emerich France is a National Board–Certified Teacher, literacy specialist, keynote speaker, and author of Make Teaching Sustainable, Reclaiming Personalized Learning, and Humanizing Distance Learning and My Kids Can’t Write, K-5. His work with #SustainableTeaching stems from this principle: to make teaching sustainable, we need to first and foremost value the humanity of teachers and create conditions in which they can thrive.
France has contributed to a number of online and print education-related publications, including ASCD’s Educational Leadership. His work has been featured at SXSW EDU and in The New Yorker, WIRED, and The Atlantic. He currently consults with teachers, schools, and school districts and offers educational support to families in pods and one-on-one settings.
Registration closes Friday, July 24 at 12:00pm.

K-12 Curriculum Director Roundtable
2026-09-03 09:00 - 11:00 | St. Clair County ROE
Whether your role is at the central office, a principal, assistant principal, director, specialist or instructional coach, we welcome everyone to this free event. Dr. Gegi Ra-El (St. Clair ROE # 50’s Assistant Superintendent) will share a brief overview of curricular and school improvement tools and resources via the ROE LeadHubs website.
https://www.roeleadhubs.org/ Participants will explore information regarding support for organizational leaders within the realm of school improvement. Each attendee should bring a fully charged device to this session. After this session, we will debrief with IARSS, ISBE, ROE # 50 and local district updates. Registration closes August 28 at 12:00pm.

“If the Shoe Fits: Understanding Parent Personalities in Today’s Classroom”
2026-09-03 12:00 - 15:00 | St. Clair County ROE
Every teacher has met them—the hovering helper, the invisible parent, the over-involved problem solver. This interactive workshop uses humor and relatable “shoe analogies” to explore common parent types educators encounter. Participants will reflect on real-life scenarios, share experiences, and learn practical strategies for building positive, productive relationships with every kind of parent—no matter what shoes they’re wearing.

Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event date.

AA #4169 - Mastering Tough Talks: Difficult Conversations Don't Have to Be Difficult
2026-09-04 08:30 - 12:00 | St. Clair County ROE
PDC Member Districts – $155.00 Non PD Co-op Districts $200.00 (lunch included on site) Participants should bring a fully charged device to this session.
In every organization, team, and relationship, the ability to navigate tough conversations defines the difference between dysfunction and growth. The goal of this Administrator Academy is to equip participants with the tools, mindset, and courage to turn difficult conversations into defining moments of clarity, connection, and progress. This is an interactive academy facilitated by a certified Jon Gordon Companies trainer, Dr. Kelly D. Stewart, IASA 2014 Illinois Superintendent of the Year, which focuses on two things:
1. Having the Conversations to Get Better
2. Getting Better at Having the Conversations
There is some pre-work that is required to be completed prior to the event date (more information will be sent out closer to the event date). Registration closes Monday, August 31 at 10:00am. Cancellations must be made prior to August 31 at 10:00am or the amount is non-refundable.
PD or AA credit is available – the application/dissemination must be completed and submitted prior to departure on September 4, 2026.

Classroom Management for Beginning Teachers
2026-09-08 08:30 - 12:00 | St. Clair County ROE
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 4-5 days prior to the event date. Time will be given for lunch (on your own).

How to Embed Essential Literacy Skills Into Your Content Area For Student Success in Grades 4-12
2026-09-09 08:30 - 15:00 | St. Clair County ROE
All learning is based on the mastery of essential literacy skills, and in this presentation, educators will discover tools they need to embed literacy into all subjects. Comprehension is based on skill-building strategies that encourage purpose and engagement; as a result, educators can effectively teach those literacy skills to support developing students as they learn to read, write, and think critically. In this presentation, Peg will offer an overview of the seven essential literacy skills where educators will discover how to: expand their teaching methods to include literacy skills, introduce literacy into daily lesson planning, embed reading comprehension into any subject area, and scaffold instruction using literacy strategies to boost subject-area comprehension. This engaging, interactive session will be facilitated by Peg Grafwallner, M.Ed (Instructional Coach, Reading Specialist, Author, National Presenter) www.peggrafwallner.com

Peg Grafwallner, M.Ed., is an Instructional Coach/Reading Specialist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with nearly 30 years of experience. As an English teacher, at-risk educator, instructional coach and reading specialist, she has taught advanced English and developing readers. Currently, Peg collaborates with teachers to seamlessly embed literacy (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) into their discipline without disrupting the integrity of the content.
When collaborating with educators, Peg models, coaches, and assists teachers in creating comprehensive literacy lessons meant to enhance skill-building. As the parent of a son who was labeled “gifted-and-talented” and a daughter who received special education services, Peg offers a unique educational lens that focuses on supporting students of all abilities in realizing their potential in the classroom and beyond.
Peg is a blogger, author, national, and international presenter whose topics include coaching, literacy, pedagogy, and inclusion. Her articles have appeared in Exceptional Parent, The Illinois Reading Journal, The Missouri Reader, The Wisconsin English Journal, and the WSRA Journal. She has written for several websites and blogs including: Edutopia, Cult of Pedagogy, Education Week’s Q&A with Larry Ferlazzo, and many more. She has also appeared on numerous podcasts including: Anchored in Education with Dr. E. Scott England, Class Tech Tips with Dr. Monica Burns, Cult of Pedagogy with Jen Gonzalez, and several others.
Peg is the author of Lessons Learned from the Special Education Classroom: Creating Opportunities for All Students to Listen, Learn and Lead; Ready to Learn: The FRAME Model for Optimizing Student Success; Not Yet … And That’s Ok: How Productive Struggle Fosters Student Learning and most recently, Clearing the Path for Developing Learners: Essential Literacy Skills to Support Achievement in Every Content Area.
Peg received a bachelor’s degree in English from Cardinal Stritch University and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, a mentoring certification, and an alternative education certification from Marian College. In addition, she earned a reading specialist certification from UW-Milwaukee.
Peg Grafwallner was named one of the 20 best teacher bloggers in 2017 by KQED.

Time will be given for lunch (on your own).

Who should attend? Instructional Coaches, Reading Specialists, RTI/MTSS Coordinators, Curriculum Directors, 4-12 General & Special Educators

Registration closes September 2, 2026 at 12:00pm.

AA # 4050 Illinois Performance Evaluation - Initial & Retraining for Principals & Assistant Principals
2026-09-10 08:30 - 2026-09-11 15:00 | St. Clair County ROE
PDC Member District $350.00, Non PDC Member $375.00 (lunch is included on site both days)
To be eligible to attend, each participant (initial or retraining) must complete and submit ISBE-required pre-work at least 72 hours (September 4, 2026 3:00pm) before the training. Registrants will receive handouts and detailed instructions for the pre-work at least one week prior to the workshop.
Participants will need to bring a fully charged laptop to this academy. Dr. Gary Kelly will be facilitating this session as attendees will synthesize the School Leader Paradigm to understand the personal intelligences, knowledge, and skills necessary for school leaders to effectively lead a learning organization. Participants will evaluate the research base to communicate the impact that effective school leaders have on a learning organization; analyze the School Leader Evaluation Plan to discern how the process grows school leaders’ personal intelligences and leadership skills that actualize school improvement and student growth goals; and critique Professional Practice and Student Growth Cycles of Inquiry to assess the approaches of each to a school’s Problems of Practice.
The Illinois Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) selected the School Leader Evaluation Plan as the state’s new default principal and assistant principal evaluation plan beginning July 1, 2024. Developed by the Illinois Principals Association in collaboration with 13 other state principals’ associations from across the United States, the School Leader Evaluation Plan (based on the School Leader Paradigm) was developed to assist school districts with the implementation of a school leader evaluation system that is relevant and useful. While Illinois school districts have the opportunity to choose whether to adopt the School Leader Evaluation Plan to evaluate their principals and assistant principals, the state-required principal and assistant principal evaluator training has been rewritten and will focus on the School Leader Evaluation Plan.
Starting on July 1, 2024, this two-day, in-person academy (AA#4050) will serve as the official training for educators seeking initial training qualification or retraining to be legally qualified to conduct evaluations of principals and assistant principals. The previous principal evaluator training (#2000, #1865, and #3000) will be discontinued as of June 30, 2024.
Registration closes September 1 at 10:00am. Cancellations must be made on or before September 1 at 10:00am or the amount will be non-refundable.

K-12 Principal Breakaway
2026-09-23 08:30 - 12:00 | St. Clair County ROE
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 principals.

The Game Changer: Boosting K-12 Engagement with Gamification
2026-09-23 12:30 - 15:30 | St. Clair County ROE
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 4-5 days prior to the event date.

K-12 AP/Dean/Director Breakaway
2026-09-24 08:30 - 12:00 | St. Clair County ROE
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
2026-09-28 08:30 - 15:00 | St. Clair County ROE
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.

AA # 3828 Leading Positive School Culture: Prioritizing Self-Care, Staff Wellness and Compassion Resilience
2026-09-29 09:00 - 15:00 | St. Clair County ROE
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.

Prioritizing Proficiency in a 6-12 World Language Classroom
2026-09-30 08:30 - 15:00 | St. Clair County ROE
This session explores how classroom practices in grades 6-12 can align with national proficiency expectations and support students in reaching recognition benchmarks such as the Seal and Commendation toward Biliteracy. Participants will examine instructional shifts that move classrooms toward input-rich, proficiency-driven learning environments and experience practical strategies that promote measurable language growth.

Session facilitator Carrie Toth is currently a Spanish teacher in Salem, IL and 32 years later, serves in the classroom and as a local, regional, national workshop presenter and keynote speaker. In 2006, Toth received National Board Certification in Spanish and later earned a Master’s Degree in Spanish Education. In 2011, she was named the IPA Horace Mann Innovative Educator of the Year followed by ICTFL and Central States Teacher of the Year. In 2014 Toth represented CSCTFL at ACTFL as a finalist for the 2015 ACTFL TOY! In 2017, she received National Geographic certification and uses this experience to create cross curricular experiences for her students. Carrie has nine published readers, and many teacher guided materials geared toward language proficiency goals. She is also a curriculum writer for the Sr. Wooly Company while running her LLC, Somewhere to Share.

Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event date.

Supporting Autistic Youth: Regulation, Connection, and Communication
2026-10-01 08:00 - 12:00 | St. Clair County ROE
Connection and regulation are two key players in supporting autistic youth, but they are too often forgotten or overlooked. To become neurodiversity-affirming professionals, we need to become sensory-informed while working to understand how our students experience the world. In this engaging and empowering Professional Development, we will discuss our sensory systems, Autistic Culture, affirming terminology, authentically connecting with our Autistic students, and how all of these affect communication and progress!

Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event date.

K-12 RTI Roundtable
2026-10-01 13:30 - 15:30 | St. Clair ROE
Join your fellow RTI colleagues in and around St. Clair County in this information sharing roundtable. Discussions will focus on best practices, challenges, successes, resource sharing and more. Bring a fully charged device with you to this collaborative event. Registration closes September 25 at 12:00pm.

AI for ELA: Crafting Compelling Content & Critical Readers in Grades 5-12 (Virtual)
2026-10-06 13:00 - 15:30
This free virtual workshop, facilitated by Emily Flach of the Illinois LTC, is designed for English Language Arts teachers ready to leverage Artificial Intelligence for practical classroom applications and responsible integration. Dive into hands-on techniques for generating differentiated reading passages, crafting engaging writing prompts, creating targeted vocabulary lists, and even designing custom rubrics! We’ll explore how AI can enhance instruction and student engagement through personalized learning and initial writing feedback. Critically, this session will equip you to navigate the ethical landscape of AI, with discussions around academic integrity, bias, and data privacy. You’ll gain strategies to foster AI literacy in your students, empowering them to critically evaluate information and use AI responsibly, ensuring you leave with actionable ideas for your ELA classroom.
Registration closes 4-5 days prior to the event.

County Institute: Rhythm & Real Talk: A K–8 Music Educator Roundtable
2026-10-09 08:30 - 13:00 | Central Jr. High School Band Room – Belleville # 118, 1801 Central School Rd., Belleville, IL 62220, IL, 62220, United States
This free session will be held at Central Jr. High School (music room) 1801 Central School Rd. Belleville, 62220.
Join fellow K–8 music educators for an interactive roundtable designed to spark practical solutions and fresh ideas. We will focus on three primary topics: classroom management, how to make practice more enjoyable and useful, and all things percussion. Please come with any/all questions and discussion ideas related to these topics. Time willing, we can explore other topics as well.
This collaborative session centers on shared expertise — participants are encouraged to contribute their experiences, challenges, and successes to augment the prepared presentation. We are all experts worth being heard.
You are also invited/encouraged to bring any percussion-related equipment that you have any questions about (including tuning, maintenance, how to use, what is it, etc.). We will troubleshoot and problem-solve together and will be provided with practical solutions when possible. Let’s share, learn, and build stronger music programs — one conversation at a time.
Registration closes October 5 at 10:00am.
