2025 Utah Rural Schools Conference: Full Schedule

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Full URSA 2025 Session Schedule will be published here NO LATER than June 1. Please check back soon!

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11:10am MDT

Strengthening Leadership Capacity Through Communities of Practice in Utah

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:10am - 12:10pm MDT

Room #133

The Utah State Board of Education (USBE), in partnership with the UEPC - Utah Education Policy Center, supports Utah principals through the Principals’ Partnership Network (PPN) program. PPNs are structured Communities of Practice (CoPs) designed to foster collaboration among school leaders across the state. These networks are organized by geographic region (e.g., North Utah) or content focus (e.g., BTS schools) and provide a structured space for peer learning, problem-solving, and shared leadership development. Each PPN is led by a trained facilitator, who engages in a professional learning series to develop the skills necessary to support meaningful collaboration and instructional leadership growth.

Session Outcomes
This session will provide attendees with:
1. A deeper understanding of the PPN model, including how it fosters leadership development, strengthens professional learning communities, and enhances coherence across schools and districts.
2. Practical insights and strategies for engaging in or facilitating a PPN, including session frameworks, facilitation techniques, and resources for sustaining collaborative inquiry.

Participants will leave with actionable strategies for leveraging collaborative networks to enhance their leadership practice and drive continuous school improvement. Whether attendees are looking to join a PPN or implement similar structures in their own districts, this session will provide the knowledge and tools to support sustainable, system-wide leadership development.

Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: Not Applicable

Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: Not Applicable

Speakers

Quinn Kellis

Leadership Development Coordinator, USBE - Utah State Board of Education

Dr. Quinn Kellis is the Leadership Development Coordinator at USBE. He is also the lead administrator for the Statewide Online Education Program (SOEP), Accreditation Liaison, Rural Schools Liaison, and chair of the Utah Coalition of Education Leaders. He is a former superintendent... Read More →

Kody Colvin

Lead Schoool & District Improvement Specialist, Utah Education Policy Center

Dr. Kody Colvin is the Lead School and District improvement specialist at the Utah Education Policy Center (UEPC). Kody spent 11 years in the Salt Lake City School District (SLCSD) as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and school administrator—assistant principal and principal... Read More →

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:10am - 12:10pm MDT
Room #133 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060

1 hour traditional lecture/audience participation, Beginner - limited to no experience; no prerequisite skills required.

Learning Strand or Track Leadership
Subject Area Leadership
Audience District / School Administrators
Grade Level Not Applicable

3:10pm MDT

Radical Candor for Educators

Thursday July 10, 2025 3:10pm - 4:10pm MDT

Room #136

Radical Candor, a framework balancing "care personally" and "challenge directly," is vital in education. Learn to give "magical feedback" by delivering honest, constructive criticism while simultaneously expressing belief in the individual's potential and fostering a sense of belonging, creating a culture of growth and trust where educators and students thrive. This session is designed for teacher leaders, instructional coaches, and school leaders.

Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: Not Applicable

Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: Mac Laptop, Windows Laptop, Android Tablet / Smartphone, iPad / iPhone, Windows Tablet / Smartphone, Chromebook

Speakers

Dani Sloan

EdTech Instructor, Utah Education Network

Dr. Dani Sloan helps educators lead, research, and teach digital citizenship. She's a UEN Product Manager, U of U Instructor, former Elementary Teacher, and current mom to a sixth grader. She's passionate about preparing students for a digital world, her dachshunds, and terrible reality... Read More →

Katie Blunt

EdTech Instructor, UEN - Utah Education Network

Dr. Katie Blunt is the UEN product manager over eMedia and hosts UEN's PDTV series. Previously, Katie worked as an Educational Technology Specialist for the Canyons School District and taught sixth grade in the Jordan School District. She served as the Utah Coalition for Educational... Read More →

Thursday July 10, 2025 3:10pm - 4:10pm MDT
Room #136 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060

1 hour traditional lecture/audience participation, Beginner - limited to no experience; no prerequisite skills required.

Learning Strand or Track Leadership
Subject Area Leadership, Instructional Coaching
Audience All of the above
Grade Level Not Applicable

3:10pm MDT

Strengthening Paraeducator Capacity: A Collaborative Professional Learning Model in Rural Utah

Thursday July 10, 2025 3:10pm - 4:10pm MDT

Room #135

For the past four years, San Juan School District (SJSD) has partnered with the UEPC - Utah Education Policy Center to provide systematic, ongoing professional learning for paraeducators in its rural K-12 schools. Given the district’s vast geography, ensuring equitable access to high-quality training has been a challenge. To address this, a strategic partnership was formed to deliver in-person, synchronous online, and now asynchronous learning opportunities.
This session will highlight how this multi-year collaboration has supported paraeducators since 2021 and how we are developing a comprehensive asynchronous professional learning course aligned with Utah Paraeducator Standards and national best practices (e.g., Learning Forward, 2022; , Rorrer, Groth, & Colvin, 2024; Timperley, 2011).

By the end of this session, participants will:
 Understand how strategic partnerships enhance paraeducator professional learning in the San Juan School District and explore ways to leverage partnerships to build paraeducator capacity in their own contexts.
 Examine a blended learning model that integrates in-person, synchronous, and asynchronous supports to meet the diverse learning needs of paraeducators.
 Identify and apply actionable strategies to strengthen paraeducator support structures within their local education agency (LEA).

Why This Matters:
Paraeducators play a critical role in student success, yet they often lack structured professional learning. This session will provide research-informed strategies to help schools and districts build sustainable, high-impact professional learning models, ensuring ongoing support for both current and future paraeducators.

Participants MUST HAVE one of the following platforms/devices in order to participate in this session: Not Applicable

Participants MAY FIND IT USEFUL to have one or more of the following platforms/devices during this session: Not Applicable

Speakers