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2025 Utah Rural Schools Conference

Welcome to URSA 2025 at Park City High School!

12:10pm MDT

Beyond Self Care: Leading Systemic Approach to Well-Being for Educators AU - AuditoriumGail Markin

1:30pm MDT

Craft Your Digital Teaching Assistant: Building Custom AI Assistants with Google Gemini Gems ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Rob Bentley Gail Markin Breakout Session AU - AuditoriumGail Markin From PD to Practice: A Practical System for PD That Sticks CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Camille Johnson Utah School Safety in 2026: Understanding the Updated Legislative Landscape CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Ashley Pistello Teacher Leaders as the Engine of School Improvement: From Strategy to Practice SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127Cori Groth • Kody Colvin • Sarah Jarnagin • Shalon Jones-Miller Rising Above Low Expectation: How to Scaffold Learning for Students ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Laureen Graves • Heather Kennedy Learner-Centered Design: Evidence, Iteration, and Impact SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Nathan Auck • Keslie Green Creating a Connected Classroom: Strategies to decrease behaviors and increase academics. ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Amie Huggins Coaching Learning Intentions and Success Criteria as Formative Assessment Opportunities BC 103 - Braithwaite Liberal Arts Center, Room 103Stephanie Davis

2:50pm MDT

Want to make a Canvas Quiz in three minutes? You can. CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Steve Weller From Generic to Gem: Building Your First Gemini Gems ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Emma Moss Data Privacy Basics Live! CC Sage Valley - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Sage Valley Room (100 Level)Nicole Sanchez Teacher Reflection and Instruction Data Made Easy With AI CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Yaerli Anderson • Lance Hatch Group Contingencies and the Good Behavior Game for Classroom Management CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Dr. Audrey N. Hoffmann • Rhea Rayomand Palkhiwala Bridging the Gap: Addressing Teacher Recruitment and Retention in Rural Utah Schools SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128Celina Poppe What Worked When It Mattered? Pandemic Recovery Success in Utah ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Andrea Rorrer • Kody Colvin • Amy Reynolds Rediscovering True Education: Classroom Practices That Actually Work GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Kenneth Applegate An Educational Expedition: Rediscovering Educator Joy ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Laureen Graves • Heather Kennedy Mobilizing Rural Partnerships: Building Coalitions for Student Success SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127Lisa Wisham • James Jordan The Teacher Brain Budget Hack CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)Mary Saylor A Brief Introduction to Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI) ED 204 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 204Lauren Ezzell

8:30am MDT

Becoming Better Grownups: Rediscovering What Matters and Remembering to Fly AU - AuditoriumBrad Montague

9:45am MDT

20 in 20: Rapid-Fire Strategies for Classroom Engagement ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Emma Moss Making Sheets Work For You ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Stacey King AI, Bloom, and the Cognitive Gap in Educational Technology CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Valarie O'Bryan Brad Montague Breakout Session AU - AuditoriumBrad Montague Commemorate America250 Utah with History, Civics, and Heart CC Sage Valley - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Sage Valley Room (100 Level)Wendy Rex Atzet • Rebecca Kirkman Printable Potential: Using 3D Printing in the Classroom GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201Becca Robison Policy Implications for Principalship: "An Unfunded Mandate" AU - Auditorium FoyerBethany McGarry Basic Self Care: What do you need to know ED 204 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 204Sheryl Vernon Teaching Communication to Replace Challenging Behavior AU - Auditorium FoyerDr. Audrey N. Hoffmann • Rhea Rayomand Palkhiwala

11:10am MDT

Supporting Students with Complex Needs ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Rachel Jacobsen • Rhea Rayomand Palkhiwala AI as a Design Variable AU - AuditoriumDavid Long AI on the Ground: Research Meets Rural Realities ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Kody Colvin • Amy Reynolds • Julianne Zemaitis Scam Academy - Teaching Students to Outsmart the Algorithms CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)Dani Sloan Everything that Matters Begins with Trust: How to Create It, Sustain It, and Restore It SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128Dale COX Engagement 101 CC Sage Valley - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Sage Valley Room (100 Level)Melissa Metcalf Intro to PCBL: Guiding Principles & Strategies for Improving Learning ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Kayla Towner Chaos Coordinators: Frontload the Calm, Teach the Tough CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Katie Clark • Dana Blazzard Positive Childhood Experiences in the K-12 Setting ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Phillip Bertoch

11:31am MDT

Unmuting Your Classroom: Supporting Multilingual Learners ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Kelli Cannon

1:30pm MDT

Great Grading! CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Tony Campbell • Angela Poulton • Jared Wilkinson Teacher's are Leaders Inside and Outside of the Classroom ED 204 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 204Stephan Seabury Rediscovering Health Through Rural and State Partnership SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Halee Ficklin • Mary Kathryn Curcio Stoddard Writing Formative Assessment Clusters GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201Jared Wright • Dallas Brooks • Samantha Tinkey The Reclaimed Classroom: Leading AI for Teaching and Learning ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Kayla Towner • Kody Colvin • Matt Winters Evidence-Based Instruction Available to Your Area from The UURC BC 103 - Braithwaite Liberal Arts Center, Room 103Breyanna Evans

2:01pm MDT

Virtual Field Trips: Instructional Resources ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Heather Kennedy

2:50pm MDT

Supporting Student Learning and Creativity with Google Vids ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Rob Bentley Becoming Digitally Deliberate GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Talmage Erickson Literacy, Mental Health, and School Engagement for Students with Learning Disabilities CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Paul Black Collaborative Roots: Building Parent-Teacher Trust to Transform Student Outcomes ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Shannon Neeley • Sydney Whatcott Leaving Children Behind: Grade Retention in the 21st Century CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Pam Powell Virtual Field Trips at the Springville Museum of Art SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127Peyton Richards • Cheynie Wray Demystifying Mastery: The What, the Why and the How of Proficiency Scale Construction CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Nathan Auck

8:30am MDT

Joanna Andres, Utah’s 2025-26 Teacher of the Year AU - AuditoriumJoanna Andres

9:50am MDT

AI Tools for Digital Storytelling: Google Vids and Adobe Podcast ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Rob Bentley Beyond Plagiarism: Reimagining Assessment & Assignments in the Age of AI ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104Chris McCafferty GEG Utah Demo Slam 2026 SC 016 - Science Center, Room 016Kelli Cannon Technology: What Are We (Or Should We Be) Afraid Of? CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Christijan Draper The People Puzzle: Solved with Business Chemistry ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Piper Riddle From Policy to Practice: What Utah’s HB 393 Means for Dyslexia and Daily Classroom Instruction ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Paul Black Joanna Andres Breakout Session AU - AuditoriumJoanna Andres Where have all the Teachers Gone (and can we get those left to STAY)? GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Sean Rickert You Are Not the Test Score: Reclaiming Care and Influence in an Age of Testing CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Joshua Hales Emergency Recovery Planning ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Scott Eyre Advancing Opportunity: Utah Rural Education Supported By Community Partnerships CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Amy Ahrens Terpstra Understanding & Supporting Student Behavior: A Teacher-Centered Approach GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201Amanda Powell Thinking on our Feet: A Building Thinking Classrooms Experience GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306Wendy Moss-Doong

11:10am MDT

Bringing Characters to Life Using Adobe Character Animator ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Rob Bentley In Our Google Era: 50 Tools Shaping the Future of Learning SC 016 - Science Center, Room 016Kelli Cannon Real or Rendered? Promoting Digital Media Literacy in the Age of AI ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104Chris McCafferty Mammoth Plans and Jazz Hands: Building an Innovation Lab for Students CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Jared Covili What does a balanced approach to instructional technology use look like in reality? SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127Tony Campbell Norms of Collaboration: Fostering Belonging On and Offline CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)Dani Sloan Building Sustainable School Wellness Systems In Rural Communities SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128Halee Ficklin • Mary Kathryn Curcio Stoddard Partnership Power: Expanding Classroom Horizons with Division of Arts & Museums GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Justin Ivie • Reilly Jensen The Future Ready Student: Resources for Early Postsecondary Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Deanna Taylor Unplug and Play: Teaching Computational Thinking Skills Through Game Play SC 129 - Science Center, Room 129Kelli Cannon • Traci Rindlisbach Beyond the B.E.A.C.O.N.: Lighting the Way for AI in Education GC 106 - General Classroom Building, Room 106Becca Esplin