2025 Utah Rural Schools Conference: Full Schedule

Welcome to URSA 2025 at Park City High School!

1:30pm MDT

On the Edge of AI: Exploring Emerging Innovations

Wednesday July 9, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT

The world of AI is changing almost daily—are you keeping up? This session brings you the most exciting, education-relevant innovations in artificial intelligence. From AI multimodal tools that combine voice, text, and visuals, to expanding on AI scientific research, and diving into deep learning models. We’ll explore AI breakthroughs that are redefining what’s possible in learning environments. Whether you’re tech-savvy or just getting started, this session will ground you in what’s real, and how you can engage with new AI innovations!

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

Emma Moss

Digital Teaching & Learning Specialist, Canyons School District

Emma Moss is a Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist and AI Project Co-Lead in Canyons School District, as well as the Artificial Intelligence for K-12 Program Director in Utah. She founded the Utah AI Collaborative and leads monthly meet-ups on AI and innovation in education... Read More →

Jonathan Stewart

DTL Specialist, Canyons School District

Jonathan Stewart has been an educator for over 20 years. He is a facilitator and trainer for the AI in K12 project for the Utah State Board of Education. He is also the co-lead of the AI team in Canyons School District in Sandy, UT, in addition to other projects related to education... Read More →

Wednesday July 9, 2025 1:30pm - 2:30pm MDT
Lecture Hall 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 Educational Technology
Subject Area Career and Technical Education, Other
Audience EdTech Coach/Digital Teaching & Learning Specialists, All of the above
Grade Level All Grade Levels

2:50pm MDT

The White Whale of Reading: Effective Comprehension Instruction

Wednesday July 9, 2025 2:50pm - 3:50pm MDT

Lecture Hall

The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension. Recently, great strides have been made throughout Utah to update reading practices to better align with the Science of Reading. Still, for many, effective comprehension instruction remains elusive. How do we teach kids to understand text? What do we do when kids don't understand text? What about skills and strategies? Is knowledge-building the answer? This session outlines principles of effective comprehension instruction and provides a practical framework for tier I text instruction.

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

Speakers

Jake Downs

Assistant Professor, Science of Reading Education, Utah State University

Dr. Jake Downs is assistant professor of Science of Reading Education at Utah State University and host of the Teaching Literacy Podcast. He is a former 4th grade teacher, instructional coach, and Elementary Literacy Coordinator for Cache County School District. Learn more about Jake... Read More →

Wednesday July 9, 2025 2:50pm - 3:50pm MDT
Lecture Hall 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060

1 hour traditional lecture/audience participation, Intermediate - basic core competency; some prerequisite skills required.

Learning Strand or Track Utah Core Curriculum
Subject Area Language Arts, Leadership
Audience Teachers, Instructional Coaches
Grade Level Elementary - grades K - 6, Middle School / Jr. High - grades 6 - 8

9:45am MDT

Not Your Grandmother's Spreadsheets: Deep Dive Into Google Sheets

Thursday July 10, 2025 9:45am - 10:45am MDT

Lecture Hall

Tired of spending hours on tedious spreadsheet tasks? Discover how to transform your workflow with Google Sheets and streamline your productivity. You'll learn how to effortlessly create personalized certificates and notes, send automated form responses, and leverage macros for powerful automation. Say goodbye to manual labor and hello to efficient, organized processes. Join us to unlock the full potential of Google Sheets and revolutionize your workflow!

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, Chromebook

Speakers

Kaley King

DTL / CTE Program Administrator, Spectrum Academy / UCET

Kaley has been in the education field for 14 years, from paraprofessional, to teacher, to assistant principal, to principal to her current role as Digital Teaching and Learning & Career and Technical Education Program Administrator. A well-rounded educator giving well-rounded pre... Read More →

[Public] Not Your Grandmother's Spreadsheets pdf

Thursday July 10, 2025 9:45am - 10:45am MDT
Lecture Hall 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060

1 hour BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): Hands-On-Activities, Intermediate - basic core competency; some prerequisite skills required.

Learning Strand or Track Educational Technology, Leadership, Instructional Coaching
Subject Area Other
Audience All of the above
Grade Level All Grade Levels

11:10am MDT

A Love Affair With Picture Books Across the Standards

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

Lecture Hall

Join us for an exciting session where you will discover how picture books can support the Utah Core Standards across all subjects! You will leave with fun ideas that can be applied to any picture books you own, as well as a wealth of book titles to add to your wish list!

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

Teresa Pugmire

Academic Achievement Coach, Park City School District

PadletLink- https://padlet.com/thegtpugs/ursa-2025-books-across-the-standards-xtqgr9l5s45pe0k2
Teresa serves as an Academic Achievement Coach for Park City School District. In her role, she supports teachers, coaches, and administrators in enhancing literacy and math outcomes for their schools. Additionally, she serves as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University, wher... Read More →

URSA 2025 key

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:10am - 12:10pm MDT
Lecture Hall 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 Utah Core Curriculum, Instructional Coaching, Other
Subject Area Language Arts, ESL, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Special Education, Instructional Coaching
Audience Teachers, Library Media Specialists, Instructional Coaches, Curriculum Specialists
Grade Level PK - 2, 3 - 4, 5 - 6, Elementary - grades K - 6

1:40pm MDT

Discovering what your students really know when “asking” the right questions

Thursday July 10, 2025 1:40pm - 2:40pm MDT

Lecture Hall

We have all been students or participants in lessons during which people talked “at us” but didn’t engage us. We weren’t expected to do anything. So what did we do? What did we learn? Most likely, not much. But, when a teacher uses well-crafted questions and short “tasks” throughout a lesson in which students have an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of content, students are engaged and far more likely to understand the material as it is being taught. Even more important, the educator can more effectively assess student understanding throughout the lesson and pivot when necessary.

This presentation is designed to address Open, Assessment, and Engagement Questions or Tasks. At the conclusion, educators will be able to identify what each sounds or looks like and when they are most appropriate for use as well as the amount of student engagement they can count upon when they are in use. Educators will have the opportunity to write questions of each type that they will use in a lesson they teach in their classroom. Instructional coaches will have an opportunity to learn about the three types of questions and how to collect data to support teachers.

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

Jennifer King

Instructional Coach, South Summit School District

Jennifer King has been involved in education for 29 years. She has been a middle and high school social studies teacher, has been an elementary and high school instructional coach in Park CIty School District, and an elementary principal in Murray School District. She is currently... Read More →

Thursday July 10, 2025 1:40pm - 2:40pm MDT
Lecture Hall 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060

1 hour traditional lecture/audience participation, Beginner - limited to no experience; no prerequisite skills required., Intermediate - basic core competency; some prerequisite skills required.

Learning Strand or Track Utah Core Curriculum, Instructional Coaching
Subject Area Instructional Coaching, Not Applicable
Audience Teachers, Instructional Coaches
Grade Level All Grade Levels

3:10pm MDT

How to Improve Fluency through Partner Reading-Paragraph Shrinking

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

Lecture Hall

Melinda and her Early Learning Coach, Dina will share how they improved her students fluency and retell by using partner reading-paragraph shrinking. They will give information on how to implement this in a classroom, what they learned, and how to adjust it to meet the needs of students. This strategy is for an entire class who has a median composite score 51% or below or if you have seven students below benchmark proficiency on Acadiance Benchmark Data. This strategy is aligned with the Science of Reading and can be found in the book titled, Seven Mighty Moves by Lindsey Kemeny.

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

Melinda Meccariello

3rd Grade Teacher, Ferron Elementary

Melinda Meccariello is a dedicated third-grade teacher at Ferron Elementary, a small rural school in Emery County. Known for her warm, nurturing personality, she has spent the last 11 years shaping young minds and fostering a love of learning in her students. With a passion for reading... Read More →

Dina Wise

Early Learning Coach, SESC - Southeast Education Service Center

Dina Wise's 20+ year educational career spans roles from paraprofessional to elementary principal and instructional coach, fueled by a passion for literacy. As a certified LETRS facilitator, she empowers teachers with effective literacy strategies. Outside of education, she's a family-oriented... Read More →

Thursday July 10, 2025 3:10pm - 4:10pm MDT
Lecture Hall 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 Utah Core Curriculum
Subject Area Language Arts, Instructional Coaching
Audience Teachers, Instructional Coaches
Grade Level 3 - 4, 5 - 6

9:45am MDT

Diffusing Defiance- Navigating Resistance Effectively

Friday July 11, 2025 9:45am - 10:45am MDT

Lecture Hall

What to Do When All You Hear is, “No!”in this presentation, participants will discover effective behavioral strategies to navigate and transform resistance into cooperation. Attendees will learn a basic understanding in why this behavior occurs, how to reframe objections, use positive reinforcement, and build rapport to create a more collaborative environment. By the end, they will be equipped with practical tools to foster understanding and encourage positive outcomes in challenging interactions.

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

Katie Clark

BCBA, School Psychologist Intern, NUES - Northern Utah Educational Services

A veteran educator, Kristin specializes in creating inclusive and effective learning environments for students with diverse needs. She focuses on systemic improvement as an MTSS and Intervention Specialist, coaching educators to deliver high-impact, individualized support.), Kristin... Read More →

Friday July 11, 2025 9:45am - 10:45am MDT
Lecture Hall 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 School-based Mental & Behavioral Health
Subject Area Special Education, Mental/Behavioral Health
Audience All of the above
Grade Level All Grade Levels

11:00am MDT

HELP! My Students Can't Write...Advancing Thinking Through Writing K-5

Friday July 11, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm MDT

Lecture Hall

Are your students struggling to write? We will look at the Science of Writing, LETRS strategies, and use a guide to advancing thinking through writing in all subjects and grades. You will leave with a pacing guide and hands on experience for explicitly teaching sentence skills and paragraph skills K-5. We will focus on carefully sequencing instruction, building from sentences to compositions. Using sentence builders, four square writing method, Dr. Anita Archer explicit instruction strategies, and The Writing Revolution you will leave with a clear understanding of how to intentionally plan writing across all subject areas. The Writing Revolution (TWR) provides a clear method of instruction that you can use no matter what subject or grade level you teach.

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, Mac Laptop, Windows Laptop

Speakers

Amy Mahoney

PreK-12 Instructional Coach, NUES - Northeastern Utah Educational Services

As a NUES Region PreK-12 Instructional Coach, I am dedicated to the art of continuous learning and professional growth. I hold a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum & Instruction with an emphasis in ESL & ESOL. My professional credentials include endorsements in Reading, Coaching... Read More →

Friday July 11, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm MDT
Lecture Hall 1750 Kearns Blvd, Park City, UT 84060

1 hour traditional lecture/audience participation, Beginner - limited to no experience; no prerequisite skills required., Intermediate - basic core competency; some prerequisite skills required.