MASS & MCASE Fall Conference

September 18-19, 2017Bozeman, Montana

“Equity and Empathy: Supporting ALL Students”

EQUITY=FAIRNESSACCESS TO SAME OPPORTUNITIES

We must ensure equity before we can enjoy equality

EQUALITY = SAMENESSGIVING EVERYONE THE SAME THING

It only works if everyone starts from the same place

Monday, September 18 7:15 - 8:15 Hot Breakfast & Registration Lobby Sponsored by Pearson

8:15 - 8:30 Welcome, Introductions & Program Overview Larkspur Ballroom Tobin Novasio, President, MASS & Karen Underwood, President, MCASE

8:30 - 10:00 Monkey Business: Becoming Everyday Leaders Larkspur Ballroom Dennis W. Dearden

It’s easy to lose sight of the little, yet powerful aspects of leadership that remind us of where we came from, what we stand for, and of the things that make us who we are. Based on the insights revealed in Denny Dearden’s Monkey Business: For Leaders At All Levels, you’ll learn and laugh your way to a renewed and refined clarity about what makes you the leader you are. This personal and meaningful experience of the essential qualities of human leadership invites you to examine critical leadership elements needed to allow your organization to thrive. Because knowing why you lead and what is really important is what shapes and sustains organizational culture.

10:00 - 10:20 Break & Visit with Exhibitors Larkspur Ballroom Sponsored by WSIPC

10:20 - 11:30 Monkey Business: Becoming Everyday Leaders Larkspur Ballroom Dennis W. Dearden

11:30 - 11:45 Break & Visit with Exhibitors Larkspur Ballroom

11:45 - 1:15 MASS Luncheon/Awards Larkspur Ballroom Sponsored by VALIC Recognizing Regional Superintendents of the Year Recipients

MCASE - Lunch On Your Own ** MCASE New Directors Luncheon - Old Chicago

1:15 - 1:30 Break & Visit with Exhibitors Larkspur Ballroom

MASS & MCASE Fall Conference - Hilton Garden Inn

MASS Fall Conference - Hilton Garden Inn

1:30 - 2:30 Federal Education Policy Update Larkspur Ballroom Leslie Finnan, AASA Senior Legislative Analyst

This session covers the current state of federal education policy. This will include the priorities of the new administration and new Congress and how these changes and ESSA reauthorization will impact future education legislation and the 115th Congress.

2:30 - 2:45 Break & Visit with Exhibitors Larkspur Ballroom

2:45 - 3:15 Leading for Educational Equity Larkspur Ballroom Matt Utterback, AASA Superintendent of the Year

As educational leaders, we must address the issues of privilege, dominant culture, and student expectations in our school systems. There is a strong interplay among instructional practices, equity, and leadership. At the intersection of these concepts lie a number of principles that leaders can follow that have a profound impact on students—especially our traditionally underserved populations.

3:15 - 3:45 SAM Update Larkspur Ballroom Kirk Miller, SAM Executive Director

3:45 - 4:00 Closing Remarks Larkspur Ballroom Tobin Novasio, President, MASS & Karen Underwood, President, MCASE

4:00 - 5:00 MCASE Business Meeting - Recruitment Update Larkspur Ballroom 5:00 Monday Night Football Reception Larkspur A Sponsored by: MSU Education Department and DADavidson & Co.

MASS Fall Conference - Hilton Garden Inn

Tuesday, September 19

7:00 - 8:00 Hot Breakfast & Networking Lobby Sponsored by BetterLesson

8:00 - 8:15 OPI Update Lobby Superintendent Arntzen

8:15 - 9:00 MASS Business Meeting Larkspur Ballroom Presiding - MASS President, Tobin Novasio Agenda 1. Consideration of MASS Business Meeting DRAFT Minutes 3-14-17 2. MASS President Report Tobin Novasio, MASS President 3. AASA National Conference on Education (NCE) and MASS Incentive Award Cal Ketchum, MASS President-Elect February 15-17, 2018 in Nashville, TN 4. AASA Governing Board/Executive Committee Report Ron Whitmoyer, Jule Walker, & Leland Stocker 5. AASA Federal Relations Report Rick Duncan, MASS Federal Relations Coordinator 6. SAM Delegate Assembly Steering Committee Report Rick Duncan, DA Steering Committee Chair & MASS Representative 7. SAM Update Kirk Miller, SAM Executive Director 8. Other Business - For the Good of the Order 9:00 - 9:15 Break & Visit with Exhibitors Larkspur Ballroom

9:15 - 10:45 School Size Caucus AA/A Schools -- Facilitated by Tammy Lacey, Great Falls Public Schools & Heather Davis-Schmidt, Whitefish B Schools -- Facilitated by Rick Duncan, Powell County C Schools -- Facilitated by Brad Moore, Big Sandy K-8 Schools -- Facilitated by Corey Austin, Target Range Native American School Leaders -- Facilitated by Jim Baldwin, Poplar

10:45 - 11:00 Break and Visit with Exhibitors Larkspur Ballroom

11:00 – 12:00 Personalized Learning...A Leap of Faith Larkspur Ballroom Joe Steele, Superintendent, St. Regis Personalized Learning puts the student front and center in the classroom, and the teacher on the side….to facilitate learning. Hear how St. Regis School District made the transformation from the traditional educational model to personalized learning and the challenges that come with it.

12:00 Closing Remarks Larkspur Ballroom Tobin Novasio, President, MASS

MCASE Fall Conference - Comfort Inn

Tuesday, September 19

7:00 - 8:30 Continental Breakfast & Networking Madisson/Spanish Peaks

8:30 - 9:00 Introduction to MonTECH & Overview of Services Madisson/Spanish Peaks Julie Doerner, Clinical Coordinator, MonTECH

Providing assistive technology to all Montanas, all ages, all abilities. Mostly free service with clinics in Billings and Missoula.

9:00 - 12:00 OPI Hot Topics Madisson/Spanish Peaks Frank Podobnik

BREAK AS YOU NEED

12:00 Sack Lunch To Go!

1:00 OPI New Director Training Madisson/Spanish Peaks Jen Cline, School Improvement and Compliance Specialist, OPI

Conference evaluations will be sent to you electronically during the Conference. Please take a moment to complete the evaluation

to assist us in creating excellent future conferences for you.

Speakers

Dennis Dearden, President and Co-Founder of Monkey Business Associates (MBA), is known nationwide as an extremely talented educational leader and has served as a teacher, coach, principal and superintendent of schools. Now, Denny adds author to his distinguished resume for his book Monkey Business: For Leaders at All Levels. Most recently, Dearden was the associate executive director for leadership, meetings and partnerships for AASA, The School Superintendents Association where he led all leadership activities and skillfully launched the National Superintendent Certification program. Dearden was the Superintendent of the Marana Unified School District and Casa Grande Union High School District, both in Arizona. Dearden served as Cluster I assistant superintendent for Fairfax County Schools, Virginia, where he had oversight for 22 schools and nearly 20,000 students. Schools in Dearden's cluster are located on the fringe of Washing-ton, D.C., and are constantly in the spotlight of our nation's capital. All 22 Schools in Cluster I earned full state accreditation and the three cluster high schools, Langley, McLean and Herndon, are included in the 2005 Newsweek top 100 high schools in the nation.

Prior to working in Fairfax County, Dearden served as a principal at the high school and middle school levels in Grand Junction, Colorado. He also spent 20 very successful years in the classroom as a social studies and special education teacher and also has a strong coaching background at the middle school, high school and college levels. Dearden received a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Simp-son College (Iowa), a Masters in Special Education from Drake University (Iowa), and his administra-tive certification from the University of Northern Colorado.

Dennis Dearden has excelled at every level of education due in large part to his strength in building a team, his ability to communicate a clear and distinct passion for students, while at the same time, build-ing a constituency that embraces change and breaks down barriers to teaching and learning. Dearden brings these same strengths to MBA, as well as the highest expectations and constant journey toward excellence. Dearden has been sought out by many of our nation's most prestigious school districts and has chosen to create a team to provide exceptional leadership training and executive coaching for school districts, companies and organizations for Monkey Business Associates and their commitment to excel-lence.

Dennis Dearden

Leslie Finnan is a senior legislative analyst at AASA, The School Superinten-dents Association. In that capacity, she advocates on behalf of public school districts in Congress, leads a network of state lobbyists and manages research and writing for the policy and advocacy team. She holds a MPP from George Washington University, with a concentration in education policy, and a BA from Skidmore College. She previously taught English as a Foreign Language as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan.

Leslie Finnan

Speakers

Matt UtterbackMatthew R. Utterback, superintendent of the North Clackamas School District, was recognized as the 2017 National School Superintendent of the Year. He has over 28 distinguished years in public education, the past five years as superintendent of the North Clackamas School District. A suburban school district serving over 17,000 students on 32 school campuses, North Clack-amas Schools is continually recognized as an innovative leader in the state of Oregon and an example of what is right with public education today.

Under Utterback’s visionary leadership, North Clackamas has not only begun to close student opportunity gaps, those gaps have narrowed to nearly non-existent levels in many areas. With a laser-like focus on results, coupled with a lens of equity, the district’s overall four-year gradua-tion rate increased from 66 percent in 2011 to 83 percent in 2015. In addition, graduation rate gains made since 2011 with students with disabilities (+24 percent), African/Black students (+52 percent), and Hispanic/Latino students (+23 percent) are tremendously encouraging. Of significance is the 89 percent graduation rate in 2015 for the district’s African American/Black students. North Clackamas now maintains one of the highest graduation and the highest attendance rates of the state’s largest school districts.

In 2013, Utterback oversaw the development of the district’s Strategic Direction and Plan. A community engagement process was integral to the plan’s development and success that resulted in three clearly articulated goals and action plans in the areas of student achievement, equity, and quality programs. The district continues to lower class sizes, while imple-menting full-day kindergarten and a five-year plan to renew all district curricula through a lens of equity and a focus on technology integration. In addition, the district passed a $433 million capital construction bond in November 2016 after two years of planning and community outreach in which Superintendent Utterback led nearly 200 public engagement and listening sessions.

Superintendent Utterback has served the students of North Clackamas Schools since he began his teaching career in 1989. As a middle school principal from 1998-2004 and working collaboratively with staff, McLoughlin Middle School recorded unprecedented student achievement gains earning the recognition as one of a handful of high achieving middle schools in the region. Utterback served as the district’s Director of Secondary Programs and Assistant Superintendent from 2004-2008 before proudly returning to the school level to serve as the principal of Clackamas High School from 2008-2012.

During Utterback’s leadership, Clackamas High achieved 12-14 percent gains in reading, mathematics, science, and writing performance. The school doubled its Advanced Placement enrollment while eliminating the enrollment gap for students of color. During this time period, student participation on Advanced Placement exams increased by over 500 percent while increasing overall passing rates. With high achievement and 90 percent of graduates pursuing post-secondary education, Clackamas High School was rated as one of the top high schools in Oregon and the United States.

A frequent presenter at state and regional conferences on cultivating equity in the classroom and leading with a sense of urgency, Utterback shares his learning and experiences with other educational leaders. Ensuring the future success of the school district, he brings the district’s new administrators together for monthly dinners at his home for mentoring, learn-ing, and assistance in navigating the first years of educational leadership. Superintendent Utterback is a member of many civic organizations including the Clackamas Rotary and the North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce. He serves as chair of the Clackamas County Superintendents and is on the advisory boards of Portland State University’s Graduate School of Education and the Chalkboard Project.

A native Oregonian, Utterback graduated from Newport High School before attending Western Oregon University to re-ceive his Bachelor’s degree in secondary education in 1989. He earned his Master’s of Teaching degree and his educational administrative certification from Lewis and Clark College in 1995.

Utterback has been married to his wife Nancy, a high school English teacher in North Clackamas Schools, for over 28 years. They have one daughter, Emma, who is also a graduate of the school district. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, attending sporting events, and running.

Congratulations to the 2017 Regional Superintendent of the Year Award Recipients!

Northeast Region -- Renee Rasmussen, BainvilleWestern Region -- Scott Kinney, Superior

North Central Region -- Tammy Lacey, Great FallsSouth Central Region -- Bill Phillips, BridgerCentral Region -- Jason Butcher, Lewistown4 Rivers Region -- Gerry Nolan, AnacondaNorthwest Region -- Mark Flatau, KalispellSoutheast Region -- Jim Hansen, Broadus

Hi-Line Region -- Bart Hawkins, North Star - Rudyard

Speakers

Joe Steele graduated from Traverse City Senior High School, Traverse City, Michigan, in 1979, and immediately entered the United States Marine Corps. He served as an electrician on C-130 aircraft his first four years of service, then changed professions and became a Combat Correspondent, which he did the rest of his 20-year career. While in the service, Joe earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Northern Arizona University. Upon retiring in 1999, he moved to Salmon, Idaho. He started his educational career in Salmon High School as a custodian in 2000. He became an English teacher in October 2001, teaching English. He began to dabble in various components of personalized learning. Obtaining his K-12 Administrator’s Certification in 2008 from Uni-versity of Phoenix, Joe transferred to Salmon Alternative School as a principal/teacher, where he used the Edmuntum Learning Platform, formerly known as Plato, to personalize learning. In 2011, he was assigned as the principal for the Alternative School and Pioneer Elementary School. When the Salmon District consolidated buildings, Joe sought positions elsewhere. He accepted the principal position of St. Regis Schools in 2014, and started the conversation about transforming education with his staff. He became the superintendent in 2017 to begin the implementation of the Summit personalized learning model. Joe has been married for 35 years and has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Joe Steele

2017-18 MASS Board of Directors

PRESIDENTTobin Novasio, Supt.

Lockwood Schools

PRESIDENT ELECTCal Ketchum, Supt.West Valley Schools

WESTERN PRESIDENT Dr. Mike Perry, Supt.Hot Springs Schools

NORTHWEST PRESIDENT Heather Davis-Schmidt, Supt.

Whitefish Schools

NORTHCENTRAL PRESIDENTLoren Dunk, Supt.

Power Schools

SOUTHEAST PRESIDENTNate Olson, Supt.

Jordan Schools

NORTHEAST PRESIDENTTiffani Anderson, Supt.Medicine Lake Schools

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORKirk Miller

School Administrators of Montana

PAST PRESIDENTDr. Laurie Barron, Supt.

Evergreen Schools

HI LINE PRESIDENTBart Hawkins, Supt.North Star Schools

4 RIVERS PRESIDENTScott Chauvet, Supt.Manhattan Schools

SOUTH CENTRAL PRESIDENTTeri Harris, Supt. Fromberg Schools

CENTRAL PRESIDENTAnnette Hart, Supt.Judith Gap Schools

FEDERAL RELATIONSRick Duncan, Supt.

Powel County High School

We Look Forward to a Great 2017-18 School Year.

Thanks for All You Do!

2017-18 MCASE Board of Directors

PRESIDENTKaren Underwood, Special Education Director

Yellowstone-West Carbon County Special Services Cooperative

PRESIDENT ELECTMichelle Halberg, Special Education Director

Gallatin-Madison Special Education Coop.

SECRETARY Lisa Von Bergen, Student Services Director

Great Falls Public Schools

REGION ICheryl Russell, Special Education Director

Miles City School District

REGION IIITamra Covington, Special Education Director

Billings Public Schools

REGION VMary Meehan, Special Services Director

Evergreen School District

PAST PRESIDENTJenifer Cline, School Improvement &

Compliance SpecialistOffice of Public Instruction

CEC REPRESENTATIVE Laurie Smith, Resource Director

Gardiner Schools

REGION IILisa Von Bergen, Student Services Director

Great Falls Public Schools

REGION IVMichelle Halberg, Special Education DirectorGallatin/Madison Special Education Coop.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORKirk Miller

School Administrators of Montana

Future Events -- Save the Dates2017

October 18-20 MCEL Billings/Double Tree/Northern Hotel 2018 February 15-17 AASA National Conference on Education Nashville, TN Feb. 28 - Mar. 2 MCEC Conference Missoula March 19-20 MASS Spring Conference Helena/Great Northern March 19-21 METAtechED Conference Helena/Radisson April 4-6 MAEMSP/MASSP Spring Conference Fairmont Hot Springs June 15 SAM Delegate Assembly Helena/SAM Office July 30 - Aug 1 SAM Administrators Institute Helena/Radisson

Business Partners in AttendanceAmerican Fidelity621 West Mallon Ave., Ste 301Spokane, WA 99201877-589-2544Geoff Hinton geoff.hinton@americanfidelity.comSection 125, Dependent Verification, HSA, Coluntary Benefits

BetterLesson86A Sherman StreetCambridge, MA 02140617-512-6201Jeff Libertyjeff@betterlesson.comThrough our SAM Partnership, BetterLesson provides exceptional instructional coaching to Montana Educa-tors

Horace Mann670 Ferguson Ste. 3Bozeman, MT 59718Gaylen Blackgaylen.black@horacemann.com406-585-8238Financial solutions and insurance products

Infinite Campus4321 109th Avenue NEBlaine, MN 55449651-631-0000Stephanie Sondrolstephanie.sondrol@infinitecampus.comThe most trusted name in student information systems

Silverback Learning Solutions2963 East Copper Point DriveMeridian, ID 83642208-413-2020Joy Rappjrapp@silverbacklearning.comMileposts, EdifyAssess, Teacher Vitae: One platform for meeting educations future

VALIC430 Ryman Street Suite 102Missoula, MT 59802406-329-5500Brian Olsenbrian.olsen@valic.comFinancial and retirement planning

Vision Net1309 NW BypassGreat Falls, MT 59404406-750-4379Doug Nicholsdoug.nichols@vision.netVision Net has been the leader in distance learning since 1995

Amplify55 WashingtonBrooklyn, NY 11201435-655-1731Robert McCartyrmccarty@amplify.comAmplify: K-8 NGSS Science Curriculum, K-8 ELA Curriculum, Literacy Intervention and Assessment

D.A. Davidson & Co.402 East Main StreetBozeman, MT 59715406-556-6965Bridget Ekstrombekstrom@dadco.comBond Financing Services for Montana Schools

EVERFI3299 K Street N.W.Washington, DC 20007406-204-2224Cari Russellcturner@everfi.comWith a network of over 20,000 schools, EVERFI delivers digital resources that help teachers equip students with critical skills. All programs are provided at no cost to schools.

First Call Computer Solution500 North Higgins Ave. Ste. 201Missoula, MT 59801406-721-6462Conor Smithconor.smith@firstsolution.comFull resource school IT provider delivering better value at an overall lower costs

Joint Powers Trust2123 Treasure DriveBillings, MT 59102Shane Heigisshane@jointpowerstrust.comGroup Health Benefits Provider

Montana Department of Commerce301 South ParkHelena, MT 59620406-841-2865Michele Cushmanmcushman2@mt.govBroadband for Montana Schools Program

Montana Department of Labor & Industry - Safety Bureau1805 ProspectHelena, MT 59604406-444-1797Jerry LaugheryJLaughery2@mt.govProvide safety & health consultation/compliance services

Montana Office of Public Instruction / Montana Tobacco Use Prevention ProgramPO Box 202501Helena, MT 59620406-444-0785Kris Minard/Jason Butcherkminard@mt.gov / jason.butcher@mt.govNEW Signage for Montana Tobacco Free School Districts of Excellence

A Special Thank You to Our Supporters!

Please make sure to visit with our Business Partners & Exhibitors who have made it to the Conference. It is through their help and contributions that we are

able to make events like this happen every year.

Montana Schools Recruitment Project3005 Ottawa StreetButte, MT 59701406-494-2624Lori Ruffiersamlr@sammt.orgWe help schools look for Special Education Personnel

Multiple MeasuresP.O. Box 340Oakley, UT 84055435-503-6227Eric Carlsoneric@multiplemeasures.netMultiple Measures provides assessment data visualization and analytics, and is the author of MMARS™: accurate, af-fordable web-based reporting for state, publisher benchmark, and district tests.

MonTECH Assistive Technology Program52 Corbin Hall - UofMMissoula, MT 59812406-243-5751Julie Doernerjulie.doerner@mso.umt.eduAssistive Technology Information and Services

Pearson1543 E. Feather View Dr.Eagle, ID 83616208-252-0863Jeffrey Englebertjeff.engelbert@pearson.comCore Curriculum as well as Intervention Programs for all Learners

RESA4U404 West Main Street Rm. 225Bozeman, MT 59718406-624-3336Bruce Grubbsbgrubbs@swmss.coopMedicaid billing services, Infinite Campus support, & Co-op food purchasing program

A Special Thank You to Our Supporters!

Conference Notes:

Conference Notes:

Thank You for Attending the

MASS & MCASE

Fall Conference 2017