Associate Principals ConventionThe Associate Principals Convention will take place January 28-30, 2026 at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva. Registration will open in the fall.
Wednesday, January 29, 202512:00-4:30 | Pre-Con Session ($99 additional fee required)1. Harnessing the Power of AI for Associate Principals
Rita Mortenson, Educational Technology Coach and Jason Rubo, Director of Technology, Verona Area School District
We can use AI to enhance decision-making, streamline administrative processes, unlock insights from data, and support student success. You will walk away from this session able to harness AI in new ways to save time, grow your impact, and better balance your work and private life. The session will include information for leaders just beginning to explore AI and for those wanting to explore intermediate applications, so whether you're new to the world of AI, or have already utilized these tools for tasks like drafting correspondence, data analysis or helping your staff enhance teaching and learning, you will not want to miss this interactive session. 12:00-4:30 | Legal Seminar Pre-Con Sessions ($99 additional fee required)12:00-1:15 Legal General Session
2. Student Discipline & The Suspension/Expulsion Process, Plus! An Update On Hot Legal Topics
Bob Butler, WASB Associate Executive Director and Staff Legal Counsel, and Malina Piontek, AWSA’s Retained Legal Counsel Attorneys Bob Butler and Malina Piontek will cover an area APs deal with on a daily basis: student discipline. The presentation will provide a roadmap for considering the suspension and expulsion of pupils and how to avoid common pitfalls when doing so. The presentation will also focus on procedures and tips for administrators when taking a student expulsion case to the school board that conducts their own expulsion hearings. AWSA members attending this session will receive an Expulsion Overview Guide with sample notifications and hearing procedures. Finally, in this plenary session, Bob and Malina will provide updates on any hot legal issues that APs need to know.
1:30-2:45 Legal Concurrent Sessions
1. Navigating Legal Issues Arising from Artificial Intelligence and Other Technology
Rick Verstegen, Attorney, Boardman Clark
2. Title IX: Your Compass for Addressing Sex Discrimination and LGBTQIA+ Matters
3. Keeping Up with Special Education and Section 504
Tess O’Brien-Heinzen, Attorney, Renning Lewis & Lacy
3:00-4:15 Legal Concurrent Sessions (repeated)
2:00-4:00 Pre-Con Session ($49 additional fee required)
3. Planning for Your Retirement This session will provide information on the three legs of a solid retirement: the WI Retirement System, Social Security and personal savings (e.g., Roth, 403(b) plans, etc.). The session will also cover what educators should know about putting savings to good use and public service loan forgiveness. Come with your questions and leave better prepared for your future. Thursday, January 30, 20257:00 - 8:45 | Continental Breakfast7:45 | New Principals BreakfastNew associate principals are encouraged to attend this informal breakfast to visit with veteran colleagues and AWSA staff.
10:00-10:30 Refreshment Break with Exhibitors10:30 | Round One Concurrents1. Measuring Transformational Impact - How will you know it is working?
Andy Farley, Principal, Brookfield East High School and the 2023 National Secondary Principal of the Year All school leaders strive to make an impact on their school communities, but how do they know their efforts are achieving the results they desire? Brookfield East Principal Andy Farley follows up his keynote presentation with specific ways to measure impact starting with a relentless focus on the importance of school culture on student and educator success! 2. Using Targeted Student Support to Strengthen Student Attendance
Lisa Goihl, Associate Principal, Heidi Link, Assistant Principal and Zac Campbell, Student Success Coordinator, River Falls High School With the effects of Covid attendance issues still looming, we have used deeper connections to help our students choose to come to school. The addition of additional support and changes in how we approach attendance issues has helped our attendance numbers stay relatively strong. 3. Navigating Tough Conversations: Implementing the RESIST Protocol for Accountability and Student Success Join us for an enlightening session tailored for principals seeking guidance on facilitating difficult conversations essential for accountability and student success. Inspired by the RESIST Protocol developed by Anthony Muhammad and Luis Cruz, this workshop equips participants with practical steps to address challenging situations effectively. Through interactive exercises and role-playing scenarios, attendees will learn how to navigate crucial conversations with confidence and empathy. Gain invaluable insights into fostering a culture of accountability while ensuring that practices align with student needs and aspirations. Leave prepared and empowered to engage in meaningful dialogue that propels your school towards greater equity, excellence, and student persistence. 4. Rhetoric Reality Gap: Changing our Commitments
Tammy Gibbons, Director of Professional Learning, AWSA Schools could make a long list of reasons they are not successful for ALL students. But the truth of the matter is, that there is often a gap - the difference between what we say are our priorities and what our behavior says about our priorities. This session will focus on how to lead a school through a process of identifying commitments (norms) that lead to a high-performing culture and further identifying the need for healthy conflict in order to socialize those commitments in all spaces, whether the leader is present or not. 11:45-12:45 | Lunch & Associate Principal of the Year Recognition 12:45 | Dessert with Exhibitors1:15 | Round Two Concurrents1. Supporting and Responding to Student Behavior through Disciplinary Rubrics
Jared Kiesow and Dave Riley, Associate Principals, West Bend East and West High School
Discover the transformative potential of disciplinary rubrics in managing student behavior. Delving into the dimensions of intent, impact, disruption, and history, we explore how these rubrics offer administrators a structured approach to support and respond effectively to behavioral incidents. By examining intent, educators can discern the underlying motivations behind student actions, while assessing impact helps gauge severity of how the behavior impacted others or the entire school community. In addition, disruption levels and historical context enables tailored interventions and promotes fair and consistent judgments. Through practical examples administrative teams will be equipped with strategies to integrate disciplinary rubrics into any behavior management system. 2. Accelerating Impact: You as a 100-Day Leader
Joe Schroeder, Associate Executive Director, AWSA
It has been commonplace in education for decades to say that systemic change is a 3-5 year process. But we now know that change can happen much more rapidly – and, in fact, is typically the product of a series of robust, short cycles of progress. This session will leverage the work of thought leaders such as Michael Fullan and Doug Reeves as well as examples from principals across Wisconsin to help you conceptualize a 100-day challenge, identify entry points, and develop means for interventions that render clear results. In short, participants will leave the session with concrete approaches they can apply to become impactful, 100-day leaders by taking deliberate action of short-cycle impact. 3. Effective Collaboration: Harnessing Student Work to Elevate Adult Practices
Yaribel Rodriguez, Director of Urban Leadership, AWSA
In this dynamic session tailored for principals and educational leaders, we explore the transformative power of effective collaboration centered around student work. By examining student work with a discerning eye, educators gain invaluable insights into instructional effectiveness and student learning. This session delves into practical strategies for leveraging student work to inform and elevate adult practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Through engaging discussions and real-world examples, attendees will learn how to facilitate meaningful collaboration among staff, harnessing the collective expertise to drive positive change in teaching and learning. Join us to discover how effective collaboration around student work can propel your school community towards greater success and student achievement. 4. Supporting Attendance Through Urgency and Belonging There is no doubt that getting students to high school each day is more difficult now than ever before. At times, the list of barriers feels insurmountable. At Franklin High School, we have taken steps to support attendance through teaming and building relationships with families. With a focus on mental health, ensuring students have a sense of belonging, and continuously improving our framework of student support, we are seeing the impact in our attendance data from these intentional practices. 5. Collaborating for Success: Harnessing AI Tools in Education Join this collaborative session designed for educational leaders who are eager to explore the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in schools. This interactive workshop will provide a platform for school administrators, principals, and district leaders to come together, share experiences, and learn from one another on how AI tools can transform teaching and administrative processes. Whether you are already using AI in your school or just beginning to explore its possibilities, this session will offer practical insights, peer-to-peer learning, and actionable takeaways to help you lead with innovation and impact. *Disclosure: this was all written by ChatGPT
2:30 | Refreshment Break with Exhibitors2:45 | Round Three Concurrents1. Heart Centered Leadership: Building an Inclusive and High Achieving School
Misa Sato, Associate Principal, Reagan High School, Milwaukee School District and 2023 National Associate Principal of the Year
This session explores the power of leading with empathy and compassion in educational environments. Discover how a nationally-recognized school leader has successfully blended heart-centered leadership with a relentless pursuit of academic excellence. Learn practical strategies for creating a nurturing school culture that values emotional intelligence and student well-being, while still achieving outstanding educational outcomes. The presentation will explore the transformative power of shaping school culture through meaningful conversations, developing student leaders and student-led support programs, building supportive communities and implementing initiatives that resonate with students and staff on a deeper, more personal level. 2. I’m here, but am I engaged?
Tammy Gibbons, Director of Professional Learning, AWSA
What would a highly engaged classroom look like? hat is a highly engaged student doing? As school leaders, it’s our responsibility to observe and provide feedback on student levels of engagement. We know it’s a predictor of student retention, student success, and also student satisfaction. Far too often, compliance is acknowledged as engagement. This session will focus on ensuring school leaders have the look fors and strategies for providing feedback on authentic student engagement so as to grow academic outcomes for the students we serve. 3. Becoming a High-Performance Culture for All Students: Collecting and Monitoring Instructional Practice Data
Joe Schroeder, Associate Executive Director, AWSA 4. Smart Phone Policy and Practice
Charlie Ihle, Associate Principal, Onalaska High School, Andrea Sorensen, Associate Principal, Hudson High School and Heidi Sigfrids, Associate Principal, Superior High School Informed by current research, school districts are very focused on policies and practices limiting student smartphone use and other personal technology devices, from earbuds to smartwatches. This session will briefly review the research on student well-being, highlight district and municipal approaches, and facilitate a collaborative conversation on effective policies and practices. 4:30 | Reception Sponsored by Jostens Friday, January 31, 2025
7:00 | Optional Fellowship BreakfastSchool administrators support the boundless needs of those they lead and serve. But who supports them -- especially in ways tending to the heart and spirit? Join AWSA's Associate Executive Director, Joe Schroeder, and administrative colleagues from across the state in this Christian fellowship breakfast option that, now in its eighth year, is proving for many to be an annual highlight of encouragement and support for the next leg of the leadership and life journey. 7:45-8:40 | Breakfast ProgramInvesting in Principal Excellence: Our Commitments, Current Realities, and Next Steps For over a decade, AWSA has been building an array of team-centered and individual leadership academies and networks, often with coaching support, to build high-impact learning leaders across Wisconsin. This session will provide an update about the results of these efforts to date amid a host of challenges and barriers. Before concluding, we seek your individual and collective input regarding current realities and next steps for AWSA's professional learning, which members have consistently conveyed is the most important and valued of AWSA supports. 8:50 | Round Four Concurrents1. Creating a Positive School Climate: Building Powerful Teams for Tier 2 Behavior Support
Yaribel Rodriguez, Director of Urban Leadership, AWSA
This session is tailored for principals seeking effective strategies to address Tier 2 behaviors through a culturally responsive lens. By fostering inclusive problem-solving approaches, educators can create supportive environments that empower both students and staff. Join us as we explore practical techniques for forming powerful teams dedicated to supporting student and educator success. Through examples, case studies, and discussions, participants will gain insights into reducing disciplinary incidents and the need for intensive supports. 2. Markers of a Coaching Culture
Tammy Gibbons, Director of Professional Learning, AWSA
Does your school have a culture of feedback? Are teachers hungry to sit with another colleague and talk about their successes, their blunders, and their impact? This session will allow participants to reflect on and consider ways to assess the markers of a coaching culture in the school and identify ways to ensure it is a place where people of all ages thrive on trust and feedback. 3. Providing Impactful Professional Learning and Making It Stick!
Joe Schroeder, Associate Executive Director, AWSA
“There will be no sustainable improvement in student results and no elimination of the achievement gap until leaders and teachers succeed in building a particular organizational culture.” This powerful, research-based statement by Jon Saphier of Research for Better Teaching, Inc. (RBT) describes the 12 Visible Practices of a Strong Adult Professional Culture, two of which include public teaching and non-defensive self-examination of teaching practice in relation to student results. This session will connect such research with examples of Wisconsin schools that are growing these practices deliberately so that professional learning is gaining traction and deepening impact on student learning at impressive levels – and cultivating a strong adult professional culture in the process. You will leave this session with a vision and pathway for potential next steps of related action in your school. 4. The Hard Part of the Job…ATTENDANCE…Getting it Done with Patience, Understanding, and Grace
Jamie Saunders, & Ellen Blair-Stobber, Assistant Principals, Elkhorn High School
During this session, you will learn how Elkhorn Area High School improves attendance through building relationships with students. You will also be introduced to the student/teacher-friendly system that the Associate Principals use to track daily attendance. Besides these tier-one approaches, we will also give you a few tier-two and tier-three strategies. This model can be used in all grade levels.
10:05 | Break
11:45 | AdjournVendor InformationRegistration for vendors at Associate Principal Convention is now open: click here!Tabletop fee is $400 and includes: 1 8’ table, 2 chairs, lunch, dessert break, pre-registrants list one week prior to the event. If you are a vendor who has questions about the event please contact Katie Lowe. Each year AWSA Conventions brings in hundreds of administrators from across the state of Wisconsin. Vendors will have the opportunity to engage in unique face-to-face interactions throughout the convention. Event Cancellation or Postponement Conventions, Conferences, and Workshop Cancellation Policy Dietary Disclaimer Accessibility *Refund fees retained by AWSA pay for your food guarantees, a/v equipment, meeting room rental and any hotel attritions caused by the cancellation.
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