Davidson County Schools Summer Symposium 2026

This session explores the use of children’s literature (including picture books, comic strips, and cartoons) as tools to introduce, review, and re-engage middle grades students with ELA standards. Teachers will examine classroom-ready examples while learning how to identify, adapt, and implement children’s texts to support rigorous and engaging middle grades instruction.(Content CEU)

This professional learning session will focus on practical strategies for increasing student engagement within the classroom.  We will discuss ways to engage your students in an ELA and Math setting.  Be encouraged to use ideas and strategies as well as discuss ideas and strategies that may work within the classroom.  Participants will leave the session with ready-to-use strategies in the upcoming school year and beyond, that support academic achievement, positive classroom culture, and active student involvement across content areas.  I look forward to meeting you and collaborate together!

Future-focused classrooms require more than good plans—they require responsive teaching. In this session, participants will dive into a repeatable instructional cycle that connects data, planning, and student outcomes in meaningful ways. Learn how to quickly analyze student performance, design targeted instruction, and adjust to meet the needs of all learners, including those in inclusion settings.  Attendees will actively apply the Plan–Teach–Adjust–Repeat cycle and walk away with strategies, templates, and tools they can use immediately in their classrooms.

This interactive professional development session explores evidence-based approaches to implementing small group instruction in secondary ELA classrooms. Participants will discover practical strategies for organizing, managing, and maximizing the effectiveness of small groups to meet diverse student needs while maintaining classroom momentum.


Participants will:
Learn frameworks for purposeful grouping (skill-based, interest-based, mixed-ability, and flexible configurations).
Explore time-efficient structures for launching and rotating small groups.
Discover scaffolding techniques that support struggling readers and writers while challenging advanced learners.
Review formative assessment strategies to inform grouping decisions and monitor progress.
Walk away with ready-to-use templates, lesson structures, and classroom management tools.

Going back into an English 2 classroom after a 10-year hiatus enlightened me in ways I never expected to experience. Students have changed in their levels of intelligence, specifically how they think and express it to relay what they really know. It's there, but how do you tap into it in a meaningful and impactful way?

Looking for tech tools that are actually worth your time? This session cuts through the noise to show you practical, easy-to-use resources that boost engagement and make your life easier. Walk away with tools you can use right away.