Get Your Teach On! Agenda

Opening Keynote with Hope King
Plate of Priorities

8:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m.

It’s not about doing everything right! In fact that’s just it. It’s not about doing everything at all! How do we choose to plan our instructional time centered around the things that will have the biggest impact in our classrooms? Join Hope as she busts the balance myth wide open and teaches you ways to effectively establish classroom habits and planning practices that will help you set your sights on high quality and equitable education for all students.

Keynote with Andre Deshotel
In the Heat of the Moment: Real-Time Skills for De-Escalating Student Behavior

10:15 a.m.–11:30 a.m.

From flipped chairs to frustrated math meltdowns — and everything in between — this high-energy, interactive keynote equips educators with practical, in-the-moment strategies to confidently de-escalate behavior and protect instructional time without losing connection, composure, or classroom momentum.

Even in classrooms with strong routines and proactive systems, challenging behaviors may still arise. The difference-maker is not whether behavior occurs — it’s how we intentionally respond when it does.

In this powerful session, educators will:

• Explore accessible, brain-based neuroscience to better understand behavior as communication.
• Learn practical de-escalation strategies that can be used immediately in real classrooms.
• See modeled examples of intentional teacher responses during difficult moments.
• Discover how to interrupt negative behavior cycles while preserving student dignity and classroom safety.
• Strengthen their ability to respond with clarity, confidence, and consistency under pressure.

This session is packed with real-world insight, actionable strategies, and empowering tools educators can immediately apply to create calmer, safer, and more productive learning environments — so they can spend less time putting out fires — and more time igniting learning.

12:30 p.m.–1:45 p.m.

PreK–2^nd Grade - The Mad Science of Reading with Amelia Capotosta

Teaching reading is an established science. While this science may not be new,it is something that needs to be implemented widely. But does all this science make you a little frazzled? And is the Science of Reading only the structure of words? This is only one ingredient in the mad science of it all! Join Amelia as she converges it all to show that science-based reading can be exciting while also being the most effective way to teach reading!

3^rd–5^th Grade - Whole Brain on Fire: Simple Moves, Big Impact with Andre Deshotel

What if the biggest shift in your classroom isn’t doing more—but making small, intentional moves that naturally pull students into learning?

This high-energy, hands-on breakout blends Whole Brain Teaching with brain-based instructional strategies to help you build classrooms that are more connected, more focused, and more actively engaged—without adding complexity or extra work.

• Together, we’ll explore how to:
• Capture and sustain student attention with purposeful, brain-aligned moves
• Build a connected classroom culture from day one
• Keep students thinking, talking, moving, and processing throughout learning
• Increase participation and accountability across all learners
• Reduce off-task behavior by making engagement the default

You won’t just hear about the strategies—you’ll experience them through modeling, collaboration, and interactive structures designed for immediate classroom use.

You’ll leave with simple, ready-to-use moves that create immediate impact—fueling stronger participation, energized thinking, and deeper learning in every classroom.

6^th–12^th Grade - Teach Your Class Off with CJ Reynolds

This session blends practical classroom strategies with real-world stories, humor, classroom management, engagement ideas, relationship-building, and ways to create a classroom environment students genuinely want to be part of. My goal is always to give teachers ideas they can immediately use while also helping them reconnect with why they got into teaching in the first place.

Leadership - Your School’s Instructional Playbook (Leadership Edition) with Hope King

Victory in student learning and growth starts with a solid game plan. Teachers… Grab your playbooks (and your whistles), because it's time to step onto the field in the GYTO Instructional Arena as we work together to blend the art and science of teaching to create a game-winning strategy for EVERY lesson.

Join Hope for this interactive planning workshop, as she shows you how to quarterback the perfect blend of research, curriculum, standards, and cognitive rigor with the finesse of a true playmaker. In a league dominated by the science of education and new curriculums, we've inadvertently left classrooms longing for the game-winning touch that makes teaching and learning truly transformative. This session will propel you to the heart of instructional impact by rediscovering what truly leads to academic results with tried-and-true best practices that will transform any curriculum, lesson, or program, into a dynamic play that energizes your students, keeps them engaged, and drives academic growth for every student.

1:55 p.m.–3:10 p.m.

PreK–2^nd Grade - The Star Strategy: Differentiation that Stands Out with Amelia Capotosta

In every classroom, students come with unique needs, especially those who are reading below grade level. This session is designed to help you create flexible, engaging small groups that support learners at multiple grade levels while ensuring every student can grow and thrive.

Like the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who practice precision and teamwork to dazzle the crowd, your small groups can bring energy, focus, and purpose to literacy instruction. Grounded in research this session will provide you with evidence-based practices to tailor instruction for all learners.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Informal Data Collection: Use quick, actionable assessments to identify reading gaps and form skill-based small groups.
• Planning for Multiple Grades: Design flexible group structures and lesson plans that address a range of grade-level expectations while scaffolding for below-grade-level readers.
• Engaging Instructional Strategies: Implement fun, targeted activities for phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary that meet students where they are while challenging them to grow.
• Fluid Grouping: Learn how to keep groups dynamic by regularly reassessing and reshuffling based on student progress and needs.
• Building Confidence: Use strategies that engage struggling readers and build their confidence to take risks and succeed.

By the end of this session, you’ll leave with a game plan to organize, instruct, and adapt your small group literacy instruction—no matter your students’ starting point or grade level. Let’s ensure that your small groups truly shine, helping every student become a star in their own literacy journey!

Are you ready to bring focus and excitement to your literacy small groups? Join us to make your teaching sparkle across every grade!

3^rd–5^th Grade - Systems That Stick: The Instructional Systems Every Classroom Needs with Hope King

If you constantly feel like you’re repeating directions, redirecting behavior, chasing engagement, or carrying the weight of the lesson alone…this session is for you.

The truth is: Strong classrooms are not built on constant reminders. They are built on systems.

In this highly practical workshop, you’ll learn the instructional systems that create smoother lessons, stronger student accountability, increased engagement, and more consistent results without adding more to your plate. From response systems and engagement structures to transitions, movement, partner talk, small groups, and real-time data collection…you’ll walk away with ready-to-implement systems you can use immediately.

Because when students know exactly what is expected and systems become routine… everything changes.

This session will help you:

• Build instructional systems that increase engagement and participation
• Create accountability structures where every student responds every time
• Reduce off-task behavior through intentional instructional delivery
• Streamline classroom routines and transitions
• Collect real-time data without stopping instruction
• Create consistency that leads to stronger outcomes

Less chaos. Less repeating yourself. More learning. More results.

6^th–12^th Grade - The Classroom Management Blueprint with CJ Reynolds

This session focuses on practical classroom management systems that actually work in real classrooms. Teachers walk away with strategies for routines, transitions, expectations, student buy-in, classroom flow, and creating structure without losing joy, creativity, or connection.

Leadership - In the Heat of the Moment: Real-Time Skills for De-Escalating Behavior with Andre Deshotel

What if the biggest shift in your classroom isn’t doing more—but making small, intentional moves that naturally pull students into learning?

This high-energy, hands-on breakout blends Whole Brain Teaching with brain-based instructional strategies to help you build classrooms that are more connected, more focused, and more actively engaged—without adding complexity or extra work.

Together, we’ll explore how to:

• Capture and sustain student attention with purposeful, brain-aligned moves
• Build a connected classroom culture from day one
• Keep students thinking, talking, moving, and processing throughout learning
• Increase participation and accountability across all learners
• Reduce off-task behavior by making engagement the default

You won’t just hear about the strategies—you’ll experience them through modeling, collaboration, and interactive structures designed for immediate classroom use.

You’ll leave with simple, ready-to-use moves that create immediate impact—fueling stronger participation, energized thinking, and deeper learning in every classroom.