If you'd like more information about obtaining a copy of any of these online presentations, please contact Ann Fiene, AESA Executive Assistant.
Cybersecurity Funding Available for ESAs and Member Districts
Presented Wednesday, October 19, 2022
for more information, contact David Ludwig, Director of Education Services
The Federal Government recently announced the availability of a State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) with $1 Billion in funding appropriated over a 4-year period. ResoluteGuard, an AESA Business Partner, is supporting ESAs in their grant funding request for member districts.
Act now . . . the application deadline is rapidly approaching! Join us to learn more about this funding opportunity and how the Cybersecurity Grant goals and objectives align with ResoluteGuard’s SMART-CYBER ACTION PLANTM.
Jon Ebert is a Licensed Professional Counselor at E-Therapy. He has worked with youth and families in both public and private settings for the past 20 years. In addition, Jon has spent the last 12 years focusing on mental health training programs and supports that equip and empower teachers in their daily work with students. He has also had the privilege of providing support to military students and their families concerning youth mental health, family dynamics, and transition. Currently, Jon is focusing his efforts on working directly with students, school districts, and families to strengthen their ability to recognize and respond to those who may be in distress.
NEW Federal STOP School Violence Act Grant Funding
School safety is not defined by one product, one process, or one person. It is comprehensive, integrated, and requires the efforts of students, staff, and innovative solutions with committed partners.
When it comes to the above STOPit Solutions has you and your member districts covered. Our team and our solutions address these needs.
We match funding with schools that need it. We are domain experts around STOP School Violence Act grants and the DOJ systems that govern their implementation.
We provide:
Technical assistance to respond to program managers and clear hurdles
Program assistance with Performance Reports, FFR’s and other program reporting requirements
Advisory support to facilitate timely availability of funding and deployment of services
Over the past five years we have managed 16 ESA/ESC State-rollout programs with solutions to help protect more than 2,000 schools and 800,000 students and staff.
FREE Webinar: The Time is Now to Improve Your Cyber Security and Qualify For The Best Renewal Terms In The Face Of Rising Insurance Costs
Recorded Thursday, January 20, 2022Contact David Ludwig at dludwig@resoluteguard.com to receive a copy of the recording.
AESA is proud to announce ResoluteGuard’s Cyber Insurance Renewal Module!
Presenters:
Jeff SchobelCEOResoluteGuard
David LudwigDirector, Education ServicesResoluteGuard
Please join us for this webinar introducing ResoluteGuard’s Cyber Insurance Renewal Module to support you and your member districts' efforts to qualify for the Best Cyber Insurance Terms while improving your Cyber Security Risk Profile. The webinar will be approximately 30-minutes in length and includes a live Q&A as well as time for your valuable feedback.
K-12 School Districts have been specifically targeted for attack by Cyber-Predators, causing an increase in insurance claims. Insurance Companies are responding by requiring more detailed questionnaires to be submitted in order to assess your risk profile and determine Cyber-Insurance Renewal Terms.
Premiums are more than doubling, deductibles are more than doubling, while coverage limits are decreasing. K-12 School Districts need to act now to address these insurance renewal considerations in order to qualify for the best insurance coverage premiums and terms.
What can you expect in the ResoluteGuard webinar?
1. What to Expect from your Cyber Insurance Carrier in 2022
We will detail the specific questions Insurance Companies are asking, and how you can provide the fact-based responses to be in the best position to qualify for the best 2022 cyber insurance renewal terms. These questionnaires will be distributed in February and March for July/ August renewals, leaving little time to take the remedial actions necessary to improve your risk profile. We will detail how you can identify and take the most significant actions possible with the resources and time you have available.
2. The Benefits of implementing ResoluteGuard’s Cyber Insurance Renewal Module.
We work with your administrative and technical resources to:
assess your current risk profile,
provide the fact-based responses to these Insurance questionnaires
identify and support the necessary actions mandated for coverage
Maximize your efforts within the short insurance renewal time window.
Who Should Attend? Executive Directors; Technology Directors; CIO’s
Can't make it? Contact David Ludwig at dludwig@resoluteguard.com to receive a recording, click HERE to schedule a personalized demo with yourself and/or Technology team.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
The ResoluteGuard Team
Administrative Support Professionals . . . It's Time to Prioritize You!
It's been almost two years since "COVID" became a permanent part of our vocabulary. While much of "the storm" seems to have passed, the aftermath lingers. Now the question is, what have we learned and, more importantly, how can we thrive moving forward?
Join Todd Whitthorne, the Chief Inspiration Officer at Wondr Health, for a lively discussion on how to maximize both your physical AND emotional health...and why taking care of YOU should be a priority right now.
Meet our motivator . . .
Todd Whitthorne is recognized as one of the country's leading public speakers regarding health, wellbeing, and productivity. He's also the author of Fit Happens!...Simple Steps for a Healthier, More Productive Life!
In addition, Todd serves as the Chief Inspiration Officer for Wondr Health, a Dallas-based company dedicated to improving the health and productivity of organizations nationwide. The company currently serves more than 800 clients and positively impacts over 250,000 lives annually.
Prior to joining Wondr in 2013, Todd spent 14 years as a senior executive at The Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. The Emmy award-winning broadcaster is an honors graduate of UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology and exercise physiology. He and his wife Kathy live in Coppell, Texas. They have two grown children and five awesome grandkids.
Proactive Cybersecurity Risk Management Program Webinar for AESA Members!
This webinar introduces you to ResoluteGuard, the leading Proactive Cybersecurity Risk Management Program available to your member districts to identify network vulnerabilities, harden networks, and protect assets against Cyber Criminal intrusions.
Guest Speaker:
Phoebe Bailey
Director
Southwest Arkansas ESC
Presenter:
Jeff Schobel
CEO
ResoluteGuard
Having cyber liability insurance is great, but do your member districts comply with the requirements specified by the insurance provider? If your answer is ‘don’t know,' chances are the liability insurance provider will deny claims. Learn how ResoluteGuard partners with AESA members with a proactive cybersecurity risk management program for your member districts.
What can you expect in the ResoluteGuard webinar?
1) An overview of ResoluteGuard’s services, including:
Unlimited Vulnerability Assessments – Identify cybersecurity risks and provide remedial actions needed to improve a district's cybersecurity posture and minimize risk. The program includes unlimited assessments during the year to support continuous improvement.
Regulatory Compliance - an alliance of both security and compliance, in a systematic and controlled way is the first step in reducing risk. This alliance will ensure that security controls won’t atrophy, and all the required documentation and policies are accessible for auditing.
ResoluteGuard’s 6-Step Process – Learn how our cybersecurity experts engage with your members that result in minimal engagement time.
Cyber Liability Insurance – We’ll discuss the requirements carriers are forcing on your members so they can continue providing coverage in the event of a breach or ransomware incident. Insurance carriers are reducing coverage at higher deductibles and lower limits for your members.
2) The benefits of implementing ResoluteGuard’s Cybersecurity Risk Management Program for your member districts, with an emphasis on our Partner Marketing Program maximizing member engagement.
3) Share the common vulnerability findings of K-12 districts that enable them to take action immediately.
Contact David Ludwig at dludwig@resoluteguard.com for more information or schedule a personalized demo with your technology team HERE.
Grow Your Microsoft Education Training Muscle to Support Your Local Schools
Join Maggie Ojeda from Texas Region 1 ESC as she shares their journey to become certified Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Trainers. She will discuss why this was valuable to the ESC, how they got started, examples of successes with local schools, and opportunities for growing revenue for their service center. You will leave the webinar with actionable next steps on how you can get started on your journey to provide Microsoft Education professional learning offerings to your local schools.
Learn more about Maggie . . .
Magdalena Ojeda is currently serving as a high school assistant principal at South Texas ISD. Maggie just transitioned from supporting educators as a learning resources integration specialist at Region 1 ESC in Edinburg, Texas in which she had the opportunity to grow services to assist our local area in impacting teaching and learning with technology. She has served in public education for twenty years in such roles as elementary teacher, technology integration specialist, college readiness supervisor, A.V.I.D director, and English language arts-reading specialist. She has conducted STEM camps for 6th-12th grade levels and has pioneered esports in education in the Rio Grande Valley region.
Teaching & Learning with Microsoft 365 for Education
Research has repeatedly shown that Check-in/Check-out effectively decreases problem behaviors and increases academic achievement . . . when implemented as designed. Improve implementation fidelity by training your staff on the essential components of this powerful intervention. Join us as we develop a Check-in/Check-out program, discuss and model implementation, and create graphs to progress monitor using Behavior Advantage, making the process both efficient and practical.
Any educator, from administrators to paraprofessionals, is invited to join this workshop intended to build capacity across your site to successfully manage student behaviors across the Tier 2 and Tier 3 spectrums.
As a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, Aaron founded Behavior Advantage to help educators use their resources more efficiently to address challenging student behaviors. Behavior Advantage successfully trains and supports thousands of educators nationwide each year. Behavior Advantage combines over 20 years of expertise, intuitive software, and online clinical support to deliver a proven model, evidence-based practices, and progress monitoring solutions to school teams anywhere. Join us to see how our intuitive, easy to use software helps educators solve behavior problems across educational settings and populations!
Simple Behavior Intervention Plans: Road Maps to Change Any Student's Behavior
Recorded March 22, 2021
Access the webinar recording HERE and a copy of Aaron's PowerPoint HERE.
The large majority of behavior problems in schools are not serious or severe, but disrupt the learning environment on a regular basis. Proactively addressing these behavior challenges with evidence-based strategies reduces the risk of these issues growing into larger problems. A Simple Behavior Plan designed to prevent, teach, and respond provides educators the road maps they need to effectively and efficiently manage these behavior challenges. This workshop shows educators how to create and implement individualized Simple Behavior Plans using Behavior Advantage, making the process both efficient and practical.
Compensatory Services, What Now? E-Therapy ? A Solution
Join Annmarie Iascone, E-Therapy Director of Business Development as she talks about compensatory services and how you can get up to date and stay compliant even if you are remote! This webinar is an opportunity to have an open conversation about how E-Therapy can help you and your district feel confident about serving your special education students without burning out your therapists and administrators.
About the presenter:
Annmarie Iascone, Director of Business Development – E-Therapy
Annmarie started her career as a high school English teacher and has spent 20 years in different roles in Education. Working with companies like Scholastic, Inc and Blackbaud she has always had a passion for making sure students get the services that they need to succeed. As Director of Business Development at E-Therapy, Annmarie works with school partners to make sure their special education teams are equipped with what they need to deliver compensatory services to their students virtually whether it be through providing a remote therapist or licensing out their premiere platform STAR.
Google 101 reviews basic Google application skills such as sharing Google apps and within Drive, formatting with styles, lists, and indents as well as adding images and links.
Google 102 focuses on Google Drive and Google Forms including designing with templates, section heading, attachments, branching, and reports/responses.
Discover how to build a quick survey, poll, or other type of form in minutes. You cancollect responses in real time and use built-in analytics to evaluate them as they are submitted to easily gather the information your organization needs.
Naturally Slim: How to Thrive in Times of Challenge!
Education has always been a demanding profession, but the heat really got turned up in March of this year. We all are experiencing varying levels of fear, uncertainty, and record levels of stress…and so are the populations we serve. Join us for a candid, timely conversation with Dr. Dana Labat, a clinical psychologist who will share practical advice on how to thrive through adversity without burning yourself out. This session is exactly what the doctor ordered!
Introduction to OneNote
Recorded Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Access the session recording HERE and a copy of Dr. Gillespy's slide deck HERE.
Dr. Geri Gillespy is back to share her expertise in OneNote with us!
This digital note-taking application provides a single place to keep all your notes, plans, and information. This tool will assist you with everything you need to help manage your life at home, at work, or at school.
With teaching becoming more digital, it is important that everyone understands security fundamentals related to remote work and learning.
Please join Nick Caromano as he talks about the four pillars of security within education while sharing the importance of a security strategy beyond a school’s physical campus.
This webinar will provide an overview of how to manage risk, protect against threats, and safeguard sensitive data. See high level examples of cyber threats and how Microsoft is responding.
About the presenter . . .
Nick Caromano has been in the IT industry for well over 14 years ranging from SMB to Enterprise, sprinkling in some SLG, and now living in the world of Education. He has a huge passion for security and has the honor to help customers learn the “art of the possible” with Microsoft Security solutions. Nick is currently the Sr. Security & Compliance Technical Specialist for the South Central region of the US in Microsoft Education and works with K12, Higher Education, and DoE’s alike.
STOPit SafeScreen: A Comprehensive COVID-19 Health Screening System for Schools
Recorded Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Access the recording HERE and the PowerPoint presentation HERE.
Join us to learn more about STOPit SafeScreen, a new HIPAA-compliant health reporting system that screens, identifies, and stops COVID-19 exposed or symptomatic individuals BEFORE they enter your schools.
SafeScreen includes:
Daily screening reminders & reporting
Easy-to-use entry badge system
Real-time 2-way Messaging
Fully-featured Admin Management System
Deep Customization for every school’s needs
Re-open safely and manage your schools’ COVID-19 screening process simply and efficiently with STOPit SafeScreen.
This webinar will be 45 minutes in length and include a live Q&A.
Meet the presenter: Tim Makris, CEO, STOPit Solutions
Tim was named the company’s Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors in March 2020 just days before the COVID pandemic hit the United States. Tim was previously Co-Founder and Managing Director at Sandy Hook Promise, one of the nation’s leading school safety organizations.
Tim is a proven leader who has excelled at strategic leadership and execution and was chosen to lead STOPit to accelerate growth within K-12 schools, higher education, local and federal government, and within the workplace. With more than 32 years in leadership roles in sales, marketing, and general management at Proctor & Gamble, Gillette, Kellogg, Thule, and Sandy Hook Promise, Tim has demonstrated a strong track record in initiating and leading change, driving results, and innovating within highly competitive markets. Additionally, Tim brings business acumen, integrity, passion for diversity and inclusion, and commitment to team development. These qualities have allowed him to be very successful in all he has been part of and now he brings them to STOPit Solutions.
In addition to his new commitment to STOPit Solutions, Tim will also continue his passion of giving back through his various Board and Advisory roles with local and national non-profit organizations, associations, and universities. Tim lives in Connecticut with his fiancée, son, and daughter. Tim is an avid “outdoorist” who loves mountain biking, trail running, kayaking, and camping. He also plays a bit of hockey in an effort to relive his college playing days at the University of Michigan.
Back to School Help: Using Microsoft Tools & Resources to Support Blended & Remote Classroom Instruction & Learning
Recorded August 27, 2020
Access the recording HERE and a pdf of the PowerPoint presentation HERE.
BIG NEWS . . . Help with Back to School (BTS) for K-12 learning organizations!
Tips and resources for success including simple family guides to help with accessing Teams at home:
Community Health Magazine Publisher Mark Hornung and COO of Digital Operations Zach Payer share lessons from educational entities who have increased employee engagement and helped deliver better health care outcomes.
Example #1: An upstate New York teachers health plan was struggling to get the membership including district employees involved and engaged. In just 24 months their participation jumped more than five-fold from 2,500 to over 17,000!
Example #2: A 70,000 person health plan in western Pennsylvania saved millions of dollars by reversing the trend of colon cancer within their male population using a series of personalized articles and anecdotal success stories delivered directly to the rank and file.
Behavior Advantage combines over 20 years of expertise, intuitive software, and on-line clinical support to deliver a proven model, evidence-based practices, and progress monitoring solutions to school teams anywhere. Join us to see how our intuitive, easy to use software helps educators solve behavior problems across educational settings and populations!
Access a recording of the webinar HEREand a copy of the PowerPoint presentation HERE.
Connecting Careers to Learning--Answering the Age-Old Question: “When will I ever use this . . . ”
Recorded Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Why should I learn this stuff? This is an increasingly common question in math classes that suggests students are struggling to find purpose in their learning. In this session, we will explore a new career-focused math curriculum from Pathway2Careers that places ALGEBRA and GEOMETRY in the context of high-value career opportunities. Lesson samples will be explored that align with Common Core State Standards in algebra or geometry and demonstrate the real application of these standards in authentic on-the-job examples. Seeing the why behind the what can enhance both motivation and retention
This webinar is brought to you by AESA Business Partner Corwin.
Distance Learning Up Close: Teaching for Engagement and Impact in Any Setting presented by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie
Recorded Monday, August 3, 2020
Let’s admit it: the pandemic teaching of Spring 2020 was less about distance learning and more about crisisteaching. But if we start now, we have the opportunity to prepare for distance learning in the Fall with purpose and intent—all the while maintaining an indelible focus on equity. After all, effective teaching is effective teaching, no matter where it occurs.
In this webinar Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie draw on their newly published Distance Learning Playbookto reveal what works best in teaching, assessing, and planning in an online environment--per 25+ years of Visible Learning® research and evidence. Learn how best to advise teachers to:
Get started during the first days of school
Manage teacher-student relationships from a distance
Plan instructional units, engaging task design
Obtain equitable feedback for assessment and grading considerations
Another big benefit of the webinar? All attendees will obtain a free e-book after the event! Read the book's introduction here.
Research-Based Practice to Improve Student Math Outcomes
Presenters l to r: Lynn Lamers, Holly Nicholls
Recorded Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Access the recording HERE and a copy of the slide deck presented HERE.
Math proficiency is a key indicator of future academic success, and yet so many of our students are not achieving a basic level of proficiency. Join us to examine common myths about math instruction and assessment, and how they impact classroom practices. We’ll look at what the evidence-based research says about how to improve student math outcomes, as well as how Spring Math has infused that research into its program.
Lynn leads the Sourcewell Technology implementation team. As an educator, she has over 20 years’ experience as a classroom teacher. Following her classroom career, she served six years as a district data coach and Math Coordinator.
Prior to joining Sourcewell Technology, she was employed by two nationally known assessment companies, traveling the country training districts on data-based decision making. In her current role, she helps districts implement and fully utilize our many software solutions.
Holly is the National Client Manager for Sourcewell Technology. Holly engages with educators daily who are searching for tools and solutions that drive student achievement in the classroom. Holly has a passion for education and enjoys working with educators and recommending tools to educators that improve academic outcomes in their classrooms. Prior to Holly joining Sourcewell Technology, she spent time at large curriculum and technology companies providing print and digital solutions that engaged students and built confident teachers.
Behavior Advantage: Building Legally Defensible & Clinically Sound Behavior Support Systems
As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Aaron Stabel founded Behavior Advantage to help educators use their resources more efficiently to address challenging student behaviors. Behavior Advantage successfully trains and supports thousands of educators nationwide each year. Behavior Advantage combines over 20 years of expertise, intuitive software, and on-line clinical support to deliver a proven model, evidence-based practices, and progress monitoring solutions to school teams anywhere. Join us to see how Behavior Advantage can be used to create Simple Behavior Intervention Plans for any student:
• Saving hours of staff time
• Building internal capacity
• Improving service quality with evidence-based practices
• Preparing for various post-COVID situations using a flexible behavior support model
All attendees will receive free Simple Behavior Intervention Plan and Implementation Checklist templates to share with your staff back home.
Access the webinar recording HERE and the presentation slide deck HERE.
Using New Smart Phone App for Easier/Custom Access to Data . . . MindShine introduces The Interactive Voice Assistant (TIVA)
Recorded Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Join the owners of MindShine Technologies as they demonstrate their new smart phone app, TIVA, that allows service agencies and school districts to quickly access important data.
EXAMPLE ONE: School Bus Accident
Administrator arrives on the scene and quickly speaks into their cell phone: “I need all the names and emergency contact numbers for students on bus 129”.
Within a few seconds, that information appears on their phone.
EXAMPLE TWO: Student falls on the school playground and lies unconscious.
The teacher on duty quickly speaks into their cell phone: “I need 8th grader, Cindy Washington’s emergency contact numbers”.
Within a few seconds, that information appears on their phone.
TIVA can be customized by agencies and districts to include common FAQs, staff and parents can then use TIVA to get answers to their questions. As schools reopen, timelines and plans can be provided through TIVA.
TIVA uses a neural network around a database in order to recognize natural language requests, quickly and simple.
Mike Fuller, Director at Muskingum Valley ESC, will join us to discuss his plans to introduce and support TIVA in Ohio school districts.
WATCH THE RECORDING to learn how TIVA can make important data access easy and quick.
Learning Readiness with EyeSpy 20/20 during COVID-19
Recorded Tuesday, June 23, 2020
EyeSpy 20/20 uses the gold standard in vision screening and is the fastest, most accurate screening device that also records the results of each screening in “real-time.” EyeSpy 20/20 is a computerized kid-friendly “game” that ensures every student has access to an accurate and reliable vision assessment.
Learn how EyeSpy 20/20 can be added to your students mandated annual screening, health and record checks. In this unique webinar we will discuss how EyeSpy 20/20 is being used, can be used, and will be used during learning readiness assessments being performed nationally.
Access a recording of the webinar HEREand the slide deck HERE.
Next Steps: How to use Microsoft Teams to Support Staff & Professional Development Across Schools & Districts
Recorded Thursday, June 18, 2020
Now that we have learned how to use some of the applications and tools available in Microsoft Teams, let's discuss how to strategically use this program to support staff and provide professional development opportunities. During this session Dr. Geri Gillespy will share some examples, tips, and stories from her experiences supporting staff, districts, and families using Microsoft 365 Education tools with Teams as the hub.
During the first session, we scratched the surface of how Microsoft Teams can help you streamline your workflow and assist in the management of your educational service agency. In this session we will explore using Teams calls and meetings, as well as demonstrate how to streamline professional development and staff support. Learn how to utilize different team structures to create mentor teams, book studies, staff working groups, and other types of professional development needs.
Teams 101: The Basics
(repeat of the May 13th webinar)
presented by Dr. Geri Gillespy, Program Manager, Microsoft Education Engagement Team
Calling all ESAs, this webinar is for YOU! Join Dr. Geri Gillespy as she walks you through Microsoft Teams and how it supports the administrative side of education. This is an introduction to the Microsoft Teams platform demonstrating how it streamlines your workflow and assists in the management of your Education Service Agency. Learn the basics of how to communicate and collaborate within your organization, including file management, organizing Teams channels, setting up meetings and much more.
COVID-19: Preparing your ESA for an Uncertain Future
Recorded Wednesday, May 28, 2020
ESA executives have spent the past few weeks in triage as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, moving operations to a virtual environment and making decisions about upcoming activities, meetings, events, PD, and general operations. Planning for the future is the next logical step. It’s time to start asking questions like these: If we postpone our PD or change it to virtual, how will that impact attendance and revenue? How do I stay connected to the school districts in my region? How will that impact my cash flow? Should I take advantage of a government loan program? How should I manage my payroll expenses?
This webcast will explore how ESA Executives are developing a plan with multiple options to address the rapid changes occurring in these challenging times. Planning ahead for the new and uncertain normal.
Panelists:
Pam Wells, Executive Director, Region 4 ESC, Texas
During the first session, we scratched the surface of how Microsoft Teams can help you streamline your workflow and assist in the management of your educational service agency. In this session we will explore using Teams calls and meetings, as well as demonstrate how to streamline professional development and staff support. Learn how to utilize different team structures to create mentor teams, book studies, staff working groups, and other types of professional development needs.
An Educational Partnership with Microsoft: The Story of a Service Agency's Strategy & Success
Recorded Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Come hear the story of Region 4 in Houston, Texas and how they partnered with Microsoft to provide remote professional development to over 764 people in just three weeks! Dr. Allegra McGrew, Director of Publishing & Digital Learning, and Diane Cameron, Secretary, will share their strategy of utilizing all the resources and benefits of a Microsoft partnership.
Learn additional information about leveraging many of the amazing free Microsoft education support resources, from the Microsoft Education Community learning portal to the Microsoft hacking STEM curriculum, as well as virtual graduations and all the fun and interactive virtual field trip options.
Teams 101 for Administrative Support Professionals
presented by Dr. Geri Gillespy, Program Manager, Microsoft Education Engagement TeamRecorded Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Calling all ESAs, this webinar is for YOU! Join Dr. Geri Gillespy as she walks you through Microsoft Teams and how it supports the administrative side of education. This is an introduction to the Microsoft Teams platform demonstrating how it streamlines your workflow and assists in the management of your Education Service Agency. Learn the basics of how to communicate and collaborate within your organization, including file management, organizing Teams channels, setting up meetings and much more.
If you are an administrative assistant, CEO or any other administrative support professional this is a webinar you will not want to miss!
Geri’s Digital Integration Team supported the implementation, training, and evaluation of technology integration at all levels, K-12 throughout the largest school district in Utah, including full implementation of Office 365 and Teams across all 57 buildings. She is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Fellow and Trainer and was awarded the ISTE Make it Happen award for Leadership in Educational Technology at the NCCE 2018 conference.
Anonymous Reporting & Training for Schools
Recorded Wednesday, April 29, 2020
STOPit Solutions is the nation’s leading anonymous reporting system that teaches how to identify and get help for individuals displaying violent, unsafe or harmful behaviors. To date, over 6,000 K-12 schools nationwide use STOPit Solutions resulting in thousands of lives being saved and intervened upon. Join STOPit Solutions to learn more about life-saving programs and how to take advantage of offsetting school ESA-related costs BEFORE the Federal Government’s June 9, 2020 STOP Act Grant submission deadline.
E-Therapy: An Online Therapist Training, Special Education Solution, Making you the Teletherapy Expert
Tuesday, April 28, 2020 2:30 pm Eastern (1:30 pm Central; 12:30 pm Mountain; 11:30 am Pacific)
E-Therapy provides a comprehensive platform solution webinar that supports districts' special education programs. This webinar will address how E-Therapy is extending the use of their platform and therapist training program to SPED Directors, In-House Therapy staff and paraprofessionals when working remotely. Their STAR platform addresses how to directly train therapists to become E-Therapists, supervise paraprofessionals, document student progress, track data collection, assign HIPAA compliant, private and secure therapy rooms, and maintain total oversight of a remote Special Education Program. E-Therapy, getting your program quickly and safely online.
Access a recording of the webinar HERE, the PowerPoint presentation HERE, and more information HERE.
Responding to COVID-19: Helping Your Members with Financial Planning
Recorded Friday, April 24, 2020
This webinar is an online discussion about the financial challenges school districts are facing as a result of COVID-19, and the critical role you can play in assisting your districts in addressing these challenges. AESA Executive Director Joan Wade along with analytics experts from Forecast5 Analytics, reviewed strategies for year-end projection modeling, multi-year forecasting, and stakeholder communication and transparency during this unprecedented time.
Participants learned about relevant financial considerations for districts, regardless of their location, supported by examples from around the country and explored a checklist of budget implications that districts can use to guide their efforts in determining COVID-19’s impact on their financial situations.
Access a recording of the webinar HERE and the presentation slide deck HERE.
Resources & Tips for Remote Professional Development
Recorded Thursday, April 16, 2020Presented by Cathy Cavanaugh, Director of Research & PD, Microsoft Education and Becky Keene, Director, Content & Professional Learning, i2e
In-person interactions have temporarily paused but the need for teacher professional development still exists. Join the Microsoft Education Team as they share free on-demand resources as well as tip and tricks for delivering live virtual PD.
SLA Management will work with its school districts to keep as many of its emergency feeding locations open for as long as possible, but we want to do more. In this webinar, you will learn more about emergency feeding.
The goal is for you to walk away with a better understanding of how to make meals accessible to families while schools are shut down. Please join us and this incredible movement!
Accessibility & Remote Learning-Free Tools to Help All Learners
Recorded Wednesday, April 1, 2020
With many schools moving rapidly to remote learning, it is critical that no student is left behind. Microsoft Education has free tools and assistive technology to support students who struggle with reading, writing math and communication. This session will showcase how these free Learning Tools can be used to support distance learning for students, including those with learning differences such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, or a combination of any of the broad range of unique student abilities. Details, demonstrations and examples will be shared about several new and improved sets of features across Microsoft products, all of which are free to schools and can be used immediately.
Nearly all schools have closed their buildings and campuses to contain the spread of coronavirus. As a result, the entire industry is rapidly adopting online and remote learning models. For over 22 years, schools have trusted ClassLink to deliver online learning. Wanting to help schools transition to e-learning models in 90 minutes, we created ClassLink Lite and are delivering it to schools through our partnership with AESA.
In this webinar, learn how ESAs can help schools make the switch with:
Access - Single Sign-on gives students and staff instant access to all their online resources from one location and on any device.
Analytics - Ensure teachers and students remain engaged when remote learning days are in effect.
My Files - Simplify remote access to school folders and files. Bring together your school network and cloud storage into one location including Google Drive, O365, and Dropbox.
As early as 75 years ago, ESAs have been guiding and supporting schools through both successful and difficult times. That leadership is especially critical during challenges like what schools face today.
Please join this webinar to learn how your ESA can help local districts improve remote learning through an easy to use, and now, easy to activate, single sign-on portal with analytics.
For more information, see this PRESS RELEASE from ClassLink.
How to Implement Remote Learning During a Pandemic
Microsoft Education has free tools, resources, and support to help schools with remote learning. Whether you need a full, free, solution like Microsoft Teams for Education, or free tools to complement existing systems you already have, Microsoft is ready to help support schools in your state. Microsoft has also recently created a new Remote Learning global community. The goal of this extended professional learning network is to connect Microsoft product teams with educators, administrators and school leaders who are looking to collaborate, learn, and support with implementing remote learning.
Meet the presenters . . .
Geri Gillespy, Program Manager, Microsoft Education Engagement Team
Geri’s Digital Integration Team supported the implementation, training, and evaluation of technology integration at all levels, K-12 throughout the largest school district in Utah, including full implementation of Office 365 and Teams across all 57 buildings. She is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Fellow and Trainer and was awarded the ISTE Make it Happen award for Leadership in Educational Technology at the NCCE 2018 conference.
Mike Tholfsen, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft Education Team
Mike’s team focuses on Inclusive Classroom, Learning Tools and OneNote Class/Staff Notebooks. He is passionate about education and has been regularly working with students and teachers around the world over the past ten years to create products that improve student outcomes.
AESA Business Partner PlanMember Services, in partnership with MidAmerica, brings this FREE webinar to AESA members!
Accumulated Leave Payouts – Reducing Cost While Increasing Value
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
1:00 pm Central Time (2:00 pm Eastern; 12:00 pm Mountain; 11:00 am Pacific)
Dedicated, long-tenured educators often accrue significant leave balances toward the end of their careers. But when paid out in cash at retirement, these leave balances subject both employer and employee to tax consequences. In an era of budgetary pressures for educational agencies and increasing costs for retirees, creative solutions for accumulated leave payout are a powerful method to drive meaningful savings for those who do so much to take care of our communities.
As part of the Workplace Savings Program, PlanMember (in partnership with MidAmerica) will discuss how employers can contribute accumulated leave dollars into qualified retirement plans to generate permanent tax savings for both employer and employee. The webinar will also illustrate how accumulated leave payouts can be used tax-free for employee health care needs — a valuable benefit as educators look to “bridge the gap” between retirement and Medicare eligibility.
February is Career and Technical Education Month®. As part of AESA's ongoing commitment to policy awareness and advocacy, one of our business partners, Pathway 2 Careers, hosted a free webinar to review the Perkins V Policy and its impact on communities and local school districts. The webinar is a short 30-minute review of the significant components of Perkins V, the Local Needs Assessment requirements, and how educational service agencies can be a leading effort for program alignment within each community. Two best practices from ESAs across the country will be shared.
AESA Business Partner Microsoft has information to share with you about cyber security in schools.
Safeguard your students, online and at school . . .
Safety and security are key considerations for students and parents choosing a school. They are also some of the top concerns that educators face today. Schools have become a major target for phishing attacks, ransomware, and data theft. Safeguarding physical and digital security at schools is more critical and complex than ever before.
In this webinar geared toward K-12 schools, you will gain knowledge to help you build your security strategy. Join this webinar to learn:
· How to plan an approach to security that considers how to both protect information online and ensure a safe school environment.
· How smart-cloud technology can automatically address and remediate security threats online.
· How to plan an approach to security that considers both protecting information online and ensuring a safe physical environment.
See how Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 integrate physical and cyber security with sophisticated artificial intelligence that works seamlessly in the background—sharing intelligence and working smarter to protect your campus.
Contact Ann Fiene for a link to access a recording of this free webinar!
October 24, 2019 @ 1:00 pm EST Cyber Security & Risks . . . Is Your ESA Prepared?
Presenters: USI Insurance Services Education Team
In the ever-evolving and increasingly-global cyber security world, it is essential to protect your students, your staff, and your organization. The USI Insurance Services Education team brings decades of experience to identify and address the myriad of complex cyber-related exposures and deliver thoughtful, specific insurance solutions for the education sector.
AESA is partnering with USI Insurance Services to bring you a free webinar, "Cyber Security and Risks – Is your ESA Prepared?" on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 1:00 pm (EST); 12:00 pm (CST); 11:00 am (MST); 10:00 am (PST). Join us to find out what you can do to prevent a cyber incident in your organization. More information . . .
PROVIDING HIGH-IMPACT PROFESSIONAL LEARNING WITH MICROSOFT
Presenters: Robyn Hrivnatz and Steven Anderson
At Microsoft, the mission is "to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more." Because of this, Microsoft has recently partnered with AESA to bring free, professional learning to all member State and Regional Education Service Centers by thought leaders in the field. Join Education leader Steven W. Anderson to discuss how State and Regional Education Service Centers are tasked to provide professional learning to the districts they serve on high-impact instructional strategies, grounded in research, and aligned to federal, state, and local mandates, the challenges Education Service Centers face when supporting learning in their own staff members' knowledge to meet the diverse needs of their districts, and finally, how to bring professional learning on Inclusive Classrooms, Literacy, Technology Leadership, Differentiation, and Initiative Implementation to your agency and the districts you serve through this new Microsoft Partnership.
FOSTERING INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS
Presenters: Mike Tholfsen and Lauren Pittman
This session will discuss what inclusive classrooms and employing accessibility looks like from the standpoint of reading, writing, math and communication. The presenter will be sharing examples from Microsoft Education’s free accessibility suite of tools and including the stories of teachers who have worked with students of all abilities in an inclusive classroom setting.
Learn about:
The benefits of inclusively designed lessons and classrooms employing assistive technology.
Improving learning outcomes for all learners powered by assistive technology tools.
Current updates on Microsoft Education’s reading, writing, math and communication tools.
The power of built-in assistive technology and its impact on both social and normative constructs of today’s classrooms.
Streamlined Collaboration and Professional Learning Communities
Presenters: Cathy Cavanagh and Meredith Roe
As educators take on the role of active change agent in schools and communities, their work has become more complex and dynamic. Continuous embedded collaborative professional learning is now part of the role of many teachers. This session showcases ways in which schools around the world are using collaborative digital learning environments for professional learning communities (PLCs) and networked improvement communities (NICs) for professional development and school improvement.
POVERTY & TRAUMA VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Presenters:
Rebecca Lewis-Pankratz, ESSDACK
Rebecca has experienced a life of poverty. Hear how her personal story has shaped her professional career. She is the Director of ESSDACK (KS) Learning Centers and is helping numerous districts become trauma-responsive in order to both heal trauma and work to solve poverty.
Gerry Briscoe and Martha Gould-Lehe, SERRC-Alaska
Both Gerry and Martha are Senior Associates with the Center on Culturally Proficient Educational Practices. In this quick snapshot, participants will learn a strategy for helping to disrupt the poverty mindset in students. Educators who succeed with students who live in poverty use a pedagogy that is consistent with what research tells us about how people learn.
AESA colleagues presented a virtual conference on the effects of poverty and trauma along with ideas on how to resolve its effects on learning. IF schools truly want to ensure the success of EACH student, what is the one, single factor that, if we can solve it, will have the greatest impact on improving learning and life for all students? Poverty and Trauma
The problem is too big. Schools and communities will never have enough social workers, and counselors to solve it. Schools must mobilize classroom teachers and aides to use the power of science and relationships to help build brains so that students can thrive.
This work is as much about healing and mitigating stress for staff as it is for students - in order to have resilient students we must have resilient staff.
In the sessions, the topics presented included:
Learn more about the effects of poverty and trauma on students and staff.
Gather ideas on how to resolve its effects on learning.
Matthew Toth, VP of Partnerships
Learn more about Maggie . . . 
Nick Caromano has been in the IT industry for well over 14 years ranging from SMB to Enterprise, sprinkling in some SLG, and now living in the world of Education. He has a huge passion for security and has the honor to help customers learn the “art of the possible” with Microsoft Security solutions. Nick is currently the Sr. Security & Compliance Technical Specialist for the South Central region of the US in Microsoft Education and works with K12, Higher Education, and DoE’s alike. 
Tim was named the company’s Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors in March 2020 just days before the COVID pandemic hit the United States. Tim was previously Co-Founder and Managing Director at Sandy Hook Promise, one of the nation’s leading school safety organizations. 
Keeping Employees Healthier While Controlling Costs
Behavior Advantage: Solving Behavior Problems with Technology & Online Clinical Supports
Geri’s Digital Integration Team supported the implementation, training, and evaluation of technology integration at all levels, K-12 throughout the largest school district in Utah, including full implementation of Office 365 and Teams across all 57 buildings. She is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert Fellow and Trainer and was awarded the ISTE Make it Happen award for Leadership in Educational Technology at the NCCE 2018 conference.
