Kansas educators and administrators gathered in Wichita on Wednesday, Oct. 23, for the first day of the 2024 Kansas State Department of Education’s Great Ideas in Education Conference: Lighting the Path Forward. 

The conference, scheduled for Oct. 23-25, in Wichita, focuses on the tools necessary to strengthen school improvement efforts to support each Kansas student. Through professional development and networking opportunities, the conference helps educators and school personnel improve policies and strategies to create safe learning environments and quality teaching and learning practices for each student. 

Chris Perry gave the keynote presentation on Wednesday, focusing on the art and science of effective implementation. Perry has been in education for 20 years, currently serving as vice president of the Baldwin City USD 348 Board of Education and on the East Central Kansas Cooperative in Education (ECKCE) board. He is also the co-founder and executive director of Cultivate Education, LLC., partnering with schools across the country to better implement best practices in education. 

During his keynote presentation, Perry cited research that showed only 33% of educational initiatives/programs are successfully implemented and achieve their stated goals. Of those teachers who implement preventive programs, 41% to 84% change components or procedures over time (i.e., they drift) or discontinue their use. 

So, why is implementation so hard? Perry said the “why” isn’t enough and we forget to account for how difficult change is. We also neglect to account for the time and resources required to increase staff capacity to sustain the initiative. 

“We implement an initiative to solve a problem and sustain the solution,” he said. 

Perry recommended several ways to handle disruptions in the classroom, including: 

• Taking stock of potential triggers, distractions and disruptions for students that originate from the school setting (i.e. bell schedule, passing periods, activity outside the classroom windows, etc.) that consistently happen every day. 
• Teaching staff and students appropriate ways to ignore and handle triggers, distractions and disruptions. 
• Teaching staff and students appropriate ways to minimize the creation of triggers, distractions and disruptions to other students. 

Conference attendees can choose from several breakout sessions, as well as general sessions and a networking opportunity for colleagues in similar job positions, called “Cookies and Conversations.” 

On Wednesday, various breakout sessions were offered that included a range of topics. Some of those were the following:  

• Light the Way with Literacy: Ten Ways to Illuminate Learning for ALL Students 
• How can a Balanced Assessment System Drive Instruction? 
• Playful Learning = High-Quality Instruction 
• The Perfect Marriage of School Counseling and Therapy Dog Work 
• Assessment Literacy 
• MTSS Through a Preschool Lens 
• Standards Alignment: Find the Gaps in Instruction 

 
The second day of the conference resumes on Thursday, Oct. 24, with more than 20 breakout sessions and a panel discussion hosted by KSDE Deputy Commissioner Dr. Ben Proctor with several high school students about what makes a great teacher. The conference will conclude on Friday, Oct. 25 with general session presentations from Dr. Proctor and Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson. 

Stay tuned for next week’s edition of KSDEweekly for a full recap of the 2024 KSDE Great Ideas in Education Conference, Lighting the Path Forward.