Upcoming Events, Trainings and Recognition

November

21: Question, Signal, Stem, Share and Assess (QSSSA) deep dive, 6-7:30 p.m., virtual. Register here. Contact Heather Musil, hjmusil@fhsu.edu, for more information regarding enrollment and fees for graduate credit. 

30: Data entry for Emergency Safety Intervention (ESI) reports begins. Contact Trish Backman, tbackman@ksde.org, with questions.     

December 

3: Kansas MTSS & Alignment preschool team’s standards-based make it-take it event for preschool teachers, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., KU Edwards campus. Register here. Contact Lea Harding at lea@kanasmtss.org with questions. 

3: Kansas MTSS and Alignment regional reading road show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Dodge City, Boot Hill Casino & Resort. Register here. Contact Vicki Cooper, vicki@kansasmtss.org, with questions. 

KSDE is already in the early stages of planning the 2025 Great Ideas in Education Conference since the date of the event has been changed to the last week of July.   

School systems are strongly encouraged to send district leadership teams to the annual conference, now set for July 27-30, at the Hyatt Regency, in Wichita. Learning and collaboration opportunities will emphasize the fundamentals of structured literacy, standards alignment, balanced assessment, and quality instruction.   

This professional development opportunity is for educators to explore what balanced literacy is and how structured literacy is different.  

Attendees will learn the “why” and “how” to make the instructional shifts necessary to teach reading and writing in a way that allows more students to be successful.  

Bring your questions, your colleagues and an interest in learning about literacy practices that can move your school’s literacy initiatives forward. 

English language arts (ELA) teachers for grades 3–12 will learn what text complexity is, why complex text is vital to assist in raising the rigor for our students, and how best to scaffold learning using evidence-based strategies. Structured literacy demands teachers present students with appropriately complex texts, explicitly teaching students to grapple with them.  

Attendees will practice identifying appropriately complex text for their students and explore how to effectively scaffold to leverage productive struggle and student success. 

The KSDE School Bus Safety Unit will host a free transportation basics workshop for transportation directors and supervisors, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., on Dec. 19, at Bishop Professional Development Center, 3601 S.W. 31st Street, in Topeka. Register here.  

These workshops will provide a brief overview of the fundamentals and responsibilities associated with the position along with recent updates, changes and developments in school transportation.  

The Kansas State Department of Education has extended its partnership with Renaissance Learning into the 2025-26 school year. Contact your Account Manager for FastBridge pricing through the state contract.  

Many districts have virtual hours they can use to schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog. See if this applies to you by watching the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire.  

November

15: Curriculum directors meeting, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Bishop Professional Development Center, 3601 S.W. 31st Street, Topeka. Contact Pat Bone, pbone@ksde.org, with questions.

18: KESA 2.0 monthly Zoom update, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Click here for the Zoom link. (Rescheduled due to the Veterans Day holiday.) 

18: Individual Plan of Study (IPS) technical assistance session, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., Orion, Clearwater. Register here. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351, with questions. 

19: Kansas MTSS & Alignment offers behavior intervention protocol training, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, Salina. No cost. Click here to register. Contact Susan Danner, susand@kansasmtss.org, with questions.  

21: Question, Signal, Stem, Share and Assess (QSSSA) deep dive, 6-7:30 p.m., virtual. Register here. Contact Heather Musil, hjmusil@fhsu.edu, for more information regarding enrollment and fees for graduate credit.   

Early childhood professionals, caregivers, community members working to support local child care efforts, and anyone with an interest in child care in Kansas are invited to join a roundtable event to share your experiences with child care in your region.  

This event will be 6:30-8 p.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Abilene Childcare Learning Center 2/Nichols Education Center, 1003 N. Brady Street, in Abilene. Click here to register for this free event that is open to the public.

Kansas is a member state of the MBA Research consortium and that means there are numerous resources available for free to our business teachers.   

During a free webinar from 3:30-4:15 p.m., on Nov. 13, Tammy Cyrus, vice president of professional learning for MBA Research, will lead teachers through creating a state’s connection account and where to find all of the resources that can help in the classroom. 

The KSDE Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) team is offering a special virtual training session for Kansas educators on instructionally embedded assessments to guide classroom instruction, 3-4 p.m., on Nov. 14. Register here. 

Mark your calendars for the remaining 2024-25 Local Consolidated Plan (LCP) quarterly meetings that are for administrators (new and veteran) responsible for LCPs.   

Administrators will receive timely information and more in-depth support from the KSDE Special Education and Title Services team and statewide experts, with an emphasis on upcoming tasks and special topics as needed. 

Veteran educators, anyone considering a career in education, and anyone in between is invited to Bethany College’s education conference, on Feb. 8.  

The deadline to register is Jan. 18.  

The Kansas State Department of Education has extended its partnership with Renaissance Learning into the 2025-26 school year. Contact your Account Manager for FastBridge pricing through the state contract.  

Many districts have virtual hours they can use to schedule a session from the Professional Learning Catalog. See if this applies to you by watching the recording at the 1:37 time stamp. You do not need to hold the session by Dec. 31, but you do need to schedule it before then so that it does not expire.  

Contact scheduling@renaissance.com for more information and/or schedule sessions here. 

8: 2026 Kansas Teacher of the Year nominations due. Instructions for accessing the online application can be found here. Contact Tamla Miller, tmiller@ksde.org, or (785) 296-4950 for more information or questions. 

8: Introduction to the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ)^® training, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., on Zoom. Register at ksdetasn.org/events. 

8: Individual Plan of Study (IPS) technical assistance session, 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., ESSDACK, Hutchinson. Register here. Contact Natalie Clark, ndclark@ksde.org or (785) 296-4351, with questions. 

12: Kansas MTSS & Alignment Leadership Institute, Topeka. Click this link to register: ksdetasn.org/events. Contact Josh Lee at josh@kansasmtss.org with questions.