Breakout Topics

Breakout sessions and Peer Networking groups give you the ability to learn with peers from other schools and dive deeper on topics that are relevant to your role within your school. 

Have expertise you would like to share? Apply to be a breakout speaker. 

 

 

Breakouts

Breakout Session 1 Topics

Asking Good Questions

Speaker: Dr. Sean McDowell, Professor of Apologetics at Biola University
Audience: All

We live in a culture saturated with information, yet Gen Z is facing an unprecedented crisis of loneliness, skepticism, and disconnect. While youth leaders, parents, and mentors often train to have all the right answers, we frequently overlook the single most powerful tool for breakthroughs: the art of asking the right questions.
In this timely and practical session, world-renowned apologist, author, and youth ministry expert Dr. Sean McDowell will flip the script on traditional youth engagement. Drawing directly from the relational model of Jesus—who asked over 300 questions in the Gospels—Dr. McDowell will demonstrate why questions are the ultimate key to breaking down walls, cultivating deep trust, and helping young people truly own their faith.
Being Heard: Deescalation Skills for Vulnerable Students

Speaker: Todd Monger, CrossVision, LLC Counseling & Consulting
Audience: All school staff

As Christian educators it is important to realize that students cannot learn unless they are emotionally regulated and feel safe. Many of our students and families are presenting with a variety of ACE’s [Adverse Childhood Experiences] that impact learning and communication. This session will explore some basic mental health background on trauma and emotional dysregulation in addition to key take away tools that teaching professionals can implement in their classrooms or hallways to improve a student’s relational and learning outcomes. This session will be both psychoeducational and practical through the use of metaphors and other educational take aways.
Brain Sweat: Designing Lessons that Make Thinking Visible, Learning Stick, and Knowledge Transfer

Speaker: Danila Woolley, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: This session supports K-12 teachers as well as administrators wanting to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction.

How do we design learning experiences that make students think deeply enough to learn, understand, and transfer their learning? This working session will lead the participant to analyze curriculum maps to ensure that effective lessons make thinking visible, require productive struggle, and move students from understanding to transfer. This session is NOT for the passive learner! Let’s roll up our sleeves and dig into the hard work of instruction with the support of other educators.
Called to Lead: Leading with Clarity, Courage, & Christ

Speaker: Dr. Bruce Locklear, Retired EdLeader and Principal at LES Locklear Ed Services
Audience: Leadership

Leadership is stewardship, not position. God entrusts leaders with people, mission, and influence — the guiding question throughout is “How do I use what’s been entrusted to me for the good of others?
Confessions of a Program-Building Specialist: What One Arts Educator Learned About Building a School's Culture — and How That Lesson Applies Far Beyond the Stage

Speaker: Benjamin Wagner, United Christian Academy
Audience: Open to all school staff, teaching and non-teaching alike

Few roles in a school sit where the arts specialist sits. One minute you’re teaching technique, the next you’re mediating a cast conflict, running live sound during chapel, or calming a nervous kid backstage two minutes before curtain. It’s a strange, high-pressure vantage point, and it teaches you something most job descriptions never mention: culture isn’t built only by the people with “culture” in their title. It’s built in the hundred small touchpoints between students and every adult they encounter. This session pulls back the curtain on what that looks like from inside one specialist’s unusually broad seat and shows how the same lesson applies far beyond the stage. Attendees will walk away seeing their own daily interactions, whatever their role, as culture-building moments, and leave with one concrete practice to carry into the rest of their year.
Don't Make Me Get the Flying Monkeys!

Speaker: Danelle Porter, Mountain Lake Christian School
Audience: Teachers looking for classroom management ideas

Every teacher knows that student. And many of us have had that class: the one that tests your patience, your plans, and sometimes your sanity. This session is for teachers looking for fresh classroom management ideas and a chance to talk honestly about what actually works.
We’ll look at how to keep investing in the students who seem to push back hardest (“feeding the mouth that bites”), share strategies for turning around a challenging class dynamic, and ask whether “because I said so” is really enough, or whether there’s a better way to build buy-in and respect. Come ready to share your own stories, pick up practical tips you can use on Monday, and leave encouraged that you’re not alone.
Discover BJU Press Trove: Resources, Tips & Tricks

Speaker: Amy Miller, BJUPress
Audience: Any teacher using, or planning to use, BJU Press textbooks.

New to BJU Press Trove or still getting comfortable with it? This practical introduction will help K4–12 teachers understand what’s available in Trove and how to use teacher resources effectively in the classroom. We’ll explore the basics of navigating Trove, finding and using digital resources, and discovering simple tips and tricks that can save time and enhance instruction. Whether you’re just getting started or have only used Trove for the basics, you’ll leave with practical ideas you can put to use right away.
From Surviving to Thriving: Practical Trauma-Informed Strategies for Every Educator

Speaker: Dr. Sarah Rothstein, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: K-12 Educators & Administrators

In today’s complex world, many students walk into our classrooms carrying invisible burdens of trauma and chronic stress. These experiences directly impact their ability to learn, regulate emotions, and form healthy relationships. As Christian educators, we are called to love and support the whole child. This workshop provides a foundational understanding of trauma and its effects on the developing brain. Moving beyond theory, we will explore practical, actionable strategies that K-12 educators can implement immediately to create a “safe harbor” classroom environment. We will discuss simple shifts in communication, classroom structure, and behavior intervention that foster safety, connection, and resilience. Attendees will leave equipped with a trauma-informed lens and a toolkit of compassionate practices to help every student feel seen, valued, and ready to learn.
Gen Z Decoded: From Anxiety to Engagement

Speaker: Michelle Grubb, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Administrators, Athletics, Counselors, Early Childhood, Elementary, High School, Middle School

Today’s students are growing up in a world shaped by smartphones, social media, and unprecedented levels of anxiety, yet they are also deeply motivated by purpose, authenticity, and meaningful relationships. This session will help you understand what drives Gen Z and how to create learning experiences that foster engagement, resilience, and connection. Walk away with practical strategies you can use immediately and the confidence to better reach the students in front of you. If you engage Gen Z, you can’t afford to miss this conversation.
Help Wanted! Building a Volunteer System that Works!

Speaker: Joanna Richter, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Classroom Teachers and Volunteer Coordinators

What if classroom volunteers could actually save you time instead of creating more work? You know you could use help, but how do you actually make volunteers or TAs useful in your classroom? This practical, hands-on session will help you build a simple system for recruiting, scheduling, preparing, and effectively using volunteers in and for your classroom. You’ll explore dozens of meaningful tasks volunteers can take on, learn how to create easy-to-follow volunteer instructions, and discover ways to make the most of the people who are willing to serve. You’ll leave with a Maximizing Volunteers Classroom Toolkit you can put to work right away!  
Intro to Dyslexia and Implications for Educators

Speaker: Jamie Kaihoi, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Classroom teachers and learning support specialists

This session will help you understand the basics of the reading disability that affects up to 25% of our students and includes instructional suggestions for student success.
LIFE

Speaker: Bobbie Ehlen, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Science & Health Teachers

The importance of Human life even before they are born.
Magnifying Science as we Observe the World Around Us

Speaker: Jamie Meachum, BJU Press
Audience: Elementary Teachers

What is needed to be a scientist, and can anyone be one? Let’s look at fun ways to help students observe, touch, and discover the world around them by using STEM and the five senses.

Supercharged Learning Centers

Speaker: Jamie Meachum, BJU Press
Audience: Elementary Teachers

Are you tired of juggling rotations during reading time? Rotation one: meet with the teacher—check. Rotation two: independent seatwork—check. But what about rotation three—learning centers? In this session, you’ll learn how to structure your reading block for maximum impact and discover easy-to implement learning center ideas that keep students engaged and learning independently. Walk away with practical strategies, time-saving tips, and a tool kit of reproducible ideas designed to make your reading practical strategies, time-saving tips, and a tool kit of reproducible ideas designed to make you more effective than ever!

Understanding and Addressing Trauma in Educational Settings: Integrating our Christian Faith for Healing

Speaker: Penny Sobczak, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: All staff

Trauma occurs when distressing experiences overwhelm a person’s ability to cope, leaving lasting effects on the body, mind, and relationships. For children and adolescents, these experiences—whether acute or chronic—can profoundly influence behavior, learning, and self-worth. Scripture reminds us: Our hope for you [our joyful and confident expectation of good for you] is ever unwavering (assured and unshaken); for we know that just as you share and are partners in [our] sufferings and calamities, you also share and are partners in [our] comfort (consolation and encouragement). 2 Corinthians 1:7
What makes a Great Dual Enrollment Partnership

Speaker: Heidi Hoefs, University of Northwestern – St. Paul
Audience: High school teachers, administrators, and college counselors

This session will focus on the benefits of dual enrollment partnerships, how to begin or maintain strong DE partnerships, and what qualifications are needed for teachers to teach college-level courses on-site at your high school. The strengths and hurdles of DE programming will be considered. Timelines for establishing partnerships and other practical tips will also be distributed. Bring your questions and your experiences to this interactive breakout session!
When Students Aren't Okay: Mental Health & Faith in the Christian School

Speaker: Lissa Flaaten, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Teachers & Those working with students

Students today are navigating increasingly complex mental health challenges, and Christian school staff are often on the front lines of supporting them. This session will be practical and faith-informed to equip educators and staff to recognize common signs of student mental health struggles, respond appropriately, and know when to seek additional support. Together, we’ll explore how Christian schools can care for the whole student—honoring both their mental health and their faith without minimizing either.

Breakout Session 2 Topics

Accommodations and Modifications for Dyslexia

Speaker: Jamie Kaihoi, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Classroom teachers

This session builds on basic knowledge of dyslexia and differentiates between suggested accommodations and modifications for dyslexic students.
Asking Good Questions

Speaker: Dr. Sean McDowell, Professor of Apologetics at Biola University
Audience: All

We live in a culture saturated with information, yet Gen Z is facing an unprecedented crisis of loneliness, skepticism, and disconnect. While youth leaders, parents, and mentors often train to have all the right answers, we frequently overlook the single most powerful tool for breakthroughs: the art of asking the right questions.
In this timely and practical session, world-renowned apologist, author, and youth ministry expert Dr. Sean McDowell will flip the script on traditional youth engagement. Drawing directly from the relational model of Jesus—who asked over 300 questions in the Gospels—Dr. McDowell will demonstrate why questions are the ultimate key to breaking down walls, cultivating deep trust, and helping young people truly own their faith.
Brain Matters 101: Helping Adults Help Kids

Speaker: Michelle Grubb, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Administrators, Athletics, Counselors, Early Childhood, Elementary, Executive Assistants, High School, MARCOM, Middle School

Adolescence is a strength, not a liability; learn how it works and how to leverage its once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Take a journey through the brain path, learning how information enters the brain, stopping at each major function and learning techniques to get information into long-term memory. Understand the different stages of development and why we as adults act as a surrogate pre-frontal cortex for teens. You’ll laugh, pick up tricks and tools, and have many AHA moments in this engaging session of Brain Matters 101!
Brain Sweat: Designing Lessons that Make Thinking Visible, Learning Stick, and Knowledge Transfer

Speaker: Danila Woolley, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: This session supports K-12 teachers as well as administrators wanting to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction.

How do we design learning experiences that make students think deeply enough to learn, understand, and transfer their learning? This working session will lead the participant to analyze curriculum maps to ensure that effective lessons make thinking visible, require productive struggle, and move students from understanding to transfer. This session is NOT for the passive learner! Let’s roll up our sleeves and dig into the hard work of instruction with the support of other educators.
Confessions of a Program-Building Specialist: What One Arts Educator Learned About Building a School's Culture — and How That Lesson Applies Far Beyond the Stage

Speaker: Benjamin Wagner, United Christian Academy
Audience: Open to all school staff, teaching and non-teaching alike

Few roles in a school sit where the arts specialist sits. One minute you’re teaching technique, the next you’re mediating a cast conflict, running live sound during chapel, or calming a nervous kid backstage two minutes before curtain. It’s a strange, high-pressure vantage point, and it teaches you something most job descriptions never mention: culture isn’t built only by the people with “culture” in their title. It’s built in the hundred small touchpoints between students and every adult they encounter. This session pulls back the curtain on what that looks like from inside one specialist’s unusually broad seat and shows how the same lesson applies far beyond the stage. Attendees will walk away seeing their own daily interactions, whatever their role, as culture-building moments, and leave with one concrete practice to carry into the rest of their year.
Defining Self In A World of Errors: An Athlete's Quest For Performance Perfection

Speaker: Todd Monger, CrossVision, LLC Counseling & Consulting
Audience: Coaches: athletics, special ed, gifted & talented teachers, academic support

At the core of Christian education is the shared belief to equip and empower youth to become all that God has created them to be. But what happens at the intersection of joy and judgement? What happens when the joy we once saw in our young people is replaced with anxiety, anger, refusal, or the constant negative thought pattern: “maybe I should just quit!” This session will equip coaches, and those who help in peak performance, understand and teach students some of the psychological factors at work and how to leverage these towards better emotional and performance outcomes.
Discover BJU Press Trove: Resources, Tips & Tricks

Speaker: Amy Miller, BJUPress
Audience: Any teacher using, or planning to use, BJU Press textbooks.

New to BJU Press Trove or still getting comfortable with it? This practical introduction will help K4–12 teachers understand what’s available in Trove and how to use teacher resources effectively in the classroom. We’ll explore the basics of navigating Trove, finding and using digital resources, and discovering simple tips and tricks that can save time and enhance instruction. Whether you’re just getting started or have only used Trove for the basics, you’ll leave with practical ideas you can put to use right away.
Do Not Erase Play!

Speaker:Sheryl Fast, Mountain Lake Christian School
Audience: PreK, K, 1st grade teacher

Stories to tell-Ideas to share-Questions to answer-Philosophies to Challenge-Learning is fun!! Did you know it is a new need- to teach kids to play? Some students really struggle with free play. How can we play it to learn it? Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” Matthew 19:14 Come and Play!
Engaging and Entertaining our Students

Speaker: Jake Kerschner, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Teachers

Would you like your students to be more engaged in class? Would you like your classes to be more creative? In this session, we’ll explore how we can be more resourceful and creative, so we can engage our students better. Together, we will brainstorm, dream, and even play a little as we seek God’s best for our classrooms.
From Surviving to Thriving: Practical Trauma-Informed Strategies for Every Educator

Speaker: Dr. Sarah Rothstein, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: K-12 Educators & Administrators

In today’s complex world, many students walk into our classrooms carrying invisible burdens of trauma and chronic stress. These experiences directly impact their ability to learn, regulate emotions, and form healthy relationships. As Christian educators, we are called to love and support the whole child. This workshop provides a foundational understanding of trauma and its effects on the developing brain. Moving beyond theory, we will explore practical, actionable strategies that K-12 educators can implement immediately to create a “safe harbor” classroom environment. We will discuss simple shifts in communication, classroom structure, and behavior intervention that foster safety, connection, and resilience. Attendees will leave equipped with a trauma-informed lens and a toolkit of compassionate practices to help every student feel seen, valued, and ready to learn.
Habits of Mind: Equipping Students with Growth Mindset Skills

Speaker: Emma Clausen, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Teachers

This session will explore how implementing the Habits of Mind in daily classroom routines can empower students to embrace challenges, persevere through mistakes, and develop a growth mindset.
Help Wanted! Building a Volunteer System that Works!

Speaker: Joanna Richter, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Classroom Teachers and Volunteer Coordinators

What if classroom volunteers could actually save you time instead of creating more work? You know you could use help, but how do you actually make volunteers or TAs useful in your classroom? This practical, hands-on session will help you build a simple system for recruiting, scheduling, preparing, and effectively using volunteers in and for your classroom. You’ll explore dozens of meaningful tasks volunteers can take on, learn how to create easy-to-follow volunteer instructions, and discover ways to make the most of the people who are willing to serve. You’ll leave with a Maximizing Volunteers Classroom Toolkit you can put to work right away!  
A High School Teacher's Toolbox

Speaker: Julie Raines, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: High School Teachers

Let’s talk about the day-to-day realities of teaching high school: organization, classroom procedures, grading, and building rapport with students. We love our work and our students, but the daily grind and ever-growing to-do lists can narrow our focus to simply getting things done. In this interactive workshop, you’ll see practical strategies, troubleshoot common challenges, and explore ways to turn daily drudgery into everyday enjoyment. Come ready to collaborate and leave with tools you can adapt to your classroom, creating more intentional time for the most important part of our jobs: our students!
History Beyond the Dates & Facts

Speaker: Jamie Meachum, BJU Press
Audience: Elementary Teachers

What is needed to be a scientist, and can anyone be one? Let’s look at fun ways to help students observe, touch, and discover the world around them by using STEM and the five senses.
Jack of all Trades, Master of None

Speaker: Danelle Porter, Mountain Lake Christian HS
Audience: Teachers who are currently, or might in the future be, teaching in content areas that they are not “qualified” (literally or figuratively) to teach.

Ever been handed a class you never trained for, a subject outside your certification, or a last-minute coverage assignment that left you thinking, “How am I supposed to teach this?” You’re not alone. In today’s ever-changing educational landscape, flexibility has become one of a teacher’s most essential skills.
This discussion-based session offers practical tips and honest encouragement for teachers who are currently teaching, or may someday teach, outside their area of expertise. Together, we’ll explore how God has already been preparing you for the new and unexpected, what it looks like to step out in faith into unfamiliar territory, and how to move forward with confidence (“fake it till you make it”) while trusting God’s purpose and plan along the way.
Whether you’re asked to teach, supervise, or cover something new, you’ll leave with practical strategies for pivoting well and a renewed sense of calling in the midst of change.
Math beyond the Textbook

Speaker: Cindy Dickinson, BJU Press
Audience: Elementary Teachers

Textbooks are a great resource for helping students to master math concepts, but what about those students who finish with time to spare? Join me to discover ways to take math beyond the textbook. A variety of games, websites, apps, and other resources will be presented.
Systems that Simplify

Speaker: Lettie Fundanet & Colette Winn, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Teachers & Admininstrators

We are sharing our time-tested tips that help us stay sane and top of all the things.
Trust Me! The significance of trust in developing relationships and driving culture in your school.

Speaker: Dr. Bruce Locklear, Retired EdLeader and Principal at LES Locklear Ed Services
Audience: Leadership

Without trust, teams break down, customer loyalty fades, and progress stalls.Dr. Bruce Locklear will explore how trust impacts every aspect of life and business. Certified in the Trust Edge, he’ll dive into the eight pillars of trust—clarity, compassion, character, competency, commitment, connection, contribution, and consistency—and how they drive meaningful results in leadership, team performance, school culture, and organizational growth. From fostering transparency and accountability to empowering individuals with trust-based leadership, this talk will equip you with the tools needed to strengthen trust within your teams and schools.
What makes a Great Dual Enrollment Partnership

Speaker: Heidi Hoefs, University of Northwestern – St. Paul
Audience: High school teachers, administrators, and college counselors

This session will focus on the benefits of dual enrollment partnerships, how to begin or maintain strong DE partnerships, and what qualifications are needed for teachers to teach college-level courses on-site at your high school. The strengths and hurdles of DE programming will be considered. Timelines for establishing partnerships and other practical tips will also be distributed. Bring your questions and your experiences to this interactive breakout session!
When Students Aren't Okay: Mental Health & Faith in the Christian School

Speaker: Lissa Flaaten, Maranatha Christian Academy
Audience: Teachers & Those working with students

Students today are navigating increasingly complex mental health challenges, and Christian school staff are often on the front lines of supporting them. This session will be practical and faith-informed to equip educators and staff to recognize common signs of student mental health struggles, respond appropriately, and know when to seek additional support. Together, we’ll explore how Christian schools can care for the whole student—honoring both their mental health and their faith without minimizing either.

Peer Networking Groups

Christian Education is stronger when we don’t do it alone! Peer Networking groups allow you to connect with other Christian educators who understand your role, share your challenges, and want to grow together. 

    Peer Groups for teaching staff
    • ELA
    • Science
    • Social Sciences
    • World Language
    • Math
    • Bible
    • STEAM/Innovation
    • PE/Health
    • Art
    • Music
    • Learning Support/Gifted
    • PreK
    • Kinder
    • Grades 1-2
    • Grades 3-4
    • Grades 5-6
    Peer Groups for non-teaching staff
    • Advancement (Admissions, Development, MARCOM)
    • Athletics
    • Counseling/College & Career
    • Student Services & Nurses
    • Exec. Assistants
    • Head of Schools/Presidents
    • Operations/Business Office/IT
    • Principals

    Register Now!

    October 17, 2024 | 7 am – 3 pm
    Early-bird $30 per ticket | Regular $40 per ticket

    You and your staff can join other local Christian educators to experience this unique and inspirational conference.

    Contact Us