WCPSS 2026 Summer Leadership Conference

During this session we will develop and implement a personalized system to manage tasks, requests, and interruptions, resulting in more intentional use of work time and energy. Participants will strengthen their current organizational methods by leveraging lists and time management strategies to improve overall effectiveness and productivity.

Board materials, policy manuals, and meeting videos — all in one place. Well, three places. We'll show you all of them and explain how to sort through over a decade of material to find exactly what you need. "Surely it's online" is technically correct, but a Google search may not get you there, and AI will confidently hallucinate something and tell you it found it. "I'll search for it later" only works if you know where to look.

There are many Board policies that are frequent fliers for staff at schools and at central services. Which policies give you flexibility in how you handle things (guardrails) versus those that are specific in their requirements (gates)? What happens if one is mistaken for the other? We'll explore real examples where mistakes happen.

When 44% of your students are Hispanic, family engagement isn’t an initiative—it’s a responsibility. Join us to learn how we built meaningful partnerships with almost no funding by collaboratively designing and launching monthly Hispanic Family Nights to empower our Hispanic families. It all started with one question: How do we truly partner with 215 Hispanic students and their families? That question grew into a movement that reshaped our school community. After hosting our first Hispanic Family Night in September, we followed our student data and recognized the need for intentional action to support our largest student group. The initial event was a success, leaving families eager for more—so Hispanic Family Nights became a monthly tradition, and attendance has continued to grow. In this session, participants will learn how we empower Hispanic families while holding ourselves accountable for improving outcomes for our Hispanic students. Key takeaways include how our ESL team, principal, and newly formed Hispanic Liaison Committee collaboratively plan each event using student data and SIP goals to guide content. We will share topics such as understanding report cards, supporting nightly reading, helping children in math, and navigating assessments including mCLASS, NC Check-Ins, and ACCESS.By honoring family perspectives, removing language barriers, and leveraging existing resources, we’ve created sustainable, high-impact engagement—without large budgets—and hope our journey inspires your school community.

Leaders today are navigating conditions that feel increasingly unpredictable and difficult to interpret—across sectors, not just in education. This session introduces a practical approach, drawn from the field of Futurism, to make sense of these shifts and respond with clarity and adaptability. Leaders will leave this session with: -A clearer way to make sense of the conditions shaping their work. -Ways to apply new ideas to a current leadership challenge. -Practical strategies for leading in uncertain environments. In these unprecedented times, mission and purpose continue to anchor the work, while strategies become more flexible and human-centered.

This session will be geared to learning techniques and tools for using Google Sheets and Excel to maximize operational efficiency in data organization and communication. Examples include Mail Merge, IMPORT, VLOOKUP, and other helpful tips that may help with some of the daily work of school administrators.

Policy can be viewed as guardrails or gates. What is our core business, and how do we understand policy within that context?

You have an item that has been placed on a Board of Education agenda. What does that mean? Which kind of meeting? Are you presenting or not? What is a precis? The deadlines to submit everything are when?!?! This session goes behind the scenes to explain the various kinds of Board meetings and Board materials and the timeline for getting everything published.

Compassionate leadership means ensuring that every digital resource—from classroom materials to district-wide communications—is an open door rather than a barrier. Moving beyond "check-the-box" compliance, this session dives into the heart of Lever 3 (See Me!) by prioritizing the dignity and inclusion of every individual we serve. Using WCAG-aligned resources, we will demonstrate practical ways to create accessible Google Docs, Slides, and multimedia. Whether you are a school-based or central services leader, fostering a culture of accessibility allows you to model what it means to be a Digital Citizen (DLS.DC.2) and ensures that "leading together" truly includes everyone.