<strong>Charlottesville, VA </strong>– This week, more than 1,000 school board members, superintendents, division administrators, education officials, and others will attend the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) annual convention in Williamsburg, VA from November 16-18. The convention provides school division leadership the opportunity to learn about nationwide and statewide trends, network with colleagues from around the Commonwealth, learn from key policy officials, and bring back the latest in best practices to their home school divisions.

<strong>Convention Highlights</strong>
<ul>
 	<li><u>Professional Development</u> – More than 50 workshops, clinics and critical issues sessions focused on topics such as boardsmanship, developing local capacity, school law, school construction, virtual/blended learning, advocacy, school improvement, educational trends, and energy/sustainability practices.</li>
 	<li><u>Exhibitors Scholarship</u> – The scholarship, funded by exhibiting companies at the VSBA’s annual convention, was made available to spring 2023 graduating seniors who had served as student school board representatives. Scholarship winners will be announced at the convention.</li>
 	<li><u>High School Video Contest</u> – The annual student video contest challenged high school students across Virginia to create a 30-second video around the theme of “Rise Above”. The winners will be announced at the opening general session of the convention, and the videos will be shown to the convention’s 1,000 attendees.</li>
 	<li><u>Exhibition of School Architecture</u> – From ambience and multi-functionality to sustainable design and security, there is a direct relationship between good design and effective teaching and learning. The VSBA Exhibition of School Architecture gives attendees the opportunity to see this in action.</li>
 	<li><u>Education Foundation Workshop</u> – The VSBA and National Association of Education Foundations (NAEF) is holding a workshop designed for education foundation professionals, volunteers, and those interested in starting an education foundation. The workshop will feature education foundation representatives from Henrico Education Foundation and Fairfax County Public Schools.</li>
 	<li><u>School Board Clerks Workshop</u> – School board clerks will have the opportunity to gather with colleagues, in person, and learn about important topics that affect a clerk’s duties from day to day. Topics that will be covered include Parliamentarian Procedure with Dr. Jowanda Rollins-Fells and Ms. Lisa Stevens, a COIA Presentation with Rebekah Stefanski, and as always, Elizabeth Ewing will present on legal topics imperative to clerks.</li>
</ul>
<strong>General Session Presentations:</strong>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;">Jim Morris “The Rookie” - After numerous arm problems as a minor league pitcher, Morris "retired" and became a high school coach and teacher in Texas. After making a bet with the baseball team he coached, his big league dreams were realized. Morris’ team won a district title, so he had to go to a professional tryout. He auditioned for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999 and clocked at 98 miles per hour on the radar gun. At 35 years old, he was back in the minor leagues and quickly moved up to the major league. Morris made 16 appearances the following season. He put out an autobiography, which was later made into a 2002 Disney film starring Dennis Quaid called The Rookie.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;">Dr. Bill Daggett - Educators worldwide recognize Dr. Bill Daggett, the creator of the Rigor/Relevance Framework, for his proven ability to lead school reform and help Pre-K-12 educators effectively prepare students for the future. A former teacher and administrator, as well as director with the New York State Education Department, Bill has a special commitment to individuals with disabilities and has written numerous books, reports, and articles about learning and education.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 40px;">Dr. Helen Fagan - Dr. Helen Fagan is a leadership, diversity, and inclusion scholar and practitioner. She is the founder of Global Leadership Group, which provides consulting and leadership coaching to organizations, communities, and executives in the field of diversity, inclusion, cultural competence and becoming an inclusive leader. In addition to a Ph.D. in Human Sciences with specialization in leadership from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Dr. Fagan holds multiple certifications in diversity, emotional intelligence and is a trained executive coach. Because of her work and dedication, she has received multiple awards including a key to the City of Lincoln.</p>
The complete VSBA Annual Convention schedule, along with speaker and presentation details, is available at <a href="https://www.vsba.org/meetings-conferences/conferences/annual-convention/">www.vsba.org/meetings-conferences/conferences/annual-convention/</a>.

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<strong>About the Virginia School Boards Association
</strong>The Virginia School Boards Association, a voluntary, nonpartisan organization of Virginia school boards, promotes excellence in public education through advocacy, training, and services. The Association offers conferences, information, training, and counseling designed to meet the needs of the Commonwealth’s educational leaders.

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