– Sibme, an education software and services company, will hold its fourth annual Better Together Virtual Summit on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023. The virtual conference is free, accessible, and offers dozens of breakout sessions on critical topics for educators of all levels looking ahead to the 2023-24 school year. Keynote speakers include Dr. Jim Knight, AJ Crabill and Daniel Stillman. Space is still available for participants to join hundreds of educators worldwide who aspire to be world-class instructional leaders. Click here to register.

"Participants of the Better Together Summit have an opportunity to gain knowledge and perspective from teachers, instructional coaches and school and district leaders," said TJ Hoffman, COO of Sibme. "We support the need for quality professional development and want to invest in education professionals by providing the virtual summit at no cost to the participants. For the 2023 summit, we've recruited innovators and thought leaders in education to share their insights and experiences that can help educators for the upcoming school year and beyond."

Better Together is a one-day, interactive online summit that transforms the way participants lead others and provides tools to improve teaching and learning. Sessions include critical themes as school leaders and education professionals look ahead to fall, including professional growth, coaching tools, models and strategies, artificial intelligence, utilizing data, increasing teacher efficacy, and collaboration:

  • ChatGPT as a Coaching Tool, Dr. Stephanie Affinito, a former classroom teacher and literacy specialist, is a literacy teacher educator at the University at Albany. She has a deep love for literacy coaching and supporting teachers’ lifelong learning as readers and writers through technology.
  • Without Struggle There is No Growth, Jason Jowers, is a 13 year educator and principal of Eno Valley Elementary in Durham Public Schools. Under his leadership his campus has realized increased student achievement through COVID-19, a 50% reduction in suspensions, and a 44% increase in student enrollment. Jason earned his M.A. of Administration from UNC Chapel Hill.
  • Coaching Greatness From an F to B, Dr. Jason Hewitt, Ed.D., is in his third year as Superintendent of Shepherd ISD and his 26th year in education. Throughout Dr. Hewitt’s career, he has answered the call to serve others. Part of his leadership success hinges on his strong belief in family. Dr. Hewitt has worked to turn around Shepherd ISD through research-based techniques in Curriculum and Instruction. The efforts of the staff and students have resulted in moving SISD from a rating of F to a B on all campuses.

Keynote Speakers include:

  • Dr. Jim Knight, Founder and Senior Partner of Instructional Coaching Group (ICG), is also a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching. Jim earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards.
  • AJ Crabill serves as Conservator at Desoto ISD, where during his guidance improved from F ratings in academics, finance and governance to B ratings. He also served as Deputy Commissioner at Texas’ Education Agency and Board Chair of Kansas City Public Schools. AJ’s intentions are to transform student outcomes through the transformation of adult mindsets, knowledge and skills.
  • Daniel Stillman is an Executive Coach, Lead Facilitator and Conversation Designer. With more than a decade of experience in product design and innovation work, he helps leaders design and facilitate important conversations to improve organizational collaboration and innovation. Daniel supports leaders who want to drive change through dialogue and the power of conversation.

For a complete list of presentations, visit this link.

All sessions are available online in a blended learning format; live participants can earn 25+ hours of free continuing professional education credit. In addition, after the live conference, session recordings and accompanying materials will be available to all registrants for free for one year.

“This is an amazing event! I still go back to last year’s event to re-watch videos! Best conference I have ever been to,” said Stacy Comer, a previous Better Together participant from Midland Independent School District.

To register, visit this link.

To learn more about Sibme, visit http://sibme.com/.

About Sibme

Sibme’s mission is to impact student success by combining innovative, user-friendly technology solutions, implementation expertise, and ongoing support and partnership to connect educators and transform the way they learn and grow professionally. Sibme was founded in 2013 by David Wakefield, a Houston-area teacher. Since then, Sibme has helped thousands of current and future teachers in schools throughout the world. Sibme is proud to support the work of schools in major school districts and charter networks around the country. http://sibme.com/