April 24-26, 2019
Ramada Tropics Resort and Conference Center
Des Moines
Preconference: Poverty Simulation
Facilitated by Northwest AEA, this poverty simulation will put you in the shoes of a family in poverty as they make ends meet. You will hop from station-to-station representing the many entities in the lives of families living in poverty, including DHS, grocery stores, and medical appointments. You will leave this session with a newfound appreciation for what families in poverty must do to make ends meet day-to-day with limited money while experiencing various hardships.
Keynote:
Joanna Faber, Teacher, Lecturer, and Author
Joanna Faber grew up in the Long Island home/laboratory of internationally acclaimed, best-selling author and parent educator Adele Faber. Her father was a leading educator and director of innovative guidance programs in the New York City Public Schools. She taught elementary school in West Harlem while completing post-graduate work in math and science at the City College of New York. During this time her bilingual, special education students published books of poetry and stories, wrote and performed plays, started a school newspaper, and won top honors in the district-wide science fair two years in a row. Faber contributed heavily to her mother’s most recent award winning book, How To Talk So Kids Can Learn – at Home and in School, with her frontline experience in the classroom, and recently contributed a new section titled The Next Generation to the 30th anniversary edition of How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk. Her own best-selling book, entitled How To Talk So LITTLE Kids Will Listen was released by Simon and Schuster in January of 2017.
Closing Keynote:
David Welter, Retired Principal, Afterschool Advocate, and Cancer Survivor, Cedar Falls
Currently a husband (married forty years to Tricia), father of three (John, Rob, and Sarah), grandfather of three (Grace, Lucy, and Hazel), baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves, medical driver for Western Home Communities, educational consultant, farmer, author, and public speaker, Dave was principal at Holmes Jr. High School in Cedar Falls for 16 years. Over his years at Holmes, Dave sustained a 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, ECHOES, and ensured afterschool programming would be in place once he left as principal. Dave has earned multiple awards and honors over his career, including Cornell's Kelly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teacher Education (1976), School Administrators of Iowa Middle Level Principal of the Year (2012), and Champion of After School Programming by the National After School Alliance (2013). One of his greatest accomplishments, however, and one that influences him everyday is his achievement over cancer.
If you are interested in helping shape next year's conference agenda and schedule, please consider joining the Professional Development Committee! Contact Michelle Rich at mrich@sppg.com if interested.