2026 Utah Rural Schools Conference has ended

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2026 Utah Rural Schools Conference

Welcome to URSA 2026 at Southern Utah University! All sessions will be in buildings on the upper campus (east end). Here’s the Campus Map if needed.

WiFi: eduroam or SUU-Conference, password "summertimefun"

PLAN AHEAD - Tentative Future Conference Dates
July 7&8, 2027 - Price, UT
July 17-19, 2028 - Richfield, UT

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8:00am MDT

🎒 Explore the Exhibitor Hall & Educational Partners CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level)

8:30am MDT

Becoming Better Grownups: Rediscovering What Matters and Remembering to Fly AU - AuditoriumBrad Montague

9:45am MDT

20 in 20: Rapid-Fire Strategies for Classroom Engagement ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Emma Moss A Kickstart with Gemini: Demystifying the Tech - USBE + Google Sponsored Session ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104Chris McCaffrey Making Sheets Work For You ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Stacey King Brad Montague Breakout Session AU - AuditoriumBrad Montague Utah School Safety in 2026: Understanding the Updated Legislative Landscape CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Ashley Pistello Ignite Your Spark: Fueling Self-determination GC 409 - General Classroom Building, Room 409Julianne R. Hunter Taming the AI Dragon: Practical Gemini & Notebook LM for Educators ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Clint Stephens Commemorate America250 Utah with History, Civics, and Heart GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306Rebecca Kirkman • Wendy Rex Atzet Printable Potential: Using 3D Printing in the Classroom GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201Becca Robison Policy Implications for Principalship: "An Unfunded Mandate" AU - Auditorium FoyerBethany McGarry Basic Self Care: What do you need to know ED 204 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 204Sheryl Vernon Teaching Communication to Replace Challenging Behavior AU - Auditorium FoyerRhea Palkhiwala • Dr. Audrey N. Hoffmann

11:10am MDT

AI as a Design Variable AU - AuditoriumDavid Long Google AI as a Catalyst for Creative Inquiry - USBE + Google Sponsored Session ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104Chris McCaffrey AI on the Ground: Research Meets Rural Realities ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Kody Colvin Scam Academy - Teaching Students to Outsmart the Algorithms CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)Dani Sloan Everything that Matters Begins with Trust: How to Create It, Sustain It, and Restore It SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128Dale COX Intro to PCBL: Guiding Principles & Strategies for Improving Learning ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Kayla Towner Beyond the B.E.A.C.O.N.: Lighting the Way for AI in Education SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Becca Esplin Chaos Coordinators: Frontload the Calm, Teach the Tough CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Kristin Hellmann • Dana Blazzard Positive Childhood Experiences in the K-12 Setting ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Phillip Bertoch

1:50pm MDT

Supporting Students with Complex Needs ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Rachel Jacobsen • Rhea Palkhiwala Writing Formative Assessment Clusters GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201Jared Wright • Dallas Brooks • Samantha Tinkey Great Grading! CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Tony Campbell • Jared Wilkinson Prompting, Not Cheating: Building Authentic Literacy Skills in the AI Era - USBE + Google Sponsored Session ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104Chris McCaffrey Teacher's are Leaders Inside and Outside of the Classroom ED 204 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 204Stephan Seabury Rediscovering Health Through Rural and State Partnership SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Halee Ficklin • Mary Kathryn Curcio Stoddard The Reclaimed Classroom: Leading AI for Teaching and Learning ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202Kayla Towner • Kody Colvin • Matt Winters Evidence-Based Instruction Available to Your Area from The UURC GC 407 - General Classroom Building, Room 407Breyanna Evans • Megan Gale

2:11pm MDT

Virtual Field Trips: Instructional Resources ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Heather Kennedy

3:10pm MDT

Supporting Student Learning and Creativity with Google Vids ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Rob Bentley Your Custom AI Toolbox: Save Time by Building Reusable Gemini "Gems" - USBE + Google Sponsored Session ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104Chris McCaffrey Becoming Digitally Deliberate GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Talmage Erickson Literacy, Mental Health, and School Engagement for Students with Learning Disabilities CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Paul Black Collaborative Roots: Building Parent-Teacher Trust to Transform Student Outcomes ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Shannon Neeley • Sydney Whatcott Leaving Children Behind: Grade Retention in the 21st Century CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Pam Powell Virtual Field Trips at the Springville Museum of Art SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127Peyton Richards • Cheynie Wray Demystifying Mastery: The What, the Why and the How of Proficiency Scale Construction CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Nathan Auck