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

Dawn Roberts

NUES - Northeastern Utah Educational Services

Media Specialist

Heber City, UT

About me

Dawn is the Media Specialist at NUES. She admins the NUES Sora digital library.

11:00am MDT

Conference Credit Online Form Conference Registration, Badge Pick-Up & Text Alerts Opt-In AU - Auditorium Foyer

12:00pm MDT

Conference Welcome, NUES & CUES URSA Award, Friend to Education Award AU - Auditorium

2:30pm MDT

⚡ Break Time: Snacks, Drinks & Exhibitor Hall Showcase CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level)

2:50pm MDT

🎒 Explore the Exhibitor Hall & Educational Partners CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level) A Brief Introduction to Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TBRI) GC 303 - General Classroom Building, Room 303Lauren Ezzell

4:00pm MDT

Evening Activities Cedar City, Utah

8:00am MDT

🎒 Explore the Exhibitor Hall & Educational Partners CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level) Conference Registration, Badge Pick-Up & Text Alerts Opt-In AU - Auditorium Foyer

8:30am MDT

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

9:45am MDT

Brad Montague Breakout Session AU - AuditoriumBrad Montague

10:45am MDT

🤝 Meet Our Partners: Exhibitor Showcase and Refreshment Break CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level)

11:10am MDT

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

12:10pm MDT

Lunch - Food Truck Roundup at the Auditorium! AU - Auditorium Parking Lot (Outside)

1:50pm MDT

Digital Resilience: Strategies for Managing Social Media and Student Focus in Grades 6–12 ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Davina Sauthoff Top Ten Ways to Differentiate in Canvas ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203Jason Snow

2:50pm MDT

⚡ Quick Stop: Visit the Exhibitor Hall for a Refreshment Break! CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level)

3:10pm MDT

Navigating Sensitive Materials and Collection Development: Updated Strategies for School, Library, and Classrooms ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Davina Sauthoff

4:00pm MDT

Evening Activites Cedar City, Utah

8:00am MDT

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

8:30am MDT

Joanna Andres, Utah’s 2025-26 Teacher of the Year AU - AuditoriumJoanna Andres

9:50am MDT

NUES TAP: Building Better Questions Together with the NUES Teacher Assessment Project CC Red Hills Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Red Hills Room (200 Level)Jason Snow The People Puzzle: Solved with Business Chemistry ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Piper Riddle

10:50am MDT

⚡ Break Time: Snacks, Drinks & Exhibitor Hall Showcase CC Great Hall - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Great Hall (200 Level)

11:10am MDT

Navigating the Noise: Empowering News-Literate Students with Checkology CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)Chris Haught Building Sustainable School Wellness Systems In Rural Communities SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128Halee Ficklin • Mary Kathryn Curcio Stoddard Partnership Power: Expanding Classroom Horizons with Division of Arts & Museums GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Reilly Jensen • Justin Ivie Bridging the Gap to Grade-Level Text in the secondary classroom marks a critical shift from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" through evidence-based, equitable instruction. GC 311 - General Classroom Building, Room 311Amy Mahoney Beyond the Read Aloud: Bringing Stories to Life CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Sally Baird