2026 Utah Rural Schools Conference: Grid

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 (PDF) if needed.

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AU - Auditorium	AU - Auditorium Foyer	BC 103 - Braithwaite Liberal Arts Center, Room 103	CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)	CC Rondthaller Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Rondthaller Room (200 Level)	CC Sage Valley - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Sage Valley Room (100 Level)	CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)	CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)	CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)	ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102	ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202	ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203	ED 204 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 204	ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215	ED Level 2 Foyer, East - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Level 2 Foyer	GC 106 - General Classroom Building, Room 106	GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109	GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201	GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306	Location TBD	Online Form	SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122	SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127	SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128

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Beyond Self Care: Leading Systemic Approach to Well-Being for Ed... 12:10pm - 1:10pm

Gail Markin Breakout Session 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Conference Registration and Badge Pick-Up 11:00am - 4:00pm

Coaching Learning Intentions and Success Criteria as Formative Assessment Opportunities 1:30pm - 3:50pm

Are We on the Same Page? Unpacking Reading on Grade Level 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Group Contingencies and the Good Behavior Game for Classroom Man... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Presenter's Lounge & Workspace 11:00am - 4:00pm

Building Science Thinkers Through Literacy and Data Analysis Str... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Data Privacy Basics Live! 2:50pm - 3:50pm

From Policy to Practice: Navigating Utah’s 2026 Early Literacy C... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

The Teacher Brain Budget Hack 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Utah School Safety in 2026: Understanding the Updated Legislativ... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Teacher Reflection and Instruction Data Made Easy With AI 2:50pm - 3:50pm

From PD to Practice: A Practical System for PD That Sticks 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Want to make a Canvas Quiz in three minutes? You can. 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Creating a Connected Classroom: Strategies to decrease behaviors... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

What Worked When It Mattered? Pandemic Recovery Success in Utah 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Craft Your Digital Teaching Assistant: Building Custom AI Assist... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

From Generic to Gem: Building Your First Gemini Gems 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Beyond the Basics: Navigating Disciplinary Literacy in the ELA C... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Increasing Student Attendance 2:50pm - 3:50pm

The Dignity Index: How to disagree without being disagreeable 1:30pm - 2:30pm

A Brief Introduction to Trust-Based Relational Interventions (TB... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Rising Above Low Expectation: How to Scaffold Learning for Stude... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

An Educational Expedition: Rediscovering Educator Joy 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Conference WiFi Informatiion and Tech Support 11:00am - 4:00pm

Build the Ramp: AI Tools for Differentiation, Engagement, and Reporting in Rural Middle Level Classrooms 1:30pm - 3:50pm

Carrots over Sticks: Transforming School Culture Through Positiv... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Rediscovering True Education: Classroom Practices That Actually... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Sing It. Draw It. Learn It! 1:30pm - 3:50pm

Fractions and Art: Beyond the Pizza 1:30pm - 3:50pm

Refreshment Break

Conference Credit 11:00am - 4:00pm

Learner-Centered Design: Evidence, Iteration, and Impact 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Using the Early Math Assessment Data 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Teacher Leaders as the Engine of School Improvement: From Strate... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Mobilizing Rural Partnerships: Building Coalitions for Student S... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Why PD Sucks (and Why Personalization is the Cure) 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Bridging the Gap: Addressing Teacher Recruitment and Retention i... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

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AU - Auditorium	AU - Auditorium Foyer	BC 103 - Braithwaite Liberal Arts Center, Room 103	CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)	CC Rondthaller Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Rondthaller Room (200 Level)	CC Sage Valley - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Sage Valley Room (100 Level)	CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)	CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)	CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)	ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102	ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202	ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203	ED 204 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 204	ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215	ED Level 2 Foyer, East - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Level 2 Foyer	GC 106 - General Classroom Building, Room 106	GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109	GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201	GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306	Location TBD	SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122	SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127	SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128

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Becoming Better Grownups: Rediscovering What Matters and Remembe... 8:30am - 9:30am

Brad Montague Breakout Session 9:45am - 10:45am

AI as a Design Variable 11:10am - 12:10pm

Conference Registration and Badge Pick-Up 8:00am - 4:00pm

Going for Gold: The New Gold Medal Schools Framework 9:45am - 12:10pm

zSpace 9:45am - 12:10pm

Teaching Communication to Replace Challenging Behavior 9:45am - 12:10pm

Policy Implications for Principalship: "An Unfunded Mandate" 9:45am - 12:10pm

School nurse to student ratio and Utah legislative ratio recommendation 9:45am - 12:10pm

Getting Your New Teachers to Stay: Research to Impact Practice in Small Schools 9:45am - 12:10pm

Patterns & Partnerships 9:45am - 12:10pm

Evidence-Based Instruction Available to Your Area from The UURC 1:30pm - 3:50pm

10 Minute Movement ideas for Language Arts k-6th grade 9:45am - 10:45am

We can help your students learn more about engineering. 11:10am - 12:10pm

Great Grading! 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Demystifying Mastery: The What, the Why and the How of Proficien... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Presenter's Lounge & Workspace 8:00am - 4:00pm

Commemorate America250 Utah with History, Civics, and Heart 9:45am - 10:45am

Engagement 101 11:10am - 12:10pm

3D in 8th Grade Science - Oxidation in Action in Utah 1:30pm - 2:30pm

3D Science lessons- Gravity and Inertia 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Beyond Aspire Plus: Navigating the Transition in High School Ass... 9:45am - 10:45am

Scam Academy - Teaching Students to Outsmart the Algorithms 11:10am - 12:10pm

You've Got To Move It! (Incorporating Movement in the Secondary... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Scaffolding Tier 1 Phonics Instruction 2:50pm - 3:50pm

AI, Bloom, and the Cognitive Gap in Educational Technology 9:45am - 10:45am

Chaos Coordinators: Frontload the Calm, Teach the Tough 11:10am - 12:10pm

From Prompt to Page: Building Better Canvas Content with AI 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Leaving Children Behind: Grade Retention in the 21st Century 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Facilitating Career and Technical Education Pathways for Student... 9:45am - 10:45am

Portrait of Secondary Transition for Students with Disabilities:... 11:10am - 12:10pm

From Data to Insights: Monitoring Student Achievement Over Time... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Literacy, Mental Health, and School Engagement for Students with... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Canva Reimagined: Unlock the Magic 9:45am - 10:45am

Intro to PCBL: Guiding Principles & Strategies for Improving Lea... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Digital Resilience: Strategies for Managing Social Media and Stu... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Navigating Sensitive Materials and Collection Development: Updat... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Taming the AI Dragon: Practical Gemini & Notebook LM for Educato... 9:45am - 10:45am

AI on the Ground: Research Meets Rural Realities 11:10am - 12:10pm

The Reclaimed Classroom: Leading AI for Teaching and Learning 1:30pm - 3:50pm

Making Sheets Work For You 9:45am - 10:45am

Positive Childhood Experiences in the K-12 Setting 11:10am - 12:10pm

A Beginners Guide to Augmentative and Alternative Communication 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Collaborative Roots: Building Parent-Teacher Trust to Transform... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Basic Self Care: What do you need to know 9:45am - 12:10pm

Teacher's are Leaders Inside and Outside of the Classroom 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Teachers are leaders and should be the shapers our profession 2:50pm - 3:50pm

20 in 20: Rapid-Fi...

Community Access t...

Partnership Power!...

Task management us...

Unmuting Your Clas...

Igniting STEAM

Supporting Student...

Virtual Field Trip...

Simulating Moon Ph...

Supporting Student Learning and Creativity with Google Vids 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Conference WiFi Informatiion and Tech Support 8:00am - 4:00pm

Simple and Easy Adaptations in the Classroom 9:45am - 10:45am

Engagement Strategies for the Middle Years 6th-8th Grade 11:10am - 12:10pm

Today's Middle School Student 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Middle Level Educators Unite 2:50pm - 3:50pm

The Power of Student Voice: Enhancing Literacy Through Oral Lang... 9:45am - 10:45am

The Science of Learning in Utah Math Classrooms 11:10am - 12:10pm

Building Better People Through Lessons from History, Lessons fro... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Becoming Digitally Deliberate 2:50pm - 3:50pm

Printable Potential: Using 3D Printing in the Classroom 9:45am - 12:10pm

Writing Formative Assessment Clusters 1:30pm - 3:50pm

Kinesthetic Astronomy 4th grade 9:45am - 12:10pm

Art Tools and Teacher Tricks 1:30pm - 3:50pm

Networking and Refreshment Break

Refreshment Break

Supporting Multilingual Learners in the ELA Classroom 9:45am - 10:45am

Exploring Utah's Writing Benchmark Platform 11:10am - 12:10pm

Rediscovering Health Through Rural and State Partnership 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Implementing the Success Sequence: Key to Updated Health Educati... 2:50pm - 3:50pm

School Leadership Theory vs. Practice: Doing what should be done... 9:45am - 10:45am

Managing Change as a New School Administrator 11:10am - 12:10pm

From Fragmented to Focused: Strengthening Your School’s System o... 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Why Some PLCs Pop and Other Don't: Small Shifts That Lead to Big... 9:45am - 10:45am

Everything that Matters Begins with Trust: How to Create It, Sus... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Leading High Leverage Practices in Schools 1:30pm - 2:30pm

Current Problems in School Leadership: A Think Tank Experience 2:50pm - 3:50pm

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AU - Auditorium	BC 208 - Braithwaite Liberal Arts Center, Room 208	CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)	CC Rondthaller Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Rondthaller Room (200 Level)	CC Sage Valley - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Sage Valley Room (100 Level)	CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)	CC Whiting Room - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Whiting Room Room (200 Level)	CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)	ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102	ED 104 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 104	ED 202 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 202	ED 203 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 203	ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215	ED Level 2 Foyer, East - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Level 2 Foyer	GC 106 - General Classroom Building, Room 106	GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109	GC 201 - General Classroom Building, Room 201	GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306	Location TBD	Online Form	SC 016 - Science Center, Room 016	SC 127 - Science Center, Room 127	SC 128 - Science Center, Room 128	SC 129 - Science Center, Room 129

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Joanna Andres, Utah’s 2025-26 Teacher of the Year 8:30am - 9:30am

Joanna Andres Breakout Session 9:50am - 10:50am

Grow Lab 9:50am - 12:10pm

Technology: What Are We (Or Should We Be) Afraid Of? 9:50am - 10:50am

Navigating the Noise: Empowering News-Literate Students with Che... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Presenter's Lounge & Workspace 8:00am - 12:00pm

3D Science Assessments and the New HS RISE 9:50am - 10:50am

Bridging the Gap to Grade-Level Text in the secondary classroom... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Courtside Culture - Lessons in Leadership from Basketball's Grea... 9:50am - 10:50am

Norms of Collaboration: Fostering Belonging On and Offline 11:10am - 12:10pm

You Are Not the Test Score: Reclaiming Care and Influence in an... 9:50am - 10:50am

Beyond the Read Aloud: Bringing Stories to Life 11:10am - 12:10pm

Advancing Opportunity: Utah Rural Education Supported By Communi... 9:50am - 10:50am

Mammoth Plans and Jazz Hands: Building an Innovation Lab for Stu... 11:10am - 12:10pm

The People Puzzle: Solved with Business Chemistry 9:50am - 10:50am

Mixing through Meiosis - Variation in Gametes (3 lesson unit) 11:10am - 12:10pm

Beyond Plagiarism: Reimagining Assessment & Assignments in the A... 9:50am - 10:50am

Real or Rendered? Promoting Digital Media Literacy in the Age of... 11:10am - 12:10pm

AI Tools for Digital Storytelling: Google Vids and Adobe Podcast 9:50am - 10:50am

Bringing Characters to Life Using Adobe Character Animator 11:10am - 12:10pm

Emergency Recovery Planning 9:50am - 10:50am

4-Part Model to School Culture 11:10am - 12:10pm

From Policy to Practice: What Utah’s HB 393 Means for Dyslexia a... 9:50am - 10:50am

The Future Ready Student: Resources for Early Postsecondary Tran... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Conference WiFi Informatiion and Tech Support 8:00am - 12:00pm

Strategies for Students Reading Below Grade Level in Middle Scho... 9:50am - 10:50am

Beyond the B.E.A.C.O.N.: Lighting the Way for AI in Education 11:10am - 12:10pm

Where have all the Teachers Gone (and can we get those left to S... 9:50am - 10:50am

Partnership Power: Expanding Classroom Horizons with Division of... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Understanding & Supporting Student Behavior: A Teacher-Centered Approach 9:50am - 12:10pm

Thinking on our Feet: A Building Thinking Classrooms Experience 9:50am - 12:10pm

Refreshment Break

Conference Credit 8:00am - 12:00pm

GEG Utah Demo Slam 2026 9:50am - 10:50am

In Our Google Era: 50 Tools Shaping the Future of Learning 11:10am - 12:10pm

New Teacher Retention: Influence Your Young Teachers to Stay 9:50am - 10:50am

What does a balanced approach to instructional technology use lo... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Surviving the RISE: Lowering the Cognitive Lift 9:50am - 10:50am

Building Sustainable School Wellness Systems In Rural Communitie... 11:10am - 12:10pm

Virtual Field Trips at the Springville Museum of Art 9:50am - 10:50am

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2026 Utah Rural Schools Conference

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