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

1:30pm MDT

Building Science Thinkers Through Literacy and Data Analysis Strategies GC 311 - General Classroom Building, Room 311Jennifer Mackay The Power of Tier 1: Planning and Delivering Explicit Instruction SC 129 - Science Center, Room 129Jenny Blauer Rising Above Low Expectation: How to Scaffold Learning for Students ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Laureen Graves • Heather Kennedy Learner-Centered Design: Evidence, Iteration, and Impact SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Nathan Auck

2:50pm MDT

Rediscovering True Education: Classroom Practices That Actually Work GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Kenneth Applegate

9:45am MDT

20 in 20: Rapid-Fire Strategies for Classroom Engagement ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Emma Moss Commemorate America250 Utah with History, Civics, and Heart GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306Rebecca Kirkman • Wendy Rex Atzet The Power of Student Voice: Enhancing Literacy Through Oral Language GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Denice Maedgen Supporting Multilingual Learners in the ELA Classroom SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Dr. Jennifer Throndsen Kinesthetic Astronomy 4th grade GC 311 - General Classroom Building, Room 311Jayceen Craven Walker Patterns & Partnerships GC 407 - General Classroom Building, Room 407Heather Paulsen

10:27am MDT

Partnership Power! Bringing Poetry to Life with Statewide Competitions from the Division of Arts & Museums ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Reilly Jensen • Justin Ivie

11:10am MDT

We can help your students learn more about engineering. CC Charles Hunter - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Charles Hunter Room (100 Level)Morgan Boyack Scam Academy - Teaching Students to Outsmart the Algorithms CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)Dani Sloan The Science of Learning in Utah Math Classrooms GC 109 - General Classroom Building, Room 109Jennie Earl

11:52am MDT

Igniting STEAM ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Kathleen Riebe

1:50pm MDT

3D in 8th Grade Science - Oxidation in Action in Utah GC 311 - General Classroom Building, Room 311Maggie Grindstaff

2:32pm MDT

Simulating Moon Phases using your hand ED 215 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 215Jayceen Craven Walker

3:10pm MDT

Scaffolding Tier 1 Phonics Instruction CC Shooting Star - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Shooting Star Room (100 Level)Dr. Jennifer Throndsen 3D Science lessons- Gravity and Inertia GC 311 - General Classroom Building, Room 311Kristine Erickson • Westen Miller Implementing the Success Sequence: Key to Updated Health Education Standards SC 122 - Science Center, Room 122Jodi Parker 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

9:50am MDT

Advancing Opportunity: Utah Rural Education Supported By Community Partnerships CC Yankee Meadows - R. Haze Hunter Alumni Center, Yankee Meadows Room (100 Level)Amy Ahrens Terpstra 3D Science Assessments and the New HS RISE GC 311 - General Classroom Building, Room 311Milo Maughan Grow Lab GC 409 - General Classroom Building, Room 409Heather Paulsen Thinking on our Feet: A Building Thinking Classrooms Experience GC 306 - General Classroom Building, Room 306Wendy Moss-Doong

11:10am MDT

From Notes to Writing: Using Two-Column Notes to Strengthen Student Thinking SC 129 - Science Center, Room 129Jenny Blauer Mixing through Meiosis - Variation in Gametes (3 lesson unit) ED 102 - Emma Eccles Jones Education Building, Room 102Julie Castellon • Valorie Draper • Jami Slack 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