2021 Dates: Feb. 28-Mar. 2, 2021 | Hilton Austin Airport

Featured Keynote: Rick Wormeli

Making Middle School Matter Symposium

March 1-3, 2020 | Hilton Austin Airport

This program is for ALL Middle-Level Educators - teachers,
counselors, administrators, and central office administrators.  
The 4th Annual Making Middle School Matter Symposium is open to all middle grades administrators and educators and will focus on research-proven practices that can be implemented school-wide. The symposium will feature a range of keynotes and breakout sessions. Unlike other professional development events or conferences, this program will draw content solely from high-quality research and translate that research into practical knowledge bites so that practices and strategies can be replicated in schools and classrooms.

Breakout Sessions Featuring:
- outstanding research-based strategies to support middle level instruction
- cutting-edge presentations from some of the best middle level practitioners 
- demonstrations from Texas School to Watch model campuses

View 2020 Program »

Keynote Speakers:

Kim Campbell is a self-proclaimed “proud middle school teacher,” “daring Dean of Students,” “crazy/creative consultant,” and “lover of dogs and DQ ice cream”! Yes, she fulfills all those roles! (She has also authored compelling books.) Kim’s direct and engaging style flavored with heart and humor (in person and in her books) make her a favorite with teachers, administrators, and students alike.
Kim crosses the country energizing educational professionals. She’s a dynamic presenter-in national demand as a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and consultant for individual schools and districts, and for the Association of Middle Level Educators, Staff Development for Educators, and the Jack Berckemeyer Consulting Group. In this role, she energizes educators as she builds on lessons learned and techniques developed in her middle-level teaching experiences. Kim translates theory into best practices with a treasure trove of personal experience; teachers use her tips and strategies to look forward to each new teaching day.
Back home in her Minneapolis-area school district, Kim has been a middle level geography teacher for the past 20 years. She is the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Specialist) Coordinator and Dean of Students for her school. She is also the founder and coordinator of Students on Academic Rise (SOAR), an after-school program created to address the achievement gap. In another role, Kim is coauthor of SOAR: A Handbook for Closing the Achievement Gap, and If You Can’t Manage Them, You Can’t Teach Them.

JC Pohl is an award-winning producer, nationally recognized speaker, and certified counselor who has reached over 10 million people in 7,000+ schools. He has produced groundbreaking programs such as TEEN TRUTH and RISING UP, and award-winning content for companies such as Warner Brothers, ESPN, and Disney. He has also provided innovative educational content for The American Film Institute and Human Relations Media.
His school culture work with TEEN TRUTH has sent him around the world, inspiring students, educators, and parents to tell hard truths and be the difference. During his career, Pohl has been featured on news programs, radio shows, and has received front-page coverage on USA Today and Yahoo! Sports. He has personally reached students in every type of school and keynoted conferences for CADA, TASC, BOOST, NASC, NASSCED, COSA, OASC, LEAD, NCSA, GAEL, OSTI-CON, DECA, Texas School Safety Center, and the PTA. Additionally, he has consulted for brands such as Six Flags, Lifetouch, Union Pacific, Special Olympics, The Miami Dolphins, The Baltimore Ravens, and FIVE STAR.
To complement TEEN TRUTH, he also developed RISING UP, an SEL curriculum designed to teach students to build resiliency in the face of adversity. Launched in 2013, Pohl’s RISING UP: Coaching Program has reached students across the country and consists of a peer-to-peer curriculum used by school counselors, the Texas Department of State Health Services, 21st Century ACE Centers, and Communities in Schools.
Pohl is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Texas and is the author of Building School Culture From the Inside Out as well as Building Resilient Students From the Inside Out. Currently, he offers counseling services through his private practice and Austin Divorce Recovery. He holds a Masters Degree in Professional Counseling from Texas State University, San Marcos, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Marketing from Santa Clara University. He is active in the Austin community and has sat on the board of the Austin AMFT. You can find him on Facebook and LinkedIn or connect directly at www.jcpohl.com.

Elizabeth Stevens, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning Sciences at Georgia State University. Stevens is currently co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) of a four-year Institute for Education Sciences Development and Innovation grant, which aims to develop and test a professional development model for middle school teachers on using evidence-based literacy practices during content area instruction. In addition, she directed an Institute for Education Sciences efficacy study examining the effects of an ongoing professional development model on general education teachers’ use of evidence-based reading practices within fourth grade social studies instruction. Stevens received her Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in special education from the College of William and Mary, and a reading specialist degree from the University of Virginia. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, she taught special education for nine years in Virginia. Stevens has extensive experience in designing literacy interventions for diverse and at-risk populations, providing professional development to districts, and examining the effects of such interventions and professional development through high quality research studies. In addition to this work, Stevens has provided statewide literacy professional development in New York, Kansas, Wyoming, Idaho, and Texas on a range of topics, including evidence-based reading and writing practices for struggling learners, intensive interventions, and teaching reading comprehension to students with learning difficulties. Stevens has published in the Scientific Studies of Reading, Exceptional Children, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Remedial and Special Education, Learning Disability Quarterly, Reading and Writing, and Teaching Exceptional Children. Some of her research interests include diagnosis and remediation of learning disability, with particular emphasis on developing effective reading interventions for students with learning difficulties or disabilities.

SCHEDULE »

REGISTRATION IS OPEN! »

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION EXTENDED
$265 through February 24, 2020; After February 24: $315

Hotel Information: Hilton Austin Airport

Reserve a room: CLICK HERE

Group Name: 2020- Making Middle School Matter

Arrival Date: 29-Feb-2020  |  Departure Date: 03-Mar-2020