York Public Schools 4 Annual MLK Day Conference January 21, 2013

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Welcome to our annual Martin Luther King Day conference. We trust that this will be a terrific day for you to grow professionally and network with colleagues within education. The attached pages are an agenda for the events of the day. If you are not a staff member of York Public Schools, welcome to our school today, we are so glad to have you here. At YPS, we pride ourselves on focusing on improving student learning through our school improvement goals (improving reading, math, and closing the learning gap), focus-driven action plans, and abiding by our YPS Principles of Learning, developed in the fall of 2009. YPS Principles of Learning: Instruction: Learning occurs best when.. Instruction is relevant and meaningful The objectives are clear and shared with students Teachers provide a variety of activities and use multiple methods to meet student needs Students are actively engaged Practice: Learning occurs best when. A variety of practice opportunities are provided Relationship/Environment: Learning occurs best when. A positive teacher-student relationship exists, creating an environment of respect, acceptance, and safety Feedback: Learning occurs best when. Appropriate and timely feedback is provided and used to improve learning Todays agenda has focus areas alongside the topics. The specific topics that will be covered today are listed below. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and we hope you have an enjoyable day of professional learning.
Session #1 Personal Learning Networks Edmodo iBooks Author Socrative Twitter 101 Summarizing iPads in Music Coaching/Leadership Stress Management Gifted Education Fliipped Classroom Session #2 Mobile Learning Devices Evernote 101 iTunes U Evernote/Sister Apps Personal Branding Google Tools for SS Jim Grant Tips Video Rounds Difficult Behaviors iPads in Music Google Forms Healthy Eating Gifted Education Homework/Engagement Session #3 SMART boards Apple TV/iPads Nearpod Blogs ELL Strategies Teaching Frameworks Accountability BIST 101 Weightlifting Gifted Education Homework and Engagement in Math IEP Goal Writing Session #4 Engage with SMS Google+ iPads ESU Q & A Family Engagement Screencasting with Interactive Whiteboards MRL Action Research Support BIST Refresher PBiS Accountability Holocaust Education Gifted Education Autism Session #5 YouTube iPads Twitter for PD Moodle Digital Sandbox Grading Writing NonEnglish Teachers Post-Secondary and the study of HOPE Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Hands on Science Bullying Personalizing Chrome Tech and Classroom Management Gifted Education

7:45-8:00 a.m. 8:00-9:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast YHS Theater Commons Keynote Speaker Eric Sheninger YHS Theater

Social Media's Place in Education

Eric is the Principal at New Milford High School located in Bergen County, NJ. He is passionate about establishing and fostering learning environments that are student-centered, collaborative, flexible, and prepare all learners to succeed in the 21st Century. Eric has emerged as an innovative leader in the use of social media and web 2.0 technology as tools to engage students, improve communications with stakeholders, and help educators grow professionally. Eric is a NASSP Digital Principal Award winner (2012), PDK Emerging Leader Award recipient (2012), Google Certified Teacher, Adobe Education Leader, ASCD 2011 Conference Scholar, co-author of "Communicating and Connecting With Social Media: Essentials for Principals" and "What Principals Need to Know About Teaching and Learning Science", writer on education for the Huffington Post, co-creator of the Edscape Conference, sits on the FEA Board of Directors, and was named to the NSBA "20 to Watch" list in 2010 for technology leadership. He now presents and speaks nationally to assist other school leaders embrace and effectively utilize technology. His blog, A Principal's Reflections, was selected as Best School Administrator Blog in 2011 by Edublogs.

9:10-10:00

Breakout Session

#1
Presenter Eric Sheninger, Principal at New Milford High School in Bergen County, New Jersey Room YHS Theater Focus Tech

Session Name and Description Anywhere, Anytime Learning With Personal Learning Networks Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) have been around for centuries and can be defined as relationships that individuals leverage for learning. Come learn how 21st Century educators can utilize the Internet and Web 2.0 tools (microblogging services, social networking websites, social bookmarking tools, RSS feed readers digital forums) to create their PLNs and customize their always-on learning networks. Engaging with Edmodo Edmodo is a very engaging social network tool with a lot of potential for educators and classrooms of all age levels. In this session I will show you how it has been successfully implemented in our 6-8 classrooms. iBooks Author Participants in this session will learn about iBooks Author and how to use it to create your own digital textbooks from our Apple representative.

Heather Callihan, Middle School Technology Teacher/Tech Integration, Grand Island Northwest Mark Billington, Apple

Room 100

Tech

Room 102

Tech

Socrative in the Classroom Instantly engage your classes using any device! Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their classrooms through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Twitter 101 Lets go back to the basics. What is Twitter? Well log into your account, explore the anatomy and terminology of a tweet and get your profile set up to help you best connect with other folks on Twitter. We will also practice reading, sending and managing your Twitter account. Summarizing with Paragraph Shrinking Paragraph Shrinking is one effective summarizing procedure that helps students make sense of difficult text. After this session, participants will be able to teach and reinforce this summarizing strategy in their own classrooms. This session is designed for any teacher of grades 4 through 12 who expect students to learn from or understand text. Thanks for the iPad now what do I do? This workshop will focus on the use of the iPad for music teaching and learning, with specific focus on music composition (GarageBand for the iPad) and creating digital content (video, photos, multimedia, and texts). All of the apps and resources covered will be focused on music teaching. The STUFF Great Leaders Do This presentation will have something for every teacher, coach, and sponsor. Jim Weeks is the Head Mens basketball coach at Doane College and former basketball coach at Beatrice High School. While at Beatrice, Coach Weeks wonn three state championships, three state runner-up finishes, 13 semi-final appearances, and qualified for the state tournament 15 of the last 17 years. Jim has spoken about leadership at several state conferences, clinics, and schools. Stress: The Hidden Cause of Illness & Disease This presentation shows the connection between stress and disease. Identify your causes of stress, learn some coping mechanisms, and some tricks for calming your mind. Teaching Giftedly Raising the Bar for All Learners All students in the classroom need to be challenged. Differentiation of activities in the classroom is a unique way to challenge students. Participants will be shown teaching strategies to differ the content, process and/or products in order to achieve different levels of instruction. Short video clips will show examples of teaching strategies being used in the classroom to differentiate curriculum. The Flipped Classroom Have you been thinking about flipping your classroom? Do you wonder if flipping your classroom would work or you. Have you flipped your classroom and have some ideas to share or questions or ask? We wont have all the answers but will share resources and ideas.

Rod Havens, English teacher for Aurora Public Schools and Craig Badura, pK12 Integraion Specialist Lynne Herr, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6 Jen Madison, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

Room 106

Tech

LAB 116

Tech

Room 101

Language Arts

Brian Moore, Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music Jim Weeks, Head Mens Basketball Coach Doane College

Room 103

Tech/Music

YHS Media Center

Coaching

Heather Caspersen, Health Coach Tim Burke, Director of Gifted Education ESU #11

Room 104

Wellness

Room 105

High Ability Learners (HAL)

Lenny VerMaas, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

Room 108

Flipped Classroom & Tech

10:10-11:00

Breakout Session

#2
Speaker/Facilitato r Eric Sheninger, Principal at New Milford High School in Bergen County, New Jersey Room Focus YHS Tech Theater POL:

Session Name and Description Harnessing the Power of Mobile Learning Devices Come and learn how Sheninger and his teachers routinely ask kids to power up their cellphones to respond to classroom polls and quizzes. Rather than ban cellphones, Sheninger calls them mobile learning devices. He also replaced the schools static, boring website with what has become a heavily-used Facebook page, and his teachers encourage students to research, write, edit, perform and publish their work online. Evernote for Beginners Evernote is a free organizational app that you can access from multiple devices. Learn how to create an account, create notebooks for your classroom and keep your materials organized digitally. iTunes U and iTunes U App Participants in this session will learn about iBooks Author and how to use it to create your own digital textbooks from our Apple representative. Evernote Does Not Work Alone If you are using Evernote, but have yet to take advantage of some of its "sister apps," you are missing out. The Trunk is full of great products and services that integrate with Evernote. Join this session and explore the trunk and learn the value of Skitch, Penultimate, and possibly a few more third party Evernote apps. Personal Branding Everything we post online contributes to our individual personal brand as well as the brand of our schools. Explore resources to help students understand personal branding as a novel approach to digital citizenship. Explore Lynnes Pinterest board of online resources to support personal branding work. Google Tools for Social Studies Social studies is an excellent place to maximize the use of all things Google. Learn how to use documents, forms, maps, YouTube, wikis, and even hangouts to make class content more engaging and relevant Jim Grant Conference Recap What extra-ordinary teachers do differently Lisa and Linda will share with participants awesome easy to implement strategies learned from Jim Grant to improve instruction and make learning fun in your classrooms. Video Instructional Rounds: In this session, participants view video clips of real teachers in real classrooms and engage in self-reflection and strategy sharing. Just as medical students make rounds with experienced doctors to study cases and learn the practice, we will make rounds of classrooms via video to study and reflect on our practice. Dealing with Difficult Behaviors In the classroom, not only are we charged with improving learning for all of our students, often times we provide in the trenches mental health support for students with difficult behaviors. Participants will learn the warning signs and how to react

Mitch Bartholomew, York High School Principal Mark Billington, Apple Laura Kroll, Principal ExeterMilligan Public Schools

Room 100 Room 102 Room 106

Tech & Organization Tech Tech & Organization

Lynne Herr, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

LAB 116

Tech & Digital Citizenship

Toby Boss, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6 Lisa Eichinger and Linda Wilton, 6th Grade Teachers at YMS Jen Madison, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

Room 110

Social Studies & Tech

YHS Media Center Room 101

Engagement

Reflection

Michael Becker, LSW, York area mental health provider

Room 110

Behavior

and proactively prevent difficult behaviors. Thanks for the iPad now what do I do? (continued session) This workshop will focus on the use of the iPad for music teaching and learning, with specific focus on music composition (GarageBand for the iPad) and creating digital content (video, photos, multimedia, and texts). All of the apps and resources covered will be focused on music teaching. Google Forms in the Classroom Join this session to learn how to integrate Google Forms into your classroom instruction. We will learn how to use Google Forms as bell ringers, assessments, and to gather info on students' interests. Eat Right for Your Type Explore the concept of bio-individuality, the theory that not one way of eating is right for everyone. Discover how one persons poison can be another persons medicine. Learn how what you may be eating could quite possibly contribute to digestive issues, headaches, joint pain, or other health related issues. Materials and Activities to Challenge Learners in the Classroom This session will showcase a variety of classroom materials, ideas, programs, learning centers, and activities that can be used by teachers to differentiate the curriculum in order to challenge students in the classroom. A collection of classroom materials at various grade levels on various topics will be on display. Participants will learn to develop activities based on Blooms Taxonomy that can be used in their own classroom. Homework Strategies that Engage Students, Are your students are getting tired the same old types of homework assignments? A variety of alternative homework strategies will be shared to engage students and keep them interested in learning. All content areas, grades 3-12.

Brian Moore, Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music Stephen Sautter, YPS Technology Integration Specialist

Room 103

Tech & Music

LAB 118

Google

Heather Caspersen, Room Health Coach 104

Wellness

Tim Burke, Director of Gifted Education ESU #11

Room 105

High Ability Learners (HAL)

Lenny VerMaas, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

Room 108

Homework

11:10-12:00

Breakout Session

#3
Speaker/Facilitato r Brad Luce, York Public Schools 5th Grade Teacher Shelly Mowinkel, Business Education teacher, Milford Public Schools Desiree Teahon, SPED from Aurora Public Schools and Craig Badura, pKRoom YHS Media Center Room 100 Focus Tech

Session Name and Description SMART Strategies for Integrating Your Interactive Whiteboard Do you need ideas for incorporating your SMART board into your daily lessons and activities? This session will show you how to integrate various tips and tricks into your everyday instruction. What To Do...Now that You Have Apple TV What's Apple TV all about? How are iPads and Apple TV incorporated together? How can you make them work in your classroom? Learn basic pointers on how to effectively use Apple TV and iPads in your classroom for teacher productivity and student learning! Create, Engage and Assess with Nearpod Bring your classroom to life with interactive mobile presentations! Nearpod is an all in one solution for the synchronized use of iPads in the classroom. Come learn

Tech

Room 102

Tech

how to makeyour classroom more engaging through interactive multimedia presentations using Nearpod Knock Down Your Classroom Walls with Blogs Blogs are great tools to publish student work to audiences outside your classroom, get authentic feedback from real world audiences, connect with parents and the community and learn from other educators around the world. This session will help you find valuable blogs to follow, and walk you through creating your own blog with Blogger, Googles built-in blogging tool. Instructional Strategies for English Language Learners The participants of this training will learn more about the language acquisition levels and language development. We will explore the characteristics of each level of language acquisition, learn the importance of incorporating the 5 domains of language in daily activities, and provide multiple strategies for ELL instruction that can be immediately utilized in your classrooms. So we have Teaching Frameworks - Now What? The Nebraska Department of Education published the Educator Effectiveness Frameworks as a way to define expectations of quality teaching. Come learn more about the standards as we unpack them to demonstrate what this document means. Examples will be provided of the indicators and teachers will be provided a digital copy of the frameworks Accountability in the Classroom for Students, Teachers, and Administrators For almost 30 years the Gretna Public Schools have required every student to successfully complete every classroom assignment and assessment. This practice has led to fewer failing grades, fewer dropouts and increased learning opportunities for students. It has lowered behavioral referrals and created and atmosphere of collaboration and shared vision. Basic BIST Overview This session will provide elementary school personnel with an overview of BIST; a comprehensive organizational, behavioral and curricular approach to support students who exhibit challenging behaviors. This model provides strategies to struggling students based on the philosophy of teaching and protecting to create life changes. York Weight Room Philosophy/Exercise Techniques for Developing Athletes in All Sports The participants will learn about our three basic pillars for what we do in strength training: (1) specificity, (2) overload, and (3) periodization. YPS student athletes will be on hand to demonstrate technique on our four main core lifts and other axillary lifts. Pull-Out Program Ideas for K-6 High Ability Learners This session will focus on meeting the needs of high level students through a pull-out program. Ideas will be shared for activities, lessons, and resources to use in the program, based on personal teaching experiences." Homework Strategies for the Math Classroom that Engage Students,

12 Integration Specialist Lynne Herr, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

LAB 116

Tech and Writing

Mrs. Kim Ide-Stice, Instructional Coach Lexington Public Schools Mrs. Kristie Dugan, Instructional Coach Lexington Public Schools Toby Boss, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

Room 101

ELL

Room 110

Teacher Evaluation

Dr. Kevin Riley, Roger Miller, Jamie Ewer, and Lori Wewel Gretna Public Schools

Room 103

Feedback

Marty Huitt, Individual BIST Consultant, M.S. Ed

Room 104

Behavior

Glen Snodgrass, YPS Head Football Coach and Strength Instructor

Weight Room QWAC

Coaching

Dr. Wanda Stelk, Grand Island Public Schools Integration Specialist Lenny VerMaas, Professional

Room 105

High Ability Learners (HAL) Homework Math

Room 108

Are your students are getting tired the same old types of homework assignments? A variety of alternative homework strategies will be shared to engage students and keep them interested in learning. These strategies are different from Lennys other homework presentation and would work best in a math or science classroom grades 3-12. Writing Measurable IEP Goals This session is for special educators and will focus on how to develop a meaningful IEP goal that is measurable from year to year to show ongoing growth for students with verified disabilities.

Development Specialist ESU 6

Dr. Sue Kemp, Associate Professor of Practice Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska Lincoln

Room 111

SPED

12:00-12:40

Lunch Break Provided in the YHS Gym Commons Sandwich Bar Compliments of Cornerstone Bank Breakout Session #4
Speaker/Facilitato r Eliu Vati Paopao, PreK-12 Tech Director, Chadron Public Schools Locatio n Room 100 Focus/POL Tech Engagement

12:40-1:30

Session Name and Description Engage with SMS Description: With services like Remind101 and Cel.ly you can engage your kids in and out of your classroom. Send out texts in regards to discussion, assignments, reminders, etc. without giving out your number. Come learn how these services can play a major role in your setting. The Plus of using Google+ in Education Google Plus (Google+) is Google's social networking service. While it is similar to Twitter and Facebook, you can create circles (groups of people) and only share things with the circles you choose; can have Hangouts (video conferences); share resources; have conversations; and much more. Come find out about the uses, and see the benefits it can have for you as an educator.

Chris Ericson, YPS Technology Manager and Brent Catlett, Instructional Technology Trainer for Bellevue Public Schools and Google Certified Teacher Mark Billington, Apple

Room 106

Google

I have one iPad in my classroom now what? Participants will learn from our Apple rep on strategies to integrate an iPad in your classroom when you only have one device. The Doctors are In Some instructional challenges, tech tools or classroom management strategies are best discussed 1-on-1. ESU 6

Room 102

Tech

Lynne Herr, Toby Boss, Lenny VerMaas ESU #6

LAB 116

Help Session

staff members will be available to help you eliminate roadblocks and answer questions. eFACE (electronic Family And Community Engagement) Strategies for Educators & Admin **This session will be delivered in an online format.** Technology integration and family engagement are two areas left out of most educational leadership coursework. However, todays educators have 1000s of web 2.0 tools at their disposal to connect, learn and share the great things happening in their schools. How do you decide which tools make the greatest impact on student learning? Learn how to create and harness mobile apps, digital two-way communication offerings, text alerts, family engagement shared webspace and other tools that provide digital engagement but do not require a purchase order to implement. How to Screencast Lessons With Your Interactive Whiteboard Learn how to record lessons and make these lessons available to your students. You can use these lessons for students who are absent, students who need remediation, or if you wish to "flip" your classroom. MRL Action Research Support: This session is reserved for members of the YPS MRL Cohort 2012-13. Jen will answer questions, troubleshoot, and provide support for cohort members' action research projects. BIST Refresher This session is for elementary teachers who have previously been trained in BIST, and would like to freshen up on procedures to help with behaviors in their classroom. The specific area of focus will be creating behavior plans that help students make life changes. Time will be available to ask Marty questions on what if or what do we do when. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBiS) Participants will learn how to build a positive, proactiove approach to create a consistent, safe, and productive learning environment for ALL students. Accountability in the Classroom for Students, Teachers, and Administrators (repeat from 11:10-12:00 AM session) For almost 30 years the Gretna Public Schools have required every student to successfully complete every classroom assignment and assessment. This practice has led to fewer failing grades, fewer dropouts and increased learning opportunities for students. It has lowered behavioral referrals and created and atmosphere of collaboration and shared vision. Pedagogy of Teaching the Holocaust and Holocaust Literature In this session, Erin DeHart, Associate Professor of Education at York College, will present how to teach the Holocaust, as well as age appropriate methodologies. She

Professional Development Staff Joe Mazza, lead learner at Knapp Elementary School in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Room 111 Parent and School Relationships

Steph Buzek, 9-12 Math Teacher, Cross County Community Schools Jen Madison, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6 Marty Huitt, Individual BIST Consultant, M.S. Ed

Room 108

Tech Flipped Classroom

Room 101

Marzano Cohort

Room 104

Behavior

Sally Carlson, Behavior Specialist and PBiS training facilitator, Nebraska Department of Education Dr. Kevin Riley, Roger Miller, Jamie Ewer, and Lori Wewel Gretna Public Schools

Room 112

Behavior

Room 103

Feedback

Erin DeHart, Associate Professor of Education at York College

Room 110

Holocaust

will also discuss lesson plans and Holocaust literature for middle school and high school students. Differentiated Instruction Ideas for High Level Learners in Grades K-6 This session will share philosophy on the need for differentiated programming for high level students, along with specific strategies you can use in your classroom. Understanding the Student with Asperger's This session will provide the attendees a brief overview of how Asperger's fits into the Autism Spectrum and strategies and tips on working with Asperger students in the classroom. Dr. Wanda Stelk, Grand Island Public Schools Integration Specialist Bobby DeHart, Professor of Education, York College Room 105 High Ability Learners (HAL) SPED

Room 114

1:40-2:30

Breakout Session

#5
Speaker/Facilitato r Chris Ericson, YPS Technology Manager Locatio n Room 106 Focus/PO L Tech

Session Name and Description YouTube in the Classroom YouTube has over 72 HOURS of content uploaded every single MINUTE, and over three BILLION views per day. This hands-on session will allow for users to sync their YouTube account with their Google Acct; Set up their personal channel; Create playlists to add video; and begin developing an invaluable addition to their classroom resources. I have a class cart of iPads now what? YPS has been fortunate to have been able to purchase entire class carts of iPads. Our Apple rep will talk to staff about instructional strategies to use to infuse technology into your existing curriculum. Twitter for Professional Development Twitter is a great way to learn and collaborate with educators around the world. Learn about educational hashtags and live chats, and practice using both to take your use of Twitter to a personally enriching experience. Explore Tweetdeck as a Twitter client to make Twitter work for you while youre busy teaching. Moodle Digital Sandbox Need TIME to work on Moodle? Come build your Moodle page and resources! This session is designed for Moodle users to add resources, build assessments, and gather other ideas how to integrate into the classroom. Grading Writing for Non-Language Arts Teachers Though this will be offered as a continuation of a previous session at York High School, new participants are welcome. This session will focus on ways to teach students to respond to constructed-response assessment questions as well as on ideas for scoring student responses. Science Notebooking in the Elementary Classroom Are you interested in using science notebooks in your

Mark Billington, Apple

Room 102

Tech

Lynne Herr, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

LAB 116

Tech

Stephen Sautter YPS Technology Integrationist and Katie Burger, English/LA teacher at YHS Jen Madison, Professional Development Specialist ESU 6

LAB 118

Tech

Room 101

Writing

Rita Vogel 4th Grade Teacher at

Room 111

Science

classroom? In this session, you will participate in an observation activity to practice notebooking. You will also have the opportunity to view actual student notebooks. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - Looking Beyond the Face The goal of this workshop is to increase participants knowledge of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder. Participants will gain a better understanding of the risks and symptoms of this disorder. After attending this session educators will walk away with an increased visibility of this disorder and have some helpful strategies to best serve parents and children who are affected. The Light at the End of the Tunnel Do you ever wonder why do we have to do all this testing of students? What is the purpose? Mike and Tami will share with you why collecting data and making improvements in student learning goes a long way in giving students hope. Research recently completed by the Gallup Organization has found that HOPE is the number one indicator of student success. What's In Bullying? Bullying takes place 24/7 through multiple venues. It's time to get our minds out of any type of denial, recognize the reality and stand united against bullying. Come and learn different techniques that are recommended to assist students in stripping the bully of their power and also learn ways to support and uplift the heavy-hearted students who are being bullied. Personalizing Chrome With Extensions The beauty of Chrome is that each user can shape it to fit their personal needs. Come find out about the many Extensions available in the Web Store, which will make your online experience more productive. Technology and Classroom Management Ever feel like students get to have all the fun using technology? Do you sometimes even dread using the technology because of the nightmare it creates for classroom management? This session will highlight the use of technology for everyday classroom management, using ClassDojo plus some strategies for using technology with your students without the headaches it can cause. Materials and Activities to Challenge Learners in the Classroom (repeat from 10:10-11:00 AM session) This session will showcase a variety of classroom materials, ideas, programs, learning centers, and activities that can be used by teachers to differentiate the curriculum in order to challenge students in the classroom. A collection of classroom materials at various grade levels on various topics will be on display. Participants will learn to develop activities based on Blooms Taxonomy that can be used in their own classroom.

YES and Nancy Bellows, 5th Grade Teacher at YES Karen Pinkelman, YPS Early Childhood Coordinator Room 104 Early Childhood

Mike Lucas, YPS Superintendent and Tami Wegener, YHS Counselor

Room 103

Post Secondary Education

Roger Doud, YMS Guidance Counselor and Kerri Bukaske, YPS District Administrative Assistant Matt Stuhr, YPS Technology Integrationist and YHS Math Instructor Sarah Hanika, Middle School Science Shelby Rising City

Room 108

Bullying

Room 100

Tech

Room 112

Tech & Behavior

Tim Burke, Director of Gifted Education ESU #11

Room 105

High Ability Learners (HAL)

2:40-3:40 p.m.

Keynote Speaker V.J. Smith The Richest Man in Town

"The Richest Man in Town," details the life and philosophies of a man who ran a cash register at Wal-Mart. Marty, the subject of the speech, was loved and respected by his customers because of how he treated people. In June, 2005, Smith published a book titled, The Richest Man in Town. After ten printings, the book is now published by Simple Truths, Inc. V.J. Smith is a professional speaker and published author. He graduated from South Dakota State University in 1978 and spent the decade of the 1980s working for the Allied Signal Aerospace Company in Kansas City. He returned to his alma mater in 1990, working for six years in the SDSU Athletic Department. He was appointed Executive Director of the SDSU Alumni Association in 1996. In January 2007, he left that position to pursue a career in professional speaking. Smith is a two time finalist in Toastmasters' International's World's Championship of Public Speaking. He is also the author of the book, Jackrabbit Tales. He is the President of Life's Great Moments and resides in Brookings, SD.