EDxEDNYC SESSIONS 2019
Attendees at EDxEDNYC can choose to attend whatever sessions they want during the day.
INNOVATION SESSIONS


Jennifer S. Brown
Carving the Path: An Innovative Conversation and Creation of a Vision
SESSION OVERVIEW
Participants will redefine their vision, dig deeper into their beliefs, and make them come to fruition in their everyday decision-making. Addressing equity and excellence requires intention. So, when educators define their vision and use that as a spring board for their everyday decisions, it exponentially increases their power and impact. Having a vision brings to light the contribution of how their choices for themselves and their students works toward what educators ultimately want to accomplish in their classrooms. This conversation results in a specific, organically created guide for self-reflection and change.
HOST BIO
Jennifer Brown is a first-grade teacher at Sheridan Elementary in Junction City, Kansas. Brown holds a bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Psychology from the University of Mount Union, a Masters of Education from John Carroll University, and is currently working on her Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from Kansas State University. She has taught kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and served as a library media specialist. She also spent two years as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Kansas State University teaching Intermediate Literacy Methods before beginning her journey as a middle school teacher. Brown’s research interests include composition pedagogy, the history of writing instruction, and teaching for social justice. She has presented at regional and national conferences in addition to many district professional developments. She serves as a graduate student ambassador for Kansas State University and received the College of Education’s award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant in 2017. She was named to the Kansas Teacher of the Year Team in 2019. As a teacher, she thrives on the daily challenge to engage students as active and collaborative participants in their education. Her vision is to cultivate environments of positivity, change, and equity. Her mission is to communicate the value of others so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves. She believes there is no greater responsibility than to educate and care for each and every student, preparing them not only for the next academic step, but for life.
​
ONLINE
@jsgb03


Hosted by
Tim Comer
xEDTalks Competition: “What could schools be? Designing classrooms for the class of 2037.”
SESSION OVERVIEW
The 5-minute Innovation Challenge (formally EDxEDNYC Ignite) is bringing a little competition to PD and giving educators an opportunity to share their big ideas in “bite-sized portions.” The challenge is, can you improve someone’s practice in only five minutes? This year, we are “igniting” things a little more as the 5-Minute Innovation Challenge will be a (friendly) competition, and it has a theme: "What could schools be? Designing classrooms for the class of 2037.” Come here these amazing Ted Talk-like xEDTalks!
​
HOST BIO
Tim Comer is a natural science teacher who is committed to inquiry teaching, task-based assessment, and educational technology integration. As a teacher leader and leadership scholar, Tim is passionate about promoting continuous school improvements through data analysis and systems design. Tim is also a husband, a father and a competitive martial artist. He is also a cofounder of EDxEDNYC.
​
ONLINE
@cambrianed
Patrice Duncan: Identifying where you are on the spectrum of racial literacy, as well as seek to bring awareness to culturally responsive teaching.
​
Sam Williams: A March Madness-style essay tournament with a twist. Write something nice about the losing essay.
Irosha Pathirage: Developing a passion for math in students!
Irene Arce + Denyse Greenidge + Joenelle Isaac: A school without walls, meeting students where they are literally and figuratively.
Jessica Walters: Increase engagement and autonomy by building and maintaining rapport with your students throughout the year.
Chrissandra L. Mosby: It is not afraid to be loud, bold or break rules and establish new ones; to evolve; it is fearless. Do you have it... It's School Culture!
Cassy Thime: Students from Economically Disadvantaged Backgrounds have an overabundance of educational resilience. What are they?
Jordan Toma: An inspiring message for young students with learning disabilities. My story highlights the struggles I endured from 8th grade through high school. I am sending this message to students of all ages, parents and teachers, and anyone that has ever struggled in school or in life.
Linda Gottfried: Schools are places where students use technology to step into the lives of historical figures to learn important social and emotional skills.
Tim Comer: If we begin to recognize that humans do not come in standard sizes and shapes then we can be more focused on teaching people and less concerned on teaching standards.
Olinka Crusoe: We can use the Framework to leverage equity, change your lens.



Phil Linder
+ Tim Comer
Designing Classrooms that Teach Humans:
From Theory to Practice
SESSION OVERVIEW
Human systems are not not teaching strategies or assessments, but in this conversation we will discuss what they may look like in practice. Human systems are not teaching strategies or assessments, it is a change in attitude. Designing classrooms that teach humans acknowledges that people do not come in standard sizes, shapes, colors or genders. Recognizing this truth is the first step in designing schools that allow good people of honest intent to do great work. In this session, teachers will be encouraged to share their work and identify in what ways we can changes schools for the better.
​
HOST BIO
Phil is in his 9th year as a teacher and began working at Hudson High School of Learning Technologies in 2013. He is a cofounder of EDxEDNYC. Phil is the husband of a beautiful wife and has an indisputably handsome dog.
​
Tim is a ntural science teacher who is committed to inquiry teaching, task-based assessment, and educational technology integration. As a teacher leader and leadership scholar, Tim is passionate about promoting continuous school improvements through data analysis and systems design. Tim is also a husband, a father and a competitive martial artist. He is also a cofounder of EDxEDNYC. ​
​
​
ONLINE
@cambrianed @thehistorydude


IQ+EQ+AQ = The Innovation Experience
SESSION OVERVIEW
How one school designed a program to build on students’ intellectual, emotional and adaptive capacities through a strengths approach to education. Join us for an engaging dialogue aimed at expanding the way we think about student talent development, teacher collaboration and journey development. The Innovation Experience. How one school designed a program to build on students’ intellectual, emotional and adaptive capacities through a strengths approach to education. Join us for an engaging dialogue aimed at expanding the way we think about student talent development, teacher collaboration and journey development.
​
HOST BIO
Bill Brennan, Ed.D is the Assistant Superintendent for Innovation & Organizational Development in Farmingdale School District. Working with the leadership team in Farmingdale, he instituted an overhaul of professional practices related to organizational learning and successfully established Farmingdale Schools and the leadership team as an incubator for innovation in learning. Bill has published articles and delivered keynotes on school transformation, professional learning, personalized learning, and leadership.
​
Bill Brennan


Joe Ferraro
Difficult Conversations:
Facing the Big Questions of Education Head On
SESSION OVERVIEW
The teacher's lounge is the closest place to have the existential questions about teaching, but it isn't the best place. In fact, it might be the very worst place. In this session, experienced and new educators alike will sit kneecap to kneecap to have the conversations we are often too uncomfy to have.
​
HOST BIO
Joe Ferraro is currently in his 20th year as an educator, teaching English 12, Public Speaking, and Creative Writing. In addition to his work in the classroom, he is the creator and host of the personal growth podcast One Percent Better. His mission is to help people leverage small changes in mindset, language, and behavior in order to get life-changing results. On his quest to learn the secrets of daily improvement, Joe has interviewed some of the most creative minds in the world. Authors like Seth Godin, Daniel Pink, James Clear and Debbie Millman. World Champions like 15-time World Series of Poker champion Phil Hellmuth. People as far reaching as former FBI lead hostage negotiator Chris Voss. Joe's writing has been featured on TopCoach.com and Inside Pitch Magazine. Joe has been a guest on several podcasts, including The Productivityist, Teacher Tunnel, Creative NonFiction, TopCoach, and The Baseball Drive. You can follow Joe and his journey at Onepercentbetterproject.com
​
ONLINE
@FerraroOnAir


Jennifer Lewis
Developing a Leadership Toolbox: Utilizing Protocols to Promote Collaboration, Advanced Literacy, and Equity
SESSION OVERVIEW
Developing a leadership toolbox, participants will learn how to utilize protocols to promote collaboration, advanced literacy, and equity. Protocols can be utilized in classrooms, teacher teams, professional development sessions, and administrative meetings. Promoting a culture of collaboration, protocols deepen participants’ understanding, encourage reflection, promote academic rigor, foster distributive leadership, and facilitate the development of a professional learning community. This session will include: hands-on training in multiple protocols, testimonials from students, teacher leaders, school leaders, and district leaders, and group discussion about education policy and research. Aligned with the NYCDOE Instructional Leadership Framework and the NYSED guidelines for Advanced Literacy and Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education, participants will learn how protocols can be incorporated into curriculum, instruction, and collaborative efforts.
HOST BIO
Ms. Lewis is an aspiring school and district leader who currently serves as a high school English Teacher, Teacher Leader, and Teacher Leadership Facilitator. A strong instructional and facilitative leader, Ms. Lewis has taught students in grades 9-12 in co-teaching, ELL/MLL, honors, and alternative classroom settings in schools in Queens and in the Bronx. Ms. Lewis’ experience reflects her career-long commitment to the priorities outlined in the Chancellor’s Expectations and the Framework for Great Schools, including accelerating learning and instruction, partnering with communities, developing people, and advancing equity now.
Ms. Lewis’ extensive leadership experience includes developing and facilitating professional development, developing and implementing curricula, and promoting increased teacher collaboration and inquiry through teacher teams for a faculty of over 200 teachers. Ms. Lewis was recognized as a teacher leader who has the capacity to become a school leader at a recent Office of Leadership dinner. Selected as one of 40 Teacher Leadership Facilitators for the NYCDOE Teacher Leadership Program (TLP), Ms. Lewis delivers facilitative and instructional leadership training to K-12 teacher leaders and school leaders throughout Queens to promote collaboration, student achievement, and equity and excellence for all. Ms. Lewis has been endorsed as a Facilitator by TLP and the School Reform Initiative (SRI), an independent, non-profit organization serving students, teachers, and leaders throughout the United States and beyond which aims to create transformational learning communities, committed to educational equity and excellence. A member of the Advanced Literacy Team, Ms. Lewis collaborates with school leadership to plan, organize, and streamline efforts to promote Advanced Literacy and alignment with the NYCDOE Instructional Leadership Framework and the Culturally Sustaining-Responsive Education Framework. Strengthening ties between her school and alumni communities, Ms. Lewis is the cofounder and coordinator of the Francis Lewis High School Alumni Association, a 501(c)(3) organization that has partnered with the citywide Alumni Association, PS Alumni. Ms. Lewis is a member of the Postsecondary Leadership Team through the NYCDOE College Access for All initiative. Ms. Lewis is a graduate student in the College of Saint Rose/Center for Integrated Training Education Program for Education Leadership who will graduate with SBL/SDL certification in the summer of 2019.
​
ONLINE
@FLHSMsLewis


Chrissandra Mosby
Culture Nation - Wave Your Flag
SESSION OVERVIEW
Culture- the heartbeat of the school. The vibration that moves up and down the halls in and out of the classrooms, pushes from the entry way of the school through the lobby, seeps into the main office and floats to the play deck and even hops on to the school bus. This type of culture excites the students, staff and parents. Culture is developed and nurtured and learned and built upon not just by one person in the school but every single person that works or attends the school. Culture is contagious and it has a life of it's own. It is not afraid to be loud, to be bold to break rules and establish new ones; it is just fearless. It attaches itself to those that crave change, acceptance, unity and power to achieve.
​
HOST BIO
In 2015 Chrissandra joined the Lighthouse Academies Network. Lighthouse Academies is a network of charter schools located in in New York, Indiana and Arkansas. Chrissandra joined Bronx Lighthouse Charter School (BLCS) located in the South Bronx. Chrissandra is the Director of School Culture for grades K - 8 at BLCS. Chrissandra is an instructional and strategic leader at BLCS who works to create and enhance a culture of achievement and respect where high expectations and results are the norm. As the Director of School Culture Chrissandra is responsible for demonstrating significant and measurable gains, each year, with all students. Chrissandra’s job responsibilities include: collaborating with the school leadership team to create and manage a safe and welcoming learning environment, design and implement systematic approach to managing and intervening on student discipline issues based on the Lighthouse Academies (LHA) School Culture Guide, Scholar-Family Handbook, and Restorative Practice models. Chrissandra manages the student support team who is composed of deans, social workers and school aides. Over the past three years Chrissandra sphere headed the school’s Crew Life System which is a system that helps stop social isolation and bullying among scholars. Chrissandra leads school wide initiatives and town hall meetings with students and teachers to encourage relationship building, teamwork and healthy competition weekly.


Jamie Solis
Childhood DJ Curriculum & Teaching
SESSION OVERVIEW
Discover the benefits of DJ practice for child development. Learn about meaningful ways to inspire musical creativity through child-centered DJ pedagogy. This interactive session will introduce the benefits of DJ practice for childhood development. Educators will engage with modern DJ technology and discover the many ways to spark musical creativity in their classrooms. We will discuss child-centered DJ pedagogy as avenue for nurturing essential life skills in today's learners.
​
HOST BIO
Jamie Solis is an educator who specializes in childhood development and digital technologies. She first earned a BS in Childhood & Special Education from NYU, where she discovered her passion for learning experience design. As a classroom teacher, Jamie observed the various manifestations of music in children’s daily lives and the ways in which technology shaped those experiences. She furthered her studies with an MA in Design and Development of Digital Games from the Teachers College at Columbia University, focusing on digital music learning for young children. Her firm belief in music as a conduit to the creative process led her to found NOISE212 Labs, a music enrichment program that introduces young children to DJing and digital music production.
ONLINE
@noise212


We are the Change!
How to Make Innovation Happen in Your School
SESSION OVERVIEW
Innovation can be a divisive word. It can be a frightening concept to administrators, teachers and students. Many of us probably find change to be a difficult sell in our schools. But we don’t have to wait around for the system to change. Educators and students can make meaningful change from within. Together, we ARE the change. Join us for this hands-on and creative session where we explore design thinking and how to really, truly make change in your school.
​
HOST BIO
Jennifer L.M. Gunn spent 10 years in newspaper and magazine publishing before moving to public education. She is a curriculum designer, a teacher and high school educator in New York City. She is also an educator writer and is a co-founder of the annual EDxEDNYC Education Conference for teacher-led innovation and regularly presents at conferences on the topics of adolescent literacy, leadership, and education innovation.
​
ONLINE
@jenniferlmgunn
Jennifer L.M. Gunn


Kryss Shane
LGBT Allyship, the Learning Experience and You:
Are You Doing It Right?
SESSION OVERVIEW
LGBT people face social stigma, institutional barriers, and discrimination daily. Educators will bring their perspectives about these injustices to the interdisciplinary community. This workshop provides strategies for translating the latest research and best practices into opportunities for participation in classrooms, as well as an honest look into educators' experiences, beliefs, and goals... as well as how those tie into Codes of Ethics and into daily classroom actions.
​
HOST BIO
Kryss Shane, MS, MSW, LSW, LMSW (she/her) is a leading LGBT expert with 23+ years of experience. Kryss earned her Bachelors of Science at The Ohio State University, her first Master’s degree in the field of Social Work at Barry University, and her second Master’s degree in the field of Education, specializing in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governor’s University. She holds social work licenses in the states of Ohio and New York and numerous certifications. She travels the US working as a consultant, educator, and corporate trainer, as well as appearing at events and conferences as a keynote speaker, an author, and a writer, all of which focus on making schools, businesses, and community leaders more LGBT inclusive. In addition, she is currently a Teaching Associate at Columbia University. Kryss has aided in the introduction of Gay Straight Alliances in numerous high schools, participated in the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., rallied for non-discrimination laws in numerous states, and has held or actively participated in meetings with numerous legislators to educate and encourage their participation in the Equality Movement. She has worked in concert with numerous equality-based organizations in a variety of roles to support and celebrate the LGBT+ community. Kryss is well-versed in the areas of sexual and gender minorities including historical and current research. She has significant experience working with transgender youth, transgender military servicemembers, and others. This provides the foundation she uses to educate and guide professionals to better understand, accept, and communicate with the LGBT community. She continues to actively advocate for LGBT rights on the local, state, federal, and international levels. She can be reached via her website: ThisIsKryss.com
​
ONLINE
@itsKryss


