MASC/MASS 2021: Conference Schedule

Conference Information

The following is a partial/tentative schedule for the 2021 MASC/MASS Joint Conference. Sessions, speakers and details will be added as they are confirmed. The schedule and sessions are subject to change.

To view the most up to date schedule information and participate virtually in the conference on the conference mobile app or the web app in your browser.

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Note: The icon next to a session indicates that a ticket is required to attend. This is typically in the case of the lunch and dinner programs. Tickets to meal programs are now sold out.

Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Wednesday, November 3

12:00pm
Conference Registration
1:45 - 3:00pm: Panel Session I
Addressing the Unique Challenges of Regional Schools
Deeper & deeper learning: pathways to student well-being
Socially and Emotionally Competent Leadership for Social Change
Policy Update: New and Post-pandemic Issues
Culture Changes: Beyond Mascots and Graduation Gowns
3:15pm - 4:30pm: Panel Session II
Scheduling to Maximize Student Learning and Realize Stafffing Efficiences
Reimagining the brilliance of Black and Latinx students: The Calculus Project
A Systems Approach that Targets the Literacy Gap
Strengthening the School Committee/Superintendent Partnership
Collective Bargaining: Lessons we’ve Learned from COVID-19
4:30pm - 5:00pm
MASS Business Meeting
5:00pm - 6:30pm
Welcome Back Reception
6:30pm: Dinner ProgramTicket Required
Keynote Dinner
Welcome: Tim Piwowar, Superintendent, Billerica / President, MASS Featured Speaker: Jeffrey Riley, MA Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
8:30pm - 9:00pm
New Conference Attendee Welcome and Orientation

Thursday, November 4

7:30am - 11:30am; 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Registration Open
7:30am - 9:00am
Continental Breakfast
9:00am -10:15am: General Session: School Districts at the Center of Polarized Community Debates
10:30am - 11:45am: Panel Session III
Public meetings: what have we learned and can leverage from our virtual experience
Anti-Racism in Practice: An Introduction to IDEAS (Initiatives for Developing Equity for All Students)
Supporting all families through an equity lens
Fidelity, Fiscal Cliffs, and Future Focus
Facilities/maintenance/capital planning
12:00pm - 1:30pm: Leadership LunchTicket Required
Topic: “Dark Money and the Attempt to Undermine Public Schools” Guest Speaker: Guest Speaker: Maurice “Mo” Cunningham
1:30pm - 2:15pm: MASC Division Meetings
Divisions I & II Meeting
Division III Meeting
Division IV Meeting
Division V Meeting
Division VI Meeting
Division VII Meeting
2:30pm - 3:45pm: Panel Session IV
Legal Challenges in Human Resources
Equity audits
Promoting student social emotional well-being
Bussing blues
3:00 - 4:45pm (approximate)
Division VIII Meeting / Vocational-Technical Roundtable
4:00 - 5:15pm: Panel Session V
Proactive Communication: Telling Your District’s Story Effectively
Collaborative Approach to Recognizing and Addressing Implicit Bias
Communicating your budget
VIRTUAL ONLY: Organizational equity in the hiring process
VIRTUAL ONLY: Berkshire County Education Task Force Update
5:30pm - 6:30pm
Presidents' Reception
6:30pm: Thursday DinnerTicket Required
Guest Speaker: Rep. Steven Ultrino, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Education; Jennifer Hedrington, MA 2021 Teacher of the Year Award Presentations: Lifetime Achievement and All-State School Committee Members

Friday, November 5

7:30am - 11:30am
Registration Open
9:00am - 10:15am
General Session: Amplifying Student Voices During Complex Times
Guest Speakers include: Christopher Horan, Communications Consultant; Nadja Reilly, Associate Director, Freedman Center for Child & Family Development, William James College; Carolyn Casey, Executive Director, Project 351
10:30am - 11:45am: Panel Session VI
Rebuilding/reimagining mental health supports
Creating Consistency and Cohesion Across Your District
Rebuilding engagement and trust with your unions
Title IX regulations: Handling sexual harassment and misconduct complaints
What You Need to Know about Grants Funding
VIRTUAL ONLY: Get Yourself a D.R.E.A.M (Diversity, Respect, Equity, Action & Multiculturalism) Team: Moving Toward Anti-Racism in Schools
12:00pm - 1:30pm: Friday Lunch Ticket Required
Guest Speakers: Guest Speaker: Alan Charles Geller, Senior Lecturer-Social Health and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health
2:00pm - 3:15pm: Panel Session VII
Future of testing
Rural Schools Commission Update
Virtual Education: Changing the paradigm of the public school experience
3:30pm - 4:45pm: Panel Session VIII
Sped Issues: Recovering from the Pandemic
Don’t be afraid to play
VIRTUAL ONLY: Recovery Learning Planning and Implementation in Your District’s Schools
Issues that Divide Us
5:30pm: MASC Reception
6:30pm: MASC Leadership DinnerTicket Required

Saturday, November 6

9:00am: MASC Delegate Assembly
Please note: there will be NO other programming besides the Delegate Assembly on Saturday, November 6.