Educators from across Mississippi converged in Starkville for the third annual Innovative Institute Conference.
The conference was hosted by the Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit and the Mississippi Department of Education. Approximately 300 administrators, teachers and counselors from approximately 35 districts across the state attended.
Participants had the opportunity to attend conferences on several trending topics in education, ranging from ACT preparations to the use of data in education. Keynote speakers included Robert Balfanz, a research professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education Center for the Social Organization of Schools and MDE Office of Secondary Education Executive Director Jean Massey.
“We began with a small number of districts who wanted to do something ‘out of the box,’ different than their traditional way of offering opportunities,” said RCU Director Betsey Smith. “It was a small population, and it has grown from probably 75 attendees the first year to 300 this year. We’ve grown in our participants, and they take school districts that are doing something, and they share their stories, sharing their best practices, their successes and networking with each other.”
Smith emphasized the diversity of attendees, with several fields and levels represented across the education world.
Starkville High School Principal Sean McDonnall was one of several Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District faculty attending, and said he had come to the conference for all three years.
“Anytime you can learn something, especially close to home, you always want to take advantage of that,” McDonnall said.
McDonnall said he had picked up knowledge to help the district with its career academies in the coming years.
“There was some discussion of early warning indicators of dropouts,” McDonnall said. “(Balfanz) gave us some things to look for with students from some research that he’s done, so that’s good.”
Starkville High School biology teacher Michael Adam also attended the conference and graduated from Coach University, a yearlong professional development program there. Armstrong
Middle School lead teacher Jennifer Carver and Henderson Ward Stewart lead teacher Laura Harris also graduated from the program.
“We get to come in and get ideas from other school districts in our state as far as the innovative ways that they are engaging students in their districts, and getting students in school to graduate and be college and career ready at the end of their high school experience,” Adam said.
Adam said it was his first year attending the Starkville conference, although he had attended other Innovative Institute events elsewhere.