Welcome to the June 16th page for the Nevada Association of School Administrators (NASA) Summer Institute 2026. Check here for schedules, guest speakers, and more.
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast (not mandatory for credit)
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Conference; Lunch Included
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast (not mandatory for credit)
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Conference; Lunch Included
Registration, Continental Breakfast, and Exhibit Hall Venders 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM
Welcome, Overview of the Day, and Networking Activity 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM
Dr. Katie Louise Weir
Keynote #3 The Choices that Define Leadership, Superintendent Joe Ernst Washoe County School District 8:15 AM - 9:30 AM
Superintendent Joe Ernst has been a dedicated educator and active member of the Northern Nevada community for more 25 years, serving in the roles of teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, area superintendent, and Chief Continuous Improvement Officer. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to academic excellence, inclusive leadership, and student success. Appointed Superintendent of the Washoe County School District in 2024, Mr. Ernst’s first year at the helm was marked by historic academic gains and a renewed focus on climate, culture, and instructional excellence. Under his leadership, the District saw the largest one-year increases in English Language Arts and Math proficiency since the inception of the Smarter Balanced Assessments, with performance levels in key elementary grades returning to or exceeding pre-pandemic benchmarks. Every student population group showed measurable improvement, and 71% of schools reduced chronic absenteeism—underscoring the districtwide focus on engagement and support. His outstanding contributions have been recognized through numerous awards, including the Reno Gazette Journal Best in Education, Washoe Education Association Distinguished Performance Award, WCSD Inspiration Award for Exemplary Inclusive Practices, and WCSD Principal of the Year. As principal of Anderson Elementary School, he led the school to become one of only nine “Shining Star Schools” in Nevada. Superintendent Ernst remains deeply committed to ensuring that every student is welcomed, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential.
Visit Exhibits & Learn from NASA Partners 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM
Panel Discussion: Leveraging Labor Relations 9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
Presented by
Doug Owen, Chief Human Resources Officer Washoe County School District, Dr.
Katie Louise Weir, Washoe County School District
Dawn Etcheverry, Nevada State Education Association (NSEA)
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM - Visit Exhibits & Learn from NASA Partners
Breakout Session 4 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Choose 1 of 7
Option 1
Beyond the Resume: Modernizing Leadership Hiring Through Competency Frameworks
Presented by: Washoe County School District and The New Teacher Project (TNTP) Dr. Katie Louise Weir and Carmen Orozco
Tahoe A
OPTION 2
Leading with Data: Innovating Systems that Inspire Educators to Act
Presented by: Washoe County School District Dr. JT Stark
Tahoe D
OPTION 3
Strategic Leadership in Practice: Building Capacity, Trust, and Sustainability
Presented by: Discovery Education Jenn Hunter Manager, State and Strategic Partnerships
This session explores leadership practices that support professional excellence, responsible resource use, and strong labor relationships. Through real‑world leadership scenarios, participants will reflect on how strategic decisions impact trust, culture, and system sustainability. Experience‑based resources will be shared as adaptable tools for leadership reflection and collaboration—without sales or product pitches. Leaders will leave with ideas they can apply within their own schools or district.
Emerald Bay
OPTION 4
Leading Through Assessment Change: Practical Strategies for Today's School Leaders
Presented by: IXL Lori Gonzalez & James Zeller
Falling Leaf
Are your assessment strategies truly serving today's students - or managing yesterday's accountability demands? In this highly interactive session, Dr. Lori Gonzalez guides school and district leaders through the evolution of K–12 assessment from the standardized tests many of us grew up with to the adaptive, real-time systems reshaping today's classrooms. Drawing on current research and national trends, participants will examine what assessment data reveals about student learning before and after COVID, where gaps have widened, and what that means for leadership decisions right now. Grounded in practical frameworks, this session moves beyond describing assessment to helping leaders use it, connecting data directly to instruction, intervention, and school improvement. Participants will reflect on their own systems, identifying what's working, what's outdated, and what a well-designed assessment ecosystem could look like for today's learners. Attendees will leave with clear strategies for what to stop, start, and sustain - and the leadership lens to drive meaningful change.
OPTION 5
STELLAR Clarity: Using AI to Strengthen Teacher Clarity and Differentiate Reading Instruction
Presented by: HMH, Kate Peila
Marla Bay
Grounded in Nevada’s STELLAR AI framework, this 90‑minute session explores how AI can strengthen Teacher Clarity and support meaningful differentiation in the reading classroom. Leaders will leave with clear look‑fors to guide observation and coaching, while educators will gain practical, best‑practice strategies for using AI to plan scaffolds, vary text‑dependent questions, and design aligned formative checks without compromising rigor or student thinking.
OPTION 6
Turning Insight into Impact: MTSS and i-Ready in Nevada
Presented by: Curriculum and Associates, Dr. Joshua Sain
Glenbrook
Tiered instruction has one core purpose: to make sure every student receives the support they need to reach, and exceed, grade‑level expectations. In practice, though, tiered instruction can feel anything but simple. With so many interconnected components, one weak link can make the entire system feel overwhelming, as if it takes superhuman effort to ensure all students get the learning opportunities they deserve. This session will showcase how i-Ready can support the most critical components of a tiered instructional framework and enable educators to turn insights into impact by using the new i-Ready MTSS Toolkit for Nevada to 1) identify core instructional priorities; 2) plan intervention and intervene with Increased focus, coherence, intensity, and specificity; and 3) respond to student progress.
OPTION 7
Alignment Is a Leadership Skill
Presented by: Adam Lane
Sand Harbor III
Misalignment, between contracts, budgets, practices, and values, creates conflict. Strategic leaders create clarity, coherence, and consistency.
Labor agreements, fiscal responsibility, and professional expectations must align
Leaders often inherit misalignment — the question is whether we perpetuate or correct it
Alignment builds trust faster than charisma
Visit Exhibits & Learn from NASA Partners 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
Honorary Lunch & Keynote #4 Alignment Is a Leadership Skill: Lessons from Mariachi on Eliminating Systemic Dissonance
Leaders often say their organization is aligned around a shared vision, mission, and strategy but alignment declared is not alignment achieved. This session explores systemic dissonance: the subtle (and not-so-subtle) misalignments that occur when departments, teams, and initiatives all sound strong on their own, yet fail to work together in practice. 12:00 PM - 1:45 PM
Richard Carranza, Chief of Strategy and Global Development at IXL Learning where he helps identify how the company can make an even greater worldwide impact. Carranza previously served as Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education and as the Superintendent of Houston Independent School District and San Francisco Unified School District. Richard began his career as a high school social studies teacher and principal in Tucson, Arizona. He is also a passionate warrior for equity and an accomplished mariachi performer.
CONGRATULATIONS HONOREES
Colin McNaught
Principal Cimarron Memorial High School
National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)
Principal of the Year for Nevada 2026
Timothy Wells
Assistant Principal, Mojave High School
National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP)
Assistant Principal of the Year for Nevada 2026
Rodney Saunders
Executive Director Doral Academy Nevada
2025-2026 Central Office Licensed Administrator of the Year
Andrea Sullivan
Senior Director of Supply Chain Management WCSD – Purchasing
2025-2026 Central Office Professional Technical Administrator of the Year
Robert Hinchliffe
Principal Tyrone Thompson Elementary School
2026 National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Nevada
Scott Rivera
Assistant Principal at Shirley Barber Elementary School
2025-26 National Outstanding Assistant Principal for Nevada
Heather Thaxton
Principal, Double Diamond Elementary School
2026 NASA Champion
Anthony Nuñez
Principal, Cheyenne High School & President Nevada Association of School Administrators Educational Engagement Committee
2026 NASA Champion
Lorabelle Mae Tanjuan Hardisty
Fourth-grade teacher, Jerry Whitehead Elementary
2026 NASA Teacher of the Year
Amanda Volpa
Teacher, Bohach Elementary School
Gladis Diaz
Visit Exhibits & Learn from NASA Partners 1:45 PM - 2:00 PM
OPTION 1
Systemic Dissonance in the classroom (session extension from keynote). Dismantling instructional dissonance in the classroom. Hear from our panelists how they’ve strived for cohesion. Presented by: IXL Richard Carranza Student Miss Elston Facilitator: Kim Wooden
Tahoe A
OPTION 2:
Beyond the Resume: Modernizing Leadership Hiring Through Competency Frameworks
Presented by: Washoe County School District and The New Teacher Project (TNTP) Dr. Katie Louise Weir and Carmen Orozco
Tahoe D
OPTION 3
Teaching and Leading from the Heart Through Safe & Respectful Learning
Presented by: Washoe County School District Cassandra Hayes; Crassandra Lopez
Emerald Bay
OPTION 4
Psychological Process Behind the Mind/Brain that Controls SEAD/SEL
Presented by: Dr. Sheila Ce' Anderson-Echegoyen Author of “Special Education Teachers’ Understanding the Personal and Institutional Components within Self-Contained Classrooms”
This session is for all individuals interested in understanding the psychological processes behind the mind/brain that governs your emotional learning, including the practical Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) assessments that measure self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-makingin youth and adults. This session identifies methods for monitoring mind/brain/SEAD competency, which provides levels of self-empowerment. Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and communities. It enables them to represent their interests responsibly and independently, acting on their authority.
Glenbrook
OPTION 5
The Nuts and Bolts of Launching a Successful Teacher Residency Program
Presented by: Jina Eksaengsri
Marla Bay
OPTION 6
More Than Just Educators: The Power That Perspectives Play in Building Stronger Relationships!
Presented by: Robert Hinchliffe
Falling Leaf
As an educator, why do the job if you are not hoping to make a lasting
impact on children, colleagues, or the profession as a whole? "More Than
Just Educators” examines individuals who will never be forgotten by those
who they had an impact upon, and will remind every participant that their
ripple effect never ends. Highlighting great teachers, support staff, and
administrators from across the country, this presentation hits on all
employee groups within a school in order to ensure that staff members
know how much they matter to students. In today's world, educating
students, or running schools and districts, is a difficult job that taxes the
mind greatly. However, through reflection, attendees will be reminded that
they have a legacy they are leaving behind, and that their time in their job
is worth the effort they give each and every day.
Based upon three books in the "More Than Just" series, I motivate
educators to remember that without relationships, students will not achieve
the highest level of success. This presentation inspires individuals to go
above and beyond for their students. Attendees will be reminded they do
not have to "do more work" to "be more" to kids, they just have to care and
meet them on a personal level. Participants will enjoy music, engaging
content, take an emotional roller-coaster ride, and will hear stories of fellow
educators that prove it is "more than just school" for many
individuals. Through reflection and looking at different perspectives, the
audience will think about both the student and teacher that have had the
biggest impact on their life and will leave with the understanding that
relationships are paramount to the success of students.
Educators will be reminded that they matter, be inspired to reach greater
heights for their students, and leave with a renewed sense of greater
purpose. Other attendees will understand the impact their favorite educator
had upon their lives and strive to be the best they can be, just like their
favorite educator, in order to make a lasting impact in whatever journey
they take in their lives.
OPTION 7
Systematic Leadership, Powerful Instruction: Building Sustainable Literacy Growth In a Multilingual School
Presented by: Washoe County School District, Mike Dixon, Stephanie Cresta, Brooke Kimber, Elyse Hansen
General Session Room
OPTION 8
Fireside Chat: Hear from NASA's VIP Partners to help find solutions to the challenges your schools and departments are facing
Presented by:
HMH Center for Model Schools
Magic School AI
Next Gen Math
Cognia
IXL
Sand Harbor III
Visit Exhibits & Learn from NASA Partners & Cookies and Brownie Break 3:15 PM - 3:30 PM
KEYNOTE #5 Leadership is Stewardship of People, Public Trust, and Finite Resources: How Effective Leadership Eliminates Vacancies and Turnovers & End of Conference Drawings (must be present to win) 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Adam Lane – Leading Lane Adam Lane has worked in K–12 public education since 1995. He spent 16 years at the high school level, ten years at the middle school level, and one year at the elementary level. During that time, he has held various positions, including teacher, department head, athletic coach, athletic trainer, athletic director, assistant principal, International Baccalaureate Coordinator, and principal. He was nominated as the Florida 2022 NASSP Principal of the Year, and 2022 K-12 Dive National Principal of the Year. He also served as the 2022 President for the Florida Association of Secondary School Principals. Adam believes the key to success is in utilizing decision making, relationship building, and positive behavior to create an unforgettable experience while improving staff effectiveness and raising student achievement. He has developed a proven method for creating a positive culture, recruiting, hiring, training and retaining staff members. Nicknamed the Rock and Roll Principal, he is known to conduct fun, engaging and impactful workshops across a variety of topics. His sessions provide effective strategies that will assist in resolving problems educators are constantly facing, which are negatively impacting their campuses and school districts.
