The National Association of Elementary School Principals's (NAESP) annual conference is just around the corner! This is such an incredible conference due in some ways to the organization's committent to best practices in schools. As they put it, "When it comes to defining the future of elementary school education, it only happens here." There are eight focus areas this year, four of which are topics we are passionate about and often cover in our blog and which visuals and visual learning can play a vital role. If you are attending the conference, perhaps these will give you some food for thought on the way to Nashville! We've also listed a few presentations in each category that we have been eyeing.

Each semester, Aaron Walls, teacher at Cactus High School in Glendale, Arizona, teaches a transition class for students with special needs. It began in 2009, when a group of special education students in his marketing class decided they wanted to start a student-run business. In considering their options, they learned about VariQuest Visual Learning Tools, and voted to decide they would be the best option for their student-based enterprise, called MACH Replica (meaning “fast republication”).

Osseo Area Schools District 279 Brooklyn Park, Minnesota