WA-ACTE 2026 Summer Conference

Scott’s presentation guru, Garr Reynolds, stated it best at his site, presentationzen.com: “We are a storytelling animal. We are not a bullet-point-memorizing animal. We are wired to be attracted to story and to learn from them and to spread them.” “The best stories infuse wonder,” says Pixar’s Andrew Stanton. Come learn how to tell better stories, engage, and not enrage your students. Resources at Scott's website.

Learning should feel good, or better stated, gratifying.  The stronger the emotional response, the better the retention of learning. Let’s take a look at what chemically happens in the brain when we struggle, succeed, and enjoy what we are doing. Resources at Scott's website.

Rigor seems to be the forgotten lost child of the 3 R's - and it's causing problems all the way up to lawsuits for districts not preparing kids. How can we bring this back *while* still maintaining equity? If we don't - why are we even bothering?

We're observing a remarkable decrease in student resiliency - which has a cascade effect on future learning, college success and ultimately workplace/life success. How can we rebuild this critical foundational ability? In this session we'll learn how to turn the table and create a Culture of Failure in your classroom.

Stukent CTE provides access to world-class courseware, simulations, cert prep, and certifications. 
Business Content Areas: Business, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Finance, & Accounting 
Agriculture Content Areas: Intro to Ag, AgBiz, Plant Science, Animal Science, Ag Mechanics, & Floral Design
Hospitality Content Areas: Principles of Hospitality and Tourism Management, &  Culinary Arts 
All CTE: Generative AI, Personal Finance, Career Readiness, & Public Speaking

• Courseware (Learn): Standards-based, interactive curriculum with full-year courses. The courses include lessons based on standards, video content from a group of young, diverse professionals, formative & summative assessments, projects, discussions, & exams (auto-graded). The platform also includes a bellringer video resource based on current events and case studies.
• Simternships (Simulate): Stukent CTE offers 15+ cutting-edge simulations, called Simternships, which give students hands-on learning, work-based experience, and robust application. 
• Cert Prep (Practice): The platform also aligns with third-party Cert Prep offerings from Certiport and iCEV.
• Certifications (Certify): Stukent CTE offers 10+ Industry-Recognized Certifications that help teachers certify student understanding. 

The Teacher Dashboard provides real-time measurement and monitoring tools, standards-based analytics, group management, tracking of student leader efficacy, and custom rubrics. 
The platform is fully integrated with Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, and MS Teams.

CTE Dual Credit is evolving across Washington State. Join leaders from K–12 and higher education to learn about current statewide efforts to strengthen consistency, improve student access, and streamline implementation. Participants will receive updates on emerging policy and practice, regional pilot initiatives, standardized processes and resources, and strategies for building high-quality CTE Dual Credit programs that expand opportunities for students. 

CTE Dual Credit is evolving across Washington State. Join leaders from K–12 and higher education to learn about current statewide efforts to strengthen consistency, improve student access, and streamline implementation. Participants will receive updates on emerging policy and practice, regional pilot initiatives, standardized processes and resources, and strategies for building high-quality CTE Dual Credit programs that expand opportunities for students. 

“AI That Thinks With Students, Not For Them” explores how educators can move beyond simple prompting and begin using AI as a true thinking partner in the learning process. This session focuses on building student voice, ownership, reflection, and deeper engagement through conversational AI practices that support learning rather than replace it. Participants will see real classroom examples from photography, business, and CTE programs where AI helps students brainstorm ideas, refine projects, personalize learning, overcome creative blocks, and document growth. The session introduces practical frameworks and prompting strategies that encourage critical thinking, curiosity, and collaboration between students and AI tools. Attendees will experience live demonstrations showing how AI conversations can adapt to student interests, learning needs, and creative goals while reducing teacher workload. Educators will leave with ready-to-use strategies, classroom workflows, and prompt structures that help students think more deeply, create more authentically, and take greater ownership of their learning.

Learn how to build your own AI assistant to support daily teaching tasks. In this hands-on session, participants will create a working assistant that helps with lesson planning, drafting emails, and generating student feedback. Walk away with ready-to-use prompts, clear workflows, and a practical tool you can use immediately to save time and improve communication in your classroom.

Engage in a hands-on session where you build a working pinhole camera designed for use with a smartphone to capture images. Learn how to guide students through light, exposure, and image creation using simple materials. Participants will leave with a completed camera, a ready-to-use lesson plan, and strategies to implement this project across multiple subject areas.