The 2014 National Charter Schools Conference will be held at the end of this month on June 29 through July 2 in Las Vegas. This conference is a great professional development opportunity to learn to become a more effective school operator or board member. Here are some recommended sessions to attend for each session strand.

Governance

• The Biggest Decisions You Will Ever Make
  Presenters: Joe Keeney 4th Sector Solutions, Patricia Brantley Friendship Public Charter School, Adrian Morgan Algiers Charter School Association
  Time: Monday 6/30, 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM 
• Governance or Management? You Decide!
  Presenter: Marci Cornell-Feist The High Bar
  Time: Tuesday 7/1, 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Instruction

• Checking for Understanding Like a Champion with Uncommon Schools
  Presenter: Paul Powell Uncommon Schools - Troy Prep
  Time: Tuesday 7/1, 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM 
• Getting Smarter About SPED: Five Blended Learning Decisions and Implications
  Presenters: Tom Vander Ark Getting Smart, Doug Haynes Rocky Mount Prep, and Sydney Quon Los Angeles Unified School District SELPA
  Time: Monday 6/30, 4:15 PM - 5:15 PM  

Leadership

• Teacher Career Pathways: Building Advancement Opportunities
  Presenters: Melissa Scheinfeld IDEA Public Schools, James Gallagher Aspire Public Schools, Sarah Coon Rosskamm Hendy Avenue Consulting, and Genna Weinstein Achievement First
  Time: Monday 6/30, 11:15 AM - 12:30 PM  

Operations

• Healthy Food, Healthy Economics 
  Presenters: Joe Keeney 4th Sector Solutions, Jacqueline Duvivier Partnerships to Uplift Communities (PUC), Emily Hufft 4th Sector Solutions, and Alli Zimmermann 4th Sector Solutions
  Time: Wednesday 7/2, 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM 
• Leveraging Operational Leadership to Support Student Achievement
  Presenters: Mike D'Auria Uncommon Schools NYC and Jeannemarie Hendershot Uncommon Schools NYC
  Time: Monday 6/30, 11:15 AM - 12:30 PM

• Sustaining Progress by Engaging Diverse Communities in Education Reform
  Presenters: Kenneth Campbell Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), Jeremiah Grace Northeast Charter Schools Network, Rebeca Nieves Huffman Democrats For Education Reform, and Jamilah Prince-Stewart ConnCAN
  Time: Tuesday 7/1, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM 

In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success.