Prosper Connects 26: Your Ultimate Professional Learning Adventure! Get Ready for the most incredible day of learning in Prosper ISD! July 30th at Walnut Grove High School | Over 300 Sessions Await!
Calling all educators! Prepare for a day packed with inspiration, innovation, and incredible learning opportunities. From the electrifying drumline welcome to the delicious indoor lunch options from the Walnut Grove cafeteria serving up a variety of food, this isn’t just another professional development day – it’s a celebration of education! ✨ Highlights:
👕Attire: Favorite Team Jersey, jeans, and comfortable shoes
🚍Grab the Shuttle from Rock Hill HS (16061 N Coit Rd, Frisco, TX 750) for easy parking (runs every 20 min)
🥁 Epic Drumline Kick-Off
☕Breakfast Options: Union Coffee and Baked Goods & Sonic
🌮 INSIDE Lunch options provided by Aramark and Hardy’s Cafe: Union Coffee, Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, Jimmy John’s, Sonic, Pizza Hut, Greens & Grains, Sushi, Taco Line, & Hardy’s Cafe
🧠 GT Credit Sessions Available (sessions that are orange = GT)
This professional development session will focus on practical, low-prep extension strategies that can be implemented in any classroom to deepen student thinking and engagement. Participants will experience and analyze several ready-to-use strategies designed to challenge learners at all levels, including those with advanced academic needs. Emphasis will be placed on creating opportunities for critical thinking, multiple perspectives, and meaningful problem-solving without significantly increasing teacher workload. Through simulation and discussion, teachers will explore how to seamlessly integrate these strategies into their existing lessons. By the end of the session, participants will leave with adaptable tools that promote rigor, accessibility, and student ownership of learning.
This professional development session will equip general and special education teachers with practical, asset-based strategies for student growth. Participants will engage in self-reflection, collaborative dialogue, scenario-based learning, and role-play to explore the impact of their language and thinking on student outcomes. The core focus is differentiating between asset-based and deficit-based mindsets. Participants will leave with tools to ensure their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) consistently center on student strengths, possibilities, and development. Together, we will explore three core ideas: 1. Your achievement lens shapes their ceiling. 2. Language is a lever for change. 3. Bias-checking is a team habit, not a one-time event.
Dr. Andrea Pickens has served in various education and instructional leadership roles such as educator, math and science instructional coach, and director of professional learning since accepting the call to education over a decade ago. She currently serves as the 7th grade science... Read More →
Looking for ways to incorporate high-quality DBQ materials into your daily lessons without dedicating multiple class periods to the full DBQ process? This session will introduce you to practical, flexible strategies that bring DBQ instruction into any social studies classroom on any given day. Participants will explore quick write techniques, student engagement strategies, and document analysis approaches that make historical thinking both accessible and meaningful. Learn how to leverage DBQ Project resources in time-efficient ways while strengthening students’ CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) writing skills and deepening their ability to analyze and interpret sources. Walk away with ready-to-use tools that increase student engagement, support critical thinking, and build stronger analytical writing habits—without sacrificing valuable instructional time.
This session will guide teachers through a practical process for turning common formative assessment data into targeted, responsive instruction. Participants will learn how to break down data by learning target, identify specific student needs, and create flexible groups for both intervention and extension. The session will also highlight how teams can collaborate by sharing students and leveraging teacher strengths to maximize impact and ensure all learners receive the support they need.
