AEC at #SLI25
AEC is proud to announce that our team of expert consultants will be presenting multiple sessions at the upcoming Saint Louis University Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), happening June 24–26, 2025!
Take a look below at the sessions we are facilitating and pre-register using the button below!
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
KEYNOTE: Serving Future-Ready Learners: Accelerating Success Through the Five-Course Framework
Dr. Sonya Murray
Experience the powerful Five-Course Framework that has transformed schools into academic powerhouses in several states. Dr. Murray reveals how relationship-building—central to the Science of Learning Development (SoLD) principles—creates the foundation for extraordinary achievement. Through compelling stories, she demonstrates how several schools and districts leveraged these principles to outperform district averages. Beyond theory, this keynote delivers battle-tested strategies that produced impact across diverse districts. You'll witness how educators applied these exact techniques to accelerate learning while maintaining rigorous standards. Dr. Murray's practical approach translates principles into immediate action steps that create classrooms where every student thrives. Leave with concrete tools that honor both cognitive development and human connection, inspired by authentic success stories, ready to implement Monday morning for transformative results in your educational community.
The Heart of Leadership: Leading with Empathy, Trust, and Belonging
Facilitated by: Paya Sample
Belonging fuels trust, engagement, and thriving teams. Compassionate, empathetic leadership is key to creating spaces where everyone feels seen, valued, and empowered. In this session, participants will reflect on their leadership identity, explore barriers to belonging, and learn how to build trust across differences. Through deep reflection and actionable strategies, leaders will uncover ways to lead authentically, foster inclusion, and cultivate environments where people feel safe to grow, contribute, and lead together.
Building Level 5 Champions
Facilitated by: Dr. Exley Warren
By embracing transformational leadership and understanding what it takes to become what Jim Collins (2000) calls a Level 5 Leader, educators can create more engaging, supportive, and innovative learning environment for all students, but especially our often marginalized students of color. This session will empower participants with the tools and confidence to advance educational equity and lead positive change in their schools, benefiting both students and fellow educators alike.
Teaching with the Brain In Mind
Facilitated by: Mrs. Tashanae Francis-Womack
This interactive session will explores how neuroscience can inform and enhance teaching practices to maximize student learning, engagement, and well-being. Educators will gain insights into how the brain processes information, the impact of emotions on learning, and strategies to create brain-friendly classrooms.
Mindset Shift for Equity: High Expectations
Facilitated by: Dr. Sherrie Robbins
Behind every student walking through school doors is a story—one that often goes unseen. In this compelling and heartfelt session, I invite you on a journey through my own experiences as a struggling high school student and the life-changing impact of one educator’s intentionality. Through personal storytelling and practical strategies, we will explore how small, meaningful actions can transform students' lives. You will leave with three actionable steps to connect with students in a way that fosters trust, growth, and resilience.
Transforming Tier 1 Instruction Through Data Analysis Practices
Facilitated by: Dr. Kristen Taylor
Engage in a design sprint to leverage current data analysis practices to more effectively prompt strong Tier 1 classroom instruction, outside of implementing interventions. Discover how this approach extends teachers’ participation beyond filling out a template for the sake of completion and protects equity and access to appropriate Tier 1 instruction. Learn how to structure and facilitate data meetings to ensure daily Tier 1 classroom instruction consistently improves.
Leading Transformational Change: A Deep Dive into Educational Excellence
Facilitated by: Dr. Sonya Murray
This session is for instructional leaders and explores proven pathways to extraordinary school and district success. Sonya will share concrete tools, insights, and leadership practices that transform your school and district experience. Discover the powerful Five-Course Framework and how the Science of Learning Design helps school and district leaders to accelerate student learning while maintaining rigorous standards. You will leave with battle-tested strategies that have transformed schools including concrete tools that honor both cognitive development and human development, inspired by authentic success stories and case studies for Monday morning implementation.
Know Your Why: A Transformative Approach to Community, Courage, and Student Genius
Facilitated by: Dr. Sherrie Robbins
Restorative practices aren’t just a set of tools—they’re a way of being. Too often, they’re treated as reactive measures, pulled out only after harm has been done. In this dynamic, interactive session, we’ll explore how proactive and consistent relationship-building creates the conditions for trust, accountability, and student brilliance to flourish. We’ll examine how the way we show up—our presence, our tone, our ability to listen—directly impacts whether students feel safe enough to take risks, make mistakes, and grow.
Trauma Responsive School Culture
Facilitated by: Dr. Sheldon McAfee
The impact of trauma on the developing brain is one of the most devastating issues in public education. This session is designed to train school stakeholders to be prepared with information and effective strategies to help school leaders and teachers identify and understand trauma, help students build their resilience, and a design a school community with collective efficacy for a trauma responsive school culture.
Cleared for Takeoff: Centering Students to Accelerate Learning
Facilitated by: Dr. Kristen Taylor
What does equity for academic acceleration look like in practice? It looks like classrooms functioning as runways—not holding areas—where students are cleared for takeoff with the tools, trust, and support they need to soar. This session unpacks how student-centered teaching propels all learners forward by replacing remediation with just-in-time lift. Participants will explore real classroom examples and leave equipped to design instruction that prioritizes student agency, grade-level rigor, and equitable access to success.
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
A Sneak Peek at Restorative Practices!
Facilitated by: Dr. Terrance Scott
Restorative practices aren’t just a set of tools—they’re a way of being. Too often, they’re treated as reactive measures, pulled out only after harm has been done. But true restoration starts long before conflict arises. In this dynamic, interactive session, we’ll explore how proactive and consistent relationship-building creates the conditions for trust, accountability, and student brilliance to flourish. We’ll examine how the way we show up—our presence, our tone, our ability to listen—directly impacts whether students feel safe enough to take risks, make mistakes, and grow.
Trauma Responsive School Culture
Facilitated by: Dr. Sheldon McAfee
The impact of trauma on the developing brain is one of the most devastating issues in public education. This session is designed to train school stakeholders to be prepared with information and effective strategies to help school leaders and teachers identify and understand trauma, help students build their resilience, and a design a school community with collective efficacy for a trauma responsive school culture.