In striving to provide educators with a national quality inservice, the NWEA has committed to inviting some of the best presenters in the nation and midwest to speak at the 2008 conference. These presenters are known for their unwavering commitment to education and their dedicated support of educators.

If you are interested in becoming a speaker at the conference, please contact Cheryl Hopkins, Executive Secretary.

• Murray Banks
• Ed Zaccaro
• Doug Goodkin
• Ellen Shrager
• Janice Almasi

Murray Banks
     Thursday Keynote Speaker & Phy-Ed Keynote Speaker

It's not easy to win the Outstanding Educator Award. Some teachers work all their life with a steadfast dedication to students and never see so much as a hint of the distinguished honor. Likewise, you could train all your life to be a tri-athlete and never see the gold. Murray Banks did both.

As a world-champion athlete, Banks knows the importance of focus, intensity and goals. But he also knows the necessity of balance, which he finds in the woodlands and meadows of Vermont. Banks was one of the top finalists in the prestigious Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii in 1983 and 1984. He is also a six-time National Champion in both triathlons and cross-country skiing and is a two-time skiing masters world champion.

As an award-winning educator and coach, Banks was honored as Vermont's Teacher of the Year in 1982 and recognized nationally with the Outstanding Educator Award. Having honed his skills at every level from elementary to university, he is a master teacher and motivator.

Banks's success as an educator, athlete, and long-time professional speaker, coupled with his genuine optimism and enthusiasm make every presentation a starting point for personal and professional growth.

Whether it is a keynote for 3000 or an off-site retreat for 30, Banks will connect lifestyle to work performance. With a true love to work for, and with, people who are energetic, enthusiastic, focused and fun, Banks has no "canned" speeches. He researches every client in great detail, then incorporates the organization's mission and goals with his incredible visuals and hilarious audience interaction to make sure each person comes to work each day focused, adaptable, positive, and at their best.

Ed Zaccaro
     Math Speacial Speaker

Ed has taught students of all ages and abilities since graduating from Oberlin College in 1974. He holds an Iowa teaching certificate with K-12 endorsement in Gifted Education and a Masters degree in Gifted Education from the University of Northern Iowa.

Ed is a popular presenter at math and gifted education conferences around the country and has approached gifted education as a parent, teacher, and school board member. His students will testify to his ability to make math fun and challenging for them as well as his unique sense of humor which comes through in his classes and workshops.

Ed is the author of Challenge Math for the Elementary and Middle School Student, Real World Algebra, Primary Grade Challenge Math, The 10 Things all Future Mathematicians and Scientist Must Know and several other books. All are currently used by teachers across the country.

Doug Goodkin
     Music Special Speaker

Doug Goodkin is an internationally recognized teacher of Orff Schulwerk, having taught courses in over 35 countries worldwide. He is in his 34th year at The San Francisco School, teaching children between three years old and eighth grade. Doug teaches regularly at The Orff Institut, directs The San Francisco Orff Certification Course and his own course on Jazz and Orff Schulwerk. He is the author of six books, most recently The ABC's of Education: A Primer for Schools to Come.

Ellen Shrager
     Special Speaker

Ellen Shrager is the author of “Teacher Dialogues – A Survival Guide to Successful Dialogues with Low-Performing Students, Indulged Students, and Enabling Parents.”

Ellen uses a blend of current research, personal classroom anecdotes, and humor to present five different workshops. Her first topic is how she overcame her feelings of “teacher burn-out” with today’s students. She shares how she learned to compassionately bridge the gap between attitudes and behaviors students bring to the class and the attitudes and behaviors they need to appropriately function in the classroom.

Ellen’s second topic is how to deal with the few, but very time-consuming, parents who constantly question teachers’ authority. Ellen shares the five steps necessary to protect a teacher’s authority, and how teachers can guide enabling parents to identify their illusions about their children; putting the responsibility for the consequences back on their children.

Ellen Shrager has worked with many children from rural and urban poverty. For her third topic, she helps teachers create successful dialogues with students who struggle to learn the organizational secrets and inner dialogues needed to become successful students.

Ellen Shrager has over 20 years experience in the World Language classroom. She has presented at ACTFL many times as well as been the keynote speaker at a dozen state conferences for world language teachers. For her last two topics, she is presenting the two most-requested workshops specifically geared towards world language teachers.

Although Ellen averages ten presentations a year, including at the national convention for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the National Middle School Association, she is committed to staying full time in the classroom. Her wish is to help teachers find their own 'teaching voice' that rekindles their joy in the classroom.

Janice Almasi
     Literacy Special Speaker
     Sponsored by The Eau Claire Reading Council

Dr. Almasi joined the faculty in 2004 and is the Carol Lee Robertson Endowed Professor of Literacy Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Almasi also works in the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development. She teaches courses in elementary reading methods, reading theory, and reading research design. Her career began as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist in Maryland. She earned her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. She was the recipient of the International Reading Association's Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award in 1994 and the National Reading Conference's Outstanding Student Research Award in 1993. Her pedagogical and research endeavors have critically examined the contexts in which children learn from text. Her research focuses on patterns of social interaction, discourse, engagement, and cognitive processing during peer discussions of literature. She is currently working toward a developmental model of peer discussion.