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The 14th Annual Teacher 2 Teacher Conference
(Saturday) March 29, 2025
8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
College of Health & Human Services (8844 Craver Rd. Charlotte, NC 28223)
Registration is Now Open.
The $40.00 Registration fee includes parking, lunch, and a full-day of professional development!
The Cato College of Education is pleased to present the annual Teacher 2 Teacher Conference. The purpose of this conference is to provide affordable yet meaningful professional development opportunities to North Carolina educators. This mini-conference is designed by teachers for teachers. P-12 teachers and administrators are invited to participate as well as present at the conference.
Participants are eligible to receive 0.65 continuing education units (CEUs) or 6.5 hours of contact towards professional certification.
2025 Conference Theme: A Meeting of the Minds: Empowering Excellence in Contemporary Education
UNC Charlotte’s Teacher 2 Teacher conference stands as a dynamic convergence of active participants in the field of education. This year’s conference theme “A Meeting of the Minds” will call upon the philosophies and experiences of all attendees to establish shared ownership of a pathway toward solutions.
At this year’s conference, we are inviting proposals that find innovative, creative ways to encourage joy in teaching and learning. This year we are planning five conference strands:
- The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age (What effective strategies have you used to encourage/support students’ reading interests in today’s classroom?)
- Stop, Look, and Listen: Innovative approaches to classroom management (As P-12 educators with varying levels of expertise and experience, what practices have you developed to manage your classroom and create an environment conducive to learning?)
- Building Professional Identity: Reflections from beginning teachers on their initial teaching experiences and increasing resilience in the classroom (As beginning teachers, what are some lessons you’ve learned between years 1-3? How have you grown/been challenged thus far?)
- Fostering the Future: Effective approaches to mentoring beginning teachers (As new teacher support personnel/mentors, what are the best practices that you’ve applied to aid in the growth and development of beginning teachers?)
- Extreme Ownership: Constructing a culture of accountability among school stakeholders (As P-12 administrative staff, what tools have you acquired and/or lessons have you learned in the effort of building school buy-in and commitment?)
Introducing our Keynote Speakers: Nancy bullard and shelby lattimore
Nancy Bullard, aka Mrs. B, teaches elementary school science in Charlotte, NC. She received her degree in elementary education from Wake Forest University and her master’s degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
During her teaching career she has won the Teacher of the Year; CATO Award for Excellence in Science Teaching; Piedmont Natural Gas STEM Superstar Award, and was a finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.
She launched Mrs. B TV to creatively engage her students after Covid-19 closed schools in March 2020. TikTok named her one of the “100 Most Prolific Female Creators” in March 2021. Her viral science experiments now reach millions around the world.
Shelby Lattimore, a third-grade teacher in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system and advocate for student financial literacy, is a graduate of UNC Charlotte with a degree in elementary education and special education. While Shelby didn’t plan on beginning a career in the classroom, she did so having been encouraged by one of her high school teachers who thought she had a natural aptitude for education.
Since then, Ms. Lattimore’s work has been featured in news media outlets including NBC, USA Today, and the “Tamron Hall Show”. She has gone viral on social media, with one of her TikTok videos receiving nearly 20 million views, and was recently honored as The Charlotte Post Foundation’s 2024 Educator of the Year.
Ms. Lattimore’s lessons in earning and managing money have made her students much more disciplined, motivated to learn, and captivated by the wonders of strong teaching.
If you have any questions about the conference, please reach out to Dr. Jordan Z. Boyd at jboyd44@charlotte.edu.
Conference schedule
Registration/Breakfast : (7:30AM – 8:15AM) Mebane Hall 010 (Cato College of Education)
Introduction/Opening Keynote by Nancy Bullard: (8:15AM-9:00AM) Mebane Hall 010 (Cato College of Education)
Breakout Session 1: (9:10 AM – 10:00 AM) College of Health & Human Services
| Room | Presenter(s) | Topic | Strand |
| CHHS 145 | Hilary Dack Daniel Maxwell Paige Lane | Navigating Uncharted Waters: Using GenAI to Differentiate and Individualize Your Reading Instruction | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
| CHHS 147 | Simene Walden | Developing The Heart of a Teacher | Who Am I?: Cultivating self-efficacy in the classroom |
| CHHS 153 | Kiersten Abel | Total Participation Techniques | Stop, Look, and Listen: Innovative approaches to classroom management |
| CHHS 159 | Paige Laurain Megan Romer | Surviving To Thriving | It Gets Easier: Effective approaches to supporting beginning teachers |
| CHHS 161 | Jonathan Brooks | Positive Interactions with Resilient Students In Poverty | Extreme Ownership: Fostering a culture of accountability among school stakeholders |
Breakout Session 2: (10:10 AM – 11:00 AM) College of Health & Human Services
| Room | Presenter(s) | Topic | Strand |
| CHHS 145 | Lindsay Schultz Yamile Uceda | Rooted in Joy: Growing Resilience and Empowering Voices in the Early Years of Teaching | Who Am I?: Cultivating self-efficacy in the classroom |
| CHHS 147 | Melissa McCall | Reading Aloud with a Purpose: Integrating Phonological Awareness Skills into Storytime | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
| CHHS 153 | Wayne Muhammed | Go S.L.O.W.: Three Quick and Easy Instructional Strategies to Improve Student Engagement and Classroom Management | Stop, Look, and Listen: Innovative approaches to classroom management |
| CHHS 159 | Tisha Greene Sherice Wilkes Danyeal Morrison | Building Strong Mentorship: Effective Practices, Identity Exploration, and Communication Strategies for Teacher Growth | It Gets Easier: Effective approaches to supporting beginning teachers |
| CHHS 161 | Christopher Fairbank | Lead the Charge: Creating a Culture of Accountability and Ownership in Schools | Extreme Ownership: Fostering a culture of accountability among school stakeholders |
Breakout Session 3: (11:10 AM – 12:00 PM) College of Health & Human Services
| Room | Presenter(s) | Topic | Strand |
| CHHS 145 | Jordan Rierson | Yes, They Can Write: Using Self-Regulated Strategy Development in Writing Instruction for All Students | Who Am I?: Cultivating self-efficacy in the classroom |
| CHHS 147 | Sydney Bassard | Fostering Emergent Literacy Skills Through Daily Routines | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
| CHHS 153 | Michelle Bell | Fostering Belonging: Cultivating and Empowering Classrooms | Stop, Look, and Listen: Innovative approaches to classroom management |
| CHHS 159 | Dennis Parker-Morgan Lisa Godwin Lyndsay Paquette | Fostering the Future: Effective Approaches to Mentoring Beginning Teachers | It Gets Easier: Effective approaches to supporting beginning teachers |
| CHHS 161 | Ashley Wilson | “Differences of habit and language are nothing”: Equity in Urban Literacy Education through Student-Led Mentorship Programs | Extreme Ownership: Fostering a culture of accountability among school stakeholders |
Lunch : (12:10PM – 1:00PM) College of Health & Human Services *Served in Atrium*
Breakout Session 4: (1:10 PM – 2:00 PM) College of Health & Human Services
| Room | Presenter(s) | Topic | Strand |
| CHHS 145 | Brittany Whitley Ashley Radford Jessica Rosenbaum | Enhancing Learning Through Small Group Instruction: A Hands-on Workshop | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
| CHHS 147 | Thornton Howard | Going FOURword: Using Positive Four-letters to Strengthen the Teacher-Student Connection | Stop, Look, and Listen: Innovative approaches to classroom management |
| CHHS 153 | Chloe McVetta | Building Professional Identity & Increasing Resilience in the Classroom: Reflections from Beginning Teachers | It Gets Easier: Effective approaches to supporting beginning teachers |
| CHHS 159 | Bill Kessler | How to Be a High-Performing Teacher Wherever You Teach | Extreme Ownership: Fostering a culture of accountability among school stakeholders |
| CHHS 161 | Karen Kopitsky Erica Neal Hilary Dack | Three Approaches to Tackling the Challenge of Reading Engagement and Motivation | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
Breakout Session 5: (2:10 PM – 3:00 PM) College of Health & Human Services
| Room | Presenter(s) | Topic | Strand |
| CHHS 145 | Alesa Falcone | Start with Syntax: Using Sentence-Level Instruction to Improve Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Writing | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
| CHHS 147 | Courtnie Edwards Mark DeLeon | “Motivation Matters: The Power of Rewards in Building Better Behavior” | Stop, Look, and Listen: Innovative approaches to classroom management |
| CHHS 153 | Emily Tindal | A Work in Progress: How to Create Your “Teacher Identity” as a Beginning Teacher | It Gets Easier: Effective approaches to supporting beginning teachers |
| CHHS 159 | Angela Hill Vonda Martin-Jenkins | Who Tells Your Story? | Extreme Ownership: Fostering a culture of accountability among school stakeholders |
| CHHS 161 | Kailey S. Galloway Tara W. Galloway | Understanding and applying the Science of Reading for effective early literacy instruction, Supporting comprehension, Fostering student engagement, Social Emotional Learning | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
Breakout Session 6: (3:10 PM – 4:00 PM) College of Health & Human Services
| Room | Presenter(s) | Topic | Strand |
| CHHS 145 | Linda Rhyne | Meet The Reading League North Carolina: Advancing the awareness, understanding, and use of evidence-aligned reading instruction across our state | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
| CHHS 147 | Shannon Pardue | Supporting comprehension School Activating Background Knowledge Before, During, and After Reading | The Magic of Reading: Cultivating a passion for reading in the Information Age |
| CHHS 161 | Shawnee Wakeman Holly Johnson Ann Jolly Carly Forshee Elisabeth Wilson | EC Panel Discussion | All Strands Applicable |
Closing Remarks/Keynote by Shelby Lattimore: (4:10PM – 4:45PM) Mebane Hall 010 (Cato College of Education)