Description: 

This session transforms EVAAS data from numbers on a screen
into a powerful story about student growth and instructional impact.
Participants will gain a clear understanding of how the EVAAS value-added
system works and learn how to interpret and apply its insights to improve
teaching and learning. Through a hands-on exploration of real data, you’ll
leave equipped to turn your school’s data into actionable strategies for student
success.

Presenter: Scott Rhodes

Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources
Henderson County Public Schools

Mr. Rhodes is in his 34th year in public education. He has served in
Henderson County in various capacities, including teacher, coach, assistant
principal, middle and high school principal, and currently serves as assistant
superintendent for Human Resources.

Mr. Rhodes received his undergraduate degree in Health and Physical
Education from Western Carolina University and his master’s degree in
School Administration from Gardner-Webb University.
Mr. Rhodes was named the 2015 NASSP North Carolina Secondary Principal
of the Year.

Presenter: Kimberly Henderson

Director of Accountability 
Henderson County Public Schools

Mrs. Henderson is in his 29th year in public education. She has served in
Henderson County in various capacities, including math and science teacher,
coach, assistant principal, elementary principal, and currently serves as
director of accountability.

Mrs. Henderson received his undergraduate degree in Math from Gardner
Webb College and his master’s degree in Leadership from Gardner Webb
University.

If you have additional questions, contact Candie Sellers at csellers@wresa.org

If you are unsure whether your school system is a WRESA member, click  WRESA MEMBER List.

REGISTER

The post Turning Numbers into Narratives: Making EVAAS Work for you appeared first on WRESA.

Description:

During this work session, we will analyze instructional videos using edTPA
rubrics, select and clip videos, and learn more about expectations for the Task 2
commentary.
We will also begin working on the Task 3 commentary, including identifying and
organizing assessment artifacts.

Presenter: Dr. Myra Watson is an educator whose work focuses on teacher preparation,
early childhood education, and induction support for early-career teachers in North
Carolina. Dr. Watson currently serves as Director of Teacher and Professional
Education at Western Carolina University.

If you have additional questions, contact April Spencer at aspencer@wresa.org

If you are unsure whether your school system is a WRESA member, click  WRESA MEMBER List.

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The post edTPA Tasks 2 and 3 appeared first on WRESA.

Description:
In this interactive one-day learning experience, educators will explore how to use student
thinking to identify instructional priorities, make key mathematical ideas explicit through
purposeful representations and mathematical language, and design intervention experiences
that include routines, contextual problems, and meaningful practice or games.
Together, we will consider how intervention can go beyond “more practice” to offer students
intentional access to important mathematical ideas. Participants will engage in examples and
plan instructional experiences that connect conceptual understanding, problem solving, fluency,
and communication.

Presenter: 
Meredith Stanley is an independent math coach and specialist for K-8. A former
elementary classroom teacher and instructional coach for Buncombe County, she is a
two-time finalist for the Presidential Award for Math and Science, a Buncombe County
Teacher of the Year, a Buncombe County Math Teacher of the Year, and a National
Board certified teacher. She received her Master’s in Mathematics Teaching from Mount
Holyoke College and currently lives in Asheville with her husband and two children. She
loves to run, hike, and gather random assortments of objects for counting collections.
You can find her (and a bank of her recommended instructional resources) at
www.meredith4math.com and @meredith4math.

If you have additional questions, contact Candie Sellers at  csellers@wresa.org

If you are unsure whether your school system is a WRESA member, click  WRESA MEMBER List.

REGISTER

The post Productive Math Interventions appeared first on WRESA.

Description:

Discover how to use student voice and choice to strengthen learning and extend a lesson’s impact beyond the classroom. Whether you teach art, science, ELA, history, or any other subject, students must communicate information. Students also must interpret a variety of data and information that is communicated in visual formats. This session will use a variety of resources (digital to analog) to highlight this skill. Join us to incorporate some amazing tools into your lessons and explore more ways for you and your students to express yourself. (This session highlights the SEP: Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information and the Communication Skill in NC Portrait of a Graduate.- best suited for teachers of grades 3-12, any subject).

For more information about the class, contact Michelle Taylor at michelle@openwaylearning.org and/or 828-206-3014

For questions/issues about registering for the course, send an email to registrations@wresa.org or call WRESA at 828-774-5681

If you are unsure whether your school system is a WRESA member, click  WRESA MEMBER List.

REGISTER

The post From Open Way Learning: Using Storytelling in Your Classroom appeared first on WRESA.

Description:

Early in the school year is the right time to establish strong co- teaching behaviors. Provide your co-teaching staff with a live, team-by-team, professional development, designed to help them reflect, recalibrate, and strengthen their collaborative practice.

Teams Receive:

• A Window into Co-Teaching- An introduction to 20 behaviors that contribute to successful co- teaching.
• A detailed analysis of their co-teaching relationship (based on a brief, confidential, 5 – 10 – minute survey).
• Your PlayBook for Co-Teaching- a digital resource with over 100 field-tested coteaching strategies.
• A 35–45-minute private consultation, via Zoom, with Rick Welsh, Director of CoTeach America, to discuss their data and to learn how to use Your PlayBook for Co-Teaching to enhance their co-teaching practices throughout the year.

Presenter: Rick Welsh has over 40 years of experience working with teachers and students. He is currently the Director of Co-Teach America. Following Graduate School at UNC in 1980 he served as a Public School Speech/Language Pathologist. Since 1994 he has worked in the field, consulting with teachers to support their co-teaching efforts.

If you have additional questions contact April Spencer at aspencer@wresa.org  

If you are unsure whether your school system is a WRESA member, click  WRESA MEMBER List. 

REGISTER

The post Get Your Co-Teaching Year Off on the Right Foot! appeared first on WRESA.

Description:
WRESA, in partnership with NCASBO, is providing  a structured, professional development series
for superintendents, finance officers, and human resource directors across the Western Carolina
Region.
This series will strengthen financial leadership capacity, improve transparency, and ensure
accountability in the management of public school funds. Training to be led by teams consisting of
one superintendent and one finance officer – a pairing that reflects the essential collaboration
required for effective financial management in school districts.

OUTCOMES –  Participants will:
• Leave each session with at least one ready to use tool
• Strengthen collaboration
• Increase operational efficiency
• Improve compliance readiness
• Understand the fiscal cycle
• Build a regional network of peers

Session 1: September 22, 2026 – Laying the Foundation
• NC Public School Fiscal Control Act/Fund Accounting/Chart of Accounts
• Financial Reporting Requirements
• Current Year Allotments
• Continuing Budget Resolutions & Budget Adoption
• Position Control & Staffing Alignment

Session 2:  October 13, 2026 – Building & Communicating the Budget
• Presenting Budgets to Boards of Ed. & Stakeholders
• Working on Budgets with Central Office Directors & Principals
• Annual External Audit & Preparing for Annual Audit Presentation
• Spending Projections for Current Year
• State & Federal Allotments for Special Populations
• Cash Management Requirements
• Investment of Idle Funds

Session 3: November 3, 2026 – Operational Controls & Assets
• Purchasing & Compliance – Board Approval Requirements
• Fixed Asset Tracking
• Property Disposal Rules
• Internal Controls & Risk Management
• Long Term Planning for Declining Enrollment

Session 4: January 12, 2027 – Preparing for the New Fiscal Year
• State Planning Allotments for 2027-2028
• Budget Projections for 2027-2028
• Salary Audit Exceptions

Session 5: March 9, 2027 – Fiscal Year End Close
• Planning and Preparing for Year-End Fiscal Close out
• Allotment Projects
• Fund Balance Projects

REGISTER

The post Finance Series for Superintendents, Finance Officers & HR Directors appeared first on WRESA.

How Great Leaders Build Trust, Accountability, and High Expectations Through Everyday
Conversations

Description: 

Have you ever wondered why some schools naturally develop a positive, high-performing
culture while others struggle with conflict, inconsistency, and low morale? Or have you ever
walked away from a difficult conversation with an employee wondering, “Did I handle that the
right way?”

The reality is that school culture isn’t built through programs, slogans, or initiatives. It is shaped
by the conversations leaders have every day. Every interaction either strengthens trust,
reinforces expectations, or weakens the culture you’re trying to create.

In this interactive, full-day workshop, school leaders will discover practical strategies for creating
a culture where relationships matter, accountability is embraced, and teaching and learning
thrive. Participants will explore the Core Four of Leadership—Judgment, Relationships, Work
Ethic, and Integrity—and learn how those leadership qualities are brought to life through the
Five C’s of Sustainable School Culture: Communication, Consistency, Collaboration,
Commitment, and Compassion.

Throughout the day, participants will engage in realistic leadership scenarios, practice
navigating challenging conversations, and learn how to use artificial intelligence as a leadership
coach to prepare for difficult discussions, strengthen communication, and become more
reflective, confident leaders.

Participants will leave with practical conversation frameworks, AI-powered leadership tools, and
strategies they can immediately apply to shape a stronger school culture—one conversation at
a time.

Presenter BIO:

Scott Rhodes – Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources with Henderson County Public Schools
Mr. Rhodes is starting his 34th year in public education. He has served in Henderson County as
a teacher, coach, assistant principal, middle and high school principal, and now serves as
assistant superintendent for Human Resources.

Mr. Rhodes received his undergraduate degree in Health and Physical Education from Western
Carolina University and his master’s degree in School Administration from Gardner Webb
University.

Mr. Rhodes was selected as the 2015 NASSP, North Carolina Secondary Principal of the Year.

If you have additional questions, contact Candie Sellers at  csellers@wresa.org

If you are unsure whether your school system is a WRESA member, click  WRESA MEMBER List.

REGISTER

The post Shaping School Culture…One Conversation at a Time appeared first on WRESA.

View my Transcripts/Certificates

The post WRESA Educator Help Videos appeared first on WRESA.

If you are a Returning User (which means you have already taken one of our online courses and thus, have a WRESA login with an email and password ), scroll down to the Returning User registration for instructions.

If you have questions, send an email to registrations@wresa.org or call 828-774-5681 

New User:

Returning User:

If you have previously registered for a WRESA Online Learning Course and have a username and password, login with your username and password in the top left corner. After logging in, scroll back down and fill out the information under Returning User, and click “Submit”.

The post Substitute Teaching 101: Online User Registration appeared first on WRESA.

Description:
This session focuses on strengthening classroom discourse through purposeful
planning and facilitation using the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive
Mathematical Discussions and the Launch–Explore–Discuss framework. Participants
will explore how to anticipate student thinking, monitor and select student work,
and sequence and connect ideas to build deep mathematical understanding. Through
hands-on tasks and reflection, educators will learn strategies to create inclusive,
student-centered discussions that elevate reasoning, promote equity of voice, and
make thinking visible. By the end of the session, teachers will leave with practical
tools to support meaningful discourse that advances both engagement and conceptual
understanding.

Presenter:
Meredith Stanley is a K–8 math specialist who partners with schools and districts
across North Carolina to provide student-centered professional learning. A former
elementary classroom teacher and instructional coach in Buncombe County, Meredith is
a two-time finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and
Science Teaching, a Buncombe County Teacher of the Year, a Buncombe County
Math Teacher of the Year, and a National Board–certified educator. She earned her
Master of Mathematics Teaching from Mount Holyoke College, where she also serves
as an instructor.
Meredith’s passion is helping students and teachers see themselves as confident,
capable mathematicians—a mission that drives all of her professional work. Learn more
and explore her recommended instructional resources at meredith4math.com.

If you have additional questions, contact Candie Sellers at csellers@wresa.org

If you are unsure whether your school system is a WRESA member, click  WRESA MEMBER List.

COURSE CANCELLED

The post Facilitating Meaningful Math Discourse appeared first on WRESA.