Annual Conference

Living in Iowa
Living in Iowa has been both enjoyable and frustrating. It has been enjoyable because Waterloo has been a place that feels more like home than any place that I have experienced in my adult life, and frustrating because “Iowa” is so consistently perceived and represented as “White” and “rural” that it erases the many other beautiful qualities that the term “Iowan’ can mean.

My Dreams
My dream is for the Hip Hop Literacy 319 to reach a point where the program produces college-ready, multi-skilled, internationally traveled youth on a regular basis.

A Teacher Who Changed My Life
William Appling, my Music teacher at Western Reserve Academy (high school) in Hudson, OH, changed my life because he modeled the fact that Black Excellence should be a norm and that Black people shouldn’t take a back seat to anyone.

What #DIVERSITYISOURSTRENGTH means to me
Diversity is our strength means that we have minds open to learn from people from all walks of life, youth and elders, the broad spectrum of races, cultures, gender identities and sexualities. It is a disposition of freedom because fear and ignorance no longer block us from access to deeply knowing the joy and fulfilment of the true diversity made possible by God.

early reading, language composition and oral rehearsal, and supporting children’s intellectual development.

His newest book is How to Become a Better Writing Teacher, co-written with Carl Anderson. He is the author of Craft and Process Studies: Units that Provide Writers with Choice of Genre, coauthor of I Am Reading with Kathy Collins, the author of Engaging Young Writers, coauthor of Projecting Possibilities for Writers with Mary Alice Berry, and coauthor with Katie Wood Ray of Already Ready and Watch Katie and Matt Sit Down and Teach Up, a video enhance ebook that combines video and text to examine conferring with young writers. Matt is also the co editor with Ellin Keene of The Teacher You Want to Be: Essays about Children, Learning, and Teaching. Matt lives outside of Cincinnati, Ohio with Bridget, his wife, four kids, and beloved dog.

After her son was diagnosed with dyslexia and depression, she began her deep dive into effective literacy instruction for all children. She is the author of the book, 7 Mighty Moves: Research-Backed, Classroom-Tested Strategies to Ensure K-3 Reading Success. She loves being in the classroom every day, teaching kids to read.

• Closing Gaps with Struggling Students such as those with high poverty, in special education or those with cognitive challenges (formative assessment process, feedback, accurate grading).
• Differentiating Instruction & Growing Literacy to meet every student's needs in all content areas.
• Follow-up Coaching for Collective Efficacy from relationship-building to lesson-planning; feedback, learning walks, and goal-getting.

BACKGROUND: She's a former teacher of the year, a Jensen-certified, brain-research trainer for over 25 years and has authored over 14 practical books including her 2019 release: Teaching with the Instructional Cha Chas: 4 Steps to Make Learning Stick (Winner of the 2020 Teacher's Choice Award) and Deeper Learning: 7 Powerful Strategies for In-Depth and Longer-Lasting Learning (co-authored with Eric Jensen). Her unique, customized options will ensure the new learning gets implemented because of extraordinary follow-up coaching skills. She's worked with over 600 schools in 49 states and gets rave reviews from both teachers and leadership alike.

APPROACH: LeAnn Nickelsen gives you the “whole package” as a trainer. She always listens first, then works to customize and personalize your event based on exactly what you and your staff/students need. She role models every skill for your staff to show HOW it's done. She shares real stories and examples from schools to drive strong, getto-grade-level achievement. This means you get a passionate, engaging and highly practical training that your staff can implement immediately to raise student learning.

THE BUZZ: Read what her raving fans said about her recent work: “LeAnn has been an amazing support for Westlawn Elementary over the last two years. She immediately understood our struggle and instantly began working on ways to transform our campus. She contributed tremendously in changing our campus culture to having a growth mindset, and most importantly, helping us believe we as a campus could be successful. She continues to help motivate and focus our campus. We believe the possibilities are endless! LeAnn's ability to communicate with teachers and assess the educational and emotional needs of a student is outstanding.” Nichole S. & Kiandra W., Texarkana, TX.

Contact LeAnn at: leann@maximizelearninginc.com