SchoolCEO Conference Schedule
All In: AI, Brand and Communications
Sept. 28-29, 2026 | Dallas, TX
Day 1: Monday, September 28
To access a presentation, simply expand the schedule block and find your favorite session.
▼ Regency Foyer
▼ Regency Ballroom
❋ Brittany Keil & Greg Turchetta
▼ Regency Ballroom
SCHOOLCEO STRATEGY SESSION
▼ Venetian Room
A District of Choice at Every Stage
Builds on the new SchoolCEO research into how families make decisions at each K–12 transition point. Attendees will split into small groups and work through all three transition stages — entering elementary school, elementary to middle school, and middle to high school — brainstorming practical ways to re-engineer enrollment and continuity marketing at each stage, from messaging and timing to the channels and moments that matter most to families.
❋ Speaker(s): Brittany Keil & Craig Maniglia
CX-LED WORKSHOP
▼ Gold Room
What Does the ADA Title II Update Mean for You (and How Can Apptegy Help You Get There)
Federal accessibility requirements for public school websites now have real deadlines. Under the DOJ's updated ADA Title II rule, districts serving 50,000+ residents must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA by April 2027, with smaller districts following in 2028. This session breaks down the requirements, the stakes, and how Apptegy's platform can help.
❋ Speaker(s): Mitch Wilston & Sara Berley
Resources linked here
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
▼ Parisian Room
Rethinking the Intranet: From Filing Cabinet to Communication Hub with Staff Connect
For two decades, "intranet" has meant a static, login-gated staff website. That definition is dated, and it isn't what's actually broken — the real gap is staff communication: information scattered across a dozen places, updates lost in inbox sprawl, no visibility into what's landing. This session redefines what a staff intranet should be in 2026: a true staff communication hub, not a static page set.
❋ Speaker(s): Zelda Engeler-Young & Monica McClellan
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
▼ Oak Room
Customer Service and Hospitality in the Age of AI
Customer service resolves a problem; hospitality makes people feel like they belong. SchoolCEO has long championed a culture of hospitality in schools. Now AI is changing what's possible. This session explores how districts can use tools like Community Experience to handle routine inbound inquiries at scale, freeing staff for the personal moments no algorithm can replicate.
❋ Speaker(s): Torri Ellison & Michele Popadich
SCHOOLCEO STRATEGY SESSION
▼ Venetian Room
Leveling Up: Fixing the Communications Systems that Frustrate Families
District communication is under more pressure than ever: school choice has made enrollment competitive, social media has made misinformation fast, chronic absenteeism has revealed disconnected families as a measurable academic risk, and staff capacity is stretched thin. Yet most districts still run communication systems built for a different era. This session gives districts a shared language and a structured path forward.
❋ Speaker(s): Greg Turchetta
Resources linked here
SCHOOLCEO STRATEGY SESSION — AWARD SHOWCASE
▼ Gold Room
Visions of Excellence: Real Strategies and Real Results from Communications Leaders
Featuring the four finalists for the 2026 Excellence in School Marketing Award, this session brings together four communications leaders and brand-builders to walk through a project that delivered measurable results in their district — the strategy, the execution, and the lesson attendees can bring home. Expect specific tactics, honest retrospectives, and real numbers.
❋ Speaker(s): Melissa Hite (host), with 2026 Excellence in School Marketing Award finalists Jacque Ballent, MBA (Frisco ISD, TX); Cristina Capretta, APR (Berea City School District, OH); Brittany Cowan (Denver Public Schools, CO); Skyler Hefley (Longview ISD, TX)
Resources linked here
CX-LED WORKSHOP
▼ Parisian Room
On Brand: Building a Distinctive District Brand
Every district has a brand whether it's been defined or not — it lives in how families feel walking through the front door and whether they choose to stay. This workshop, led by SchoolCEO contributors and a peer district, walks through the architecture of a strong district brand: identifying core identity, aligning visual and messaging systems, and building consistency across every touchpoint. Attendees do real work during the session.
❋ Speaker(s): Amy Charpentier & Michala Roberts
Resources linked here
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
▼ Oak Room
More Than a Missed Day: Building Two-Way Attendance Systems That Help Students Return
Every absence represents a student who is missing learning, relationships, routines, and opportunities to feel connected at school. Behind every absence is a a reason: a sick child, a missed buy, a family challenge, anxiety, disengagement, or something no one has discovered yet. Chronic absenteeism doesn't start the day a student reached 10% missed days.- it starts with a pattern no one caught early enough. Improving attendance takes more than counting missed days. It takes a system that combines timely data, powerful two-way SMS, thoughtful support, and consistent follow-through. This session introduces Attendance Pro as a complete attendance operations systems that put the research into practice with automation and AI-powered SMS conversations from the moment aa student is marked absent, capturing the reasons, surfacing early-warning signals, and giving staff more capacity to focus on the student who need the support.
❋ Speaker(s): Emily Simon & Drew Doman
▼ Regency Foyer / Ballroom
▼ Regency Ballroom
❋ Charlie Lang
▼ Regency Ballroom
SCHOOLCEO STRATEGY SESSION
▼ Venetian Room
Pressure Tested: Crisis Communications for K-12 Leaders
When a crisis hits a school district, communication usually breaks down in three places: delay, inaccuracy, and misalignment. This presentation gives K-12 leaders a practical framework for preventing these break downs by building a system around one voice, one message, and one approval chain. Attendees will learn how to claffify incidents within minutes, activate the right crisis team, clarify decisions, and communicat with speed, empahty, and discipline from the first alert through recovery.
❋ Speaker(s): Greg Turchetta
CX-LED WORKSHOP
▼ Gold Room
What Does the ADA Title II Update Mean for You (and How Can Apptegy Help You Get There)
Federal accessibility requirements for public school websites now have real deadlines. Under the DOJ's updated ADA Title II rule, districts serving 50,000+ residents must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA by April 2027, with smaller districts following in 2028. This session breaks down the requirements, the stakes, and how Apptegy's platform can help.
❋ Speaker(s): Mitch Wilston & Sara Berley
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
▼ Parisian Room
Rethinking the Intranet: From Filing Cabinet to Communication Hub with Staff Connect
For two decades, "intranet" has meant a static, login-gated staff website. That definition is dated, and it isn't what's actually broken — the real gap is staff communication: information scattered across a dozen places, updates lost in inbox sprawl, no visibility into what's landing. This session redefines what a staff intranet should be in 2026: a true staff communication hub, not a static page set.
❋ Speaker(s): Zelda Engeler-Young & Monica McClellan
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
▼ Oak Room
More Than a Missed Day: Building Two-Way Attendance Systems That Help Students Return
Every absence represents a student who is missing learning, relationships, routines, and opportunities to feel connected at school. Behind every absence is a a reason: a sick child, a missed buy, a family challenge, anxiety, disengagement, or something no one has discovered yet. Chronic absenteeism doesn't start the day a student reached 10% missed days.- it starts with a pattern no one caught early enough. Improving attendance takes more than counting missed days. It takes a system that combines timely data, powerful two-way SMS, thoughtful support, and consistent follow-through. This session introduces Attendance Pro as a complete attendance operations systems that put the research into practice with automation and AI-powered SMS conversations from the moment aa student is marked absent, capturing the reasons, surfacing early-warning signals, and giving staff more capacity to focus on the student who need the support.
❋ Speaker(s): Emily Simon & Drew Doman
SCHOOLCEO STRATEGY SESSION
▼ Venetian Room
A District of Choice at Every Stage: What Families Really Want at Each School Level
Builds on new SchoolCEO research into how families make decisions at each K–12 transition point. Attendees split into small groups and work through all three transition stages — entering elementary school, elementary to middle school, and middle to high school — brainstorming practical ways to re-engineer enrollment and continuity marketing at each stage, from messaging and timing to the channels and moments that matter most to families. Groups report back to the full room.
❋ Speaker(s): Brittany Keil & Craig Maniglia
SCHOOLCEO STRATEGY SESSION — AWARD SHOWCASE
▼ Gold Room
Visions of Excellence: Real Strategies and Real Results from Communications Leaders
Featuring the four finalists for the 2026 Excellence in School Marketing Award, this session brings together four communications leaders and brand-builders to walk through a project that delivered measurable results in their district — the strategy, the execution, and the lesson attendees can bring home. Expect specific tactics, honest retrospectives, and real numbers.
❋ Speaker(s): Melissa Hite (host), with 2026 Excellence in School Marketing Award finalists Jacque Ballent, MBA (Frisco ISD, TX); Cristina Capretta, APR (Berea City School District, OH); Brittany Cowan (Denver Public Schools, CO); Skyler Hefley (Longview ISD, TX)
CX-LED WORKSHOP
▼ Parisian Room
On Brand: Building a Distinctive District Brand
Every district has a brand whether it's been defined or not — it lives in how families feel walking through the front door and whether they choose to stay. This workshop, led by SchoolCEO contributors and a peer district, walks through the architecture of a strong district brand: identifying core identity, aligning visual and messaging systems, and building consistency across every touchpoint. Attendees do real work during the session.
❋ Speaker(s): Amy Charpentier & Michala Roberts
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
▼ Oak Room
Customer Service and Hospitality in the Age of AI
Customer service resolves a problem; hospitality makes people feel like they belong. SchoolCEO has long championed a culture of hospitality in schools. Now AI is changing what's possible. This session explores how districts can use tools like Community Experience to handle routine inbound inquiries at scale, freeing staff for the personal moments no algorithm can replicate.
❋ Speaker(s): Torri Ellison & Michele Popadich
▼ Corrientes 348
1807 Ross Ave Dallas, TX
Half a block from Fairmont, we will host our Welcome Reception at Corrientes 348. Known for their Argentinian wood-fired steaks, fine wine and elegant setting. Attire: Business casual
Day 2: Tuesday, September 29
To access a presentation, simply expand the schedule block and find your favorite session.
▼ Regency Foyer
▼ Regency Ballroom
❋ Rebecca Bultsma
▼ Regency Ballroom
Your district has years of survey responses, community feedback, and public input sitting in inboxes and spreadsheets. You collected it because you care. Most of it never got used - not because you didn't want to, but because there was too much of it and not enough of you. AI is changing that. In this keynote, Rebecca Bultsma, AI ethics researcher and former school communications director, will explore how AI helps districts listen deeper, reach wider, and do it all without losing the trust that matters most.
❋ Rebecca Bultsma
▼ Regency Ballroom
A hands-on follow-up to the morning keynote. Specific workshop content is not yet detailed in production materials.
▼ Regency Ballroom
Panel discussion plus the on-stage presentation of the 2026 Excellence in School Marketing Award, honoring the finalists featured in Day 1's "Visions of Excellence" session (Frisco ISD, Berea City School District, Denver Public Schools, and Longview ISD). Panel topic and participants not yet finalized in source materials.
▼ International Ballroom
❋ Emma Stratton
▼ Regency Ballroom
Writing school communications isn’t easy. You’re speaking to parents, staff, board members, and community partners — all with different priorities and concerns. How do you make sure your message lands? In this session, Emma Stratton will share a practical framework for value-based communication that helps you consistently lead with what matters most to your audience. You’ll learn how to shift from describing what your school is doing to articulating why it matters. You’ll walk away with a repeatable approach you can use for emails, presentations, newsletters, and more, so your communication reflects the true impact and awesomeness of your school.
❋ Emma Stratton
▼ Regency Ballroom
A hands-on messaging workshop extending the keynote — applying Stratton's Punchy positioning framework directly to attendees' own district messaging. Specific exercises not yet detailed in production materials.
❋ Jessica Chen
▼ Regency Ballroom
A globally recognized keynote speaker, bestselling author, and communication strategist, Jessica Chen has reached over 2 million learners worldwide. She's the bestselling author of Smart, Not Loud: How to Get Noticed at Work for All the Right Reasons, a Columbia University instructor, and host of the iHeartMedia podcast Leading by Example: Executives Making an Impact.
Presentation resources linked here
▼ Fairmont Terrace - 3rd Floor
Great networking and celebration to close out the conference. Food stations, a mechanical bull, and karaoke keep it lively and social. Attire: Western wear-influenced, but not heavily themed — think subtle nods, not costumes.