DTAL Conference 2026

This session provides middle and high school educators, instructional coaches, and district leaders with a research-based examination of artificial intelligence’s environmental footprint and systemic impacts. Current data from assorted stakeholders will provide attendees with a broader understanding of diverse perspectives. Participants will be empowered to identify strategies for engaging in respectful discourse with students, considering the environmentally conscious, highly creative, morally driven, and/or socially responsible learner. The session also examines the necessity of being prepared with various methods and tools to support student voice and decision-making.

How can PLCs move beyond routine meetings to become engines for instructional growth? In this session, elementary leaders will explore a practical PLC cycle designed to drive instructional impact. Participants will first examine the leadership framework that connects learning intentions with job-embedded coaching, collaborative PLC planning, classroom observation, and targeted feedback. We will then look at what this cycle looks like in action within language arts PLCs, math PLCs, and special education team meetings. Attendees will leave with a replicable approach for building high-impact PLCs that strengthen teacher clarity, collective efficacy, and support future-ready learners.

Designed for district coaches and school administrators, this session explores strategies FOR COACHES to enhance teacher clarity through learning intentions, success criteria, and actionable feedback. Participants will learn to maximize student understanding by managing cognitive load and establishing relevance. Drive student ownership through intentional, visible learning journeys.

In this engaging, practitioner-focused session, Virginia Beach educators will explore how artificial intelligence can be used as a thought-partner that supports educator thinking and planning to deepen learning and amplify student engagement in middle school classrooms. Designed for instructional coaches, teachers, and school leaders, the session will model practical, responsible uses of AI to support lesson design, differentiation, formative assessment, and reflective practice. Along with specific prompt examples, participants will use the RADAR strategy to create their own prompts. They will leave with concrete strategies they can apply immediately to increase rigor, relevance, and student voice—all while using professional judgment and discernment.