Calling all new/newer community educators. Join us as we take a deep dive into all things Community Ed! This is an excellent opportunity for you to build a strong and comprehensive Community Ed. Foundation. This is also an opportunity like no other where you will build relationships with colleagues from across the State. These relationships will be invaluable to you as you progress in your career.
Jackie Johnston will be our lead facilitator. Jackie has 34 years of experience in community education and is a proven leader and extremely effective communicator. Other Community Education Professionals involved in presenting include Valerie Dosland (MCEA Lobbyist) Dr. Jim Johnson, Susan Brott & Bob Noyed (CESO Communications), Wendy Webster, Marcia Provencher and Cory Franson.
The event will be held at Koronis Ministries Retreat Center on Beautiful Lake Koronis in Paynesville, MN. Take the time to Elevate & Educate yourself this summer and register today. Registrations are limited so please register early to ensure your spot!
Click Here for Registration Information
August 23 & 24, 2023
Dates: Aug 23, 2023– 10:00 am –
Aug 24, 2023 – 1:00 pm
Location: https://www.koronisministries.org/facilitydetail/sunrise-inn-1034624
Registration Fee:
Early Bird – $299 – Double Occupancy All Inclusive (Room, Food, Workshop, Materials)
$369/Regular Price after July 1st
Early Bird – $379 **Single Occupancy All Inclusive (Room, Food, Workshop, Materials)
$479/Regular Price after July 1st
Just added more single occupancy cabins but they may fill fast!
**(Limited Availability)
Minimum: 15
Maximum: 40
Key Facilitator: Jackie Johnston
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Wednesday, Aug 23, 2023
9:00 – 10:00 am Registration/Check In/Continental Breakfast
10:00 – 10:30 am Welcome/Get Acquainted Session
10:30 am – 11:30 pm Foundations of Comm. Ed. – Jackie Johnston & Bob Meyer
History – Principles – Philosophy – Program Areas/Concepts
11:30 – 12:00 Advisory Councils – Marcia Provencher
12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch/Announcements/Housekeeping
1:00 – 2:00 pm Licensure/Rules and Regulations – Jim Johnson
K-12 integration/Targeted Service/Special Ed
2:00 – 2:30 Legislation (RALLI) advocacy-Valerie Dosland
2:30 – 2:45 pm Break
2:45 – 3:45 pm Equity & Inclusion Wendy Webster/Jackie Johnston
3:45 – 4:45 pm Personnel & Supervision Bob Meyer
4:45 – 5:15 pm MCEA and You! Matt Dickhausen – MCEA Executive Director
5:15 – 5:30 pm Discussion/Break
5:30 – 6:30 pm Dinner/Announcements
6:30 – 8:30 pm Pontoon Cruises, Group Games & Other Recreational Offerings
8:30 pm – ? Music by the Bonfire – Games – Socializing
Thursday, Aug 24, 2023
8:00 – 8:30 am Breakfast
8:45 – 10:00 am Budget & Finance – Cory Franson
10:00 – 10:15 am Break
10:15 – 11:00 am Community Engagement & Public Relations – Susan Brott/ Bob Noyed
11:00 – 12:00 New Directors Panel
12:00 – 12:30 pm Lunch
12:30 – 1:15 pm Evaluation and Closure
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*Jackie Johnston, S Ed. began her career in Community Education as a parent educator in Faribault Mn in 1989. She is a licensed Parent Educator, Secondary teacher, K-12 principal, Superintendent and a licensed Community Education Director. She started two alternative high schools, one as a Community Education Arts High School. She was a Community Education Director for 20 years and began teaching the Community Education Director cohort for MSUM in 2014. She has been active in MCEA as chair of RALLI, Chair of PDMS, President of the board and co-led the equity initiatives. Jackie has presented training at various local, state, and national conferences on Leadership, Curriculum Development and Redesign, Personnel and Supervision, Family Literacy, Literacy Instruction, Collaboration, Building Budgets and Team Building. She was also active in promoting equity and inclusion both locally and nationally. She is trained by the National Multicultural Institute for creating and sustaining Diversity Initiatives in the Workplace and Community.
Jackie is currently retired from her director position and lives in Champlin, MN with a summer cabin in Grand Rapids, MN. She continues to be active in Community Education by teaching the MSUM Cohort. She also led the MCEA initiative to provide training and support for the Michigan Association of Community and Adult Education. She is the Chair of Rotary North Star Youth Exchange for Mn and Wisconsin. Jackie believes that, “it takes a village to raise a child.” And that Community Education provides the support critical to the village and the child.
Valerie Dosland is the Director of Government Affairs at Ewald Consulting, where she provides government relations and lobbying services to clients in the areas of early childhood and K-12education. Valerie assists her clients in policy development, lobbying and monitoring of legislative activities as well as grassroots development and engagement. Prior to joining Ewald Consulting in 2005, she worked for nine years at the Minnesota House of Representatives as a research consultant specializing in the areas of early childhood and K-12 education. Valerie is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a B.A., an alumni of the U of M’s Humphrey Policy Fellows program, and a former board member for the YMCA Youth in Government Program. She is also actively involved in the national Little Bellas program, a mountain bike organization whose goal is to help young women reach their fullest potential by creating a mentorship community to empower women and girls through cycling.
Dr. Jim Johnson spent over 30 years in P-12 as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. For the past 6 years he has been preparing the next generation of school administrators by teaching courses in educational leadership programs. He earned his BS from the University of Minnesota and his Masters, Administrative Certificate and Doctorate from St. Cloud State University. He is currently the Program Coordinator for Educational Leadership at Minnesota State University Moorhead.
Susan Brott, APR, Senior Strategist
Susan Brott, APR, has 25 years of experience in public education, first as a community education program coordinator, and then as a strategic communications professional. Prior to joining CESO Communications, Susan served for over 20 years as a communications director in several Minneapolis-St. Paul area school districts. Susan enjoys all aspects of strategic communications and strategic planning, and especially enjoys facilitating and engaging stakeholders to elevate their voice and help them feel valued and heard. She specializes in analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data in order to help clients seek deeper meaning and make better decisions. Even before joining CESO Communications in April 2020, Susan was a go-to resource for school leaders across Minnesota, providing strategic communications counsel and advice, and helping to craft crisis response messaging in times of need. Susan has been an active member of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), including co-facilitating annual workshops for new school communications professionals for several years, and from which she received the 2021 Barry Gaskins Mentor Legacy Award. She is also active in the Minnesota School Public Relations Association (MinnSPRA), where she served as president in 2007-2008 and received the Dawn K. McDowell Legacy award in 2018.
Bob Noyed, APR, Vice President
Bob Noyed, APR, has more than 35 years of experience working in school districts as a strategic communications professional. Prior to joining CESO Communications, he served as the director of communications for several Minneapolis-area school districts. Along with his district experience, Bob served as 2006-2007 president of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) and as North Central Region Vice President from 1999-2002. He has also served two terms as the president of the Minnesota School Public Relations Association (MinnSPRA). He continues to be active in both organizations. Bob was the 2005 recipient of NSPRA’s Barry Gaskins Mentor Legacy Award and received NSPRA’s 2021 Presidents’ Award. He is the author of several school communication-related materials and is a frequent presenter for local, state and national conferences.
Wendy Webster
Wendy Webster has served as the Director of Community Services and Communications for the St. Anthony-New Brighton School District since 2008.
Wendy’s passion for Community Education started in 1995 when she was a work-study student in the Morris Community Education office while attending the University of Minnesota, Morris. Her purpose is to lead with empathy and integrity to inspire and create an equitable community for all families.
Wendy served on the Minnesota Community Education Association Board of Directors for 11 years as a region representative for 8 years, president-elect in 2013, president in 2014 and past-president in 2015.
Wendy has served as a Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) Leader where she facilitated monthly seminars with School District teachers and support staff to increase awareness of equity and diversity—race, gender, sexual orientation, social class, and ethnicity—of students within our schools.
Wendy and her husband Seth have lived in St. Anthony since 1999 with their teenage sons. Since 2020, Wendy has also served on the St. Anthony City Council.
Cory Franson
Cory Franson has been working in the field of Community Education since 2001. Starting as a school-age childcare worker, Cory found his passion for Community Education and now serves as the Community Education and Community Engagement Director for Elk River Area Schools in Minnesota. Cory was honored to serve as the President of the Minnesota Community Education Association in 2021. Cory received his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Winona State, and his Community Education Director’s License and Master’s Degree from St. Cloud State University. Cory is passionate about lifelong learning and dedicated to serving his local and global communities.
Marcia Provencher
Community Education has seen involvement from Marcia since the 1970’s when she begam teaching social dance in the evenings. In 1984 she was hired to be the Program Coordinator and in 1989 she became the Director. Retirement came in 2011 and she is now currently serving on the Litchfield Community Education and Recreation Advisory Council as the School Board representative.
While being a member of the Minnesota Community Education Association, Marcia co-led numerous Advisory Council trainings with a colleague. Those trainings took place in Michigan and California and around the state of Minnesota. In 2010 she was with a committee to update the Advisory Council Training manual for MCEA.
Advisory Councils are a very important part of the Community Education department as the members bring forth guidance, suggestions, innovations and support for those administering the many programs, events, and happenings to enrich the lives of the people in the school district: Lifelong Learning and Citizen Involvement.
