Summer Conference

August 4-7 at UMass Amherst

Nuts & Bolts and Schedule
Summer Conference Guide
Workshops by Topic
Children's Programming

Conference Offerings

At the MTA Summer Conference, you can tailor your learning experience to meet your own needs

Our conference offers:

Programs on all aspects of union skills and leadership development. You’ll also find workshops on professional issues as well as classroom practice.
The chance to choose from a wide variety of individual professional development workshops. You may also earn 15 PDPs in English Language Learners or Special Education in one of our two-day sessions.
Single-session workshops, which run for three hours during the day and 1.5 hours in the evening. There are also tracks and workshops that run through several days of the conference.
You may register for one day, the whole conference or anything in between.

Schedule and Nuts & Bolts Summer Conference Guide Register

Schedule of Events and Nuts & Bolts

Going to the MTA Summer Conference? Before you head out, download the Schedule of Events and Nuts & Bolts. The guide has everything you need to make the most out of your conference experience. Get directions to UMass Amherst, find out where to park and register, where the dorms and dining commons are located, and access the entire schedule as well as a full list of special events.

Download the Nuts & Bolts and Conference Schedule

There's an App for That

Download the MTA Summer Conference app to access the schedule anytime, find your way around with a map of the UMass Amherst campus, create and store notes and much more (including recommendations for restaurants in the Amherst area.)

Open the link to the app and click on "Log In" to proceed.

Download the MTA Events Mobile App

At the MTA Summer Conference? Use the hashtags, #mtasummer and #union on social media.

The Basics

umass

What is MTA Summer Conference?

The MTA Summer Conference offers quality union skills and professional development workshops. Participants have the flexibility to tailor their training experience to their preferences. Our conference provides a unique opportunity to learn, network, exchange ideas, connect and relax.

Who should attend?

Participants are MTA members who are educators, faculty, professional staff and education support professionals at public schools and colleges across Massachusetts as well as retirees.

UMass Amherst

When is the MTA Summer Conference?

The 2019 conference kicks off on Sunday, August 4, and runs through Wednesday, August 7. Participants may attend for a day or the entire conference to take advantage of all this event has to offer.

Where is the MTA Summer Conference?

The conference is held on the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Attend at No-Cost: Grant-Funded Tracks & Scholarship Opportunities

These programs have limited enrollment so early registration is recommended.

Naming the Moment Scholarship Sessions

Workshops designed to help members identify and plan action around issues that impact their work, students and their communities.

Flier Register

New Member Program

Learn about your union membership and the policies and laws that govern public education. Designed for educators in their first five years of practice.

Flier Apply

Next Generation

Learn the ins and outs of bottom-up activism that will help to make your local association powerful and effective. Designed for those who are within their first three years of office or have not served at all.

Downloadable Fliers

Children's Programming at Summer Conference

NEW THIS YEAR! Children's programming will be offered at the MTA Summer Conference during workshop hours on Sunday, August 4 through Wednesday, August 7.

Camp MTA at Summer Conference

Eligible: Children between the ages of 2 and 12
Cost: $15 per day per family

The children's programming includes educational activities, arts and crafts and interactive games provided by ACCENT on Children's Arrangements, which is the same provider utilized by the NEA.

A family housing option in the North Residence Hall area will also be available for those attending with children.

Contact: Jessica Parlon, MTA Training and Professional Learning coordinator, jparlon@massteacher.org.

Find Your Passion at MTA Summer Conference

Workshops are grouped together by category.

Communications and Technology

Effective Communications
Create Your Own Flyers and More: Graphic Design for Dummies
Using Zoom to Engage with Union Members and Beyond

Using WordPress to Develop a Local Website
Reaching Millennials: Using the Latest Technology
Developing a Local Social Media Presence

Cultural Competency

Two-Day/15 PDP: Weaving SEL into Your Classroom: Simple Strategies that Make a Big Difference for All Students
Two-Day/15 PDP: Equity for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners
Building Cultural Competence with the No Evil Project
Can Developing Relationships with Students of Color Make a Difference in Students Learning Content?
Connect with Students through Salsa!

Culturally Responsive SEL: The Transformative Justice Approach
LGBTQ 101 – Identity, Vocabulary and Inclusive Practices
The Minority of Minorities: Issues and Invisibility of Native Americans
Supporting Undocumented Students in Our Schools
We are Still Here: Native Americans in the U.S.

English Language Learners/Sheltered English Immersion

Two-Day/15 PDP: Creating Success with English Learner Students
Two-Day/15 PDP: Equity for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners
Two-Day//15 PDP: Getting to Know Your ELs: Strategies to Help Your Students Succeed
Collaborative Teaching: Designing a Successful Environment for ELs in a General Ed Classroom
STEM and Academic Discourse for English Learners
An Updated Look at the LOOK Act and English Learner Policies

Collaborative Teaching: Designing a Successful Environment for ELs in a General Ed Classroom
STEM and Academic Discourse for English Learners
An Updated Look at the LOOK Act and English Learner Policies

General Curriculum and Instruction

Two-Day/15 PDP: Weaving SEL into Your Classroom: Simple Strategies that Make a Big Difference for All Students
Two-Day/15 PDP:Reaching and Teaching All Students: Effective Classroom Instruction and Student Engagement
Hold on Tight, It May Be a Bumpy Ride!

Introduction to Service Learning
Managing the Inspired Classroom
Teaching the Research Process
The Use of Escape Rooms in the Assessment of Middle School Standards Master

Leadership Knowledge and Skills

So, You Want to Make a Motion?
Are You Ready to Run Your Meetings? Skills for the Presiding Officer
Engaging Members and Creating a Balance Through Joint Labor Management Committees
Recruiting and Retaining a Local Leadership Team
Launching Lasting Leaders
New Member Program
What is the TLI – Teacher Leadership Institute?
Licensure, IPDPs, and Audits
Next Generation Leadership

Running Action Oriented Meetings
Bylaws and Best Practices for Local Executive Committees and Boards
“Lies My Ed Tech Vendor Told Me”
Building A Strategic Action Plan for Your Local
Building Blocks of a More Engaged Local
Conflict Resolution Skills
New Presidents Academy
Developing Our Worldview Intelligence
An Updated Look at The LOOK Act and English Learner Policies

Literacy and Humanities

Abandon the Five Paragraph Essay! Write Texts that Foster Inquiry, Exploration, Digital Literacy & Meaningful Design
Communication and Connection: How to Teach the Skills We’re Losing
Integrating Critical Media Literacy into Classrooms
Lunch with Emily Dickinson

The Most Powerful Underused Tool in Your Instructional Arsenal: Poetry as Paired Text
Multiple Texts, Multiple Viewpoints: Teaching Synthesis of Ideas and Language
Storytelling with Digiforms!

Negotiations

Union Rights 101
Bargaining Education Evaluation Outside the Box
Title IX – Negotiating Sexual Harassment Procedures
It’s Your Time – Don't Give It Away!
Fund our Future: The Next Steps

Bargaining Municipal Health Insurance
Economics of Bargaining for PreK-12
Creating Strong Wage Scales for ESPs
Interpreting and Drafting Contract Language
So, You’re Going to be on the Bargaining or Contract Action Team

Organizing

Naming the Moment: Conversations on Critical Issues
Naming the Moment: Education for Action
Reaching Millennials: Using the Latest Technology to Engage New Members
How to be an MTA Political Action Leader
The Building Blocks of a More Engaged Local
Welcoming, Engaging, and Recruiting New PreK-12 Members
New Member Program
Educators, Families, and Communities: Working Together to Save Our Schools
Welcoming and Engaging New Members in Prek-12
Organizing for Debt-Free Higher Education
Welcoming and Engaging Your New Members in Higher Education

Higher Education Plenary Session - Challenges for Higher Ed: Winning for Our Members and College Communities
Organizing and Bargaining for Racial Justice
Finally! OSHA Protection for Public Employees
Next Generation Leadership Program
Dealing with Difficult Supervisors
Fund Our Future: The Next Steps
Conversations about Membership
Strikes: Why They Succeed, How They Fail
Using Zoom to Engage with Union Members and Beyond
Dealing with Difficult Supervisors

Policy and Political Action

How to be an MTA Political Action Leader PreK-12
How to be an MTA Political Action Leader Higher Ed
Steps to Licensure
Fund Our Future: The Next Steps

Take Control of School Accountability
An Updated Look at the LOOK Act and English Learner Policies
Licensure, IPDPs and Audits
Understanding the Legislative Process and Learning Effective Strategies to Advocate for Our Priorities

Representation Skills and Legal

Take Control of School Accountability
Winning Grievances
Fund Our Future: The Next Steps
Success with Unemployment Claims
Title IX – Representing Higher Education Members in Sexual Harassment Cases
It’s Your Time – Don't Give It Away!
Engaging Members and Creating a Balance of Power through JLMCs

Steps to Licensure
Finally! OSHA Protection for Public Employees
Union Rights 101
Medical and Parental Leaves
Dealing with Difficult Supervisors
Running Action Oriented Meetings
Conflict Resolution Skills

Social Emotional Learning

Two-Day/15 PDP: Weaving SEL into Your Classroom: Simple Strategies that Make a Big Difference for All Students
Communication and Connection: How to Teach the Skills We’re Losing
Convince the Explosive Child You Want Them Back in Your Classroom
Culturally Responsive SEL: The Transformative Justice Approach
Hold on Tight, It May Be a Bumpy Ride!

Integrating Mindfulness into Your School Community
Social Emotional Learning for Educators: How Our Self-Care Inspires Student Success
Teaching Anxious Students
We Too: Educating Survivors of Childhood Sexual Assault & Creating Schools Free from Sexual Harassment

Social Racial and Economic Justice

Runaway Inequality
Social Justice, Diversity, and Cultural Competence in Higher Ed
Social Justice in Your PreK–12 Local
Educators & Families Working Together to Save Our Schools

Toolkit for Racial Justice
Organizing and Bargaining for Racial Justice
How to be An Ally

Special Education

Two-Day/15 PDP: Weaving SEL into Your Classroom: Simple Strategies that Make a Big Difference for All Students
Two-Day/15 PDP: Reaching and Teaching All Students: Effective Classroom Instruction and Student Engagement
Two-Day/15 PDP: Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities in Your Classroom

Convince the Explosive Child You Want Them Back in Your Classroom
Hold on Tight, It May Be a Bumpy Ride!
Using Technology to Support Executive Functioning

STEM Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics

Abandon the 5 Paragraph Essay! Write Texts that Foster Inquiry, Exploration, Digital Literacy & Meaningful Design
Game on!
Integrating Critical Media Literacy into Classrooms
Nearpod: An Interactive Lesson Delivery Tool to Engage All Students

STEM and Academic Discourse for English Learners
Storytelling with Digiforms!
Using Technology to Support Executive Functioning