On July 29 and 30, educators are invited to Hellstern Middle School in Springdale to focus on "Coaching for Hope," the theme of the 2025 Instructional Coaching Conference.

Educators will have the opportunity to hone their skills in supporting teacher learning.  

Registration for the event is now open. The $40 registration fee includes lunch and supplies both days.  

Keynote speakers include Chan Hellman, director of the Hope Research Center and author of Hope Rising; Ruth Ayres, director of Lead Learners and podcaster of Sticky Hope; Vicki Collet, author of Differentiated Mentoring and Coaching and Collaborative Lesson Study; and Jean Hill, Helen Tyson Middle School instructional facilitator.  

Participants can attend breakout sessions with each keynote speaker and graduate students enrolled in a course on coaching research, theory and practice. 

"Educators have frequent opportunities for professional learning about content and instructional strategies but little opportunity to focus on the role many play as coaches for teacher learning," said Vicki Collet, organizer of the conference and professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. "Instructional facilitators, principals, team leaders, department chairs, mentors and other school leaders all play a coaching role."

The Instructional Coaching Conference is a biennial event, with the 2025 conference following the successful conference debut in 2023, which was attended by over 100 educators. 

"It was an outstanding conference, and it validated my work and empowered me to soar to higher levels," said Tina Moretz, who attended the 2023 conference. 

This year's conference is sponsored by a WE CARE grant from the College of Education and Health Professions with support from Northwest Arkansas Writing Project. 

The Northwest Arkansas Writing Project is a professional organization focused on improving writing in area schools. As one of about 200 National Writing Project sites, it provides professional development for educators and young writers. For more information about Writing Project events, contact Collet at collet@uark.edu or visit nwawp.uark.edu/.