On Monday, Educational Service Unit #13 hosted its 37th annual Mid-Winter Conference.
In 1965, Educational Service Units were established “In order to provide supplementary educational services to local school districts.” (LB No. 301). Since its conception, ESU 13’s mission has been rooted in that purpose, aiming to achieve educational excellence for all Panhandle learners through strong partnerships, service and leadership.
For over 30 years, the ESU 13 Mid-Winter Conference has provided Panhandle school districts and their educators with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, learn from content experts, and add to their tool boxes of skills and ideas. The day aims to increase area educators’ skills and thus, impact students’ learning across the region.
ESU 13’s Professional Learning, Early Childhood, and Special Education Departments contract with nationally-known presenters who offer a variety of workshops for area school administrators, certified, and classified staff members. Attendees heard from an array of presenters including authors such as Jimmy Casas, as well as Nebraska Department of Education staff. There were 14 sessions offered, with topics ranging from specific content areas to ones pertaining to a wider audience, such as Culturizing
Students, Educational Equity, and Crisis Mitigation.
Over 1,100 area educators, spanning 15 different Panhandle school districts attended in-person or via Zoom. In-person sessions were held at various locations including Gering Civic Center, Gering High School, and Chadron High School.
Conference organizer and ESU 13 Professional Learning Coordinator, Michelle Keszler said, “Due to COVID-19, this year looked a lot different than how the conference has been held in the past. However, we still met the goal of providing high-quality professional learning opportunities for our area schools.”