2025 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Conference
Dates: January 14-16, 2025
Location: Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak
7677 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ 85020
The Academic Achievement team is excited to announce that Arizona's 2025 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Conference will be held January 14-16, 2025, at Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak. The theme for this year's conference is "Build On!". Our goal is to empower attendees by building on their current knowledge base, equipping them with additional ways to use their current tools, and for them to learn about new tools that are at their disposal. This event is intended for elementary and secondary administrative staff, state agency staff, and educators. This year's event will feature updates from the Academic Achievement team, agency updates, professional learning opportunities, and work session opportunities with ADE specialists.
Registration for the 2025 ESSA conference is now open!
Hotel Information
The Cutoff Date to secure a Discounted Rate is December 23, 2024.
The Discounted Rate Will Not Be Available After December 23, 2024
Hotel Virtual Tour
Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak
7677 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ 85020
Nestled in the foothills of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, the 26-acre “all-suite” resort is located near major highways and is only 9 miles (15-20 minutes) from the
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
- 430 beautifully appointed two-room suites featuring a bedroom and a separate living room
- 48,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor event space conveniently located in the heart of the resort with easy access to the guestrooms and meal functions
- Three on-site restaurants; 4 additional restaurants within walking distance of the resort
- Full-service audio-visual provider, Encore.
- On-site Destination Management: Southwest Conference Planners (assists with activities on and off-site and transportation)
- Unlimited high-speed Internet for up to two devices ($29.90 value)
- Unlimited local and 1-800 phone calls ($1/call value)
- Complimentary self-parking
- 15-20 minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Downtown Phoenix/Scottsdale
- Airport Transportation Options:
- Sedan Service: $40.00 plus tax and gratuity, each way (1-3 people)
- Taxi: Average cost of $35.00 plus tax and gratuity (1-3 people)
- Uber: $17.00 - $22.00 (1-3 people)
Block Rates
The Block Rate for the hotel is $156 per night. The Block Rate for conference attendees will be honored 3 days prior and 3 days after the event. You may use Promo Code ESS or mention the group ESSA Conference. You may use the link below to book your room or use the phone numbers below to make your reservations.
All Resort fees are waived for all conference attendees.
(Please be aware that the booking website may have a banner explaining the resort fee, but it has been waived upon check-in which is confirmed through Hilton)
Hilton Hotel Booking (With Promo Code)
Direct Hotel Number: 1-602-997-2626
Hilton Corporate Number: 1-800-Hiltons (445-8667)
The Cutoff Date to secure a Discounted Rate is December 23, 2024.
The Discounted Rate Will Not Be Available After December 23, 2024
Registration for the 2025 ESSA conference is now open!
Please note that all attendees must register for the conference in ALPD. Please ensure that all ALPD profiles have updated information as it relates to accommodations, restrictions, and dietary needs.
Attendee Registration
Check out our 2025 ESSA Conference featured Keynote Speakers below!
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Dr. Daniel Mulligan
Dr. Dan Mulligan is a teacher. He proudly assists the Project Momentum Arizona initiative by creating and modeling research-based strategies, grounded in the GEARS process, to elevate student engagement and thinking, inform student/teacher instructional decisions, and to encourage each student to try and believe in themselves. He leads his private consulting, instructional resource, and assessment firm, Flexible Creativity, Inc. Additionally, he has served as a teacher, Director of Instructional Accountability, and as the Director of Assessment and Accountability and lead supervisor for curriculum and instruction in several districts. He has more than 30 years of educational experience in New York and Virginia. Dan has conducted workshops and served as a speaker at conferences across the nation. Along with being a K-12 educator, he has served as an instructor at George Washington University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has earned many national and state awards, Dan has dedicated his professional career to elevating student achievement, especially for the most challenged learners.
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Diana Diaz-Harrison
Diana Díaz-Harrison, M.Ed. is the Lead Founder and Executive Director of Arizona Autism Charter Schools, Inc. (AZACS), the state’s first and only autism-focused charter network. Diana was inspired to start the first school when she struggled to find a quality school choice for her son Sammy, who is on the autism spectrum. Diana and her team opened the first school in 2014, and in 10 years, they have opened five schools to meet the needs of this growing special population.
AZACS has received national acclaim for exceptional results and innovation. In 2022, it was the top winner of the Yass Prize, considered the Pulitzer Prize of education, and most recently, it was recognized as a National Title I Distinguished School. As a leader and trailblazer in high-quality, tuition-free, equitable education for students with autism, Diana launched the National Accelerator of Autism Charter Schools (NAACS). This training and consulting entity aims to empower founding teams to open autism-focused charter schools in every major city in America.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Lance Thonvold
Lance Thonvold is a 2x author, former professional baseball player, and speaker for students, athletes, and leaders. Lance is an expert in self-worth and value and how that leads to high performance in life, the classroom, and on the field. Lance has been endorsed by NFL coaches, has spoken at NCAA D1 Universities, and impacted our youth in Arizona for 6 years. Lance's signature phrase, talk, and book is called, "Planted not Buried."
Session Proposal Deadline Extended to Friday, September 20th
We are now accepting proposals for breakout sessions for the 2025 ESSA Conference. If you are interested in sharing your expertise with other Arizona educators, we invite you to submit a proposal to present at one of the many sessions offered throughout the conference.
Possible Topics for Sessions
Raise Student Achievement
- Integrity and Improved Student Learning Outcomes for All
- Leveraging Innovative Tutoring Solutions to Improve Student Outcomes
- Leadership Team Models
- Professional Learning Community (PLC) models
- Data Analysis to inform decisions that will positively impact student academic achievement.
- K-12 Standards Presentations
- Unlocking Potential: A Scaffold for Enhancing Classroom Impact for Non-Certified Teachers
Empower Parents
- Family Engagement and Community Involvement
- 4-week letters, parent/teacher/student compacts, Parents' Right to Know
- Engaging Curriculum, Reading, Math, and Intervention nights with family and community
- Building strong stakeholder teams
- Give Them Something to Talk About: Engaging Families through Monthly Learning Meetings
Customer Service
- Writing the Grant
- Fiscal training
- Contributory Budgets
- Planning for your Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Consolidated Grant
- How to utilize the McKinney-Vento program with the Arizona Department of Education unit as Practitioners
School Safety
- Grant Opportunities
- Programs that Work
- Leveraging Title IV Funding to Improve School Safety
Session Proposal Information
- Sessions are 75 minutes in length
- Presenters may not offer or endorse specific services or products for sale at any time during their presentation.
- A maximum of three (3) presenters for each session
- Proposals must identify the primary topical strand the session is intended to address. Sessions must incorporate strategies and interventions, involve active participation of the audience, involve aspects of collaboration, and include adequate time for reflection and sharing.
Important Session Proposal Dates:
Proposal applications are due via the Session Proposals Application: Friday, September 20, 2024
Selected presenters will be notified: Friday, October 11, 2024
All presenter materials are due: Friday, November 8, 2024
Session Proposals Application
Session Proposal Flyer
All Exhibitor Spots for 2025 are Claimed!
The Arizona Department of Education and the Academic Achievement Team is excited to offer businesses, non-profits, and other departments/agencies the opportunity to be an exhibitor and/or sponsor during the 2025 ESSA Conference. Participating as an exhibitor lends participants the opportunity to network with Arizona educators and administrators, market their products, gain leads on possible business opportunities, and spread awareness of their organization.
Check out some of the exhibitors that we will have this year:
I am having difficulty registering for the conference in APLD. What do I do?
- If you need assistance registering for the conference, please email [email protected]
How do I know if I am registered correctly?
- You can see if you’re registered in your “Active Courses” on your APLD dashboard. Once logged in, you can also view invoices by clicking “Invoices” from the menu located on the left side of the dashboard.
What if I have a dietary restriction?
- Please be sure to update your dietary restrictions in your APLD account. You can update your account by clicking “Edit Account” from the menu located on the left side of the dashboard.
How early can I enter the conference space?
- The conference space will be open to participants from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14th-Thursday, January 16th.
How many sessions are available for me to choose from?
- We have approximately 100 sessions to choose from over the 3 days of the conference. There are about 10 different sessions to choose from for each breakout session time on the schedule.
How can I sign up for sessions?
- Download the Conference App: To maximize your conference experience, we highly encourage you to download the conference application titled, "Guidebook". Once downloaded, you will find the, "2025 ESSA Conference" guide. The Guidebook app is available for download on both iOS and Android platforms.
Where can I park?
- The Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak has parking lots available in the front and back of the venue. There will be a shuttle service available for participants who park in the back parking lot.
Will there be a lot of walking?
- We have access to the entire conference center, including a building off to the left of the main session location. Sessions are on both the first floor and the third floor. Elevators and stairs are available at each building. We recommend wearing comfortable shoes as you travel from one session to another.
Questions?
Email [email protected]
