2027 Alaska MTSS Effective Instruction Conference
MTSS: The Heart of Student Support
January 22-24, 2027 | Dena’ina Center, Anchorage
The 2027 Alaska MTSS Conference brings Alaska’s educators together to strengthen how we support every student — from districtwide policy to daily classroom practice.
When MTSS works well, educators identify concerns earlier, link students to the right resources, and implement interventions consistently across buildings.
This year’s conference is a chance to step back mid-year, take stock of what’s working, and refine the practices that need it most. Join your fellow educators for two days of practical strategies, conversation, and renewed purpose in support of every student.
With keynotes from Dr. Gholdy Muhammad on making instruction more engaging, place-centered, and joyful, Dr. Amanda VanDerHeyden on the Science of Instruction, and Dr. Brandi Simonsen on positive behavior supports, we will explore what it takes to support every student academically, behaviorally, and culturally.
Call for Proposals: Leading MTSS in Alaska
Call for proposals from current educators is open! The deadline is September 20. Open to educators currently working in Alaska. Apply to present a 60-minute session on impactful practices from your classroom, school or district.
MTSS Pre-Conferences | Friday, January 22
PRECONFERENCE 1
GenAI Literacy You Can SEE
Amanda Bickerstaff, AI for Education
Educators today are navigating generative AI without a common language or clear direction. This workshop introduces the SEE Framework — the first AI literacy framework built specifically for Generative AI — and equips participants with the knowledge, mindsets, and skills to engage with these tools responsibly. The
framework organizes GenAI literacy into three interconnected domains:
- SAFE Protecting privacy, maintaining human agency, and evaluating risk
- ETHICAL Disclosing AI use, upholding integrity, and understanding societal impacts
- EFFECTIVE Deciding when to use GenAI, applying prompting strategies, and evaluating outputs
The goal of this workshop is to continue building GenAI literacy through deeper learning, application, and group reflection. Morning sessions build the foundational knowledge and mindsets of the SEE Framework through hands-on exploration. In the afternoon, participants will:
- Work through real SEE Framework-in-Action scenarios like a teacher deciding whether to use GenAI to use an AI detector for student work, students deciding what is responsible use of GenAI for schoolwork, and a school community dealing with a deepfake
- Explore age-appropriate GenAI literacy considerations for their context and explore GenAI literacy activities
- Create an action plan for their continued GenAI literacy journey
Teams leave with shared vocabulary, practical skills, and a roadmap for building GenAI literacy across their schools or organizations.
PRECONFERENCE 2
Trauma Engaged Practices to Reduce Stress for Students and Staff
Maressa Alrich and Karin Halpin, AASB
Integrating trauma-engaged approaches at school creates a safe,predictable, and supportive environment that boosts resilience, increases student achievement, and reduces punitive discipline. The big question is, where to start? This full day session will move participants from knowing about the impact of trauma on anindividual to implementing key strategies to support learning.
Through explicit instruction and hands-on activities participants will be guided to strengthen their knowledge of:
- DECONSTRUCTING TRAUMA: how the impact of trauma affects us
- RELATIONSHIPS: the foundation for this work
- SELF / COMMUNITY CARE: the conscious actions we take to support physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to
- Describe the prevalence and impact of trauma;
- Identify strategies to incorporate into their practice;
- Understand how this work integrates with PBIS: and
- Use strategies to minimize secondary trauma and burnout.
The 2027 Alaska MTSS Conference brings educators from across the state together to strengthen how we support every student — from districtwide policy to daily classroom practice.
Join us for the biggest homegrown education conference in the state, now in it’s 16th year!
Exhibitor Information
For the first time, the Alaska Principals Conference and the Alaska MTSS Conference are being held together, creating an exceptional opportunity for organizations serving Alaska’s schools.
Whether your focus is school leadership, curriculum, technology, intervention, assessment, special education, or instructional resources, you’ll have the opportunity to connect directly with the educators making purchasing and instructional decisions across the state.