2023 K-12 Administrator's Annual Private School Workshop

Dates: Friday and Saturday, October 27-28, 2023
NOTE: Save these Dates in the 2023-2024 School Year Planning Schedule. poster that says Mark This Date
LOCATION: Synergy School of Tomorrow
2810 South Federal Hwy.
Fort Pierce, FL 34982

TIME: Workshop Begins at 9:00 a.m. sharp each day.

COST: The Registration Fee for member schools is $179. Additional attendees from the same school are just $69 each.
NOTE: Early Registration is just $149 for the first team member and just $49 for each additional attendee. (Must be received or post marked on or before 10-20-23 for the Early Registration discount.)

LUNCH: Lunch is included in the Registration Fee. (BBQ Chicken, Salad, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, Corn and Drink.)

LODGING: There are a number of hotels close to the school and near multiple restaurants at the I-95 interchange, including, but not limited to:
Best Western Port St. Lucie, Holiday Inn Port St. Lucie, Holiday Inn Express and Suites Port St. Lucie West (I-95), Hampton Inn and Suites Port St. Lucie (I-95), SpringHill Suites by Marriott Port St. Lucie.

Download the Registration Form Here . . .

Friday, October 27th 2023

8:30-9:00 Registration

Get signed in and enjoy coffee and snacks hosted by Future Energy Solutions.

FES Logo image

9:00 - 9:30: Main Auditorium

Opening and Devotion
Joe Gibilisco, FCCPSA President

9:30 - 10:15: Main Auditorium

Dr. Ashley Berner
The Case for School Choice: No One Way to School
John Hopkins Logo image The evidence is clear that the uniform structure of public education is a key factor in the failure of America's schools to fulfill the intellectual, civic, and moral aims for which they were created. As school choice options in Florida continute to expand, it is vital that private school administrators and their teams have a solid understanding of the data and evidence that school choice is the correct path to fulfill those aims.

10:15-10:30 Special Presentation: Future Energy Solutions

FES Logo image


10:30-10:45 Break


10:45 - 11:30: Main Auditorium

Dr. Ashley Berner
What must schools do to enable students to achieve academic and civic success?
John Hopkins Logo image 1. Utilize a high quality, content-rich curriculum.
2. Develop a strong school culture.
Dr. Ashley Berner shares valuable insights about what they've learned at the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Education Policy, including why curriculum and culture remain the foundations to achieve sustainable school success.

11:30 - 11:45: Main Auditorium

Q and A with Dr. Ashley Berner

11:45-12:00 Special Presentation: TEL Education

Tel Logo image


12:00 - 12:45 Lunch Break: Prepared and Served on site by the Synergy Culinary Class.


12:45-1:15 Track A: From High School to the Future

Megan Taylor and Rayna Sousa
Optimizing Your College Counseling Practices, Streamlining the College Application Process with SCOIR.
scoir Logo image College counseling is a year-round responsibility, and each season brings unique challenges for secondary school counselors - recommendation writing, getting to know a new cohort each year, and guiding students through the college discovery and application process. How can counselors leverage different tools to save time, reduce stress, and guide with effectiveness? Join us for a lively discussion on how to optimize your college counseling practices and streamline the college application process using student-centric tools like Scoir.

12:45-1:15 Track B: The Accreditation Process for Qualty School Improvement.

Jim Lawson
Accreditation Site Visit Team Members Training
FCCPSA Logo image FCCPSA accredited K-12 schools make upthe members of the Site Visit Teams. If you have not served on a Site Visit Team, this training is essential to understanding your role and responsibility on a site visit. The workshop is also open to schools who have or plan to apply for accreditation.

1:20-1:50 Track A: From High School to The Future

Liz Darnell
Providing an Accurate and Understandable High School Transcript to Promote Your Graduate.
FCCPSA Logo image The high school transcript is the official communication of a student's high school journey to colleges and universities.
Is it a properly detailed and accurate accounting of that journey?
Is it easily understandable by the admissions office at the college or university level?
Does it meet published FCCPSA guidelines?

1:20-1:50 Track B: The Accreditation Process for Qualty School Improvement.

Jim Lawson
The Accreditation Standards and Process, what to expect and how to prepare.
FCCPSA Logo image Meeting the Standards and Accreditation Policies
Demonstrating Quality Assurance through the External Review
Engaging in Continuous Improvement

2:00 - 2:30 Track A: From High School to The Future

Dr. Bruce Abramson
The College Admission Process:
NCF Logo image Dr. Abramson, the Executive Director of New Student and Graduate Admissions from New College of Florida, will share both the changes at NCF (A bold experiment in institutional reclamation) and the admission process for a Florida state university.

2:00 - 2:30:Track B: The Accreditation Process for Qualty School Improvement.

Jim Lawson
FCCPSA Logo image Plan ahead now to avoid the most common compliance issues with student and staff files. As administrators, we have a lot of departments to supervise beyond what's going on in the classroom. From the Registrar's Office to Human Resources, these checkboxes must be supervised as well.


2:30-2:45 Break


2:45-3:00 Main Auditorium

Derek Monjure,

The Classic Learning Test (CLT) CLT exists to reconnect knowledge and virtue by providing meaningful assessments and connections to seekers of truth, goodness, and beauty.
CLT Logo image Now that the CLT has been approved as a qualifing evaluation for the Bright Futures Scholarship, and for some grade level state scholarships, it's time to investigate if it's a more appropriate evaluation tool for your school. The Florida representative, Derek Monjure feom CLT, will join us in person to provide valuable insight and answer your questions.

3:00-3:15 : Main Auditorium

Kevin Macki
Resources for Professional Development
Schools United Logo image Schools United Professional Development Day provides both professional and spiritual development for your entire school - from administrators to techers and support staff.

3:15-3:30 : Main Auditorium

Wrap Up and and Q & A


3:30 - ??? Meet and Greet

Everyone is invited to stay for a Meet and Greet hosted by our host school Synergy. Make personal contacts with other schools and administrators, as well as the opportunity to check out the schools E-Sports or Career Prep Programs.




Saturday, October 28th 2023

8:30-9:00 Registration and Checkin

Welcome back! Enjoy coffee and snacks hosted by TEL Education.

TEL Logo image

9:00 - 9:30 Main Auditorium

Welcome and FCCPSA Business Meeting

9:30 - 10:00: Main Auditorium

Michael Phillips
Legislative Update, Part One: FCCPSA Logo image
So many legislative changes, so little time. (Maybe there will be a handout with notes.)

10:00 - 10:30: Main Auditorium

Steve Hicks
Legislative Update, Part Two: Scholarship Funding and Process Issues
FCOSS Logo image We have known and worked with Steve through our mutual association in FAANS for many years. Working together we can affect the policy, procedural and legislative changes needed to make the necessary changes in the processing of scholarships for the benefit of all our schools and the students we serve.
What went so wrong with the Scholarship Funding this year?
What changes are needed to improve and/ or fix the system moving forward?
What can each of our schools and parents do to help bring those changes about?


10:30 - 10:45 Break


10:45 - 11:15: Main Auditorium

Sheriff Grady Judd Video Message
Jim Lawson
Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, & Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program
FCCPSA Logo image Changes to several Florida Statutes (due to House Bill 543) now permit ALL private schools to have the opportunity to participate in the Guardian Program. In the past, the local county sheriff's office had the option of providing the training or not.
Jim Lawson completed the training this summer with the Polk County Sheriff's office and will detail:
Why this program is needed,
What is incuded in the training,
How to connect with your county Sheriff's office to schedule training if it is the right fit for your program.

11:15 - 11:45: Main Auditorium

Amy and Richard Davis
Alice Logo image Navigating School Safety, ALICE Training, Navigate 360
What do I need to consider with school safety?
     Balanced Environment
     Site Assessment
     Prioritized List
     Written Plan
     Florida Laws
     Who Needs Training
          ALICE
          Dynamic Response
          Equip Staff
          Building Relationships

11:45 - 12:00: Main Auditorium
Wrap up and Member Survey

The FCCPSA maintains an integrated partnership with Cognia, formally AdvancED, the parent organization of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools CASI, the North Central Association CASI, and the Northwest Accrediting Commission.
This partnership allows FCCPSA accredited schools to obtain both FCCPSA and Cognia/SACS accreditation through one seamless process.

For more information see the Affiliations page.

The FCCPSA is an approved member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation which is dedicated to the accreditation process as a viable and responsible means of establishing a witness of school excellence.

The NCPSA is a member of The International Alliance for School Accreditation which is a coalition of regional, national, and international accrediting bodies.

In 1996, the Florida Legislature established the Gold Seal Quality Care program to acknowledge child care facilities and family day care homes that are accredited by nationally recognized agencies and whose standards reflect quality in the level of care and supervision provided to children.

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) requires that all full member senior high schools be accredited by an approved accrediting agency to play sports in the state league.

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