2026 iagc   

VIRTUAL MIDWEST leadership summit

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Scott Peters   NWEA, Director of Research Consulting Partnerships

Scott J. Peters, Ph.D. is the Director of Research Consulting Partnerships at NWEA, a division of Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt (HMH). Prior to joining HMH he served as a Professor of Assessment and Research Methodology at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater for 13 years. He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University specializing in gifted and talented education and applied research methodology. His research work focuses on educational assessment and data use, gifted and talented student identification, equity within advanced educational opportunities, and educational policy. He has published in the Australian Educational Researcher, AERA Open, Exceptional Children, the British Journal of Educational Psychology, Teaching for High Potential, Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal of Advanced Academics, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Gifted and Talented International, Journal of Career and Technical Education Research, Ed Leadership, Ed Week, Phi Delta Kappan, and Pedagogies. He is the recipient of the Fedlhusen Doctoral Fellowship in Gifted Education, the NAGC Research an Evaluation Network Dissertation Award, the NAGC Doctoral Student of the Year Award, the NAGC Early Scholar Award, the NAGC Paper of the Year Award, the NAGC Book of the Year Award, and the UW-Whitewater Innovation and Outstanding Research Awards. He is the past Association Editor for NAGC and has served as the Program Chair of the AERA Research on Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent SIG, on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Association for Talented and Gifted, and as the National Association for Gifted Children Research and Evaluation Secretary. Starting in fall 2020, he is a co-Principal Investigator with the National Center for Research on Gifted Education. He is the first author of Beyond Gifted Education: Designing and Implementing Advanced Academic Programs (2013) and Designing Gifted Education Programs and Services: From Purpose to Implementation (2017), both from Prufrock Press, and the co-author (along with Jonathan Plucker) of Excellence Gaps in Education: Expanding Opportunities for Talented Students (2016), published by Harvard Education Press.

 Laura Beltchenko, ISBE Gifted Advisory Council and Illinois Reading Council        

Educator professional learning and advancing student achievement are among the priorities that emphasize Laura's approach to equitable professional learning for educators and parents. Her proven collaboration with school districts focuses on literacy development, standards-based instruction, analysis and design of meaningful classroom assessments and educational opportunities for advanced, accelerated, and gifted learners. Her background as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, teacher and coordinator of gifted programs as well as associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction for a K-12 grade Illinois school district has prepared her to support professional learning and development for teachers and administrators. She is the Professional Learning Chair for the Illinois Reading Council where she writes for the publication, The Communicator and a columnist for the Illinois Reading Council Journal. She was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement and inducted into the Illinois Literacy Hall of Fame.  She is currently the Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education Advisory Council on Gifted and Talented Education. She received the Bonnie Park Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Association for Gifted Children and was recognized by the National Association for Gifted Children with the Administrator of the Year Award. She received the Lake County Illinois Principals Association Innovative Educator of the Year and The NSLA Library System Library Advocate of the Year Award. She served her community of Libertyville as a Master School Board member of District 70 Board of Education for 24 years.

Laura was an active participate in the ISBE revision of the Illinois Social Science Standards and continues as an educator reviewer for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness grades 3-8. Most recently she was a member of the drafting team of educators for the Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan and the revision of the Illinois Performance Level Descriptors that accompany the Illinois Assessment of Readiness.  She is an active member of the Reading Leadership Institute at National Louis University, a group of literacy researchers and practitioners. 

When Laura is not consulting, reading or working with educators, she enjoys traveling with her husband of 53 years, playing and reading with her four young grandchildren and enjoying the community that she has gained through aqua fitness classes and just became a certified instructor.

Ann L. Shoplik, Phd, Administrator at the Belin-Blank Center, University of Iowa

WHO should attend?   

1. Midwest State Education Stakeholders (Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan)
2. District / School Leadership teams 
3. Administrators 
   
4. ROE officers 
   
5. State Legislators
6. School Policymakers / Board Members

HOW will you attend?

This 1-day summit is a virtual event that includes:

• zoom link invite sent 3-4 days prior to event
• informative and timely presentations from representatives of  IAGC, OAGC, state legislators, and/or other experts in Advanced Learning Policies and Practices. 
• breakout room workshops  to explore  innovative program models for advanced learners and to network with other state or district leaders.

WHEN will you attend?

• Tuesday June 23, 2026   
  
• 8:00am - 3:00pm Central  / 9:00am - 4:00pm Eastern
  

WHAT are the registration details?

• Registration opens March 1, 2026
  
• Early Registration & Member Discount ends June 12, 2026
• Registration closes June 18, 2026
  
• Late Registration subject to availability
  
• IAGC Members  & OAGC Members eligible for discounted rate
• JOIN IAGC for MEMBER DISCOUNT  (complete membership before event registration)
• Contact OAGC

REGISTER