19th Annual ISNA Education Forum March 30 – April 1, 2018 Faith Based Education: A Source for Hope and Healing Islamophobia, gun violence, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, refugee displacement, and dysfunctional families impact the lives of children entering schools and classrooms every day. Whether the students are directly or indirectly impacted, educators face the challenge of providing them with a safe, supportive learning environment; a learning environment that maintains hope and promotes healing. This year’s Education Forum intends to guide educators in addressing the spiritual as well as the academic needs of students. The Prophet (SAW) stated in his Farewell Sermon, “I leave with you two sources, the Qur’an and my Sunnah…” Hope and healing comes from these two sources. With the Qur’an and Sunnah as the influencing factors in each presentation, educators will learn to cultivate simultaneously the spirit and the mind for student success. For the education of children, faith is the foundation: a source for hope and healing. Pre-Conference Workshops ARABIC TEACHER TRAINING Connecting Arabic to Other Subjects in Islamic Schools WaFa Hassan Teaching Arabic in Islamic schools should not take place in isolation from other important subjects, such as Islamic studies, social studies, Quran and science. Participants in this workshop will work in groups to create mini lessons that reflect this integrated approach of Arabic language teaching. WaFa Hassan, Ph.D. is a graduate of the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development with focus on Second Language/Bilingual Education. Arabic Department Director at Global Educational EXcellence, educational management and development http://www.gee-edu.com/. She is member and current President of the EXecutive Board of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL) http://www.ncolctl.org Currently she is the director of the Michigan Arabic Teachers' Council and the STARTALK Arabic teacher program. She led many STARTALK summer teacher training and students programs nationwide since 2007. She is a co-author of the ACTFL National Standards for Learning Arabic as a Foreign Language and author of a published a book titled Inclusion of ELL with Special Needs in General Education. ISLAMIC STUDIES TEACHER TRAINING Challenges Facing Muslim Students AkeF Habbal, Ismael Khalil, and Student panel Let’s have some frank discussions about the challenges our students face. Often caught between cultures, misunderstandings, changing bodies and hormones, our students must navigate in a world vastly different than the one we eXperienced. Yet, our mature insight, knowledge of Islam, and duty to serve bring us to this session where we can openly meet and plan how to guide ourselves, and schools toward better ways to raise our youth. AkeF Habbal received his high school diploma from the “khusrufiyyah” Islamic School in Aleppo. He graduated from the University of Damascus with a bachelor’s in Islamic Studies in 2009 and was admitted to the Department of “aqeedah” and Religious Studies to earn a master’s degree. He has been teaching for the past 3 years at Rockford Iqra School and enjoys interacting with the students on a daily basis. Ismael Khalil received his Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership, Management and Policy from Seton Hall University, New Jersey, a Masters in Curriculum and Teaching and a Masters in Educational Leadership from the City College--CUNY. He received his certificates in Arabic Language Education, School Administrator and Supervisor, School District Administrator and School Business Administrator from The University of the State of New York. Dr. Khalil is also certified as an Elementary School Teacher, Foreign Languages and as a School Principal in the State of New Jersey. Dr. Khalil has been a school principal since 1997. Currently he is the Principal of Al-Mamoor School, NY. He has been serving as an Adjunct Professor at Passaic County College and Montclair State University. Dr. Khalil is also a lecturer and a language trainer and he has presented papers covering a variety of topics at NJEA, ISNA, ICNA, CDLC, MASISC, RISE conferences. PRINCIPAL AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING New Principal & Vice Principal Boot Camp Leadership Training Magda Elkadi Saleh, Shaza Khan, Yasmeen Qadri, Patricia Salahuddin, Leila Shatara This year’s education forum has added a special pre-conference for new school administrators. The New Principal/Vice Principal Bootcamp promises to provide new leaders with an array of managerial and leadership skill training. This workshop is for those leaders who are seeking the knowledge and tools to navigate through the process of bringing positive change and school improvement to their organization. The pre- conference will include defining the role of the school leader, strategic planning, hiring and recruiting, culturally relevant leadership, team building, conflict transformation, and self-care for survival. Presenters with eXpertise and eXperience will guide you through a day of engaged learning and provide you with an opportunity to ask questions on specific concerns. Magda Elkadi Saleh holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of South Florida and is in her 25th year as an Islamic School administrator. She headed both Universal Academy of Florida (UAF) and American Youth Academy (AYA) in Tampa for 11 years each. She led both schools through two successful accreditation visits and gained IB Diploma School authorization for AYA. She is currently Director of Bayaan Academy, an innovative school focusing on achieving eXcellence in both Arabic/Qur'an/Islamic Studies and Academics. Magda has been consulting with Islamic schools and with communities contemplating opening Islamic schools since 1998 and served on accreditation evaluation teams for both FCIS and AdvancEd from 2009 - 2015. Shaza Khan has her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Rochester. She is currently the interim EXecutive Director of the Islamic Schools League of America, a national non- profit organization for Islamic schools. She has worked in full time and weekend Islamic schools and Islamic curriculum development for a leading global publisher. In addition, Dr. Khan has also presented and published on the topics of Muslim American identity development, inclusion and diversity training for public school teachers and school counselors and the benefits of youth programming. Yasmeen Qadri is a tenured professor at Valencia College and an adjunct instructor at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. She is one of the founding members and the past principal of Muslim Academy of Central Florida, the first Islamic School in Orlando, Florida. Yasmeen has a Masters in Psychology from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India; a Masters in Social Sciences, and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Central Florida. She has received numerous Endowed Chair Awards at Valencia College to present at educational conferences and institutions in Turkey, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Hungary. She is the director and founder of EdConsultations, a social entrepreneurship that assists in women and youth training and mentorship, and currently serves as a board member in the Peace and Justice Institute, Service Learning Advisory Board and Study Abroad and Global Education at the Community Colleges. Patricia Salahuddin, Ed.D. has been an educator for 30 years, she has held positions such as team leader, department chairperson and class and club sponsor. In 2000 she became a National Board Certified teacher and in 2011 she earned a doctorate of education from Florida International University (FIU); the focus of her research was character education in a Muslim school’s curriculum. She is a founding member of Muslim Teachers Association (MTA), an organization designed to facilitate networking and professional development for teachers serving Muslim schools. Patricia is the chairperson for Clara Mohammed School Board in Miami, Florida. Additional board service includes: Board member for the Council of Islamic Schools of North America, (CISNA) and Board member for Islamic Schools League of America, (ISLA). Leila Shatara holds a master’s degree in education and is currently a PhD candidate in the Educational Leadership and Research Methodology Department at Florida Atlantic University. She has been an educator for over 20 years, served as principal in Islamic schools and is a university instructor in the College of Education at Florida Atlantic University. She is an educational consultant and helps schools develop academic programs, evaluation processes, prepare for accreditation and create school systems. She currently serves as the Academic Coordinator of the Islamic School of Miami. She also holds leadership positions as the Vice President of Council of Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA), a member of the Education Forum Programming Committee (EFPC), President of the Council of Islamic Schools of South Florida (CISSF) and a board member of Consultants for Islamic School Excellence (CISE). TEACHER CURRICULUM TRAINING Leadership that Makes a DiFFerence! (ASCD) Opal DaVis Dawson Leadership can be a bumpy road. With new challenges and mandates, sometimes we find ourselves feeling like we are moving in reverse, stuck in park, or idling in neutral. It is more important than ever that schools have shared leadership opportunities. Participants in this session will discover how to become a