Student leadership advisers and school administrators attend California conference

Many Colorado student leadership advisers and school administrators are using this week as an opportunity to attend the California Association of Directors of Activities (CADA) State Convention. This convention is the largest event in the nation for Activities Directors. As stated on their website, “The CADA organization is the number one organization in the United States for teaching and developing leadership skills students will use for the rest of their lives as they learn to serve their schools, communities, and families.”
 
The conference, held in San Diego this year, offers attendees an opportunity to engage with over 130 vendors, attend nearly 100 workshops sessions, and network with the nearly 2,300 advisers and administrators in attendance. Workshop sessions range from building school culture, to elections, to online safety. The vendors represent keynote speakers, sound and light companies, student leadership activity supply companies, and student travel organizations.
 
While this is a conference mainly for California activities directors, the conference does a great job of hosting out-of-state attendees. All attendees are registered by their state areas, with out-of-state guests being grouped into their own area, known as Area H. These attendees come from as far away as New York, Hawaii, and eastern Canada. With so many attendees coming from so many areas of the country (and Canada), it is one of the best adviser learning experiences in the country. 
 
The Colorado delegation is led by many veteran Student Leadership advisers, who are now serving as school administrators. Those Colorado administrators in attendance include: Michael James, Loveland High School principal; Brad Nye, Fossil Ridge Assistant Principal/Activities Director; Christina Gese, Green Mountain High School Assistant Principal. Current Activities Directors in attendance included Tammy Strouse, from Rangeview High School and Cassandra Tafoya, from Abraham Lincoln High School. Including yours truly, Colorado has over 35 advisers and administrators in attendance.
 
“We tend to put ourselves in silos with leadership. It’s great to go to a different state to see if what we are doing is as great as we think it is, but it’s also good to go to this conference to get new ideas and talk to other advisers about how they do things. The energy is high and it’s a lot of fun,” said Tafoya.
 
The following Colorado schools were amongst those in attendance at this year’s conference:

• Abraham Lincoln High School
• Fruita 8/9 School
• Green Mountain High School
• Loveland High School
• Fossil Ridge High School
• Poudre High School
• Rangeview High School
• Rocky Mountain High School
• Wellington Middle/High School

 
“Every teacher, counselor, or administrator I have ever brought to this conference has shared with me that this is the best professional development experience they’ve had in their career. I’m grateful to be able to be here with five members from my staff at Fossil Ridge High School, as well as 2 total educators from Poudre School District, to engage in authentic conversations about the current climate and cultures of our individual buildings and school district, as well as the future of student leadership in our schools,” said Fossil Ridge Assistant Principal Brad Nye.

Look forward to hearing more information on adviser trainings, statewide and nationally, on our website (www.CHSAANow.com).