KINLCon 2025: The Space to Link, Lead, and Learn
Written by: Keep Indiana Learning
While school is out for the summer, Keep Indiana Learning continues to provide educators with quality, engaging professional development opportunities. This summer, our team was proud to host KINLCon: Link, Lead, Learn! presented by Keep Indiana Learning, a department of the Central Indiana Education Service Center, and hosted at Noblesville West Middle School.
In today’s educational landscape, it feels like everything is in flux: changing standards, compliance requirements, new legislation—you name it. When the stakes are raised for teachers, administrators, and student service professionals, Keep Indiana Learning continually works to provide support through professional development (PD) opportunities, networking, and a plethora of free digital resources.
Our first annual KINLCon brought educators from across Indiana and beyond to shape the future of teaching and learning. More than 300 K-12 educators, administrators, and support staff representing over 50 Indiana districts gathered for this inaugural event. KINLCon was designed as a conference for educators to join together and focus on collaboration (Link), leadership (Lead), and professional growth (Learn). Designed for all levels and content areas, KINLCon 2025 featured inspiring keynote speakers and collaborative sessions showcasing the extraordinary work happening in Indiana schools and classrooms. We aimed to create a dynamic experience that ignites creativity, strengthens leadership, and embraces limitless possibilities.
Our goal for every conference we host is to extend the longevity of each educator’s professional development journey. But don’t just take our word for it; we connected with a group of attendees to discuss the personal and professional impact that KINLCon had on them. Read more below to learn what you can expect for KINLCon 2026!
🔗 LINK: Building Community within Classrooms and Districts
We all know the phrase “it takes a village,” and that is especially true when it comes to ensuring students have access to a quality education. If more of the general public peeked behind the curtain, they would find that the degree to which educators go to further their practice for the benefit of their students is incredibly important. If you were to ask any educator how they maintain this level of involvement, the answer would be “community.”
Although educators spend the majority of their work day with students, collaborating with the education community prompts creative solutions like no other. Events like KINLCon create space to share strategies, resources, and perspectives—often sparking new ways to approach challenges within curriculum and instruction. Whether it’s aligning standards across grade levels, adapting materials for diverse learners, or rethinking engagement, working together helps educators build stronger, more flexible learning experiences.
KINLCon was designed to foster collaboration among all members of the K-12 school community and foster growth in a variety of pathways.
Exploration deepens with peer collaboration. One perk at the conference was that if five or more professionals from a district attended, they were assigned to their own collaboration rooms. Lisa Norman, Teacher & Instructional Coach at Portage Township Schools, loved that the sessions were kept short (around 45 minutes), allowing time to converse with peers in their collaboration room. “I was able to attend with a large group from my school so we could chat and share more about the information we learned,” she said.
While many conferences heavily promote the keynote presentations, we believe that the breakout sessions and conversations that followed were equally impactful for KINLCon attendees. Jack Hesser, Assistant Principal of HL Harshman Middle School, shared that he thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to connect and collaborate with colleagues to ensure all students have pathways to success.
It’s through this professional community that K–12 educators continue to support and serve students with renewed energy, insight, and purpose. In fact, Keep Indiana Learning encourages maintaining these connections long after attending KINLCon via the Keep Indiana Learning Facebook group. When we stay connected, we keep learning from each other, and that growth is evident in our classrooms every day.
🎓LEAD: The Impact on Educators’ Personal Experience
The inaugural KINLCon brought together over 300 K-12 educators, administrators, and support staff from more than 50 districts throughout Indiana, with presenters who traveled from coast to coast. Our keynote speakers included Tom Hakim, Principal of Northview Middle School in MSD of Washington Township, and Colin Seale, Founder of thinkLaw.
Sessions focused on innovative strategies and best practices to foster effective teaching and learning. While also speaking about leading efforts that enhance educational outcomes for all at the classroom, school, district, and community levels.
We would like to thank our many KINLCon presenters. From Hoosier educators to national experts, KINLCon provided numerous learning and connecting opportunities. Special thanks to a few of our featured speakers for their thoughtful insights: Aaron Munson, Jennifer Jenson, Jennifer Lemp, Katie Powell, Kristen Acosta, Melissa Gill, Ryan Flessner, Shawnta Barnes, Stevie Frank, and YaySTEM.
Hosting hundreds of educators over the span of two days further reinforced that these community spaces strengthen the instructional landscape and diversify the way we learn. When asked how they plan to implement the strategies discussed in their schools, our participants shared a variety of perspectives.
Meghan Birger, Eighth Grade Math Teacher at Portage Township Schools, shared, “I learned a lot of strategies that I can put into practice in the fall with very minimal prep work.”
Melisa McCain, Assistant Principal of Franklin Community Schools, speaks on her experience doubling as a presenter:
“Each day, I was honestly either presenting or supporting other teachers from my school as they presented. Helping the teachers feel supported and hearing the teachers talk about the great sessions that they were able to attend made it worth it.”
Every hour of the conference was designed to allow attendees to prioritize which pathways sessions would best suit their needs. Angelina Maine, a Fifth-Grade Teacher at Saylor Elementary, gained multiple insights, including strategies to implement AI tools in learning, engage students through Building Thinking Classrooms, apply restorative justice, and deploy meaningful and reliable grading.
The beauty of each session is that they’re designed to get you thinking out of the box. “I like the ones that had us actually do the activities they were providing information about. I really needed more hands-on activities, as well as using some restorative approaches,” said Katrina Harnew, Seventh Grade Language Teacher at Portage Township Schools.
Tammy Tiede, an Indiana Horizon Teacher, added that she enjoyed the “Yay for Adventure” session, which encouraged them to get all their students outside. “As a group, we are already planning opportunities for participants to share these ideas within their departments.”
Alicia Stevens, Third Grade Team Lead at Crestview Elementary of MSD Lawrence Township, mentioned, “I learned strategies for collective efficacy amongst staff and students as well as strategies for engagement during comprehension. I am excited to start a writing emphasis with all grade levels with my reading specialist co-teacher once the school year starts.”
“If the learning doesn’t feel good to a student, they’re going to show us in their behavior.”
— Katie Powell (@Beyond_the_Desk) June 25, 2025
—Aaron Munson, IPS
A VERY engaging session on student behavior at #KINLCon @KeepINLearning @AMLE pic.twitter.com/H7TZrqI762
Oftentimes, educators are working behind the scenes to help their students shine. However, we wanted to shine a spotlight of recognition on those who have excelled as leaders. From across the state, we had some wonderful nominations for our three awards: Community Partnership Excellence, Educational Leadership, and Innovative Impact. We presented awards to three outstanding educators on the first day of KINLCon!
Melisa McCain from Franklin Community Schools received the Innovative Impact Award, Tonya Moody from Noblesville Schools received the Educational Leadership Award, and Kyler Laker from Batesville Community Schools received the Community Partnership Excellence Award.
These professionals truly embody what it means to “Keep Indiana Learning” with their commitment to lifelong learning and passion for problem-solving. Their leadership is deeply appreciated across our Hoosier community.
Above are all the nominees for the KINLCon 2025 Awards, representing educational excellence across the state of Indiana.
📚LEARN: The Key Takeaways from KINLCon 2025
KINLCon not only provided educators with a new perspective on professional development but also sparked meaningful conversations among schools across the state. A spirit of collaboration and continuous learning was evident throughout the conference, with attendees emphasizing how meaningful it was to connect, reflect, and grow alongside others who shared their passion for student success. The most powerful insights came directly from the educators themselves. Here are some closing thoughts on their experience at KINLCon.
From an administration perspective, Kathy Prince-Williams, Principal at MSD Lawrence Township, explained, “Colin Seal was helpful because he shared personal experiences about behaviors we often talk about in private, and he made differentiation look and sound plain and simple. He also sat and mingled with the participants during lunch!” Additionally, she mentioned, ”Tom Hakim’s keynote was also great. He had some great ideas that I hadn’t thought about as far as improving the culture in my building.”
Prince-Williams also mentions her favorite takeaway from the conference: “During our professional days, I will now reinforce the idea of teachers treating every student as if they were their favorite or first child. During and after interventions, we must ensure that students have everything they need to move forward.” A few leaders from MSD Lawrence Township attended as well, and Williams makes it a goal to hold each other accountable for sharing their new ideas about interventions and math with their PLCs.
Another aspect of KINLCon that stood out to attendees was the intentionality behind every activation. Alicia Stevens loved that:
“Everything was shared by teachers and professionals who are currently practicing it. It wasn’t people who were selling their products. It was really one of the best PDs I have attended.”
The summer months don’t have to be seen as empty downtime for educators. In fact, many agree that summertime allows them to dive into professional development opportunities without the distractions that come with the school year.
Day 2 of #KINLCon 2025! Got my lavender chai. My session went well yesterday! Ready to learn today! You really should join us next year!!! pic.twitter.com/rGVlF4GMfA
— Colette Huxford-Kinnett (@SSCBookDiva) June 25, 2025
Kathy Wilcox, SPED Teacher at Daleville Jr/Sr High School, made a point that what she learned can be kept in her back pocket as the school year begins. “It is helpful to have resources that I can access later, including the email addresses of speakers. I now have ideas to implement this school year. The sessions were practical, professional, and applicable.”
Jessica Collier, Teacher of Shelby Eastern Schools, sums it up well: “Great conference. It has renewed my spark for trying new things.” A huge selling point for her was gaining access to real-time strategies to use in her classroom and engage students.
Awesome 2 days of learning & connecting @KeepINLearning KINL Con! Huge shout out to all of the amazing people who worked to put this on for IN educators! 🎉
— Karisa Schwanekamp (@MrsSchwanekamp) June 25, 2025
Connecting with educators is what we love @magicschoolai 💜I am so proud to work at a place where our WHY is so clear! ✨ pic.twitter.com/Z3dOaomb3t
That’s a Wrap!
The inaugural KINLCon was a smashing success, and we are incredibly proud of our team, its collaborative planning, and the event we pulled off. It’s through this professional community that K–12 educators continue to support and serve students with renewed energy, insight, and purpose.
When we stay connected, we keep learning from each other, and that growth is evident in our classrooms every day.
Stay connected with Keep Indiana Learning through any of our social media channels, newsletters, digital content library, and join us at our next professional development event!
Save the date for KINLCon 2026, taking place on June 9-10. Fill out the form below, and you’ll be one of the first to know about early registration for KINLCon 2026!
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