The second annual Powerful Learning Conference, hosted Aug. 17 and 18 at Issaquah High School, was once again a grand success, according to Issaquah School District officials.

The conference, put on by the Center for Collaborative Support, is a chance for instructors from different school districts to share learning techniques and teaching strategies in over 100 sessions.

“The teachers were teaching each other,” Issaquah School District Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Services Emilie Hard said, calling the conference “a productive two days of learning.”

The Center for Collaborative Support, which, according to Hard, is comprised of Issaquah, Tahoma, Snoqualmie Valley and Riverview School Districts, is a joint effort based on the idea that many heads are better than one. Through sharing different views and experiences, the districts use teamwork to figure out how best to ensure that every student’s needs are being met.

Hard, who led the conference, said that the Center is a chance for the school districts to “pool resources and bring professional ideas” together.

“I think that having four districts collaborate on professional development for teachers … gives new ideas and deepens understanding,” she said.

Working together, the districts are open to making any changes in the current teaching system that they believe would help students to be more successful learners. One of these changes is the grading system, which was addressed by Dr. Thomas Guskey of the University of Kentucky, the keynote speaker on the first day of the conference.

Guskey has been working with the Issaquah School District for the past year to “rethink grading practices,” Hard said. He worked with 40 middle- and high school teachers last school year and will work with 80 this year.

Guskey suggests that teachers give out two different kinds of grades. The first, in the typical A-B-C form, would be based purely on academics and would count towards a student’s GPA.

The second kind of grade would be based on non-academic skills that are nevertheless important in learning, including work habits, initiative, citizenship and collaboration. Students would be graded on a numeric scale from 1 to 3, with 3 being the best.

While these grades would not count towards an academic letter grade, they would give educators an idea of why a student is struggling or excelling in class, and what practices he or she could improve.

“Most parents are really positive about it because it gives them additional information about their child,” Hard said. “It breaks [a letter grade] apart. What does an A really mean?”

As an example, the work habits category includes practices such as turning in assignments on time, initiative includes goal-setting and persistence, collaboration includes participation and teamwork and citizenship includes academic honesty and attention to rules.

Hard explained that Guskey and the Issaquah School District are working to make it so that “grades are less about sorting students and more about what students know and can do.”

Guskey also suggests that students’ grades from the end of a semester should weigh more heavily than their grades from the beginning of a semester, because students are likely to improve in a subject as time goes on.

“It’s trying to show a student’s current level of proficiency,” Hard said.

The second day’s keynote speakers, Kristen Souers and Pete Hall, discussed how to aid and engage students who have experienced trauma in their lives. Souers and Hall authored the book “Fostering Resilient Learners: Strategies for Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom.”

The sessions were sorted into the following categories: Assessment for Learning, Cultural Competency, Instructional Best Practices, Leadership for Powerful Learning, Social-Emotional-Student Engagement, Technology for Learning and Productivity, and Working with Content Area Standards in the Classroom.

Hard said that the conference is a wonderful annual opportunity because it gives everyone a chance to “think outside your own world.”

“It’s unique and powerful,” she said.