Forge Futures Conference open for registration

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Ryan Dahlman

By Samantha Johnson
Prairie Rose Public Schools Content Writer

Kelli-Ann Nixdorf, Instructional Lead with Prairie Rose Public Schools (PRPS), is a CTS (career and technology studies) teacher by trade and knows how much CTS and CTF (careers and technology foundation) teachers want professional development (PD). CTS courses are for Grades 10 – 12 students while CTF is for Grades 7 – 9.

Currently, official supplemental programming curriculum for K-6 doesn’t exist. “Yet, we know our community, our parents and our students yearn for extra programming that is outside of curriculum,” stated Nixdorf, “such as digital skills, even career exploration in that age group. Even courses that aren’t in the art curriculum but could be considered art, such as diamond painting, which is part of the TNT (try new things) program at I.F. Cox School.”

The conference is being held on March 21, 2025, at Senator Gershaw School in Bow Island and will be a full day of PD dedicated to empowering educators with hands-on learning, career insights and innovative teaching strategies in the world of CTF, CTS and elementary supplementary programming.

The day will comprise of three 75-minute session blocks and some of the key areas of interest include agriculture, STEM, and coding. “The conference aims to create learning for authentic audiences, skills exploration, digital literacy, AI, trades, construction, foods, fashion and financial management. In each block there are about nine different sessions happening,” said Nixdorf.

Presenters are from within PRPS along with industry experts – such as Sheldon Hill, who is a master beekeeper and Paul Bohnert, CTEC Council President with the ATA – as well as representatives from post-secondary institutions – Medicine Hat College Skills, Lethbridge Polytechnique, University of Lethbridge – and two representatives from CAREERS Next Generation, an organization dedicated to guiding youth into successful career paths.

All educators within Alberta are invited to attend the conference and the registration form can be found online at bit.ly/forgefutures25.

Registration is $75 for a full day of learning. The day begins at 8:45 a.m. with the first session at 9:30 a.m. and the final session ends at 2:30 p.m. Registration includes a continental breakfast as well as lunch.