

Spark Growth in the Big Easy
New Orleans, LA
June 25āJune 27, 2025


Spark Growth in the Big Easy
New Orleans, LA
June 25āJune 27, 2025


Spark Growth in the Big Easy
New Orleans, LA
June 25āJune 27, 2025
Explore Fusion!
NWEA welcomes Thomas Guskey, Lisa Herring, and Rebecka Peterson to the main stage at Fusion New Orleans.
Join us for keynote sessions from renowned leaders who thrive at the intersection of innovation, teaching, and bold ideas.

Thomas Guskey, PhD
Dr. Guskey’s current work is focused on helping school leaders engage parents and families in meaningful grading reforms.

Dr. Lisa Herring
Dr. Herring embodies the spirit of ingenuity and is paving the way as a national trailblazer in education and innovation.

Rebecka Peterson
The 2023 National Teacher of the Year recipient emphasizes how important it is for teachers to cultivate intentional joy.

Conference at a glance
Through three days of roll-up-your-sleeves sessions and inspiring keynotes about data and assessment, youāll have many opportunities to engage, collaborate, and create with colleagues from around the world. Education leaders and teachers return year after year to exchange bold ideas, dig into data, and share practical guidance for getting the most out of NWEA solutions.
Pre-Conference Workshops
Are you ready to use MAP Growth data to optimize your classroom practices? In this session, you’ll learn how to navigate essential MAP Growth reports, interpret data, and determine next steps based on what your students need. We’ll explore student-centered decisions that we can make based on MAP Growth with a focus on setting achievable goals that support student growth. After our time together, you’ll be more prepared to make classroom decisions based on data in the upcoming academic year.
As a leader, do you want to sharpen your decision making with MAP Growth data? We’ve created an opportunity for you to learn how leadership teams use MAP Growth reports to develop school- and district-level goals. You’ll practice navigating essential MAP Growth reports for leaders, accessing actionable grade-, class-, and school-level data. We’ll use achievement and growth data to create plans for attaining your school- and district-level priorities. You’ll leave this session prepared to foster a data-driven culture to support student growth in the upcoming academic year.
In this session, experienced school and district leaders will explore how MAP Growth can be the centerpiece of a balanced assessment system to drive school- and district-wide instructional transformation. We’ll identify the elements of a balanced assessment system, including MAP Growth, formative assessment, and summative assessment. You’ll collaborate with colleagues to determine how those elements shape teaching and learning, inform goal setting, and activate the depth of knowledge contained in grade level standards. At the end of this session, ,you’ll be prepared to implement a more refined approach to assessment in the upcoming academic year.
Are you seeking actionable guidance to drive effective literacy instruction? In this session, weāll use MAP Reading Fluency as a starting point for adopting evidence-based practices to promote literacy from kindergarten through fifth grade. Weāll guide you through essential reports for MAP Reading Fluency before connecting data to next steps in literacy instruction. Designed for anyone with an interest in improving elementary literacyāfrom teachers to leadersāthis session will provide practical strategies for implementing best practices from the science of reading. With these strategies, youāll be more prepared to grow studentsā literacy skills based on their MAP Reading Fluency data.
Are you experienced with MAP assessments? Are you part of data discussions, decision-making, or PLCās aimed at maximizing student growth? If so, this session is for you! In this session designed for individuals and leadership teams, weāll help you unlock the full potential of MAP Assessment data to strengthen the formative practices of teaching and learning that lead to increased student success. During this session, participants will use performance data while collaborating with others to discuss data trends and to design systems and processes that promote assessment literacy. After this session, participants will be inspired with a plan in hand while entering the upcoming academic year as true MAP assessment data experts. Consider registering a team from your district or school for this unique pre-conference experience. And like we say in NOLA, laissez les bon temps rouler!
Register now for early bird pricing
We can’t wait to see you in New Orleans!