Cairn University hosted its annual Empowering Educators Seminar on Thursday, March 27, 2025. 135 educators attended the seminar, eager to hear about this year’s topic and to reunite and fellowship with those who share the same calling.
The theme for this year was “Including All Learners in Christian Schools.” Keynote speaker Becky Tubergen spoke about inclusive education techniques. Her background as the CEO of All Belong, a center for inclusive education allowed her to address and provide solutions for the issues many attendees could identify.
Christian schools often struggle to have the necessary resources to support learners of all styles. Tubergen addressed these struggles and encouraged educators to start where they are with the students they have. She spoke about tapping into the strengths of struggling students instead of exclusively focusing on their areas of struggle. Tubergen also encouraged educators to think about how they could practically apply her points to their schools through a three step process focused on seeing, thinking, and doing. In both sessions, Tubergen emphasized the necessity to care for students and families through inclusion as a partnership. Her final encouragement to educators was to “toil in the gap.”
In addition to the main sessions, seminar attendees had the opportunity to choose from a variety of breakout sessions. Topics for these sessions included, “Engaging English Learners in the K–12 Classroom,” “Universal Design for Learning,” “Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders: Characteristics, Strategies, and Support,” and more. Each breakout session offered educators a chance to engage more deeply with a specific topic under the theme.
Cairn University was pleased to encourage and support educators this year and looks forward to next year’s Empowering Educators Seminar.
