Join Us for the 5th Annual CBE Summit - May 2026 in St. Louis!

We are excited to invite you to our 5th Annual Competency-Based Education (CBE) Summit, taking place this May 20256 This event is a unique opportunity for educators, administrators, and stakeholders to come together and explore the latest strategies, innovations, and success stories in Competency-Based Education.

Details at a Glance:

📅 Dates: May 27th and 28th, 2026

📍 Location: Ritenour High School, St. Louis, MO

📋 Theme: Just Good Teaching: A Competency Based Approach

We encourage you to mark your calendar and join us for two days filled with insightful sessions, collaborative discussions, and networking opportunities with leaders in the field of CBE.

Tickets

Cost: $300 per person, includes keynotes, breakout sessions, lunch, and refreshments

If the “request an invoice” button doesn’t take you to your email. Contact chris@clstl.org for an invoice.

Call For Proposals

REGISTRATION FEES will be waived with the commitment to present at least one break-out session.

Break-out sessions will be 75 minutes in length. There will be three or four breakout sessions per day.

Sessions Proposals are due by March 30th, 2026, at 4 pm.

We are interested in sessions that connect instructional best practices with Competency Based Education:

• Tell Your Story: What You Tried, What You Found, How You Changed

• Simulating the CBE experience from the student perspective

• Small Group Instruction In A CBE Environment: Data driven instruction

• Instructing with Proficiency Scales: Tracking Progress, Goal Setting, and Celebrating Success

• Assessment and Feedback

• Student Engagement

• The CBE Learning Environment: Procedures and routines to support student efficacy and agency

• Technology Integration

• Empower Playlists

• Empower Learning Manager (Planning Tool)

• Social Emotional Learning in CBE

• Equitable Practices

• Flexible Scheduling

• Grading

• Cumulative Review

• Best practices in whole group instruction

• Getting Ready for the Real Thing: Making an implementation plan

Featured Speaker

Dr. Patrick Hardy

Dr. Hardy began his career as a Boston Public School District high school teacher. Since then, he has amassed a wealth of work experience in K-12 educational leadership. He served as a principal of Proviso East High School Principal in Maywood, IL, where he led the school’s successful transition from traditional education to a competency-based model. Proviso East earned the distinction of being named the nation's first certified school for competency-based education. He also served as Principal of Freeport High School in Freeport, IL, Ellis Arts Academy in Rockford, and is currently the Principal of Hampshire High School in Hampshire, IL. During his tenure in these and other roles, he oversaw various initiatives, including redesigning professional learning, curriculum development, innovating instructional models, establishing student academic and behavioral supports, and school improvement planning. His teams reshaped curricula, established strong professional learning communities, redefined instructional strategies, and improved assessment practices.

Dr. Hardy has earned several professional recognitions. He was named a Rising District Leader byK-12 Dive and recognized by the National Teacher Hall of Fame in 2021. The Illinois Principals Association named Dr. Hardy Principal of the Year for the West Cook Region in 2018. In the same year, he received the Community Education Award from the city of Bellwood, Il, and was named a Marguerite F. Key Fellow by Northern University's College of Education. As the founder and CEO of Vetiver Education Strategies and an Associate with Marzano Resources, Dr. Hardy is a sought-after speaker and professional learning facilitator on various topics, including competency-based education, standards-based learning, instructional strategies, leadership, and strategic planning. Dr. Robert Marzano and Dr. Hardy co-authored the book Leading a Competency-Based Secondary School. He is also a contributing author to the upcoming book, Marzano Mastery Approaches: A Decision-Making Process for Designing Competency-Based Schools, with Dr.Marzano and several other subject experts.

More Information:

Please see the linked SAVE THE DATE flyer for additional details about the event. Feel free to share this flyer with others who may be interested in attending!

We look forward to seeing you in May! If you have any questions or need further information, don’t hesitate to contact us!