2026 TETL Summer Conference

This session will provide practical recommendations for securing AI platforms in a K-12 environment. These recommendations are based on AI-specific frameworks that have emerged for best practices.


Essential Skill
Information Technology; Data Privacy & Security

What do Legos have to do with IT service delivery? More than you think. School districts manage growing requests across departments, yet most systems remain disconnected, leading to inefficiencies, limited visibility, and reactive service. In this interactive session (that may include legos), IT leaders will use hands-on activities to model how requests move across their district, and uncover breakdowns. Walk away with practical strategies to move beyond managing tickets toward leading district-wide service delivery.

Join Cisco Education Advisor Mary Schlegelmilch as she explores how K-12 districts can move beyond siloed, reactive security systems. In this 30-minute session, we will demonstrate how a unified, intelligent platform—powered by Cisco’s robust network foundation and Singlewire’s mass notification capabilities—can detect threats in real-time, streamline emergency responses, and create safer learning environments. Discover how AI-driven analytics and multi-channel alerting can rewrite your school’s safety playbook. After the session, please visit our booth at the expo to experience these solutions in action with live, interactive demonstrations.

A practical playbook for reducing device attrition, recovering missing devices faster, improving fleet visibility, and empowering campus staff to solve more issues locally. 
Attendees will leave with concrete ways to lower replacement pressure, reduce loaner demand, save staff time, and get more value from the devices they already own.

Block lists can't keep pace with the speed at which new threats emerge — and Texas K-12 IT teams are feeling that pressure daily. Content-aware filtering takes a fundamentally different approach, scanning text, images, and video at the page level in real time to catch what URL filtering misses: explicit imagery slipping past SafeSearch, inappropriate video segments on approved platforms, harmful content shared inside Google Docs, and proxy sites spun up overnight. This session explores how content-aware filtering is helping Texas districts build a more durable, proactive layer of student protection — without overblocking educational content or adding workload to IT.

In an increasingly connected world, network resilience is not just a luxury; it's a necessity. This presentation examines the design, implementation, and operational strategies involved in constructing a resilient fiber ring. Whether you're planning a new deployment or strengthening an existing infrastructure, this session will equip you with the knowledge to build a robust and future-ready fiber network.

K-12 cybersecurity is often reactive, triggered only after an alarm sounds. But what if you could build defenses that prevent the alarm from ever going off? This session explores how Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) frameworks provide a proactive layer to your existing security posture. Using the "cybersecurity onion" model, participants will learn to build resilient, multi-layered systems that protect networks, data, and users. Attendees will leave with practical tools aligned with CIS Controls and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to strengthen their district’s posture through thoughtful governance and risk management.
Additional Information 
This session bridges the gap between technical security and executive leadership by leveraging my experience as a technology leader to provide a roadmap for institutional resilience. Drawing on my background as a CISSP and CCRE, I provide participants with actionable strategies that align directly with national security standards and frameworks. Attendees will gain the governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) tools necessary to transform their district's security posture from a reactive state to a documented proactive, multi-layered defense system.
Essential Skill
Strategic Planning; Ethics & Policies; Data Privacy & Security; Team Building & Staffing