“The CEL Institute is an investment in ourselves,” said Romayor, Chief Operations Officer with Imperial County Office of Education. “Attendees will leave the event with renewed energy, practical strategies, and new relationships that will enrich and complement our work.”

This year’s planning committee chose the theme “Empowering Excellence: Classified Leaders Shaping Tomorrow” to demonstrate the crucial role of every classified employee — who he called “experienced and dedicated individuals who support and ensure academic excellence in schools.”

As the only statewide professional development conference specifically designed for classified school leaders, attendees will be able to strengthen their professional networks with other classified leaders.

“Belonging is essential for all individuals. Humans seek like-minded individuals and divergent thinkers to feel supported and grow as people,” Romayor said. “The CEL Institute does precisely that. It creates a fun and inclusive event where classified employees can learn and grow together.”

The institute is designed for administrators in several essential areas of school leadership, including:

Attendees, including confidential employees, will not want to miss presenters from various fields of expertise sharing strategies for providing students with a first-class education. A full schedule of sessions is available at the conference website at bit.ly/2024CELInstitute by clicking on “Full Schedule.” Just some of the session titles include:

Attendees will also enjoy the contagious energy and humor of motivational speaker Kay Frances, who will give the closing keynote Friday morning. A former stand-up comedian who literally wrote the book on stress, Frances believes in the power of laughter to carry us through difficult times. With a humorous but powerful message, attendees will leave with valuable tools to continue this good feeling into their lives.