Nebraska Career and Technical Education Conference 2026: Full Schedule

1:00pm CDT

No Secrets, Just Systems: How Top CDE Teams Are Built

Monday June 8, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT

There’s no single “magic trick” to CDE success but there are systems that work. In this session, Nebraska ag teachers who have recently coached winning and finalist CDE teams share the coaching systems they use to develop a strong Ag Issues team. From recruiting and practice planning to performance coaching and evaluation, attendees will gain adaptable strategies they can use with their own students.

(This is not part of the description, but I know we could also do one for Marketing Plan and could probably do a session like this on other CDEs)

Speakers

Emilia Brozek

Ag Teacher, Norris High School

Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor at Norris High School

Monday June 8, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Diamond 8

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

2:00pm CDT

Welding Assessment

Monday June 8, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

Diamond 8

Welding assessments give students feedback about the quality of their work. This session will give teachers an assessment to grade students work. The assessment follows the American Welding Society standards in a simple check list that is measurable to help students improve their welds. The session will look at an assement, how to use measuring tools, and discussion from teachers about what practices teachers use in their classroom.

Speakers

Will Winchester

Skilled and Technical Science Teacher, Hershey Public Schools

Will Winchester has been in education for over 20 year. Enjoys teaching students skills to help them in their future in the areas of Skilled and Technical Sciences, SkillsUSA, and Drivers Education. Will is married and has 4 children that keep his schedule full of activities... Read More →

Butt weld assessment docx

Welding 1 Surface weld assessment docx

Welding 1 Fillet weld assessment docx

Welding 1 Complete Plate Fillet welds assessment docx

Monday June 8, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
Diamond 8

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

3:00pm CDT

Going With the Flow

Monday June 8, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm CDT

Diamond 8

An overview of hydraulic parts, symbols, lab suggestions, and resource YouTube videos. Some discussion will apply these aspects toward the state FFA Ag Tech N Mech CDE will be included. Hydraulics/Pnuematics knowledge and skill will be a component of the 2027 state FFA CDE.

Speakers

Dan Stehlik

Instructor, Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture - Curtis

Agriculture and Education. Dan Stehlik has combined the two throughout his life. Currently an eleven year Ag Mechanics Instructor at NCTA, Dan started at that college out of high school; farmed a diversified operation at Dorchester for over 25 years, and has taught high school and... Read More →

Monday June 8, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm CDT
Diamond 8

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

8:30am CDT

Strategies for Helping the Multilingual Learners in Your Classroom

Tuesday June 9, 2026 8:30am - 9:15am CDT

Diamond 8

If you have every come across a situation where you have not known how to communicate, then you know part of what an EL student may feel on any given day in any US classroom. We all need to be EL teachers, teaching literacy in our classrooms as we teach them their career skills. This session will focus on arming CTE teachers with common strategies and ideas to help aid them in the classroom and connecting with our EL population, while using real examples and tools from our classes.

Speakers

Taylor Wilton-Cooper

Urban Ag Teacher, Omaha Public Schools

I teach Urban Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources in Omaha Public Schools at Bryan High School. I just finished my 8th year teaching, all at Bryan High. I have taught Introduction to Agriculture, Animal Science, Plant Science, and our Senior Capstone classes over the years, but... Read More →

Tuesday June 9, 2026 8:30am - 9:15am CDT
Diamond 8

Cross Career Field Administrators Agriculture Food & Natural Resources Business Marketing & Management Communication & Information Systems Health Sciences Human Sciences & Education School Counselors Skilled & Technical Sciences

9:30am CDT

Welding Assessment

Tuesday June 9, 2026 9:30am - 10:15am CDT

Diamond 8

Speakers

Will Winchester

Skilled and Technical Science Teacher, Hershey Public Schools

Tuesday June 9, 2026 9:30am - 10:15am CDT
Diamond 8

Skilled & Technical Sciences Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

10:30am CDT

Connecting Educators: Cultivating a Collaborative Teaching Network

Tuesday June 9, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am CDT

Diamond 8

Join us for "Connecting Educators: Cultivating a Collaborative Teaching Network", a dynamic session designed to bring together educators to share ideas, resources, and best practices. You'll have the opportunity to network with fellow teachers, discuss challenges and successes, and have lots of laughs.Whether you're a seasoned educator or new to Ag Education, this session fosters the development of a supportive community that promotes growth, creativity, and the exchange of knowledge.

Speakers

Craig Flaming

Agriculture and Skilled and Technical Science Educator, Randolph Schools

Craig Flaming is the Agriculture and Skilled and Technical Science Educator at Randolph High School.

Ashton Bohling

Agriculture and Skilled and Technical Science Educator, Johnson Brock

Ashton Bohling is an Agriculture and Skilled and Technical Science Educator at Johnson Brock.

Tuesday June 9, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am CDT
Diamond 8

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

1:00pm CDT

Virtual TAPS Curriculum and Crop Simulation Game

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT

Diamond 8

The Virtual Testing Ag Performance Solutions (VTAPS) program has been modeled around the highly successful UNL-TAPS (http://taps.unl.edu) program. The VTAPS program allows high school ag students to have a similar TAPS experience. VTAPS participants will select the hybrid and seeding rate they wish to plant, apply nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation water. All the decisions and generated weather information are fed into a crop simulation model (DSSAT) and results are included in a weekly summary. At the end of the simulation participants will see how they rank in their final yield, cost of production and nitrogen and irrigation efficiency.

Speakers

Chuck Burr

Crops and Water Extension Educator, Nebraska Extension

Chuck Burr is a Nebraska Extension Water and Integrated Cropping Systems(WICS) Educator located in Alma, NE. He has been an Extension Educator in Nebraska since 1990. His Extension focus areas include water quality, limited water, irrigation management and cropping systems. Chuck... Read More →

Tuesday June 9, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm CDT
Diamond 8

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

2:00pm CDT

Launching an SBE with the Nebraska FFA Launch! Program

Tuesday June 9, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

Diamond 8

The concept of school-based enterprises has become a hot topic, but many teachers find themselves with lots of questions. How do I get started? Where do I get funding? What does this look like within my agriculture education program? This session will introduce you to the Nebraska FFA Launch! Program sponsored by the Nebraska FFA Foundation and facilitated by the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at UNL. The Launch! Program is designed to help teams of high school students ideate, plan, launch, build, and grow their own school-based enterprises. Learners in this session will understand the program outline, schedule, and experience a few of the curriculum activities.

Speakers

Miranda Segner

Program Coordinator, Nebraska FFA Launch! Program

Miranda serves as the Nebraska FFA Launch! program coordinator through the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program. An educator and entrepreneur herself, Miranda is passionate about the opportunity to educate youth on the importance and practices of entrepreneurship. Miranda is also a full-time high school agricultur... Read More →

Tuesday June 9, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
Diamond 8

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

3:00pm CDT

From Lesson Plans to Lifesavers: AI Tools for Ag Teachers

Tuesday June 9, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm CDT

Diamond 8

Discover how artificial intelligence can enhance—not replace—your current agricultural education curriculum. This session introduces practical AI tools that help teachers generate lesson ideas, create classroom resources, differentiate instruction, and refresh existing content without starting from scratch. Participants will explore ways AI can spark new approaches to teaching familiar topics while saving valuable planning time. The session will also cover best practices, ethical considerations, and classroom do’s and don’ts so educators can confidently and responsibly integrate AI into their programs. Participants will leave with ready-to-use ideas and tools for immediate classroom application.

Speakers

Collin Swedberg

Agricultural Education Teacher, North Platte Public Schools

Collin Swedberg is an agricultural educator and FFA advisor at North Platte High School, where he has been for the last 5 years. Collin specifically teaches classes in the agribusiness, and plant science pathway. In addition to being an ag teacher and FFA advisor, Collin is also... Read More →

Tuesday June 9, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm CDT
Diamond 8

Agriculture Food & Natural Resources

10:00am CDT

Easy Measuring, Monitoring, and Tracking of WBL

Wednesday June 10, 2026 10:00am - 10:45am CDT

Diamond 8

Learn how to effectively track, monitor, and report work-based learning outcomes to support true career readiness. This workshop explores the Academic Experience Tracker (AET), a student-driven, results-focused system designed to document meaningful learning experiences. You’ll see how to involve employers as supervisors in the WBL process, strengthen accountability, and help students grow through authentic, career-connected experiences.

Speakers