uLead2026 - The Summit of Educational Leadership

In a time when educational systems are being called to confront their complicity in systemic inequities, storytelling emerges as a transformative leadership strategy—one that reclaims voice, restores humanity, and reimagines what it means to lead. This session invites school leaders into a powerful provocation: to recognize story not just as pedagogy, but as a call to action. Drawing from the lived experiences and doctoral research of three education leaders, this session weaves together narratives of anti-racist leadership, trauma-informed practice, and Indigenous ways of knowing. These stories challenge dominant paradigms and offer frameworks for culturally responsive, distributed, and transformative leadership. Participants will encounter real-world examples of how school leaders can name and confront systemic racism, embed wellness and healing into school culture, and center Indigenous leadership approaches in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. This is not a presentation of theory alone—it is a collective offering grounded in relational accountability and ethical storytelling. Through personal and professional reflection, participants will be provoked to consider how their own stories—and those of their communities—can become tools for justice, resilience, and renewal. School leaders will leave with a deeper understanding of how storytelling can build capacity, shift culture, and sustain meaningful change in pursuit of equity and belonging.

This session invites school leaders to explore how Indigenous Pedagogy (centered on the 8 Ways of Aboriginal Learning framework) can transform professional learning into a practice of connection, storytelling, and collective growth. Participants will engage with strategies that honor Indigenous ways of knowing, leading, and teaching while deepening their role as lead learners. Walk away with practical tools to create inclusive, respectful, and culturally grounded professional learning environments that foster deeper engagement and equity for all.

As part of the new Alberta Teaching Quality Standard, teachers and system leaders across Alberta are required to have a foundational understanding of the implications of treaties with First Nations and legislation and agreements with Métis. However, questions remain about what this foundational understanding entails and how this work can be ethically enacted in schools by a largely non-Indigenous teaching population. This session will address these questions by presenting insights from a recent professional growth initiative that brought together system leaders and educators from the Calgary Catholic School Division and the Calgary Board of Education, with local Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Holders.

A look at the First Nations, Metis & Inuit Education Team's approach that has developed a strong and meaningful relationship with students, families and staff. The growth of the F.N.M.I Education Program that has helped increase the number of self declared students from 318 (September 2018) to 642 (November 2025). Reconnecting with our roots through leadership guided by Respect, Truth, Humility, Courage, Wisdom, Love and Truth.

"Racists in Recovery" supports school leaders in developing the awareness, skills, and practices needed to lead equitable schools with heart, humility and a touch of humor. This no-shame session invites honest reflection, practical skill-building, and supported learning. Leaders learn to recognize implicit bias, communicate about race with confidence, and interrupt harmful patterns in daily practice. They also gain tools for restorative conversations, stronger staff culture, and more equitable systems. "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." – Desmond Tutu

This session invites participants into a deeper understanding of Nitsitapi—a term meaning “the people,” used by the Blackfoot Confederacy to describe themselves. Rooted in relationship, identity, and connection to land, Nitsitapi reflects a worldview grounded in respect, balance, and community.
Through storytelling, imagery, and personal reflection, participants will explore the cultural teachings, traditions, and ways of knowing that have shaped Nitsitapi identity across generations. This session will highlight the importance of language, kinship, and the land as foundational to understanding who we are and how we live in right relationship with one another.
Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own sense of identity and belonging, while considering how Indigenous perspectives can deepen our understanding of community, leadership, and shared responsibility.