The Appalachian Community of Education Scholars (ACES) program is sponsoring an engaging presentation from Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a Pirate on Sept. 18, 2026. The presentation will feature elevating student engagement with instructional strategies. Admission is FREE to ACES students, other education majors, and Teaching as a Profession (TAAP) High School classes.

Registration is required and must be completed by Sept. 3 to guarantee a spot at the presentation. All TAAP teachers who are registering will need to register themselves and email a list of students attending to Paige Sturgill at mathesonsturgillcp@appstate.edu. The list should include the following student information: first and last name, age, gender, home address, parent/guardian name, parent/guardian phone and email, emergency contact first and last name, emergency contact phone number, any special accommodations/dietary needs, and student T-shirt size.

The morning itinerary is featured below:

• Doors will open at 9:00 a.m. for participants to check in and grab some breakfast items.
• Dave Burgess will present engaging instructional strategies that pre-service teachers can implement into their lesson plans and ignite their excitement for teaching from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (including a 15 minute break to start at 11:00 a.m.).
• ACES and other education majors will file out at 12:30 p.m. and Paige Sturgill, Coordinator of ACES, will present to the Teaching as a Profession high school participants until 1:00 p.m. about the ACES program.