This spring we’ve seen educators adapt and evolve under stressful circumstances. While research from NWEA shows school closures could have far-reaching negative consequences, we believe educators have the ability to overcome these hurdles to ensure all students learn, grow and achieve.
This summit is designed to look at critical challenges and discuss potential actions, in the long- and short-term. Engaging virtual sessions will provide insights, relevant data, and opportunities to engage with experts and educators from around the nation. Participants will also receive research and resources designed to help kickstart fall 2020.
Agenda
1 to 3 p.m.
Kick Start for Fall: 4 Principles for Instructional Leaders
The impact sudden school closures will have on academic growth remains to be seen. Some kids may see a boost from personalized, high-quality learning experiences at home, while students who did not have consistent support or instruction may slide. This session will provide high-level principles for how school and district instructional leaders can close gaps from the previous school year while teaching grade-level standards in a way that best meets students where they are. Additionally, moderators will discuss promising practices from schools, districts, and charter management organizations from across the country on preparing for back-to-school.
Lauren Wells
Professional Learning, NWEA
Kesson Anderson
Managing Director,
ANet
Carrie Heath Phillips
Senior Director, School Improvement Services,
NWEA
1 to 3 p.m.
Impact of Trauma and Stress: How to Support Your Students and Staff
Students and educators alike have experienced trauma in the wake of this crisis. For kids to learn, their social and emotional needs must be addressed alongside their academic needs. Integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) with academic learning and funds of knowledge serves the needs of the whole child. This session will focus on the impact of trauma and stress on students and how to act on that information to build a districtwide and schoolwide plan to support students’ social and emotional learning (SEL) with an integrated approach.
Erin Beard
Content Designer,
NWEA
Karen VanAusdal
Senior Director of Practice,
CASEL
Nick Yoder
Director of Policy and Practice,
CASEL
1 to 3 p.m.
Equity and Access for Students With Disabilities
Many students with disabilities may not have had access to the accommodations, instruction and services provided in their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) during school closures, and may face a steeper road to progress. This session will address how school and district leaders can create structures that provide equitable access and promote strong growth for students with disabilities.
Ella Rigoulot
Professional Learning, NWEA
Elizabeth Barker
Accessibility Research Scientist,
NWEA
Meghan Whittaker
Director of Policy and Advocacy,
National Center for Learning Disabilities
1 to 3 p.m.
Articulating a Plan for Addressing Interrupted Learning: Prioritizing Standards and Curriculum
What content would students have been exposed to if schools had not closed? How will important content from prior grades be integrated into the scope and sequence for the coming year? Dialing the time machine back to March 2020 and restarting instruction from there is not the answer. Instructional leaders should consider reviewing each grade level’s scope and sequence from the time frame of school closure to prioritize key standards, concepts, and skills to formatively assess and plan for in the coming year. This session will provide leaders with ideas to support developing plans to address unfinished student learning.
Ted Coe
Director, Content Advocacy and Design,
NWEA
John Cronin
Senior Research Fellow,
NWEA
Brooke Mabry
Strategic Content Design Coordinator, Professional Learning Design,
NWEA
1 to 3 p.m.
Teaching and Learning Partnerships: Powerful Levers for Cultivating Student Agency
Students will likely have widely variable learning needs in the coming school year. More than ever, educators will need clarity in their instruction, and students will need agency in their learning. Engaging in classroom formative practice will help educators and students to partner in teaching and learning. This session will support leaders shaping their back-to-school expectations, conversations, and support for building stronger teacher-student partnerships in the classroom.
Cara Holt
Professional Learning, NWEA
Patricia Reeder
Content Designer, Professional Learning,
NWEA
Robin Whitacre
Manager, Professional Learning Design,
NWEA
1 to 3 p.m.
Continuity Strategies: How to Embrace Distance Learning in the “New Normal”
Educators will face unprecedented challenges as they work to address student learning loss and social-emotional needs. The uncertainty of what “school” might look like this fall will add additional complexity to these challenges.
With all that remains unknown, students and families will continue to rely on the relationships they build with teachers and the greater school community. This discussion will encourage educators to share effective distance learning strategies that keep relationships at the center in an effort to ensure distance learning meets the needs of all students.
With all that remains unknown, students and families will continue to rely on the relationships they build with teachers and the greater school community. This discussion will encourage educators to share effective distance learning strategies that keep relationships at the center in an effort to ensure distance learning meets the needs of all students.
Robyn Sturgeon
Professional Learning, NWEA
Cara Lougheed
English Language Arts and History Teacher,
Stoney Creek High School
Gretchen Osodipe
Managing Director of Service Innovation,
ANet