News from the School Reform Initiative

Winter Meeting 2017 – Registration, Keynotes, Pre-Conferences –and more!

We are so excited about Winter Meeting 2017 in Denver, CO. This is a Winter Meeting you do not want to miss! Last week we shared information about the keynotes, pre-conferences and a special film screening. Registration is in full swing – do not wait to register and make your hotel reservations, this WM may sell out! Join us in Denver to do the important work of Exploring Our Assumptions about Educational Equity and Excellence.


Winter Meeting 2017 – Scholarship Applications Now Open

Thanks in part to our Dream Big Fundraising Campaign, SRI is able to offer financial assistance, through our Faith Dunne and Nancy Mohr Scholarship Fund, to help cover the cost of the registration fee. If you are in need of financial assistance to attend the 2017 Winter Meeting, please complete the scholarship request form by November 10th.

You must be an affiliate to apply for a scholarship, and you will be asked to log in or join as an affiliate prior to applying. SRI gives priority to classroom teachers.

Scholarships apply to the registration fees only. SRI cannot allocate scholarship support for travel or lodging.


Looking for Educators to Pilot Protocols for Youth Engagement

Many SRI affiliates regularly use protocols with youth both in the classroom and as part of other youth engagement and leadership activities. Other affiliates would like to use protocols with students, but are unsure how to start. To support these efforts, we have been working on developing resources and curriculum that supports the use of protocols with youth, including adapting language and developing participant handouts.

We are now looking for a few classroom teachers and others who work with youth, to help pilot the newly developed resources. Pilot volunteers will be asked to try out a minimum of two protocols, and provide feedback using a Google form.

We will be hosting a webinar for people interested in being a part of the pilot. During the webinar, we will share more about the timeline for the pilot project, samples of the newly developed curriculum, and the information we are hoping to gather along the way. The webinar will be held October 5th, at 8pm Eastern. Click here to register for the webinar.

If you have questions, please email Marjorie Larner (marjorielarner@gmail.com) or Kari Thierer (kari@schoolreforminitiative.org).


Black Lives Matter – Curriculum/Syllabus

You may have seen this amazing resource floating around on Facebook. For those not on social media, we wanted to share! While this is a syllabus for a college-level course, the articles referenced and the videos provided are fantastic resources that can be easily adapted for students in high school and potentially middle school. While you won’t be able to implement the entire syllabus, different resources could be utilized in a lot of different ways. The syllabus incorporates current, relevant articles and a number of films and web videos. Help structure the conversations by utilizing protocols to support students as they think critically and work to make meaning.


Lessons from South Bend: The Beauty and Power of Summertime Thinking

SRI Affiliate Amy Demerast shares her blog post about some work she did this summer, supporting a network of teachers diving deep into standards-based, place-based education. Amy reflects on how the work of SRI supported the deep learning of the participants. Click here to read Amy’s blog and learn more about this amazing work!


Inclusion, Equity and Opportunity Summit

Teach to Lead has been at the center of national conversation on teacher leadership by supporting teachers to turn leadership ideas into action.

We are pleased to announce that Teach to Lead will host a Teacher Leadership Summit in Chicago on December 2-4, 2016. The Inclusion, Equity and Opportunity Summit is a topical summit that brings teacher leaders and other stakeholders together to incubate their ideas for combating inequity and fighting for social justice on behalf of students. Ideas will leverage teacher leadership to address equity for our highest needs students and schools.

We would love to see SRI affiliates be active participants in this important conversation. Submit ideas by October 13, 2016.


Do you have news to share? Interesting things happening in your area? Please let us know so we can share with our community! Email Chris Jones, chris@schoolreforminitiative.org.

Thank you,
Kari Thierer, Heidi Vosekas, Chris Jones, and Beth I Graham
On behalf of School Reform Initiative

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