Are you Ready to Try Virtual Learning Communities?
With schools closing and social distancing from COVID19, we have received several questions around collaborating across distance. We have a few resources we are putting together and we would like your input.
Facilitating Virtual Learning Communities Webinar
We fast-tracked our signature webinar on virtual collaboration to offer another session starting April 1. You can read more about it below.
What Other Webinars Should We Offer?
Now that there may be time for new learning, but restrictions on travel, what kinds of webinars should we offer to help meet your needs? Please email suggestions to Deirdre, deirdre@schoolreforminitiative.org.
Virtual Connections
We held our first “Virtual Connections” this morning with 25 colleagues. It was a great way to connect and build community. Join us next week at 11am EST/10am CST/9am MST/ 8am PST.
Facilitating Virtual Learning Communities Webinar
We added another session next week! – April 1, 8, 13, 15, 2020
Participants in these sessions will engage in a variety of SRI protocols and practices to explore how SRI critical friendship can foster and sustain transformational learning communities in a virtual space. Ample time will be reserved to debrief the virtual experience, examine implications for our work, and develop next steps in using virtual transformational learning communities to engage more teachers and students in SRI’s Mission and Guiding Principles.
More Information and Registration
Virtual Connections
The last few weeks have been unprecedented in our generation. While mass closures of schools and social distancing have brought us all a range of emotions, new routines, and change, this pandemic has not cancelled relationships and the need to put our community first. School Reform Initiative and Eagle Rock Professional Development Center will be co-facilitating “Virtual Connections” for our community on Wednesdays. We love connections as a protocol because all we have to do is prepare ourselves to lean in to each other, there’s nothing to prepare and no other expectations. The rules are simple – speak if you want to speak, don’t speak if you don’t want to speak, and speak only once until everyone has had an opportunity to speak. We’re hoping that if everyone connects for 5 minutes sharing whatever is on their mind that we’ll be able to provide a virtual community because we are not alone in our efforts to balance supporting our students, creating virtual learning for potentially the first time, homeschooling our own children, feeling isolated or anxious, and so many other realities. Remember, there is power in community. We are stronger together and while we may not be able to be in social gatherings for a while, join Deirdre & Anastacia for “Virtual Connections” Wednesday at 10am Central. We’ll put an hour on the clock and connections will be open. Join us via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/526645533
We held our first Virtual Connections this morning with 25 colleagues:
Fall Meeting Pre-Conference Call for Proposals
Pre-conference sessions take place on Wednesday, the day before the start of Fall Meeting and provide an opportunity for participants to extend their learning while in Memphis.
Do you have an idea for a pre-conference session for the 2020 Fall Meeting that you would like to offer? Are you using SRI tools and practices in exciting ways that you’d like to share with others? Pre-conference sessions may be full or half-day and can be on-site in one of our conference rooms or off-site at a school or other location within the city.
All pre-conference proposals are due by March 27, 2020
If you are interested in proposing a pre-conference session, please utilize the pre-conference proposal form, and submit it no later than March 27, 2020. Have a request for a pre-conference that you would like to attend? Email Deirdre Williams, deirdre@schoolreforminitiative.org, and she will try to find facilitators to prepare a pre-conference session that meets your needs!
#10forSRI
Our goal for 2020 is to help educators remember why they became educators, and to do whatever we can to not only help them to ‘feel’ supported, but to actually ‘be’ supported, and work together to create the schools our students deserve. I hope you will join me and continue to support SRI!
SRI is fiercely committed to educational equity and excellence, and we cannot do this work without your support!
Thank you for your commitment to students, families and communities!
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,
Deirdre Williams and Chris Jones
On behalf of School Reform Initiative
