September 30, 2021
Hello SRI Community,
With the new school year fully underway, we have some updates and an event to share.
Forging a legacy for SRI – Phoenix Committee Update
SRI’s Phoenix Committee was assembled and held its first committee meeting in September. The Committee, which represents affiliates from different geographies and with varying levels of experience with SRI, has been tasked with identifying potential organizations for us to entrust the legacy of our work and the community of SRI.
The work of this committee, consultants, and board is to plan for what happens when our resources as an independent organization are depleted and a national office is no longer fiscally or organizationally sustainable. Because we anticipate this inevitability come to fruition early in 2022, the Phoenix Committee’s hard work will give the board options to ensure the future of transformational learning communities that are fiercely committed to educational equity and excellence. We are committed to having a transition plan in place by the end of 2021 and will keep you all abreast of our progress.
We appreciate your continued support as we celebrate the last 11 years as an independent organization, and plan for the next phase of our work. In the meantime, we pledge to stay focused on our mission and continue to operate business as usual through the remainder of the year.
If you have any questions or would like to have a conversation about this legacy process for SRI, please contact the Chris Jones, chris@schoolreforminitiative.org or Angela Breidenstein, abreidenstein@schoolreforminitiative.org
Phoenix Committee Members:
- Tim Clark, NY
- Beth Graham, MA
- Ayodele Harrison, GA
- Julia Hendrix, MA
- Debbi Laidley, CA
- Teri Schrader, CT
- Denise Wolk, MA
- Folami Prescott-Adams, GA
- Maddison Abboud, Consultant
- Allison Brown, Consultant
- Angela Breidenstein, Board Liaison
- Chris Jones, SRI Staff
Webinar Needs and Offerings
What do you need in your professional practice? Do you have a topic-based session you would like to offer?
Our summer offerings are longer, more in-depth sessions, but that is not as accessible during the school year, so we would like to offer shorter topic-based webinars in the evenings, like the Facilitating Virtual Learning Communities Webinar.
Would you like to offer something around our mission or core offerings? Something around Equity First – assumptions, microaggressions, identity, etc. Something around learning communities – norms, community-building, choosing tools, giving and receiving feedback, etc.
Something around facilitative leadership?
What are your needs? Is there something you didn’t see listed that you would like to ask for?
Please email Chris Jones, chris@schoolreforminitiative.org, to discuss what you like to offer or what you would like to see us offer.
Facilitating Virtual Learning Communities
October 5, 7, 12, 14, 2021
7-8:30PM Eastern
Participants in these sessions will engage in a variety of SRI protocols and practices to explore how SRI critical friendship can foster and sustain professional 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 professional learning communities to engage more teachers and students in SRI’s Mission and Guiding Principles.
More Information and Registration
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,
Chris Jones
On behalf of School Reform Initiative
