2019 SRI Board Election – Call for Nominees
We are now accepting nominations for this year’s Board of Directors Election! If you would like to nominate someone, the deadline is September 25, 2019 at 8pm EST. The candidate materials are due September 30, 2019.
To nominate a candidate (could be yourself!) please provide the contact information on this web form. Jeffrey Galaise, chair of the election nominating committee, will reach out to each nominee to confirm their interest in being a candidate and will help them start the process of gathering their materials.
This year the SRI Board is seeking four new members who have (1) considerable experience with, (2) a strong commitment to, and (3) a positive record of working with schools and students around educational excellence and equity. The Board seeks candidates who have worked in transformative ways particularly with students of color as well as students with language diversity. We particularly encourage candidates who identify as people of color to apply. SRI works to increasingly focus on issues of school transformation especially around issues of educational equity, and, ideally, our new members will be able to help advance this important effort.
Board members serve a four-year term that will begin January 2020. SRI board members meet monthly via Zoom Platform, along with at least one in-person meeting each year, either at the conclusion of our annual SRI Conference or during a separate board retreat. SRI board members also serve on committees. The monthly time commitment is approximately 4-5 hours working virtually, and then 10-12 hours (1-2 days) of in-person time each year.
If you have the passion, time, and desire to work with us, we want you!
The Nominating Committee will contact nominees to explain the process and to answer questions, and to help them prepare their materials. Voting in the election is anticipated to begin the Week of October 7th and culminate on Friday, November 8th, to align with our annual Fall Meeting conference.
To stand for election or to be eligible to vote in the upcoming election, you must be an Affiliate of SRI. Click here to learn more about SRI affiliation.
Do you have questions o would you like to join the Board Election Nomination Committee? Please email Jeffrey Galaise (jgalaise@schoolreforminitaitive.org)
Thank you for your commitment to supporting and sustaining the School Reform Initiative!
Jeffrey Galaise (NY)
Chair, Election Committee
On behalf of the 2019 Board Election Nomination Committee:
Niya Randall (GA), Lauren Levine (NY)
Five Protocols to use in the Classroom to start the Year
By Kari Thierer
It’s back to school time and that means thinking about how you will work with your students to develop the culture of your classroom. All classrooms have a culture – it is something that can and should be carefully cultivated to establish your space as a thoughtful learning community. Just like with adult work, this classroom culture takes some intentional time and planning, and I guarantee that the time invested in the beginning of the year will have long-term payouts later on. Below are my suggestions for the top five protocols to incorporate at the beginning of the school year to begin to establish a collaborative and reflective culture.
2019 Fall Meeting – Boston, MA November 7-9, 2019
Fall Meeting is just eight weeks away! Will you be joining us in Cambridge? Be sure to register ASAP – we do have limited capacity. Right now we have registrations from CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, ME, MN, NH, NJ, NY, NC, RI, TX, VT, London, Panama and of course Massachusetts! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from, and with, other educators who are committed to educational equity and help us celebrate our 10th anniversary!
Hotel Reservations
Our meeting and sleeping rooms this year will be at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge, 40 Edwin Land Boulevard, Cambridge, MA 02142. Our hotel room rate is $239/night for a single/double. Rooms are limited and are likely to sell out. Be sure to make your reservations ASAP!
To get this rate, please book online
Register Today for Fall Meeting 2019!
SRI Fall Meeting is an educational conference like no other; a conference where educators create a community of learners who share their professional practice and learn from its close, public examination. Come to Fall Meeting to practice the skills, habits, and dispositions of professional collaboration and reflective discourse using SRI protocols and resources.
In Boston we’ll renew our fierce commitment to educational equity and excellence, and together, we’ll rekindle our passion for teaching and learning. Through our collective wisdom, we’ll find the courage and comfort needed to bring our best selves back to our schools and our students. Together with colleagues, we’ll access, engage, and be challenged through sustained conversation about what matters most – improving teaching and learning experiences, through a lens of equity, to make schools better places for every learner.
Fall Meetings in Boston sell out; register now!
Fall Meeting 2019 Scholarships Now Open
School Reform Initiative strives to make the Fall Meeting financially accessible to all its affiliates. Thanks to the generous contributions of many of you to SRI’s Faith Dunne-Nancy Mohr Scholarship Fund we are able to offer scholarships to participants who need financial assistance.
If you are in need to financial assistance to attend the 2019 Fall Meeting, please complete the scholarship request form by September 20, 2019.
Scholarships apply to the registration fee only and you must be an SRI affiliate to apply. Funds are limited and we strive to provide some support for as many people as possible.
If you have any questions about Fall Meeting scholarships, please email us at contact@schoolreforminitiative.org or call 303-586-1169.
You Can Make A Difference: Contribute to SRI’s Scholarship Fund
School Reform Initiative is dedicated to supporting our growing community of educators who share our fierce commitment to educational equity and excellence. In 2009, we created the Faith Dunne and Nancy Mohr Scholarship Fund to provide access to SRI’s professional development, tools and resources for all educators. Each year since, we’ve awarded tens of thousands of dollars to educators from across the country.
Our enduring commitment to provide financial support to every educator who wishes to participate in Fall Meeting is only made possible through generous contributions from our community.
You can help us to uphold this commitment by clicking here to contribute to our scholarship fund.
Your donation of any amount – $10, $50, or $100 – will go directly to support an educator by providing a scholarship to the 2019 Fall Meeting. A donation of $535 will cover the full Fall Meeting registration fee for a colleague.
Now, we need your help! Please consider supporting the learning of an educator by donating today!
Upcoming Webinars
Facilitating Virtual Learning Communities Webinar
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. Participants will need a web-enabled device (desktop or laptop with camera preferred) to use during these sessions.
Dates: October 3, 10, 17, 24 2019
Time: 8-9:30PM Eastern
Cost: $135 for non-affiliates and $95 for affiliates.
More Information and Registration
So You Want to Talk About Race with Ijeoma Oluo – Fall Meeting Keynote Webinar
Join 2019 SRI Fall Meeting Keynote Ijeoma Oluo, a Seattle-based writer, speaker, and Internet Yeller, on this webinar around her book, So you Want to Talk About Race. We will spend about an hour together, and it is a very good idea to read her book ahead of time. You can get it at your favorite book seller.
Dates: September 17 at 12:30pm Eastern OR October 1 at 4:30pm Eastern
Cost: $45 for non-affiliates and $25 for affiliates.
More Information and Registration
You can find more about her and selected writings on her website: http://www.ijeomaoluo.com/
Culturally-Relevant Recruitment, Retention, and Responsibility Webinar
Join SRI and Dr. Liza Talusan (LT Coaching and Consulting, LLC) for a 3-part series on culturally relevant attitudes, behaviors, and actions that support recruitment, retention, and responsibility towards employees from institutionally underrepresented backgrounds.
- Part 1 will focus on why diversity, equity, and inclusion matters in the hiring process. We will go over the big questions that you and your institution should be asking itself about why you would engage in a culturally relevant process.
- Part 2 will focus on creating a more inclusive process that pays attention to the foundation of why we do this work together.
- Finally, Part 3 will explore the big questions around whether the culture, climate and behaviors of your institution are prepared to support and authentically engage with communities from institutionally underrepresented backgrounds.
Dates: September 24, October 11, October 22, 2019
Time: 12:15-1:45PM Eastern
Cost: $125 for non-affiliates and $95 for affiliates.
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,
Deirdre Williams, Kari Thierer, and Chris Jones
On behalf of School Reform Initiative
