Preparing for the Fall Forecast
On the Rebound: Rethinking Our Classrooms
June 2-4, 2021
Virtual Conference
Educators navigated major challenges this year. As we move to a post-pandemic phase, the time is right to start preparing for the fall. Gather a team together to gain a head start on organizing and simplifying the workplace changes that may take place. Reflect on what worked this year, and plan for transitions that minimize the loss of instructional time and support accelerated learning next year.
The Alaska School Leadership Institute (ASLI) 2021 will focus on the question: How should we plan for opening school next fall — and where do students begin?
The 13th Alaska School Leadership Institute will be virtual. ASLI is designed for teams from rural and small schools, but school teams from anywhere in Alaska can participate. There will be large and small group sessions, plus dedicated time to work together as a school or district team.
On Wednesday, June 2 we are delighted to have Dr. John Hattie for a keynote address and Q & A.
Rebound: Rethinking, Rebuilding, and Accelerating Learning
Keynote and Q & A with John Hattie
We were forced to learn a lot while pandemic teaching and distance learning. Let’s use that knowledge to rethink schools. It’s time to build teacher and student agency and recover learning for everyone. Hattie’s landmark Visible Learning research concluded that one of the most important influences on student achievement is how teachers think about learning and their own role. The 10 Mindframes, which should underpin every action in schools, are founded on the principle that teachers are evaluators, change agents, learning experts, and seekers of feedback who are constantly engaged with dialogue and challenge. As leaders, how can we leverage this research to inform how our schools operate next fall?
On Friday, June 4 Dr. Nancy Frey will provide the closing keynote session
Rebound: Rebuilding Agency, Accelerating Learning Recovery, and Rethinking Schools
Keynote Closing Session with Dr. Nancy Frey
For more than a year now, we educators have been tested and tested again. We’ve been stretched, we’ve been pulled, we’ve been put through the wringer. But now it’s time to “rebound.” It’s time to bounce back, come back better, and benefit from the many lessons learned to reignite engagement, accelerate learning, and move forward with fresh optimism and better systems for schooling. Dr. Frey will help leaders develop their awareness on how to support their education teams to:
* Address the collective traumas we have experienced during the pandemic and rebuild our sense of agency and self, so that we can attribute student success to both teachers’ and students’ efforts
* Evaluate what we have learned about remote teaching and learning to determine what to carry forward and what to leave behind
* Shift the narrative from learning loss to “learning leaps” and implement instructional and assessment practices that ensure our students reclaim lost knowledge, build skills, develop agency, and accelerate gains
Strands
- Instructional Leadership (Dr. Peter DeWitt)
- Accelerating Literacy Learning Next Fall (Lexie Domaradzki, Shelby Skaanes)
- Connecting the Dots Between Curriculum and Instruction (Pilar Holtrop, National Institute for Excellence in Teaching)
- Invitation Only: Alaska School Leadership Academy
- Invitation Only: IPRARS Grant Project – Visible Learning
DJ Wade will be playing music before keynote sessions and during lunch.
Strand One: Instructional Leadership: Creating Practice Out of Theory
Instructional leadership is one of the most researched forms of leadership, but very little practical insight into how to implement it exists, and many leaders struggle to put it into practice. When COVID-19 hit in 2020 instructional leadership became much more difficult to implement because leaders were separated remotely from teachers and students. Peter DeWitt, Ed.D. will take the research behind instructional leadership, and the research he did with hundreds of teachers and students during the pandemic, and dive deeper into six areas that he found crucial to practices that grow to instructional leadership.
Breakout Sessions:
* Instructional Leadership Teams: Developing Collective Leader Efficacy
* Instructional Leadership Teams. Engaging in a Cycle of Inquiry
* Are You Activity Rich and Impact Poor?
Strand 2: Accelerating Literacy Learning Next Fall
What evidence-based practices can you put into place to support effective reading instruction next year? This session will examine school-wide literacy practices through the leadership lens. Explore the most important elements for leading and supporting effective literacy instruction K-12. Learn more about identifying and encouraging evidenced-based literacy practices, and how to communicate those practices to teachers and families.
Breakout Sessions:
* Leading the Foundational Skills Strands of Literacy to Close Gaps and Support Student Learning (K-5)
* Leading the Vocabulary Strand of Language Comprehension to Support Student Learning (K-12)
* Leading Instruction Within the Strands of Language Comprehension to Support Student Learning (K-12)
Strand 3: Connecting the Dots between Curriculum and Instruction
The evidence is clear: High-quality instruction and curriculum must go hand in hand to maximize student learning. This strand will help district, school, and teacher leaders make stronger connections between the two through the structures and processes they have in place, and attention to support at different stages of curriculum implementation.
Breakout Sessions :
* Connecting to What to Teach and How to Teach It (Lessons Learned)
* Using Learning Walks and Post-Conferencing to Anchor Coaching and Feedback in the Curriculum and Instruction
* Stages of Curriculum Implementation and How to Provide Support at Every Stage
Institute Target Audience: teacher leaders, principals, site leaders, and district leaders from small schools or rural school districts. Participants should attend in school or district teams.
Registration Fee: $275 Level 1 ASDN member districts / $475 Level 2
University Credit: One optional 500-level credit will be available for attending and interacting in the live conference sessions, and completing a follow-up action plan for the fall (Tuition: $125).
Schedule At A Glance
WEDNESDAY
9:00-10:15 – Keynote Instructional Leadership: Creating Practice Out of Theory – Dr. Peter DeWitt
10:30-12:00 – Breakout Session AM
12:00-1:00 – Lunch
1:00-2:30 – Keynote and Q&A Rebound: Rethinking, Rebuilding, and Accelerating Learning – Dr. John Hattie
2:30 – 3:30 – Team Time (School or District)
THURSDAY
9:00-10:15 – Keynote Getting Literacy Right– Lexie Domaradzki
10:30-11:45 – Breakout Session AM
11:45-12:45 – Lunch
12:45- 2:00 Breakout Session PM
2:00 – 3:30 – Team Time (School or District)
FRIDAY
9:00-10:15 – Keynote and Whole Group Session Rebound: Rebuilding Agency, Accelerating Learning Recovery, and Rethinking Schools – Part 1 – Dr. Nancy Frey
10:30-12:00 – Keynote and Whole Group Session Rebound: Rebuilding Agency, Accelerating Learning Recovery, and Rethinking Schools – Part 2 – Dr. Nancy Frey
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 3:30 Team Time (School or District)
Partial Support from the Rural Alaska Gear Up Program
