Literacy in a Changing World
2020-05-21 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Boise)

Collaborative Leadership to Support Teachers and Students During Remote Learning
2020-05-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Online Webinar
Now, more than ever, instructional coaches and technology leaders are collaborating to provide leadership and support to teachers and students learning from home. These Future Ready Schools® (FRS) leaders believe that all students deserve equitable access to high-quality digital resources and innovative learning environments. Working together, they assess, rethink, and redesign traditional learning to support remote learning.
In this webinar, our guests will share their stories about how their collaborative partnerships support teachers, students, and the community during these unprecedented times. They will share the successes and challenges they encountered as they quickly shifted instruction from a traditional school building to home environment. They also will discuss how they are planning for the start of the next school year with the possibility of continued social distancing requirements.
Guests

Jeremy Wood, Senior Network Manager, Newburgh Enlarged City School District (NY)
Kyle Pace, Director of Technology, Grain Valley Schools (MO) (@kylepace)
Eujon Anderson, Technology Director, Troy City Schools (AL)
Amy Storer, Instructional Coach, Montgomery Independent School District (TX) (@techamys)
Brianna Hodges, Future Ready Schools® Instructional Coaches Advisor, Alliance for Excellent Education (moderator) (@bhodgesEDU)

Be sure to submit any questions you may have when you register so the panelists will have an opportunity to address them.

Charter Conversations: Dr. Marco Clark
2020-05-22 10:00 - 11:00 | Online Webinar
This Founder & CEO’s tough love approach to inspiring his Washington D.C. students to academic achievement earned him the reputation for being America’s Toughest Principal. He brings his passionate and purposeful guidance to us on how to “Man the Block” in every situation.

Charter Conversations: Paul Morrissey
2020-05-29 10:00 - 11:00 | Online Webinar
The Founder & Director of San Antonio’s successful Compass Rose Academy pushes for excellence by raising the bar on education. His “high expectations, productive struggle, and fanatical support” pillars lift the students and staff to reach that bar. He shares how those guideposts have served his organization during the shift to an online educational landscape.

Planning Instruction for the Fall in the Wake of COVID-19
2020-06-02 12:30 - 13:30 | Online Webinar
Co-hosted with the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) and the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), this webinar will focus on sharing accessible, intentional, and equity-centered instructional practices as Washington leaders plan for a range of back-to-school scenarios.
Date: June 2, 2020
Time: 11:30-12:30 pm Pacific
Register here
We will be joined by:

Dr. Ivan Duran, Superintendent of Bellevue School District, which serves over 20,000 students
Janel Keating Hambly, Superintendent of White River School District, which serves over 4,100 students
Abby Cedano, Chief Academic Officer of Impact Public Schools, which serves over 260 students and is a growing network of schools

School leaders will share:

How they are planning to deliver on the state superintendent’s guiding principles for continuous learning
How they are taking this opportunity to reimagine the virtual and in-person student and teacher experience, including

providing social-emotional learning and mentoring supports
assessing and addressing learning loss through targeted small group instruction
engaging staff in meaningful summer PD and on-going instructional coaching

This webinar will build on ‘Distance Learning During COVID-19: What We Can Learn from Washington Charters’, a webinar co-hosted by CRPE and WA Charters featuring K-12 approaches to distance learning during COVID-19.

Charter Conversations: Matt Strong & Monica White
2020-06-05 10:00 - 11:00 | Online Webinar
The Founders of a game-changing technical education academy in Idaho infuse into their students a deep belief in second chances, the importance of social-emotional development, and how to take ownership of their lives as the critical pathway to success. They will share how to utilize those skills during times of crisis.

Practical Application of Virtual Education— Innovation Strategies, Best Practices, Testimonials
2020-06-09 12:30 - 14:00 | Online Webinar
Please join U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Frank Brogan, as he leads a panel discussion on the practical application of virtual learning with education practitioners across the country. This forum will provide information and resources to establish or develop innovative virtual learning capabilities in preparation for successful distance learning in the future. This event aims to address experiences from different people who, like many of you, have found themselves searching for direction and comradery in this new reality. You must RSVP to join the forum and space is limited. Please register only if you are able to join the forum. This event is closed to the press.

Building Strong School-to-Community Partnerships to Support Student-Centered Learning
2020-06-10 12:00 - 13:00 | Online Webinar
Strong family-school-community partnerships are critical when transitioning to student-centered learning. The relationship between the school and the community can strengthen, support, and transform the learning process for students. Through the Future Ready Schools®(FRS) framework, specifically the community partnerships gear, schools and districts are encouraged to create formal and informal connections with families, local businesses, and organizations to advance the development of their student-centered learning initiative. It is important for schools to embrace their role as a pivotal component of the community and develop a shared vision with all stakeholders, including partners that operate outside of the school walls. During this time when student learning is remote, these relationships are even more important as students often do not have the same resources at home as they do when in school. Now is the time to revive community partnerships to play a more active role in the education of students.
In this webinar, our guests Dr. Anthony Jackson and Michael Abensour will share two perspectives on creating and participating in school-to-community partnerships for student-centered learning, specifically as they relate to providing greater access to learning resources. From developing interest to sustaining relationships, these leaders will describe what it takes to generate buy-in from educators and the community to work toward a mutual goal.
Guests will discuss the following topics:

the importance of school-to-community partnerships;
the role of community organizations in addressing digital equity;
integrated student services and learning environments outside of school;
generating buy-in among local nonprofit organizations and businesses; and
creating sustainable relationships with families and communities.

Guests

Anthony Jackson, EdD, Superintendent, Vance County Schools (NC)
Michael Abensour, Executive Director, Kramden Institute (@Kramden)
Avril Smart Goggans, PhD, Research and Engagement Manager for Future Ready Schools®, Alliance for Excellent Education (moderator) (@DrAvrilSmart)

This webinar is a great opportunity to learn from the expertise of leaders who successfully navigate their roles to support partnerships with schools and families.

Parents and Teachers Speak Out on Learning During COVID-19
2021-06-17 15:00 - 16:00
As part of its $22 million Communities of Excellence federal Charter School Program (CSP) grant, Bluum promised to engage parents and stakeholders through focus groups and surveys over the 5-year grant term.
To lead this work we contracted with the highly-respected FDR Group to give “voice to the stakeholders and communities where charter schools have opened or expanded under the CSP grant.” We wanted to know things like how did the school leaders hold up according to teachers? Will parents be bringing their kids back next year? Have teachers been so overwhelmed that they’re leaving the profession? Are kids learning?
Between March 31 and May 4, 2021, the FDR Group surveyed 322 teachers and 1,489 parents across 12 CSP funded public charter schools in Idaho. Collectively, these schools enrolled 6,177 students in 2021, and they are located across the state in rural, suburban and urban communities.
As both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years were impacted by COVID-19, and subsequent school closures, the finding for this period include questions around COVID-19 and the response of the schools to it.
Join us for an in-depth look at the findings from the FDR Group, some of which include:

About a quarter of parents think the pandemic has had a major impact on their child’s emotional well-being and most think there would be at least a moderate benefit to some counseling.
75% of parents report that “My child is far more likely to lose focus when learning virtually.”
61% of parents say that when COVID-19 subsides, “it would be best for schools to restore the policies and teaching methods of the past as quickly as possible;” only 26% say “it would be best for schools to keep many of the new policies and teaching methods they adopted during the pandemic.”
Among those who taught virtually this year, 49% described the professional development that was provided by their school on teaching in a virtual environment as a “crash course,” 36% described it as “thorough, with ongoing support and resources throughout the school year.”
About one in three teachers think a summer school program to help students who need to catch up on lost learning due to COVID-19 is “critically needed” (35%); 45% say “it would be nice to offer,” but not “critical,” and 13% say “it would be nice to offer, but not critical,” and 13% say “it is unnecessary.”
Just 42% of teachers agree with the statement, “Too many of my students will have a hard time catching up when things get back to normal” (10% agree strongly, 32% agree somewhat).

ABOUT FDR GROUP
Over the last seven years the FDR Group has conducted more than 15 focus groups with parents and community members, as well as dozens of individual interviews with charter school leaders and other community leaders across Idaho. Their work extends beyond Bluum in Idaho to include working with Idaho Ed News on their “People’s Perspective” and the “Parents Perspective.” The FDR Group has also worked with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation on a variety of projects.

Together Teacher: Create a Personal Organization System
2021-11-10 16:00 - 18:15
Teachers are coping with unprecedented pressure and strain this year. There is so much to keep organized and it can be hard to manage tasks and time so that they can maintain some balance in their lives. Because of this, Bluum and Teach for America Idaho are partnering to provide teachers with training on how to manage it all and still have a life outside of work. This virtual training is free of charge for your teachers as a thank you for all they do. We hope it can help ease the burden they are carrying.
