Free Workshops to Provide Opportunities for California’s Educators to Learn, Network, and Collaborate
WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Future Ready Schools® (FRS)—led by the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed)—announced two free workshops in December that will bring together educators from across California to learn how to create more engaging learning environments for students. Supported by Discovery Education, a leading provider of digital content and professional development for K–12 classrooms worldwide, the workshops will provide California’s school and district leaders with the opportunity to learn from each other and nationally recognized education experts on how to leverage technology to personalize learning for students, engage teachers, and improve student learning outcomes.
“Through these workshops, FRS crowd-sources expertise and connects similarly situated individuals within schools and districts in California who share skills and face similar challenges,” said Bob Wise, All4Ed President and former governor of West Virginia. “The end result is a powerful network of passionate educators who are maximizing student-centered learning opportunities and leveraging technology to prepare students for success in college, a career, and citizenship.”
Scheduled for December 6 in Rancho Cucamonga and December 7 in Woodland, these workshops will help educators create systemic action plans for student-centered, personalized learning that leverage the power of technology while considering a district’s unique challenges and strengths. By developing these plans prior to purchasing additional technology, educators can ensure a smoother implementation and better integration with existing efforts to improve teaching and learning.
“In the rush to purchase the latest device, some districts skip over the vision and planning steps—sometimes resulting in devices being left on the shelves or awkward fits into instruction,” said Wise. “These FRS workshops will help California’s school and school district leaders plan and strategize while also connecting them with a support network of individuals who have overcome—or are facing—the same challenges they are.”
During the workshops, school district leaders will examine curriculum, instruction, and assessment; personalized professional learning; innovative learning spaces; community partnerships, and other research-based areas. Leaders will receive free tools and resources to empower them to transform their schools into ones that better prepare students for the world they face tomorrow.
The workshops are based on the FRS framework and include differentiated sessions for district team members, along with extensive training for FRS project managers on the FRS Interactive Planning Dashboard, a free online tool that serves more than 1,000 school districts and 15,000 educators. Through the dashboard, school district leadership teams develop plans to use technology effectively and improve learning outcomes. Meanwhile, the FRS five-step planning process, which is aligned with Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act, allows district leaders to set a vision for student learning, assess their needs, identify gaps, obtain strategies, and plan and track their progress over time. This process begins before districts invest valuable resources to purchase laptops, tablets, and other technological devices.
As an additional feature, the two California workshops also will demonstrate the alignment between the FRS planning process and California’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). LCAP is a three-year, district-level plan that describes a school district’s key goals for students, as well as the actions, services, and expenditures necessary to meet the goals while also addressing state and local priorities.
A project of All4Ed, FRS helps school districts develop the human and technological capacity needed to personalize student learning and prepare students for college, a career, and citizenship. Over the last three years, 3,200 school district superintendents—representing more than 19 million students—have signed the Future Ready District Pledge, committing to personalize learning by tailoring instruction to students’ strengths and needs while engaging them in challenging, standards-based academic content, with the help of effective digital learning strategies.
To learn more about the FRS workshops, visit https://futureready.org/events/caworkshops/.
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The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring all students, particularly those underperforming and those historically underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. all4ed.org
Future Ready Schools® (FRS) is a bold effort to maximize digital learning opportunities and help school districts move quickly toward preparing students for success in college, a career, and citizenship. FRS provides districts with resources and support to ensure that local technology and digital learning plans align with instructional best practices, are implemented by highly trained teachers, and lead to personalized learning experiences for all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved communities. FRS is led by the Alliance for Excellent Education alongside a vast coalition of organizations. FutureReady.org
About Discovery Education
As the global leader in standards-based digital content for K–12 classrooms worldwide, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional learning, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the United Kingdom, and more than 50 countries around the globe. Inspired by the global media company Discovery Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. DiscoveryEducation.com
