McREL eNews | Summer PD & Grant Opportunities; New Peer Coaching Book

From today’s inbox on a slower blogging day…

May 2018 Help your professional practice flourish Looking for ways to make the most of your end-of-year funds? Join us in Denver this year for dynamic PD sessions on effective instructional and leadership practices. In our engaging, active learning sessions, you’ll learn new ways to develop challenging, consistent, engaging, and intentional instruction that ensures success for all students in every classroom! “McREL training transformed my teaching”―Missouri teacher “Excellent and practical information”―Kansas administrator “The training was of the highest quality”―Texas administrator VIEW ALL EVENTS Can’t make it to Denver? Then be sure to catch our upcoming webinars and conference presentations (listed below), and consider partnering with McREL on grants to fund valuable education improvement projects for your school or district. In this issue of eNews, we also highlight a free downloadable paper on how brain science can inform best timing for using various instructional strategies. Professional Learning Events Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works Denver, Colorado Get dozens of practical instructional tools aligned with McREL’s renowned Classroom Instruction That Works strategies and framework, and practice using them with feedback and coaching from co-author Cheryl Abla. June 13–14 October 18–19 Helping English Language Learners Flourish Denver, Colorado This session for general education teachers and ELL specialists alike will show you how to apply effective, research-based instructional strategies to the five stages of language acquisition and develop students’ English language fluency during subject-matter instruction. Presented by Jane Hill, co-author of Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners. June 18–19 School Leadership That Works: Evidence-Based Strategies for Sharpening Instructional Focus, Managing Change Processes, and Creating Shared Vision Denver, Colorado Discover the leadership responsibilities that are most strongly connected to student achievement and learn practical strategies to develop a purposeful, positive school community, initiate and manage change within your school, and choose the right focus for your school’s improvement initiatives. June 20–22 District Leadership That Works:Connecting Strategic Vision, Action, and Results Across Your System Denver, Colorado A retreat-style strategic session on the benefits of applying high-reliability system principles to education systems. Analyze the state of your district’s systems and begin to map steps to improve instructional quality and consistency in your schools. June 26–28 Unleashing Student Curiosity to Learn Denver, Colorado Explore how curiosity can be sparked and sustained within your students, helping them become engaged, motivated, self-directed learners who “own” their educational journeys. Get tools, tips, and ideas for using curiosity to create challenging learning tasks, provide motivating feedback, use collaborative learning groups, and guide students to deeper levels of understanding and application. July 10–11 October 25–26 Managing Change:Strategies for Starting and Sustaining New Policies, Practices, and Processes Denver, Colorado Change is constant in schools: Every new program, policy, or procedure comes with the need to implement and manage change well. Attend this research- and evidence-based session to learn the keys to helping your school team not just survive change, but thrive in it. July 12–13 October 11–12 Instructional Coaching That Works Denver, Colorado Learn a more effective approach to instructional coaching, focused on strengths-based peer coaching that brings teachers together to build on bright spots and grow as peers and professionals. You’ll leave knowing how to create belief among your school team that personal and collective growth is possible, and how to use data to drive coaching decisions that improve outcomes that matter to all. July 17–18 September 20–21 Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation: A Guided Pathway for Success Denver, Colorado Learn why curiosity is an important lever for learning and how to cultivate it in teachers, leaders, and learners using McREL’s Curiosity Works™ approach. You’ll leave understanding our inside-out, curiosity-driven approach to school improvement that focuses on innovation, and how to identify and take action on high-leverage strategies for success. July 19–20 September 27–28 Classroom Instruction That Works Authorized Facilitator Training Denver, Colorado Attend our Classroom Instruction That Works facilitator training session to deepen your understanding of the nine categories of effective, research-based instructional strategies and learn how to deliver high-quality CITW workshops yourself to educators in your school district or education service agency area (BOCES, ESCs, ESUs, RESAs, etc.) for one year. Annual reauthorization is available. August 6–9 Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works:Classroom-Ready Techniques for Increasing Student Achievement October 16 | Covina, California November 1 | Fairfield, California In these special one-day sessions with co-author Cheryl Abla, you’ll learn and practice using a variety of practical instructional tools from Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works(2018) that can help you create a quality learning environment and help your students develop understanding and extend and apply their knowledge. October 16 November 1 Webinar Engaging Every Learner with Curiosity May 22 | 1:00–3:00 p.m. (MDT) ASCD members-only webinar How do we help kids become curious? In the same way that we help ourselves, as adults, be curious: through inquiry-based learning. In this ASCD webinar presented by McREL president and CEO Bryan Goodwin, you’ll learn about the power of curiosity and how to unleash it in both students and teachers. You’ll receive practical strategies and tools you can use right away to encourage curiosity―in ways big and small―in your school by asking better questions, looking for hidden “bright spots,” and helping everyone rekindle curiosity, wonder, and joy in teaching and learning. In so doing, get unstuck from old ways of thinking or acting to raise the achievement of all students. REGISTER FOR WEBINAR Conferences & Sessions GlobalMindED National Conference June 9–11 | Denver, Colorado Join McREL and hundreds of educators and students for this conference on innovative approaches to educational change. CONFERENCE INFO McREL Session Quality, Continuous Professional Development: Student-Centered Design Panel Moderator: Bryan Goodwin, McREL president & CEO Special Offer GlobalMindED is offering McREL clients, friends, and partners a discounted conference rate of $295. DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION NASSP National Principals Conference July 11–13 | Chicago, Illinois How do we create learning environments that unleash student curiosity? It starts with educators. Join McREL staff at the NASSP National Principals Conference in Chicago. McREL Session Curiosity Works: Leveraging Bright Spots for Curiously Good School Improvement Presenter: Kristin Rouleau, McREL senior director of learning services & innovation Date: July 13 Time & Location: TBA CONFERENCE INFO/REGISTRATION Weeklong Twitter Chats Looking to grow your professional learning network? Join us for our weeklong Twitter slow chats, where participants share best practices, strategies, and common (or uncommon) struggles and successes. Follow us on Twitter and use the hashtag #McRELchat to share your thoughts and ideas with other educators. May 21–27 | Peer observation How often do you engage in peer observation in the classroom? May 28–June 3 | End-of-year reflection How do you help students reflect on their learning from the year? June 4–10 | Book study survey If we did a McREL book study in mid-July, which McREL book would you like to discuss? June 11–17 | Managing change How do you help your stakeholders thrive in a changing environment? Visit our Events page or contact McREL to learn more about other upcoming conferences and events. New from McREL DOWNLOAD WHITE PAPER FREE white paper | Student Learning That Works: How Brain Science Informs a Student Learning Model Surgeons learn about the body before operating. So why don’t more teachers learn about the brain before educating? In this free white paper, McREL president and CEO Bryan Goodwin makes the case for incorporating brain science into the practice of teaching. Knowing how memory works can suggest classroom tactics that aid the acquisition and recall of information, he says. Furthermore, adopting a model for learning, rather than relying solely on the increasingly common (and increasingly detailed) instructional framework, can help teachers layer innovation upon tradition. Unleashing Curiosity Quick Guides NEW! Unleashing Curiosity with Dynamic Cooperation Cooperative learning is a flexible, powerful strategy to enhance student curiosity with tasks that emphasize collaboration while maintaining individual accountability for learning. This 8-page guide presents strategies for collaborative classroom learning, helping students develop critical skills for the 21st-century workplace. OTHER QUICK GUIDES Unleashing Curiosity by Helping Students Commit to Mastery Unleashing Curiosity with Feedback That Motivates Unleashing Curiosity with Challenging Learning Tasks BUY THE GUIDES BUY THE BOOK NEW! | Unstuck: How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Your School What happens when your school or district performance gets stuck on a plateau, despite your team’s best efforts to enact your improvement plans and mandates? Unstuck shows how one school system embraced student and educator curiosity as a catalyst for transformation and developed a refreshing—and successful—new approach to school improvement, one you can apply to your own school or system to inspire better staff engagement and student achievement. Co-published with ASCD. Grant Partnership Opportunities With more than 50 years of research and evaluation experience, McREL can deliver affordable, high quality, and timely evaluation services for your grant-funded projects! Contact us today to discuss your grant application needs. If you are interested in talking with a member of our Research, Evaluation, and Technical Assistance team about a potential partnership on any of these grants or others you are considering, please contact McREL’s chief program officer, Robin Jarvis. CONTACT ROBIN JARVIS Education Innovation and Research Program | Early-phase Grants, Mid-phase Grants, and Expansion Grants The U.S. Department of Education’s Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant program, the successor to the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program, is designed to generate and validate solutions to persistent educational challenges, supporting the expansion of effective solutions to serve substantially larger numbers of students. Proposals for this grant program are due on June 5, 2018. McREL has collaborated on several i3 grants. Our evaluation plan for the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services’ i3 grant in 2014 received a near-perfect reviewer score of 14.5/15 average across all reviewers. Additionally, we received a score of 100.33/100 (due to bonus points) from reviewers of our the FY2015 i3 grant, which we primed with the University of Southern California. As a successful i3 grantee, we are very familiar with the requirements of the current EIR and would be interested in talking about partnering with you for research and evaluation services for your EIR proposals. LEARN MORE Teacher Quality Partnerships Grants The U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Grant Program’s goals are multifaceted. It aims to 1) improve student achievement; 2) raise the quality of prospective and new teachers by improving their preparation and enhancing professional development activities; 3) hold teacher education programs at institutions of higher education accountable for ensuring their students meet applicable state certifications and licensure requirements; and 4) recruit highly qualified individuals, including minorities and individuals from other occupations, into the teaching force. Applications for the TQP program are due by June 26, 2018. McREL staff have the requisite knowledge and skills needed to assist you in articulating your ideas when developing an evaluation plan for this grant program, an application requirement. Since 2007, we have successfully evaluated three large-scale Teacher Quality Enhancement and TQP projects in Colorado, Kentucky, and Virginia. LEARN MORE Client Testimonial “The cohesiveness and alignment between Balanced Leadership and CITW allow leaders to intently lead with instruction at the forefront of planning, development, and support. Thank you for bringing district and campus leaders together with our growing teachers.” –Chastity Jeff, Project Manager, ESC Region 18–The Texas Center for Educator Excellence CONNECT WITH McREL FOLLOW McREL on SOCIAL MEDIA  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ JOIN OUR MAILING LIST QUICK LINKS Bookstore | Newsroom | Careers | Events | Free Resources WE’RE HIRING! We are seeking candidates for several research positions in our Denver and Honolulu offices. Our research and evaluation teams give our clients and partners a big-picture view of existing improvement initiatives to determine what’s working, what’s not, and what to do next. We also offer support and guidance for managing systemic change, capacity-building, and proposal development, and we provide independent evaluation of grant-funded programs. VISIT CAREERS PAGE McREL PARTNERS REL Pacific Website | Twitter North Central Comprehensive Center Website | Twitter CONTACT US McREL International P 800.858.6830 | F 303.337.3005 info@mcrel.org | www.mcrel.org 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 500 Denver, CO 80237 Copyright © 2018, McREL International. All rights reserved.

McREL International | 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80237

How All Students Can Have Access To Great Charter Schools

Disappointed that a REL – a federal agency designated to focus on evidence-based, research-based practices – is promoting the poor public policy of charter schools (when the research has consistently shown the exact opposite).

May 2018

IN THIS ISSUE  Math Standards  Positive School Communities  ELLs

SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS, & STATE EDUCATION SYSTEMSPowerful Four Domains Framework Aims to Spark Rapid School Improvement The Center on School Turnaround’s four domains framework identifies key focus areas that research has shown to be central to rapid, significant, and sustainable school improvement. A new R&D Alert Online article shows how states are using the framework to build capacity and enhance their turnaround efforts. Learn More   PROFESSIONAL LEARNINGRegister Now for Summer Professional Learning Whether you’re modeling reading strategies for college freshmen, improving instruction for English learner students with disabilities, or engaging science students by putting a new twist on the classic properties of matter, WestEd services build your knowledge and skills, and present strategies designed to help all learners succeed. Register   SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, & MATHEMATICSResearch Highlights K–8 School Districts Implementing New Math Standards In light of new math standards, how are school districts utilizing teacher coaches? How can districts support principals as instructional leaders? How can districts build support for math students with disabilities? Download new research reports from WestEd’s Math in Common initiative. Math Coaches in the Math in Common Community of Practice Developing Principals’ Instructional Leadership Skills Supports for Math Students with Disabilities SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS, & STATE EDUCATION SYSTEMSState K–12 Funding Systems: Flexibility, Equity, and Transparency California began to revolutionize its school funding system with the passage of the Local Control Funding Formula. The history of how this education reform came about offers valuable lessons for policymakers, administrators, educators, and advocates pursuing a more equitable and transparent K–12 funding system. Learn More   SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS, & STATE EDUCATION SYSTEMSHigh-Performing Charter Schools: Three Strategies for Equitable Access High-quality charter schools aren’t equally accessible to all families. This new brief explores strategies for schools and districts, working individually and together, to make families aware of high-quality charter schools and ease their enrollment, irrespective of where students live, their socioeconomic status, or educational needs. Learn More   HEALTH, SAFETY, & WELL-BEINGThe School Climate and Wellness Partnership: Building Positive School Climate for Students and Staff Cultivating and sustaining a positive school climate that provides the necessary conditions for learning and teaching can be challenging. WestEd’s School Climate and Wellness Partnership is a service designed to help educators meet that challenge. Learn More   ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERSEnglish Learners with Disabilities Summer Institutes: Challenges, Strategies, and Tools for Inclusive Schools In these two-day institutes held in Atlanta, Sacramento, and Boston, teachers and teacher educators learn about the unique needs of English learner students with disabilities and how to incorporate effective, research-based instructional strategies into daily instructional planning. Register   SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS, & STATE EDUCATION SYSTEMSContinuous Improvement in Practice Calls for continuous improvement commonly arise in discussions about school improvement, but what does continuous improvement look like in practice? This brief helps to define the term and identifies several distinguishing characteristics of organizations that are engaged in the process. Learn More   Learning and Teaching Geometry: Video Cases for Mathematics Professional Development, Grades 6–12 30% Discount This robust multimedia resource provides everything facilitators need for leading professional learning on teaching mathematical similarity based on geometric transformations. Purchase   Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center: Partnering with States to Achieve Student Success The Mid-Atlantic Comprehensive Center (MACC@WestEd) partners with states to grow their capacity to implement state-level initiatives and support district- and school-level efforts intended to improve education outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, and raise the quality of instruction. Learn More   Follow Us on Social Media WestEd is on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Connect with us to stay informed about our research, resources, services, events, and career opportunities. WestEd at Events Join us at national and local events. Browse our up-to-date calendar!

Visit us online at WestEd.org Subscribe from this list. Copyright © 2018 WestEd. All rights reserved.  WestEd, 730 Harrison Street, San Francisco, CA 94107

REL Southeast Director’s Email—May 2018

A newsletter from one of the RELs.

May 2018 View this email in your browser

Greetings from the REL Southeast! This month I am excited to share an update from one of our new alliances this REL cycle, the Florida Career Readiness Research Alliance. Membership for this alliance includes educators involved in state, district, and school leadership, school counseling, career and technical education, adult education, educational nonprofit leadership, and rural district consortia from across Florida. This alliance has been involved in two successful projects including the development and implementation of training for evidence-based practices in career counseling and literacy strategies for adult educators as detailed in the alliance update below. We look forward to sharing more evidence-based products and projects with you in the future and thank you for helping to improve education in the Southeast. Dr. Barbara Foorman Director, REL Southeast Partnership Spotlight: Florida Career Readiness Research Alliance Most careers in the 21st century require workers to gain skills and education beyond levels currently attained by many secondary students. The Florida Career Readiness Research Alliance was formed to address member interests in increasing high school graduation rates, enhancing career counseling for secondary students, and determining how industry certifications may benefit students in their adult careers, particularly for rural students. The long-term goal of the Florida Career Readiness Research Alliance is to use research and data to plan, support, and implement initiatives that will improve graduation rates, workplace learning experiences, and rigor in Florida Career and Technical Education programs. The alliance plans to meet this goal through determining and sharing evidence-based practices in career readiness and adult education through training, coaching, and technical support initiatives with educators across the state of Florida.

Training on Florida Career Counseling in Rural Schools This alliance activity provides training for stakeholders so that they may plan and implement evidence-based practices for career guidance systems, including career portfolios, through a review of best practices in the development and implementation of these systems as described through a thorough literature review. The training has been shared with educators in Leon County, the Heartland Education Consortium (HEC), the Northeast Florida Education Consortium (NEFEC), and the Panhandle Area Education Consortium (PAEC.) Follow up meetings and trainings have been delivered for district and school administrators, school counselors, and career and technical educators serving rural areas across the state. The infographic, Preparing a Career-Ready Student, was also created and shared. At alliance member request,  a brief overview video has been developed to accompany the training and a proposed self-study guide on this topic. Ask A REL Ask A REL is a collaborative reference desk service provided by the 10 regional educational laboratories (REL) that by design, functions much in the same way as a technical reference library. It provides references, referrals, and brief responses in the form of citations on research-based education questions. To submit your question to Ask A REL, click here. Explore Ask A REL responses here. Training for Evidence-Based Literacy Strategies for Adult Educators Based on a request from alliance members, the REL Southeast has developed and is delivering training for evidence-based literacy strategies for adult educators. This training is being provided regionally across the state from Miami to the Florida panhandle. Participants are learning how to utilize these strategies for adults in their local and regional settings. Participants are utilizing the strategies with their peers and discussing the areas shown from the research to be important to the implementation of adult literacy interventions. In addition, follow-up coaching on how to further support training participants has been developed and delivery is underway. These coaching efforts have led to a proposed self-study guide on adult education academic interventions. Video Spotlight: Preparing a Career-Ready Student Career development research and theory suggest that growth in distinct areas is required to help adolescents develop strategically planned, adaptive, and proactive approaches to their post-high school transitions. This video shares important aspects of preparing a career-ready student including an explanation as to the critical nature of career readiness practices and testimonials of practical applications.

You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or provided your information at a REL Southeast sponsored event. Our mailing address is: REL Southeast at Florida State University 2010 Levy Avenue Suite 100 Tallahassee, FL 32310

McREL eNews | Flip The Script On Improvement Efforts

Also from yesterday’s inbox…

April 2018 Flip the script on improvement efforts & unleash your professional curiosity Ready to push past traditional improvement plans and really innovate your school’s instructional and leadership practices? Join us in Denver this year for dynamic PD sessions on research-based leadership practices that will spark your professional curiosity and help transform your school from the inside out by building on your existing bright spots. McREL’s PD for instruction will help you learn how to create dynamic, engaging classroom environments and use highly effective instructional tools and practices that positively influence student achievement and support all learners, including English language learners. VIEW ALL EVENTS New from McREL DOWNLOAD WHITE PAPER FREE white paper | Student Learning That Works: How Brain Science Informs a Student Learning Model Surgeons learn about the body before operating. So why don’t more teachers learn about the brain before educating? In this free white paper, McREL president and CEO Bryan Goodwin makes the case for incorporating brain science into the practice of teaching. Knowing how memory works can suggest classroom tactics that aid the acquisition and recall of information, he says. Furthermore, adopting a model for learning, rather than relying solely on the increasingly common (and increasingly detailed) instructional framework, can help teachers layer innovation upon tradition. Unleashing Curiosity Quick Guides NEW! Unleashing Curiosity with Dynamic Cooperation Cooperative learning is a flexible, powerful strategy to enhance student curiosity with tasks that emphasize collaboration while maintaining individual accountability for learning. This 8-page guide presents strategies for collaborative classroom learning, helping students develop critical skills for the 21st-century workplace. OTHER QUICK GUIDES Unleashing Curiosity by Helping Students Commit to Mastery Unleashing Curiosity with Feedback That Motivates Unleashing Curiosity with Challenging Learning Tasks BUY THE GUIDES BUY THE BOOK NEW! | Curiosity Works: A Guidebook for Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation Curiosity Works: A Guidebook for Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation will stretch your thinking and inspire your school team to embrace change for growth and innovation, not just individually as school leaders and educators, but as an entire community. Learn why curiosity is an important lever for learning and how to cultivate it in teachers, leaders, and learners using the five improvement and innovation pathways in McREL’s Curiosity Works™ approach. Professional Learning Events Join us in Denver for dynamic professional learning sessions that dig deep into research-based practices that spark curiosity, influence achievement, and help transform your teaching and leading, plus get extended online coaching during the 2018–19 school year. Registrants also receive 20% off the suggested book or guide for each event in the McREL Bookstore. Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works Academy Learn 50+ practical instructional tools from Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works (2018). Aligned with McREL’s renowned Classroom Instruction That Works strategies and framework, this two-day academy is an intensive learning, working, and planning session. Participants will receive a personal copy of Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works. June 13-14 October 18–19 Helping English Language Learners Flourish Teachers—general education and ELL specialists—will learn how to apply effective research-based instructional strategies to the five stages of language acquisition and develop students’ English language fluency during subject-matter instruction. Participants will receive a personal copy of Classroom Instruction That Works with English Language Learners. June 18–19 School Leadership That Works: Evidence-Based Strategies for Sharpening Instructional Focus, Managing Change Processes, and Creating Shared Vision Discover the leadership responsibilities that are most strongly connected to student achievement and learn practical strategies to develop a purposeful, positive school community, initiate and manage change within your school, and choose the right focus for your school’s improvement initiatives. June 20–22 District Leadership That Works: Connecting Strategic Vision, Action, and Results Across Your System Learn the principles of high-reliability systems and the actions used in health care, aviation, and other complex industries, and how these principles can be effectively applied to education systems. Determine the current state of your district’s systems and begin to map steps toward improving instructional quality and reducing variability within and among your schools. June 26–28 Unleashing Student Curiosity to Learn Explore why and how curiosity can be sparked and sustained within your students, helping them become engaged, motivated, self-directed learners who “own” their educational journeys. Get tools, tips, and ideas for creating challenging learning tasks and higher-order questions that push students to deeper levels of content understanding and application. July 10–11 October 25–26 Managing Change: Evidence-Based Strategies for Starting and Sustaining New Policies, Practices, and Processes Change is constant in schools: Every new program, policy, or procedure comes with the need to implement and manage change well. Attend this research- and evidence-based session to learn the keys to helping your school team not just survive change, but thrive in it. July 12–13 October 11–12 Instructional Coaching That Works Learn a new, more effective approach to instructional coaching that is focused on “inside-out,” strengths-based peer coaching that brings small teams of teachers together, building on bright spots while learning and growing as peers and professionals. You’ll leave this session knowing how to create belief among your school team that personal and collective growth is possible, and how to use data to drive coaching decisions that improve outcomes that matter to all. July 17–18 September 20–21 How to Move Your School from Improvement to Innovation: A Guided Pathway for Success Learn why curiosity is an important lever for learning and how to cultivate it in teachers, leaders, and learners using the five improvement and innovation pathways in McREL’s Curiosity Works™ approach. You’ll leave this two-day session with an understanding of our inside-out, curiosity-driven approach to school improvement that focuses on innovation, and how to identify high-leverage strategies for action. You’ll also gain an understanding of the importance of monitoring change, both for the organization and for individuals. July 19–20 September 27–28 Webinars Supporting Micronesian Students in Hawai’i Through Family and Community Engagement April 26 | 3:00 p.m. (HST) Join REL Pacific for a free, 90-minute webinar to learn about the opportunities and challenges related to engaging Micronesian migrant families in their students’ education in Hawai’i, along with approaches to strengthening collaborations among families, schools, and community partners. Participants will learn from a national expert on family engagement, alongside a panel of Pacific-based partners who currently focus on supporting Micronesian students in Hawai’i schools. Webinar panelists and participants will examine research-based promising practices for effective family engagement through the lens of multiculturalism and consider recommendations for future work in this area. REGISTER FOR WEBINAR Engaging Every Learner with Curiosity May 22 | 1:00–3:00 p.m. (MDT) How do we help kids become curious? In the same way that we help ourselves, as adults, be curious: through inquiry-based learning. In this ASCD webinar presented by McREL President and CEO Bryan Goodwin, you’ll learn about the power of curiosity and how to unleash it in both students and teachers. You’ll receive practical strategies and tools you can use right away to encourage curiosity―in ways big and small―in your school by asking better questions, looking for hidden “bright spots,” and helping everyone rekindle curiosity, wonder, and joy in teaching and learning. In so doing, get unstuck from old ways of thinking or acting to raise the achievement of all students. MARK YOUR CALENDAR―REGISTRATION COMING SOON! Conferences & Sessions GlobalMindED National Conference June 9–11 | Denver, Colorado Join McREL and hundreds of educators and students for this conference on innovative approaches to educational change. CONFERENCE INFO McREL Session Quality, Continuous Professional Development: Student-Centered Design Panel Moderator: Bryan Goodwin, McREL President & CEO Special Offer GlobalMindED is offering McREL clients, friends, and partners a discounted conference rate of $295. DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION Weeklong Twitter Chats Looking to grow your professional learning network? Join us for our weeklong Twitter slow chats, where participants share best practices, strategies, and common (or uncommon) struggles and successes. Follow us on Twitter and use the hashtag #McRELchat to share your thoughts and ideas with other educators. April 23–29 | Impact of leadership How would a joyful leader have an impact on your school or district? April 30–May 6 | Rallying stakeholders How do you rally your stakeholders behind a collective vision? May 7–13 | Teacher appreciation What makes you feel appreciated by students, parents, leadership, and your colleagues? May 14–20 | Parent-school relationship How do you build a positive parent-school relationship? Visit our Events page or contact McREL to learn more about other upcoming conferences and events. Grant Partnership Opportunities Two new grant opportunities are now available through the U.S. Department of Education, and one National Science Foundation grant proposal deadline is fast approaching. If you are interested in talking with a member of our Research, Evaluation, and Technical Assistance team about a potential partnership on any of these grants or others you are considering, please contact McREL’s Chief Program Officer, Robin Jarvis. CONTACT ROBIN JARVIS National Science Foundation | Computer Science for All Grant Program The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking proposals for the Computer Science for All grant program, which are due May 9, 2018. This program aims to provide U.S. students the opportunity to participate in computer science and computational thinking education in their schools at the pre-K–12 levels. If your organization is planning to submit a proposal for the Computer Science for All program, McREL’s experienced evaluators can help you to develop the evaluation plan for your proposal. We have capacity and expertise with NSF grants—as a grant recipient, evaluation partner, and grant reviewer—to provide you with a rigorous and useful evaluation that leverages our knowledge of NSF program officer and grant reviewer expectations. LEARN MORE Innovative Approaches to Literacy Grants The U.S. Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program supports high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade in high-need local educational agencies. Innovative programs that might be funded through this grant include developing and enhancing school library programs; providing early literacy services, including through partnerships with local pediatric service providers; and providing high-quality books on a regular basis to children and adolescents from low-income communities to increase reading motivation, performance, and frequency. Proposals for this grant program are due on May 18, 2018. If you are preparing a proposal for this program, McREL’s team would be happy to partner with you to provide technical assistance or research and evaluation services to support your innovative program. LEARN MORE Education Innovation and Research Program | Early-phase Grants, Mid-phase Grants, and Expansion Grants The U.S. Department of Education’s Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant program, the successor to the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program, is designed to generate and validate solutions to persistent educational challenges, supporting the expansion of effective solutions to serve substantially larger numbers of students. Proposals for this grant program are due on June 5, 2018. McREL has collaborated on several i3 grants. Our evaluation plan for the Northwest Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services’ i3 grant in 2014 received a near-perfect reviewer score of 14.5/15 average across all reviewers. Additionally, we received a score of 100.33/100 (due to bonus points) from reviewers of our the FY2015 i3 grant, which we primed with the University of Southern California. As a successful i3 grantee, we are very familiar with the requirements of the current EIR and would be interested in talking about partnering with you for research and evaluation services for your EIR proposals. LEARN MORE Client Testimonial “Our partnership with McREL has been extremely beneficial and has been a contributing factor in an increase in student achievement scores in our school.” –Rik Devney, Principal, Huntington Elementary, Lincoln Public Schools—Nebraska CONNECT WITH McREL FOLLOW McREL on SOCIAL MEDIA  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ JOIN OUR MAILING LIST QUICK LINKS Bookstore | Newsroom | Careers | Events | Free Resources WE’RE HIRING! We are seeking candidates for several research positions in our Denver and Honolulu offices. Our research and evaluation teams give our clients and partners a big-picture view of existing improvement initiatives to determine what’s working, what’s not, and what to do next. We also offer support and guidance for managing systemic change, capacity-building, and proposal development, and we provide independent evaluation of grant-funded programs. VISIT CAREERS PAGE McREL PARTNERS REL Pacific Website | Twitter North Central Comprehensive Center Website | Twitter CONTACT US McREL International P 800.858.6830 | F 303.337.3005 info@mcrel.org | www.mcrel.org 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 500 Denver, CO 80237 Copyright © 2018, McREL International. All rights reserved.

McREL International | 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80237

NEW! Curiosity Works: A Guidebook for Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation

From one of the RELs.

NEW from McREL! BUY THE BOOK Curiosity Works: A Guidebook for Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation Stretch your school leadership team’s thinking and inspire growth and innovation as individuals and as a school community with this new book from McREL. Curiosity Works will guide your team through a powerful, research-based journey to school improvement and innovation that’s attuned to your school’s own strengths and contexts. It includes 17 practical tools to spark collaborative planning, strategic action, and sustainability. Also from McREL’s Curiosity Works™ Unleashing Curiosity Quick Guide Series These 8-page quick guides give teachers and instructional coaches tips and ideas to use in the classroom to increase student curiosity and a reflection rubric to guide teachers’ professional collaboration and growth. Part of our Curiosity Works line of resources, these guides support transforming schools from the “inside out,” helping teachers and school leaders work together to build on their bright spots and develop shared professional expertise. LEARN MORE Professional Learning for School Leadership Teams PD workshop with co-author Kristin Rouleau! Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation Come to Denver for a 2-day professional learning session with Curiosity Works co-author and school improvement coach Kristin Rouleau to gain insights on McREL’s new improvement and innovation pathways and get practical high-leverage strategies to use in your school for dynamic, inside-out change. Better yet, bring your entire leadership team! Register now for one of these available sessions: July 19–20 September 27–28 Visit our Events page to learn more about upcoming events. CONNECT WITH McREL FOLLOW McREL on SOCIAL MEDIA  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ JOIN OUR MAILING LIST QUICK LINKS Bookstore | Newsroom | Careers | Events | Free Resources McREL PARTNERS REL Pacific Website | Twitter North Central Comprehensive Center Website | Twitter CONTACT US McREL International P 800.858.6830 | F 303.337.3005 info@mcrel.org | www.mcrel.org 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 500 Denver, CO 80237 Copyright © 2018, McREL International. All rights reserved.

McREL International | 4601 DTC Blvd., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80237