Plugged In | 11.06.20 – Symposium Videos Available, Upcoming Webinars and More

And from the neo-liberals to end the week…

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2020 Symposium Keynote & Breakout Session Videos Available  We’ve just experienced an incredible three days of intense learning, sharing, and networking at the first virtual Aurora Institute Symposium, which took place October 26-28, 2020. In the spirit of democratizing knowledge, we’re pleased to share all of the video content from the event. Follow these links to view: Day 1 – Future of Education: Leapfrogging in a Time of Crisis Day 2 – Lifting Up Best Practices for Quality and Equity—Even During COVID-19 Day 3 – Student Panel and Closing Panel The collective energy and the renewed sense of purpose toward systems change in K-12 education was rejuvenating. We hope we made you proud and equipped you with the resources to keep leading the future of teaching and learning. It is time to rethink K-12 education in the context of an ecosystem for lifelong learning, driving equity, and thinking big on the challenges that await humanity. That’s what these three days have been about, and it was all grounded in real work happening around the country and around the globe. We encourage you to watch and share your learnings with your colleagues. We also request your feedback to support our improvement. Please take our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AuroraSymposium2020. CompetencyWorks Releases Report on Professional Learning Strategies to Strengthen Local Assessment Systems for Proficiency-Based Education The Aurora Institute’s CompetencyWorks initiative released Strengthening Local Assessment Systems for Personalized, Proficiency-Based Education: Strategies and Tools for Professional Learning. The report is authored by Pat Fitzsimmons, the Proficiency-Based Learning Team Leader at the Vermont Agency of Education and a former public school teacher and science specialist. The report describes a series of professional convenings in Vermont to support schools and districts seeking to create high-quality local comprehensive systems of assessments (LCAS). It can serve as a resource for schools, districts, and states that are working toward improving their own assessment systems. Readers will learn about formative, summative, and student-designed performance assessments as well as essential components of assessment systems and their rationales. The report also features tips for conducting the convenings remotely, as Vermont has continued offering them during COVID-19 school closures. Download We’re delighted to announce that the Association for Educational Communications & Technology  (AECT) has awarded Susan Patrick, Aurora Institute President and CEO, its 2020 Systems Change Leader Award. AECT bestows this award to acknowledge individuals or groups making significant contributions to the evolution of learning, demonstrating systems thinking and positive impacts that are aligned to 21st century needs. The award was conveyed yesterday in a virtual ceremony. The “All Fall” Webinar Series Continues The learning continues. Please join us for the remaining webinars in our “All Fall” Aurora Institute Symposium webinar series. Below are links to descriptions and information about how to register. Straight Outta COVID-19: Designing for Equity | November 9, 2020 | 3:00 pm EST Deeper Competency-Based Learning: Making Equitable, Student-Centered, Sustainable Shifts | November 10, 2020 | 2:00 pm EST Designing Engaging, Purposeful, Rigorous Tasks for Remote and In-Person Learning | November 12, 2020 |  2:00 pm EST Supporting the Learner Throughout Their Competency-Based Journey: Examining Tech Standards | November 17, 2020 | 2:00 pm EST Register Education Domain Blog Aurora Institute Mourns the Loss of Board Member Layla Avila We are grieving. It is with profound sadness that we announce that Layla Avila, a member of our Board of Directors, has passed away. On behalf of our board and team, we extend our deepest sympathies to Layla’s family and friends and colleagues, and all who love her. The education world has lost a remarkable leader in Layla Avila, and we have lost a dear friend and colleague. Read More The Learner Promise: A Paradigm Shift Whose Time Has Come Fewer than one in five American students follow a clear and uninterrupted path from high school through college to career. What’s more, no matter the path they take, they are shackled to a siloed, linear, and time-bound system that was designed more than 100 years ago to intentionally create the inequitable outcomes we observe today. We can do better. Read More Grading Policies Need to Be Re-Examined to Support the Shift to Competency-Based Education The second blog in our new blog series highlighting the recently released Education Policy Issues for the COVID-19 Era: Policy Actions and Responses to Leverage the Moment for Future Readiness focuses on moving away from seat time to credit flexibility.  With the transition to remote learning during COVID-19 school closures, it is time for states to seriously rethink how to redefine how students earn credits by demonstrating competencies.  Seat-time is a poor invalid proxy for learning. Read More Featured Resource New Edition of Educator Competencies for Personalized,  Learner-Centered Environments Published The second edition of Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Environments is now available. Published by KnowledgeWorks and CCSSO, the new competencies build on the previous edition with a vision for how teaching can evolve to meet the changing needs of learners and society. This framework highlights the teacher competencies that are most applicable to and essential for preparing students to succeed and thrive in an increasingly complex world. The framework also closely examines the skills and dispositions educators need to foster antiracist learning environments and close longstanding opportunity gaps. Download Plugged In Headlines: News About Education Transformation Beyond reopening schools: How education can emerge stronger than before COVID-19 Emiliana Vegas and Rebecca Winthrop, The Brookings Institution Pandemic opportunity: Rethink education accountability Tom Vander Ark, Forbes  How deeply will digital learning transform K-12 long term? Roger Riddell, Education Dive  OPINION: Why we need a new pedagogy for our post-Covid future Eric S. Singer, The Hechinger Report Waite: Will the positive changes schools make now last into the future? New Framework Helps Leaders Plan for Tomorrow Chelsea Waite, The 74 Which states have the biggest home internet access gaps for students? Mark Lieberman, Education Week For students with disabilities, a return to schools means more learning and needed services — even if nothing’s normal yet Kalyn Belsha, Chalkbeat Finding your entry point to mastery learning Chris Sturgis, Getting Smart Aurora Institute in the News The Mastery vs. Seat-Time Debate Takes Center Stage Under Remote Learning – via Education Week “History may prove the situation with COVID-19 as a watershed moment of true transformation for K-12 systems,” said Susan Patrick, president and CEO of the Aurora Institute, which helps schools develop and refine online and personalized learning programs. “The structures that traditional systems rely on are just not built to support all students’ needs at a personalized level.” Will the pandemic make us better educators?– via MultiBriefs For years, my staff have been working hard to get better at a student-centered, personalized learning model known as competency-based learning. In this model, according to the Aurora Institute’s latest 2019 definition, students are empowered daily to make important decisions about their learning experiences, how they will create and apply knowledge, and how they will demonstrate their learning. Let’s Talk Competency-Based Education– via U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology Efforts to expand the quality of CBE systems are continuously growing as a result of contributions from various organizations, state leaders, districts, and schools have invested in this education reform. Organizations like the Aurora Institute, Digital Promise, The Learning Accelerator, and more all have worked to advance and expand the CBE framework. For this blog, I sat down with Eliot Levine, an expert on competency-based education from the Aurora Institute. The Aurora Institute focuses on advancing policies, best practices, and research on quality learning through initiatives like CompetencyWorks. Join Our Community Our Center for Policy  leads the multi-stage evolution of policy necessary for the growth of effective student-centered learning models toward the goals of high-quality learning and equity. Our policy priorities are designed to ensure the nation’s education system is fit for purpose and help move states forward from their current state of education to future systems. CompetencyWorks CompetencyWorks is an online resource dedicated to K-12 competency-based education. Drawing on lessons learned by innovators, we share knowledge through a practice-focused blog, research reports on emerging issues, policy advocacy, and resources curated from across the field. The Aurora Institute hosts a resource library containing more than 200 materials. Working collaboratively with diverse experts in the field, the Aurora Institute produces reports, books, policy briefs, blog posts, webinars, and related resources on key topics and tough issues that equip and empower educators and leaders to catalyze and scale personalized, next-generation learning models. Visit Visit Visit Aurora Institute The mission of Aurora Institute is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all. Send questions and comments to Aurora Institute Communications

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Thank You for Being Part of the 2020 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium

Another neo-liberal item.

About Agenda Social Sponsors OCTOBER 26-28, 2020 2020 Virtual Symposium A New Dawn for Every Learner Take Our Survey

Thank You It was just a few months ago that we knew with all certainty that we wouldn’t be able to host our annual Symposium in person. The Symposium is such a big part of our work at the Aurora Institute. W, we see how so many innovative educators are challenging the status quo and remaking education to be learner-centered, equity-driven, and it inspires us all to take our work to the next level. We know and deeply care about what the convening means for the field. Because the ramifications of COVID-19, racial awakening, and economic justice on K-12 education were so great, many of you encouraged us to convert the Symposium to a virtual event. We heeded the call, with great trepidation because although we host many webinars and meetings, we’d not conducted a virtual event of this magnitude and scale before. We wanted to serve you with the same caliber of experience of symposia past. We’ve just experienced an incredible three days of intense learning, sharing, and networking at the first virtual Aurora Institute Symposium. I’m blown away at the responses from the field, such as, “this was exactly what we needed right now” and “because this was virtual, my whole team was able to participate and learn together.” The collective energy and the renewed sense of purpose toward systems change in K-12 education was rejuvenating. We hope we made you proud and equipped you with the resources to keep leading the future of teaching and learning. It is time to rethink K-12 education in the context of an ecosystem for lifelong learning, driving equity, and thinking big on the challenges that await humanity. That’s what these three days have been about, and it was all grounded in real work happening around the country and around the globe. Our hope was to help unleash the power of the collective. We know that many of you have been working tirelessly in the classroom, in administrative offices, in policymaker circles, in community spaces, and at philanthropic tables to transform our one-size-fits-all system toward student-centered models that prepare every single child for success in the next stages of their life. You have a home here with us at the Symposium. We are your people, your tribe, and you can count on us to help make connections, amplify voices, and support your work. The field is moving, but we have so much more to do. Let me repeat the charge I gave you in the closing keynote. In these difficult times, it’s important to come together to rise up to find our allies and be the change the world needs and lead with light, love, and resilience on behalf of all learners. Thank you. Thank you for your collective commitments and contributions. Go forth and rise up. We’re looking forward to a time when we can all reconnect again in person. Please save October 25-28, 2021, for the next Aurora Institute Symposium. We don’t know entirely what the future holds for in-person gatherings, but we certainly remain committed to being the space needed for learning, recharging, strategizing, and growing. Sincerely, President and CEO, Aurora Institute

Resources A Promise for Equitable Futures: Enabling Systems Change to Scale Educational and Economic Mobility Pathways Download Strengthening Local Assessment Systems for Personalized, Proficiency-Based Education: Strategies and Tools for Professional Learning Download Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Environments Download

SAVE THE DATE 2021 Aurora Institute Symposium OCT. 25 – 28, 2021 | PALM SPRINGS, CA

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About The mission of the Aurora Institute is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all. Follow Us Contact Aurora Institute JOIN OUR COMMUNITY (888) 956-2265 symposium@aurora-institute.org

The Aurora Institute Symposium was formerly the iNACOL Symposium.

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2020 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium – The Moment You’ve Been Waiting for Is Finally Here

And from the neo-liberals.

About Agenda Register Sponsors OCTOBER 26-28, 2020 2020 Virtual Symposium A New Dawn for Every Learner Join Us

Finishing Strong | Day 3 Highlights DAY 3 RUNS 11 AM – 3:00 PM EASTERN Today, the Symposium starts at 11 AM ET with the highly anticipated student panel, “Students are Catalysts for Change: Youth Perspectives on Education,” featuring: Nia Innis, Walter Payton College Preparatory High School Ashley Lin, Union High School Dayvon Woodard, Nashville Big Picture High School Eloisa Trujillo-Carrillo, Denver Public Schools Julius Pedro, Native American Community Academy Chris Liang-Vergara, World Class Education The Symposium ends with a forward looking keynote titled, “Top Trends for the Future of K-12 Education: A Path Forward & Equitable Futures,” which will feature: Nicholas C. Donohue, President & CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation Susan Patrick, President & CEO, Aurora Institute Virgel Hammonds, Chief Learning Officer, KnowledgeWorks Felicia Cumings Smith, Senior Director, US Regions, National Geographic Between the student panel and closing keynotes are two sets of breakout sessions. You and your teammates can choose from the following sessions at 11:45 AM ET: Can Measuring What Matters + Equitable Evaluation = Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Learning? Equity-Driven Design Thinking: Enhancing Traditional Human-Centered Design with an Equity Lens How Intentional Equity Serves All Students Increasing the Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic Diversity of the Educator Workforce Partnering with Families to Shape the Post-COVID World Positioning Competency-Based Education as an Equity Strategy: Theory, Practice, and Evidence to Push the Field Practical Tools to Encourage Self-Direction Among Students for In-Person and Remote Learning At 1 PM ET, the following breakouts are offered: Advancing Equity through Social Emotional Learning and Competency-Based Education Bridging the Relationship Gap to Support Holistic Development: The Role of Student Success Coaches in Supporting Integrated Social-Emotional and Academic Development Designing an SEL-Focused Advisory as the Foundation for School Transformation (Including in Remote/Hybrid Models) How Do You Teach, Assess, and Report the Transferable Social Emotional Skills on your Portrait of a Graduate?   Ola Ka Honua: Education as Ecosystem Social Emotional Learning: Tension and Complement to Blended and Personalized Learning The Power of Two: Strategies to Strengthen Instruction through Effective Home/School Communication The Skills They Need: Tools and Resources to Accelerate the Development of Skills and Dispositions in Learners Use the Learning Sciences to Empower the Learner to Become an Agent and Advocate of their Own Learning Learn More

Important Links Today’s Agenda View Zoom Links Explore Program Book Download

BREAKING New Edition of Educator Competencies for Personalized,  Learner-Centered Environments Published The second edition of Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Environments is now available. Be among the first to download the field’s most comprehensive guide identifying the set of behaviors needed by educators who are striving toward more equitable, personalized learning environments. Published by KnowledgeWorks and CCSSO, the new competencies build on the previous edition with a vision for how teaching can evolve to meet the changing needs of learners and society. This framework highlights the teacher competencies that are most applicable to and essential for preparing students to succeed and thrive in an increasingly complex world. The framework also closely examines the skills and dispositions educators need to foster antiracist learning environments and close longstanding opportunity gaps. The new edition places educational equity at the forefront of the framework and was designed to make antiracism and decentering Whiteness a more explicit driving force. This is an intentional effort to enable educators to come to terms with and remedy the ways in which America’s schools have negatively impacted students from marginalized groups. The competencies are organized into four domains: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Cognitive, and Instructional. Included under each domain are both high-level competencies and detailed indicators citing specific ways educators can meet each competency in a personalized, learner-centered manner. This edition also highlights several cross-cutting themes that are instrumental to creating high-quality, personalized, learner-centered environments. In addition to equity and inclusion, these include foundational competencies, social and emotional learning, remote learning. You may access Educator Competencies here. Read

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About The mission of the Aurora Institute is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all. Follow Us Contact Aurora Institute Symposium Website (888) 956-2265 symposium@aurora-institute.org

The Aurora Institute Symposium was formerly the iNACOL Symposium.

This email was sent by: Aurora Institute 1934 Old Gallows Road, Suite 350 Vienna, VA, 22182-4040, United States

Here’s What Is Happening on Day 2 of the 2020 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium

And from the neo-liberals…

About Agenda Register Sponsors OCTOBER 26-28, 2020 2020 Virtual Symposium A New Dawn for Every Learner Join Us

The 2020 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium | Day 2 Highlights DAY 2 RUNS 11 AM – 2:30 PM EASTERN Today, the Symposium starts at 11 AM ET with our opening keynote, “Lifting Up Best Practices for Quality and Equity—Even During COVID-19,” featuring: Opening – Susan Patrick, Aurora Institute Delivering on the Promise of Competency: Ensuring Equity, Student Agency, and Collaborations with Families – David Ruff, Great Schools Partnership Showing the Way: A Provocation for Competency-Based Systems – Javier Guzman, Big Picture Learning Plenary II is titled, “Bright Spots from Personalized, Competency-Based Districts and Schools Across the USA,” and will include the following brief talks: Gratitude and Fortitude: Listening to Lead – Renee Hill, Riverside Unified School District SBC2 – Accelerated Attainment Through Competency-Based Education – John Clemente, South Bronx Community Charter High School Designing Peak Moments that Build Trust – Kristen Watkins, Dallas Independent School District Relationships, Relationships, Relationships – Dr. Steve Kossakoski, Virtual Learning Academy Charter School Building Community When You Have No Community – Cory Steiner, Northern Cass School District #97 Accelerating Educational Evolution by Prioritizing People, Passions, and Purpose – Brenda Diaz, Nashville Big Picture High School Ten breakouts follow. You and your teammates can choose from the following sessions. Advancing Equitable Community Engagement in Virtual Spaces An Introduction to Competency-Based Education  Continuity of Learning in Texas: What We Learned from Blended, Personalized Learning Schools Distance Learning for All: Strategic Implementation of Remote Learning for 40,000 Students and 3,000 Staff Empowering Online and Blended Programs to Customize Legally Sound Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities Grading and Reporting for Educational Equity Inviting in Experts: How to Leverage Authentic Audiences in the Virtual Classroom Meeting Students Where They Are: Competency-Based Pedagogy that Works for Remote and In-Person Learning Research on Coaching, Leadership, and Inter-School Professional Development for Quality in Personalized, Alternative High Schools Scheduling for Personalized Competency-Based Education Learn More

Important Links Today’s Agenda View Zoom Links Explore Program Book Download

SNEAK PREVIEW Strengthening Local Assessment Systems for Personalized, Proficiency-Based Education: Strategies and Tools for Professional Learning Strengthening Local Assessment Systems for Personalized, Proficiency-Based Education: Strategies and Tools for Professional Learning is a forthcoming Competency Works brief that describes Vermont’s convenings to support schools, districts, and other education organizations seeking to create high-quality local comprehensive systems of assessments. Authored by Pat Fitzsimmons, proficiency-based learning team leader at the Vermont Agency of Education, the brief is intended to serve as a resource for schools, districts, and states working toward improving their own assessment systems. Readers will learn about the rationale and essential components, formative and summative performance assessments, and student-designed performance assessments. Read

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About The mission of the Aurora Institute is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all. Follow Us Contact Aurora Institute Symposium Website (888) 956-2265 symposium@aurora-institute.org

The Aurora Institute Symposium was formerly the iNACOL Symposium.

This email was sent by: Aurora Institute 1934 Old Gallows Road, Suite 350 Vienna, VA, 22182-4040, United States

Welcome to the 2020 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium | Opening Day Details Inside

An item from the neo-liberals.

About Agenda Register Sponsors OCTOBER 26-28, 2020 2020 Virtual Symposium A New Dawn for Every Learner Join Us

Welcome to the 2020 Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium DAY 1 RUNS 11 AM – 3:30 PM EASTERN Thank you for registering for the first-ever Aurora Institute Virtual Symposium. We’re delighted to have you join us October 26 – 28, 2020, for a dynamic three-day learning and networking event. Please invite your colleagues and networks to join you. The Symposium starts in just a few hours. We begin at 11 AM ET with our opening keynote, “Future of Education: Leapfrogging in a Time of Crisis,” featuring: Welcome and Opening – Susan Patrick, Aurora Institute Leapfrogging Inequality: Remaking Education to Help Young People Thrive – Dr. Rebecca Winthrop, The Brookings Institution Global Competence, Equity and Education Systems Change – Dr. Tony Jackson, Asia Society A Promise for Equitable Futures: Enabling Systems Change to Scale Educational and Economic Mobility Pathways – Dr. Katherine Casey, imaginEDU Plenary II is titled, “Systems Change: Bright Spots in Driving Collective Change,” and includes: The Power of Voice and Ownership in Designing for Equity and Excellence with Oscar Santos, Center for Collaborative Education Mastery Transcript Consortium with Stacy Caldwell, MTC Future Workforce Now with Rachael Stephens, National Governors Association Eight breakouts follow. You and your teammates can choose from the following sessions. Advancing Equity in Classrooms, Schools and Districts through Assessment for Learning Practices Anchoring the Educational Ecosystem – The Emerging Role of the Intermediary A Promise for Equitable Futures: New Research and Strategies for Advancing Universal Pathways and Ecosystems Creating High-Quality Professional Learning: Enabling Choice, Ownership, and More Focused Support Designed to Thrive: Creating Culminating Assessment for Learning Experiences Wherein All Students Can Thrive Making More Learning Visible: The Frontiers of Assessment and Credentialing Multiple Pathways Through Learning and Into Work: Innovations Youth Apprenticeship & Work-Based Learning Quality with an Equity Lens: In Pursuit of a Culturally-Sustaining School Quality Review We wrap up the day with Book Clubs: Meet the Experts with Authors. Deeper Competency-Based Learning: Making Equitable, Student-Centered, Sustainable Shifts Making It: What Today’s Kids Need for Tomorrow’s World Pathways to Personalization: A Framework for School Change Putting Students First: A Game Plan for Personalizing Scheduling for Competency-Based Education The NEW Team Habits: A Guide to New School Rules The Power of Student Agency: Looking Beyond Grit to Close the Opportunity Gap Learn More NEWS Zoom Meeting Links Use this link to find the full schedule, along with Zoom links, to join each individual keynote, breakout session, and book club event. Aurora Institute team members will be on hand to support you in moving from one room to the next, but should you need immediate assistance, please contact Communications. You can also download our conference Program Book as a reference. Links

NEW RELEASE A Promise for Equitable Futures The Aurora Institute has released A Promise for Equitable Futures: Enabling Systems Change to Scale Educational and Economic Mobility Pathways, a book that issues a call to action for states to enact a Learner Promise: a commitment that every learner will have access and support to pursue a certified pathway with system-wide opportunities that guarantee entry into a meaningful, chosen career that will build social and economic capital over the course of their lives. Operating under this promise, states would enact systems of governance, policy, and infrastructure to certify that learners who demonstrate competencies in K-12, postsecondary, workforce, and community settings along a supported pathway will have access to continuing education and a purposeful, living-wage career. States would commit to taking the systemic action necessary to disrupt inequities in access, engagement, and attainment for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, and people from low-income households. And, states would reimagine education not as a linear, time-bound sequence of learning that occurs within institutions of formal education, but as a learning ecosystem. This ecosystem would be an equitable, dynamic, and responsive system in which learners can customize their learning experiences as they navigate experiences across schools, workplaces, and communities. The book is authored by Katherine Casey, of imaginEDU and Aurora Institute President and CEO Susan Patrick. Join today’s opening keynote and Dr. Casey’s breakout session to unpack the issues covered in this title. Read

SYMPOSIUM HASHTAG Share Your Learning on Social Media #AURORA2020

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About The mission of the Aurora Institute is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all. Follow Us Contact Aurora Institute Symposium Website (888) 956-2265 symposium@aurora-institute.org

The Aurora Institute Symposium was formerly the iNACOL Symposium.

This email was sent by: Aurora Institute 1934 Old Gallows Road, Suite 350 Vienna, VA, 22182-4040, United States