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"...Farm-Based Education Conference. The goal of the conference is to provide networking opportunities and support to the farm-based education community." There is a "scholarship" offered through the VT Dept. of Agriculture to attend the conference. Conference Scholarship

"The Campus Technology Conference is for higher education professors, instructors, administrators, curriculum developers and IT professionals who are tasked with integrating emerging technology into their programs. Over 4 days, the conference delivers the most up-to-date information on new tools, applications and services-and how they work on real campuses."

While this is for "higher ed" it might be interesting to attend. Sometimes I think that there is too much of a disconnect between what happens in high school and what happens in college. They are not exclusive of one another, but a continuing process to a student's achievement of their goals. I believe that both (hs and colleges) need to figure out how we can integrate more pieces of our work.

New England Secondary School Consortium's third annual conference for secondary educators to share success stories, exchange best practices, and build momentum for innovations that will prepare all students for success in the colleges, careers, and communities of the 21st century.

WHEN: Thursday + Friday, March 22-23, 2012 WHERE: Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood, Massachusetts WHO: Educators and teams from high schools, charter schools, and technical schools across New England engaged in school improvement COST: $75 per person (includes appetizers, beverages, breakfast, lunch, and materials) PROGRAM: Click HERE to read the session descriptions

Founded in 1943, ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization dedicated to advancing best practices and policies for the success of each learner. Our 175,000 members in 119 countries are professional educators from all levels and subject areas--superintendents, supervisors, principals, teachers, professors of education, and school board members.

EdCamp Flyer "EdCamp Vermont (http://edcampvt.posterous.com), an education conference like no other, will be held at Essex Middle School on Saturday, April 14th. The structure of the conference is very informal, with attendees signing up to run sessions first thing in the morning. The conference will be free from corporate vendors and booths, with the focus being solely on conversations about education. Attendees will come from all over Vermont and will range from classroom teachers to administrators to coaches and school board members. There will be time for attendees to gather informally to share ideas as well as a variety of sessions for them to attend, run by their colleagues and fellow educators."

What a great way for a group of Fellows to share either individual initiatives...or to talk about the process of change...how change happens...how to maintain an initiative...how admin can be generative leaders...or any of a number of pieces that Fellows and their schools have learned from our experiences.

I am going to be there with our school's art teacher. We couldn't miss this.

What is EduCon? "...not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we can come together ... to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas - from the very practical to the big dreams."

Option to attend either in person or virtually

15th Annual NEASCD Conference in Boston, MA on Dec 1- 3 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. This year's Conference, Leading and Learning: What's Next? Presenters: Heidi Hayes Jacobs Rick and Becky DuFour Alan November John D'Auria Kim Marshall Brian Mull Will Richardson

Conference Promo Video

An unconference, free conference for teachers, administrators and anyone involved in education. Essex Middle School on April 14, 2012

Getting geared up for our Rowland Conference on Sept 27th!

Video of keynote address by Sir Ken Robinson at the 2011 Rowland Foundation Conference on High School Transformation. Worth a second listen.

May we have the password to gain access?

Hello Karen and others looking for the SKR video, We will be putting that video back up this week. We will also be posting that password for all Rowland Diigo members. We will also be looking to suss a few key points from the keynote. These will then be posted as short 4 to 5 minute clips.

"The Rowland Foundation: Teacher Workshops 2011-2012" In order to sustain and extend the conversations from the Conference on High School Transformation, The Rowland Foundation will offer the following workshops during the 2011-2012 school year. By limiting enrollment to about 20 participants, these workshops are designed to provide more participatory discussion and greater detail than that which was offered at the Sept. 22 conference. In each case the host school and its Rowland Fellow will be able to illustrate in practice the principles being discussed. These workshops are offered in two parts: a session in fall and one again in the spring to enable participants to engage in conversations while working to implement changes in their own schools. We look forward to furthering the conversations that were started in Burlington.

Here's a Burlington Free Press article about the conference keynote with Sir Ken, a truly great speaker.

This is the slideshow from my session at the 2012 Rowland Conference on School Transformation at UVM. Even with the minimalist zen presentation style, there are still some concepts, quotes & statistics which may be useful if you're making the case for change at your school.

Leading School Transformation (EDLP 380) is a graduate-level course that brings together educators who are leading transformation efforts in Vermont schools. The course will build on the Rowland Foundation Transformation Conference at the University of Vermont through professional dialogue, personal refelection, and related readings. EDLP 380 will help participants develop school-based projects based on the latest research related to school transformation. Participants will read The Big Picture by Dennis Littky and Drive by Daniel Pink and develop strategies to lead change at their schools.

"A brand that stands for what all brands stand for stands for nothing much." At the first RF conference Peter McConville and Tom Sabo ran a really interesting activity where we looked at schools' mission statements from across Vermont. As a part of this activity they asked if individuals could recall their own. Not many (if any) could. It is too bad really. Coming from a corporate background myself, I understand the power of an organization having a common and driving statement of intent. To me what was striking, and unfortunate, was that it wouldn't be at all challenging to get fairly close if you just said something about students who strive to become life-long learners who are global citizens that give back to their community. Maybe it is just me, but I think that a mission statement should be as unique as the schools, communities, and individuals that are striving to fulfill that mission. It should be a mantra, a way to identify what is truly important to your school, a means of sharing your school's common sense of purpose, to communicate your school's common sense of direction to fulfill that purpose. My sense is that a mission statement should be the keystone for the very unique work that we do in our schools, it should be more akin to Dan Pink's My Sentence. But, read though most and you'll find that they seem interchangeable and ambiguous. I think that it may be better to not have one at all if it doesn't really share the message of what your individual school is about and what it specifically strives to be. Does your school's mission statement really share your school's mission?

Jason Thanks for posting this. Question - how do I copy this post over to another Diigo group I am working with? Jim

Mission statements are pretty generic... NEASC is moving away from asking schools for mission statements but instead for statements of core values and beliefs about learning in the hope of getting more school specific statements.

As Rowland Fellows our charge is to be "Disruptors" in our schools. "To be a disruptor you need to be: Not afraid to push into new technologies. Ready to take criticisms from all directions (including fellow teachers). Ready to be the lone wolf in your building or even your district. Ready to build your own PLN via Twitter, Google +, Edmodo, or Facebook. Be willing to travel to and attend conferences. Move forward without fear of failure. Ready to experience failure more than once. Most of all disrupt your students, teachers, school and district."

"Above any other measure, a person's level of grittiness will reveal their ability to execute ideas and sustain long-term goals."

If we are preparing students for success in college and career we must develop in them a skill set which includes perseverance and grit. While not as high in Vermont, "25 percent of students at four-year institutions fail to return for their sophomore year, a number that grows to 47 percent for students at two-year institutions." From the local and national pieces that I have looked at the reasoning for this is equally shared among these areas: Lack of Academic Preparedness; Lack of Sense of Purpose and Goals; Lack of Grit. We can't just educate students and expect them to be successful. We must also share Why and How. jf