Autonomies to Establish Positive Relationships

• STRAND: Shooting for the stars: Transforming the system
  PRESENTERS: Kelly Knick & Ryan Goins, Center for Powerful Public Schools
  DESCRIPTION: Attendees will explore how school sites have leveraged their autonomies to implement a bridge program, where teachers and student leaders co-teach and collaborate in creating a summer experience that establishes strong relationships and high expectations amongst students and staff.

Our Journey to Teacher-Powered: Transitioning to a New School Leadership Structure

• STRAND: Intergalactic cooperation: Running effective collaborative teams
  PRESENTERS: Anna Robinson, Lizzie Forshee, Terrence Thigpen, and Morgan Williams; Laura Jeffrey Academy
  DESCRIPTION: In 2018-19, Laura Jeffrey Academy transitioned to a teacher-powered school but it didn’t happen overnight. In this session we will share the process we went through, resources used, challenges faced and overcome, as well as areas for continued growth and refinement. Time will be provided for participant reflection and questions.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: Student-powered, teacher-powered

• STRAND: Planetary alignment: Sharing power with students, families, community
  PRESENTER: Haben Ghebregergish, High School for Recording Arts

Creating Teacher-Powered Culturally Responsive Action Teams

• STRAND: To boldly go: Designing equitable, student-centered learning
  PRESENTERS: Michael Stewart and Laurie King, Maricopa County Regional School District #509
  DESCRIPTION: The story of how the Maricopa County Regional School District developed a team of culturally responsive teacher leaders who will operate on their respective campuses as a culturally responsive action team that will be able to help encourage and support the growth of a culturally responsive school community.

Build the Foundation, Empower the Team: Practical solutions for decision-making

• STRAND: Intergalactic cooperation: Running effective collaborative teams
  PRESENTERS: Julene Oxton and Amber Espinosa, Level Up Academy
  DESCRIPTION: Level Up Academy is aligned in vision and practices transparent decision-making processes to take healthy risks and adapt to the needs of their students. Come and explore answers to questions such as; What types of decision making processes are there? How should the level of empowerment be determined? Why do conversations get stuck? And more.

Pushing for Policies that Advance Teacher-Powered Schools: how Los Angeles educators organized for local autonomy and power

• STRAND: Planetary alignment: Sharing power with students, families, community
  PRESENTERS: Rebekah Kang and Rosa Jimenez, UCLA Community School
  DESCRIPTION: In this session, Rebekah Kang and Rosa Jimenez will share how they partnered with their union, a local university, and grass root organizations to advocate for policies that advance teacher-powered schools. They will share their stories as well as share practical steps members can take back for their unique contexts.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: No testing, no problem? Prove it!

• STRAND: Shooting for the stars: Transforming the system
  PRESENTER: Aaron Seligman, UW System Administration Office of Educational Opportunity
  DESCRIPTION: Without standardized test data this year, we can reimagine what assessments, measures, and feedback for student learning can be. But what will you tell your school board, district, or charter authorizer? Share and discuss new ways to report when you are asked what your kids learned during these changing times.

Sharing Leadership to Grow a Culture of Innovation

• STRAND: Shooting for the stars: Transforming the system
  PRESENTERS: Adam Haigler and Ben Owens, Open Way Learning
  DESCRIPTION: Authentic innovation doesn’t come from chasing fads, it comes from building a culture that’s baked into a school’s DNA. A culture that catalyzes existing skills and talent to prototype, remix, and scale innovative strategies that better meet the individual needs of every student, including in a time of COVID-19. This session will explore a proven model that leverages the principles of the Teacher-Powered Schools movement, enabling you to create and sustain such a culture of open, localized innovation in your own school.

Launching Family Involvement and Engagement to Transform Schools

• STRAND: Planetary alignment: Sharing power with students, families, community
  PRESENTERS: Cleata Brown and Leila Parks, Mission Hill K-8 School
  DESCRIPTION: We will be supporting educators in becoming the catalyst to move families into the orbits of involvement and engagement. How can we empower families who are underrepresented in our school community?

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: Collaborative Leadership for Thriving Teams

• STRAND: Intergalactic cooperation: Running effective collaborative teams
  PRESENTERS: Irene Salter and Buffy Cushman-Patz, Chrysalis Charter School and SEEQS: the School for Examining Essential Questions of Sustainability
  DESCRIPTION: Being an Administrator at a teacher powered school is not easy. Two years ago we sat down with a powerhouse team of other site administrators to write a guide just for us. Join us as we walk through the chapters in the guide and support each other along this journey.

Dismantling Unhealthy Power Dynamics

• STRAND: Intergalactic cooperation: Running effective collaborative teams
  PRESENTERS: Rebekah Kang, Marisa Saunders, and Kyle Weinberg; UCLA Community School and UCLA Center for Community Schooling
  DESCRIPTION: The session will explore how unhealthy power dynamics can develop in collaborative spaces even with well-intended educators. Participants will walk away with tools to identify unhealthy power dynamics and ways to dismantle and distribute power so more people can join the journey of developing a student-centered school. Participants will also receive a copy of a guide written by researchers and a practitioner on this topic.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: Student Leadership in Outdoor Learning Experiences

• STRAND: To boldly go: Designing equitable, student-centered learning
  PRESENTERS: Skylar Primm, Amanda Bolan, and Tiffany Lodholz; High Marq Environmental Charter School
  DESCRIPTION: Join High Marq Environmental Charter School as we share the story of our first decade and how we transitioned our school’s place-based learning program from exclusively teacher-led to one designed around student ownership and agency. Student and staff voices will both be featured.

Think Big, Start Small: Student-Centered Improvement Culture

• STRAND: Planetary alignment: Sharing power with students, families, community
  PRESENTERS: Marguerite Sheffer and Lori Grant, TrueSchool
  DESCRIPTION: Equity and improvement aren’t a single decision or initiative, they are an ongoing process that involves everyone. We share an adaptive process with structure, tools and protocols to honor students and families as the key players and help teachers collaborate to make student-centered decisions.

Determining Learning Program/Expanding Opportunity: An Avalon School seminar

• STRAND: To boldly go: Designing equitable, student-centered learning
  PRESENTERS: Kevin Ward and Nora Whalen, Avalon School
  DESCRIPTION: The 8th autonomy, as defined by Kim Farris-Berg, Edward J. Dirkswager and Amy Junge, is “Determining learning program and learning materials…” What happens when determining the learning program becomes about developing and extending teacher power? Nora Whalen and Kevin Ward, advisors at Avalon School, worked to collaborate with another charter, a university, and community members to create new opportunities for students.

Hiring: The most important autonomy?

• STRAND: Intergalactic cooperation: Running effective collaborative teams
  PRESENTERS: Taryn Snyder and Jerry Pisani, The BTU School
  DESCRIPTION: As leadership changes within a teacher-powered school, it’s imperative to work collaboratively to find the right fit for an open position. Learn about how the Boston Teachers Union School looked backwards, forwards, and within to refine job descriptions, reinvent hiring processes in the midst of a pandemic, and ultimately hire two new Co-Lead Teachers.

Sharing Power WIth Students: Reframing Systems Toward a Liberatory Pedagogy

• STRAND: Planetary alignment: Sharing power with students, families, community
  PRESENTERS: Chris McNutt and Nick Covington, Human Restoration Project
  DESCRIPTION: Teacher-powered schools are student-powered schools. Participants will engage in a workshop on incorporating progressive systems in their classroom to build humanizing pedagogies that share power with all voices.

Ground Control: Designing Collaborative Teams to Help Students Take Off!

• STRAND: Intergalactic cooperation: Running effective collaborative teams
  PRESENTER: Danny Flannery, Mission Hill K-8 School
  DESCRIPTION: How can schools utilize meeting time to optimally benefit students? Determining the direction of a teacher-powered school while also teaching in a classroom can feel overwhelming. Join us to discuss collaborative structures where the staff share responsibility for the school in ways which are efficient and effective.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: Educational Entrepreneurship Incubator

• STRAND: Shooting for the stars: Transforming the system
  PRESENTER: Julie Cook, Jeannine Dunn, Mike Dunn, and Matt Downing; Souderton Charter School Collaborative
  DESCRIPTION: School can be different, for students and teachers. As educators, we want to make a difference. We have big ideas and want to initiate changes in our classrooms, schools, districts, and communities but need help making it happen. This design lab will bring together participants in a generative discussion designed to expand and/or refine participants’ ideas and plans.