Alliance for Excellent Education Announces 2016 Future Ready Schools Summits and Workshops

• 04/01/16

Registration is now open for the 2016 Future Ready Schools (FRS) national summits and workshops to help school district leaders improve teaching and student learning outcomes through the effective use of technology. A project of the Alliance for Excellent Education, FRS is partnering with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to offer free, two-day summits for school district teams to work with Future Ready facilitators to jump start their planning efforts and refine their vision for personalized student learning. FRS is also offering free, one-day training workshops to utilize the comprehensive FRS dashboard and learn how to systemically plan using the five-step planning process.

"With the new Every Student Succeeds Act requiring district planning efforts, Future Ready Schools provides the guidance and support for district leaders to create personalized learning environments in schools using technology to leverage quality teaching and better student outcomes," said Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia. "These summits and workshops are an opportunity for district leaders to learn, collaborate, and plan, with the goal of improving learning experiences for all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved communities."

Future Ready Schools Summits
The national summits are open to leadership teams from school districts where the superintendent has signed the Future Ready District Pledge-a commitment to implementing meaningful changes toward a digital learning transition that supports teachers and addresses the district's vision for student learning. More than 2,100 district superintendents nationwide have already taken the pledge.

Each summit enables FRS district leadership teams to set a shared vision for student learning; create action plans for digital learning; and network with other regional leaders who are engaged in FRS. To solve specific issues facing district teams, participants will have access to national experts, regional colleagues, and successful implementation examples, The district teams will engage in facilitated conversations, networking activities, and team planning opportunities.

The schedule for the 2016 FRS national summits is as follows:

1. April 25-26: Austin, Texas
2. May 19-20: Seattle, Washington
3. June 2-3: Orlando, Florida
4. June 14-15: Madison, Wisconsin
5. November 14-15: Boston, Massachusetts

Future Ready Schools Workshops
These new one-day workshops offer school district FRS project managers hands-on training focused on the FRS dashboard-a comprehensive online planning tool to help school districts assess readiness, gather input, and create an action plan for digital learning through a five-step planning process. During the workshops, participants will gain an understanding of the dashboard and its various components. Designed for individuals, this training will provide project managers with tangible strategies for engaging team members in the effective use of the dashboard as an interactive, collaborative action planning tool.

The schedule for the 2016 national workshops is as follows:

1. September 8: Salt Lake City, Utah
2. September 29: Fort Thomas, Kentucky
3. October 20: Albuquerque, New Mexico
4. November 1: Washington, DC

Registration for the summits and workshops is now open online at futureready.org/summits.