Let’s face it: The beginning of next school year is rapidly approaching and it is looking more and more likely that we are going to be teaching and learning in some interesting circumstances come August.

Some states and districts have already announced that students will be attending school part time — rotating into class for a few days or weeks and then working from home for a few days or weeks. Other states and districts are leaning towards fully remote learning environments for their students come fall because of increasing numbers of Coronavirus cases in their parts of the world.

Regardless of the approach that your state or district is considering, one thing remains true: Teachers are going to need some professional development around what meaningful remote teaching and learning looks like in action.

That’s why I’d like to invite you to join me at Solution Tree’s Remote Teaching and Learning Virtual Institute this July.

The one-day event is designed to help teachers to think through the full range of decisions that they will need to make to ensure that remote learning is meaningful for every student.

Topics covered will include:

• How do we identify a small handful of vital standards to focus our work on, knowing that we will have less face-to-face time with our students?
• How do we accurately assess learning, knowing that some of our assessments are going to be completed by students who aren’t in our classrooms?
• How do we ensure equity for every learner, knowing that students will be wrestling with a thousand different circumstances when working from home next year?

Topics covered will also include:

• How do we give students meaningful feedback, knowing that many states and districts have moved away from giving grades during remote learning.
• How do we meet the needs of Special Education students in a remote learning environment — something that many of us struggled with in the spring.
• What does meaningful remote learning look like for primary learners — a group that typically needs more support from classroom teachers.

The lineup of presenters is nothing short of remarkable, too.

Cassie Erkens is talking about assessment. Chris Jakicic is talking about essential outcomes. Regina Owens is talking about equity. Amy Gluck is talking about meeting the needs of special education students. Jacquie Heller is talking about remote learning for primary students. And Paul Cancellieri is talking about feedback.

All of those people are both authors and practitioners with deep expertise in their respective fields. They are also widely recognized by educators as folks with practical experience that can move teachers and schools forward. It really is a great list.

And the best part: Participants in the Institute get access to every keynote and breakout for an entire week.

That means you don’t have to worry about missing a breakout session because it conflicts with something else you want to see. You can watch EVERY session on the day that it airs — or return to it again and again over an entire week’s time.

That’s a REALLY good deal. Ask anyone who has gone to a conference and missed out on hearing a session because there weren’t any seats left or because two of their favorite thinkers were presenting at the exact same time.

So give the Institute a look, y’all. For $199, it feels like a REALLY good deal to me.