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"Whatever the problems of the pandemic year, we must not pretend that our schools were 'all good, all safe, for every child."
Our BIG Question:
How can we best address the many issues in schools that the pandemic surfaced?
Pandemic issues with engagement (and attendance) simply exposed almost universal crises where up to three-quarters of our secondary students say they are either “not engaged” or are “actively disengaged” with school every day, and where so many children, of every age, are ‘checked out,’ whether they physically attend school, or not. (Gallup Student Poll)
Pandemic issues with inequality of broadband and inequality of home resources exposed long-standing problems with everything from homework, to grade-level standards, to after school activities. Pandemic issues with students choosing work (and assisting their families) over daily attendance exposed the ongoing problems with secondary scheduling.
And when children were asked to return to in-person instruction the refusal to do so by a large contingent of our students exposed the long-denied problems with our school cultures. (“7% of LAUSD high school students return”)
We Can and Must Do Better
In this engaging, interactive 4-hour workshop over two days, internationally recognized educators and authors Pam Moran and Ira Socol will facilitate participants through a series of provocations and design exercises designed to help any school begin to solve these underlying challenges that sabotage our best efforts.
- What do you want your children to be?
- What experiences would your children need to become people who thrive in life?
- What must change to realize your hopes and dreams?
- How will your policies, practices, and professionalism change to make this transformation possible?
Pam and Ira, authors of the book Timeless Learning: How Imagination, Observation, and Zero-Based Thinking Change School and veteran education change leaders in real schools, will share strategies - many with zero fiscal costs - that can redefine your spaces, your uses of time, and your school culture.
The provocations will change the way you see things, and the exercises will begin the process of creating transformational change that moves us toward success for every child.
Why should YOU attend this Timeless Learning Workshop?
Learn specific tools and strategies to address long-standing challenges in schools.
Get a better sense of what classrooms might become.
Learn what aspects of traditional schooling to create a powerful path forward.
See examples of schools that are already embracing the hallmarks of "timeless learning."
Connect with other educators seeking long-term, sustainable change in their schools.
About Pam Moran
Dr. Pam Moran, recently retired superintendent of thirteen years also has worked as a teacher, staff developer, elementary principal, and assistant superintendent. Currently, she also serves as the executive director of the Virginia School Consortium for Learning. Pam was the 2010 president of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and the 2016 Virginia Superintendent of the Year, one of four finalists for the national superintendent of the year. She authored articles and posts for Education Week, School Administrator, EdSurge, the Alliance for Excellent Education and has presented several Tedx Talks across the U.S. She is a coauthor with Ira Socol of Timeless Learning. She writes for numerous educational publications, blogs regularly, hangs out with amazing educators on twitter, posts mostly nature pics to Instagram, keynotes conferences, and has been featured in Tedx Talks across the country.

About Ira Socol
Ira Socol is a former Chief Technology and Innovation Officer in Virginia public schools. He has been recognized by the Center for Digital Education for its annual award to the nation’s 2017 Top 30 Technologists, Transformers and Trailblazers. He is the author of numerous journal articles in national education and school architectural journals. During doctoral studies at Michigan State, he became a leading national expert in the use of accessibility technology and Universal Design for Learning where he also developed Toolbelt Theory, an equity technology lens for all learners. His education includes studio art, architecture, criminal justice and juvenile justice, assistive technologies, and educational leadership. He also co-authored the just released Timeless Learning with Pam Moran. Pam and Ira have keynoted and workshopped together at national and state conferences.

Joined By:
Sommer Jones serves as an instructional coach in Hopewell City Schools. She has been a key developer and collaborator with staff in the implementation of innovative approaches to teaching and learning that bring equity, deeper learning, and active engagement intentionally into laser focus to critically shift the culture of schools, particularly at the high school level. She passionately pursues creating inclusive school culture and deeper learning pathways that result in lasting legacies for all students.
Dr. Melody Hackney is a passionate, urban school superintendent dedicated to loving relationships, magical teaching, deeper learning and social justice for all of America’s students. She has served as a superintendent in both Hopewell City and Charlotte County, Virginia. She believes that learner-centered, active engagement is key to breaking down barriers of inequity and injustice and is leading collaboratively to change the way a community of educators, students, and parents think about time, culture, and relationships. She values play as essential in a learning community that is committed to social-emotional, health, wellness, and academic development. In Hopewell City Schools, educators are working to create a culture in which learning success is at its best when learners codesign what and how they will learn as well as how they can show authentic audiences what they have learned. Dr. Hackney is the 2021 Virginia Superintendent of the Year.

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION
This 4-hour workshop will put you on a path to creating more powerful learning environments in your school.
July 29 and 30, 2021 at 12 pm US ET
$295 USD per person
(For team pricing of six or more, contact us.)
(Can't attend live? Register anyway and we'll send you a link to the archived recording.)
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Contact Us
Questions? You can email us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Big Questions Institute
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