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Teacher-Powered Day
November 9, 2019 @ 3:30 pm
We are excited to announce our first regional Teacher-Powered Day on November 9, 2019. Led by our Minnesota and Wisconsin ambassadors, the day is designed to improve your collaborative leadership practices in an informal setting.
Make new connections, brainstorm with fellow teacher-powered teams, and share your own team’s best practices.
The day is intended for teams already teaching and leading at teacher-powered, student-centered schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Registration is $75 for network members and $100 for non-members, or $80 per person in groups of four or more (school network members receive a rate of $65 per person for groups of four or more). To join these networks, visit the networks page on this website.
Hotel Accommodations
We have reserved a limited block of hotel rooms at the nearby Hampton Inn Burnsville for $99 per night, good for the evenings of Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9 if you choose to extend your stay. To book a room, use this link or call the hotel directly at 952-435-6366. Our group name is called “Teacher-Powered Day” and our group code is “TP5”. Availability is only guaranteed until October 14, so act fast!
Agenda
- 8:00 AM: Registration open
- 8:30 AM: Opening session (1.5 hours)
- 10:15 AM: Breakout session A (1 hour)
- 11:30 AM: Teacher-Powered & Student-Centered Learning guest speakers (30 minutes)
- 12:00 PM: Lunch and roundtable discussions (1 hour)
- 1:15 PM: Design Thinking Activity around challenges teams are facing (1 hour)
- 2:30 PM: Breakout session B (45 minutes)
- 3:15–3:30 PM: Closing and end for the day
Breakout session A
Community Connected Academy: A Model for Equity in Innovative Education
Do you work in a predominantly white staff and school? Come think about how your practice would change if your school demographic changed drastically. Question how well you are implementing equity at your school and not just giving it lip service.
Thus far, project based learning has been afforded to white, middle and upper class students. With the typical notion that black kids need structure when learning or already at a deficient for learning. What sets CCA apart from every other innovative school implementing internships, project based learning pedagogy and culturally responsive practices is that CCA has equity embedded into every aspect of the school. I.e. We are intentional hiring staff that reflect the student demographic, running a portrait of a graduate for our community, and having a social justice lens for learning.
Presented by Nafeesah Muhammad & Alex Leonard from CCA at Henry.
MLCN: Opportunities Beyond Today
Explore the 2019-20 MLCN opportunities. Connect with schools leveraging teacher autonomy and advancing student centered learning practices. Find the connection you need for the unique path of transformation your school is on! Opportunities funded by the Bush Foundation for Minnesota teachers and schools will be outlined: school site visits, professional development, and collaborative school partnerships.
Presented by Carrie Bakken and Julene Oxton.
Critical Conversations: What, When, Why, How?
Critical conversations are just that – CRITICAL. Understanding and knowing which conversations are critical, along with when, why and how to have them does not have to be difficult. Join Liz Seubert from Wildlands School and Aaron Grimm from MN New Country for tips and guidance on mastering the art of leading critical conversations with students and colleagues.
Presented by Liz Seubert from Wildlands School and Aaron Grimm from MN New Country School.
Connections – Environment – Community
A rich, authentic learning environment relies on connections at all sorts of levels. In this session, learn how to create an intricate network of partnerships that will immerse your students in their communities, while they explore their passions, develop their own connections, and become a resource themselves. You’ll see the PBL process as deep learning, identify end products, and see assessments as well.
Presented by Paula Zwicke from Class ACT.
Breakout session B
How to Kill the Mockingbird
We will discuss our journey and how we have moved from a traditional language arts classroom to a more modern, student centered, competency-based classroom that allows for student choice and voice and turns English class into an authentic and valuable learning experience.
Student Leadership in Outdoor Learning Experiences
Join High Marq Environmental Charter School co-lead teachers Amanda Bolan and Skylar L. Primm, along with field naturalist and school assistant Tiffany Lodholz, as we share the story of how we transitioned our school’s place-based learning program from exclusively teacher-led to one designed around student ownership and agency.
Presented by Amanda Bolan, Tiffany Lodholz, and Skylar Primm from High Marq Environmental Charter School.
Evolving Your Teacher Powered Practices
Discover Level Up Academy’s processes and plans on becoming a more teacher-powered school. Together we will discuss the benefits of a staff retreat, our decision making procedures, and share with you some of the struggles we’ve overcome along our journey.
School Tours & Friday Social Event
In addition to our Saturday Teacher-Powered Day, we are excited to offer two additional events to add to your networking experience.
Registration for these additional events is available on the Eventbrite registration page, available as separate tickets based on which you would like to attend. Note: You MUST register for Teacher-Powered Day to attend these additional events.
- School Tours. These tours are available for free and have limited availability. You must be registered for the Saturday TPS Day in order to attend a school tour. Participants provide their own transportation and food. You may attend one morning tour and one afternoon tour. Please see descriptions of each school below.
- Friday evening social gathering at Bald Man Brewing in Eagan, MN from 5-8pm. Again, there is no charge to register for this event, but you must be registered for the Saturday TPS Day to attend. It is a cash bar and there will be a food truck on-site for those who want to purchase dinner. Registering here helps us get an accurate headcount for the evening.
Hosted by the Teacher-Powered Schools Initiative and the Minnesota Learner-Centered Network.
Descriptions for Friday, Nov. 8 School Tours
- Avalon School
6-12 (urban, public charter school)
St. Paul, MN
Avalon is an innovative learning community that leverages student agency and teacher ownership. Avalon students design independent projects, choose their seminars, and create rules for Avalon through democratic ownership. While students are empowered to lead their education and accept responsibility for the school community, Avalon teachers are similarly empowered. There is no principal or director; instead the teachers operate as leaders and shared owners.
AM Tour: 8:30 – 11:00 AM — Avalon School, 7000 Glendale St, Saint Paul, MN 55114 - Farmington High School
9-12 (suburban, public district school)
Farmington, MN
Farmington Area Public Schools mission is to provide a student centered culture that radiates a dream of an entirely new educational world, is to ensure each student continuously achieves one’s highest aspirations while demonstrating responsibility to communities through a system distinguished by: passion for continuous growth; humanitarian purpose; personal reflection which gives meaning to learning; individual empathetic agency; and, radical trust in self and others.
AM Tour: 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM — Farmington High School, 20655 Flagstaff Ave, Farmington, MN 55024 - High Schools for Recording Arts
9-12 (urban, charter public school)
Saint Paul, MN
High School of Recording Arts serves urban students in grades 9-12+, giving them an environment in which they can earn a high school diploma through their interest in music. The school has pioneered the concept of connecting with the students through a music program; creating space for student-driven projects to emerge as a way to earn a high school diploma AND prepare students for a positive post-secondary education and life.
PM Tour: 12:15 – 2:30 PM — High School for Recording Arts, 1166 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55104 - Level Up Academy
K-8 (suburban, public charter school)
White Bear Lake, MN
The Level Up Academy curriculum reflects the needs of each student and is documented through personalized learning plans. While parts of the curriculum consist of online leveled games and the use of the digital platform instructional and assessment tools, the teacher and student explore multiple approaches to achieve these goals. The teachers also operate collectively to choose behavior and classroom management systems designed to create an engaging school community based on respect and empathy.
PM Tour: 11:45 AM – 2:45 PM — Level Up Academy, 2600 East Co Rd E, White Bear Lake, MN, 55110 - Minnesota New Country School
K-12 (rural, public charter school)
Henderson, MN
The mission of MNCS is to guide students toward self-actualization. To achieve that mission, MNCS leverages the power of purposeful relationships, community, student-led project-based learning, experiential education, and collaborative teacher ownership.
AM Tour: 9:15 – 11:15 AM — Minnesota New Country School (elementary), 127 N 8th St, Henderson, MN 56044
PM Tour: 12:15 – 2:15 AM — Minnesota New Country School (secondary), 210 Main St, Henderson, MN 56044 - MNCAPS
11-12 (suburban, serves students from two districts: Prior Lake-Savage, Farmington)
Lakeville, MN
The Minnesota Center for Advanced Professional Studies (MNCAPS) is a partnership of education, industry and community, immersing all students in profession-based learning experiences. MNCAPS is an example of innovation in modern education. MNCAPS offers a unique way for high school students to apply their course work in real-world settings through hands-on learning, solving authentic problems through project-based assessments, personalized learning, and working one-on-one with mentors in the community, all while earning high school and college credits.
PM Tour: 11:45 – 2:00 AM — MNCAPS, 17685 Juniper Path Ste 205, Lakeville, MN 55044 - Prairie Creek Community School
K-5 (rural, public charter school)
Northfield, MN
Parents, teachers, staff, and students cooperate with one another and with others outside the school to create a joyful and challenging climate for learning. We help children discover the power and excitement of their minds, their feelings and their bodies, their relationships, their art. We assure children of their value, encourage their accomplishments, and respect their individual learning styles. We value diversity. We emphasize cooperation, promote self-reflection, support innovation, and value change. We share our philosophy and practice with others and learn from them. We value justice, gender-fairness, and conflict resolution. We educate children to live as responsive, responsible members of their own communities, now and into the future.
AM Tour: 9:00 – 11:00 AM — Prairie Creek Community School, 27695 Denmark Ave, Northfield, MN 55057 - Wildlands School
7-12 (rural public charter school)
Fall Creek, WI
A learning community of scientists—students, teachers, and community experts working on a wide range of projects focused on an even wider range of topics. Wildands Charter School provides students in grades 7-12 with opportunities to: Develop life-long learning skills driven by self-direction. Learn in a supportive multi-generational community inquiring into the natural world around us. Develop their abilities in science, math, technology, English, history, and social studies in a locally relevant context.
AM Tour: 9:00 – 11:00 AM — Wildlands School, S1 County Hwy K, Fall Creek, WI 54742