At Impact Public Schools, we’re always thinking beyond our own schools. A key part of our mission is sharing what we’ve learned with educators from public schools of all kinds—district and charter, in Washington and across the country. Together, we can put even more young people on a path to success.
Since September of 2020, IPS has partnered with The Rural Alliance, a network of nearly 80 rural public school districts in Washington, to share best practices around distance learning and innovative elementary education. Our goal has been to enhance student outcomes during the current COVID-19 pandemic, as well as lead to stronger pedagogy in the future as schools return to in-person learning.
The IPS model, grounded in social-emotional learning and personalized instruction, has helped us become a leader in innovative distance learning during the pandemic. In just the first half of the 2020-21 school year, our students have already grown an average of 2.3 levels on the Fountas and Pinnell literacy assessment—a pace that puts our schools on par with the highest performing schools across the country. In third grade reading–considered one of the strongest indicators of long-term academic success–our scholars are overwhelmingly at or near grade level.
In addition to being academically rigorous, our north star is to create a fully inclusive curriculum that affirms the identities of everyone in our schools. Everyone is welcome at IPS, and we embrace diversity in all forms–race, sexual orientation, gender, religious beliefs, immigration status, and more. The past year has starkly illustrated how long-standing oppression and intolerance still hold sway in the United States, and we believe in pushing back against that tide to uplift scholars, families, faculty and staff, and everyone else in our communities.
We know that our scholars are not the only ones who can benefit from these innovative instructional strategies. Each month, IPS hosts webinars for Rural Alliance member districts, sharing the approaches and best practices we’ve developed in our schools. Through these webinars, we build teachers’ and leaders’ capacity to implement these strategies in their own schools, while bringing together a strong community of practice.
Now, we’re opening up these webinars to public school educators across the country—for free! If you’re an elementary educator in a public school district or charter school network, we’d love to have you join us!
Click here to access information about our upcoming sessions for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. Links to each Zoom meeting can be found in the document, as well as in the list below. We look forward to seeing you!
- Feb. 3rd (9:00 am – 10:00 am):How to Teach Virtual Guided Reading Groups: Impact’s Approach (K-2) Zoom Link
- Feb. 5th (9:00 am – 10:00 am): How to Teach Virtual Book Clubs: Impact’s Approach (3-5) Zoom Link
- March 24th (9:00 am – 10:00 am): How to Layer Project Based Learning into Distance Learning + FREE CurriculumZoom Link
- NEW DATE! April 14th (9:00 am – 10:00 am): How to Teach Virtual Math Routines to Reinforce Conceptual Math ideas (Grades K-1) Zoom Link
- NEW DATE! April 16th (9:00 am – 10:00 am): How to Teach Virtual Math Routines to Reinforce Conceptual Math ideas (Grades 2-5) Zoom Link
For access to past session recordings and resources, please click on the links below.