With all the time and energy you put into planning meticulous lessons and activities for students, does it ever feel like your collaboration/ PD time is a bit of an afterthought? This two-part Team Collaboration document breaks down the elements of successful collaboration so that your time together with your colleagues is productive, focused and used to work toward concrete goals. The first page details the practices Gateway educators have found to be most crucial in establishing and keeping efficient collaboration meetings, along with concrete examples of implementation and questions to consider as you adapt them to your context. The second page is a planning template that weaves these elements -- such as group roles and strict time limits for each topic -- into one coherent agenda that helps you stay on track and build upon your efforts from meeting to meeting. 

When used as a shared digital document, this template encourages everyone at the table to contribute and reminds them of the dual learning goals they have each day: to teach both subject area content as well as student agency in the classroom.

This resource includes the template as both PDF and a fully customizable Word doc, as well as a full text overview, links to related resources, and a video guide to using the template.

Free Webinar: Current Events in Your Classroom

Most of us want to incorporate more current events into our activities and discussions with students, but it can be fraught territory: issues in the news today are generally quite complex and more often than not sensitive matters for students and their families. Facing History and Ourselves is offering a FREE webinar next week on “Current Events in Your Classroom,” designed to help your students become more informed and ethical participants in our democracy.

The webinar will be cast live Thursday, Sept. 12 from 3-4pm, but everyone who registers will be sent the recording, so be sure to sign up even if you’re not available at that time.

Call for Presentations: Tell us how YOU shape student growth at the Gateway Impact Powerful Learners Mini-Conference on Feb. 1, 2020

Do you have a fabulous tool, tip or strategy that other educators could benefit from? Come share them with colleagues from a diverse array of schools and nonprofits and be inspired by them in turn. We are currently seeking presentations from educators and youth workers of every stripe about how best to support students in developing the skills, habits and mindsets that will make them successful across all content areas and beyond the classroom as well. We are open to all ideas that can help K-12 students become "powerful learners". Presenting is a great way to build connections with like-minded educators, and it’s a nice boost for your LinkedIn, at that. Submit a brief proposal to info@gatewayimpact.org and we’ll be in touch.

Save the date: 2nd Annual Powerful Learners Mini-Conference at Gateway High School in San Francisco on Saturday, February 1. 

Save the Date: Conversations for Impact Friday, November 15

All Early Impact subscribers are invited to join us November 15th, from 9-11am, for the latest installment of our signature event series Conversations for Impact. Faculty, education and public sector leaders, and Gateway champions lead thought-provoking conversations around a variety of dynamic topics in public education and social justice issues. 

The November engagement will focus on the contemporary public education ecosystem, featuring Gateway Executive Director Sharon Olken in discussion with colleagues about the mutually beneficial and sometimes challenging relationship between charter and traditional public schools. Together, we'll explore questions such as: How can our common ground foster collaboration to best support all students? How do charter and traditional public schools work together to find solutions to the challenges facing public education today?

Stay tuned for more information and RSVP link.