To address upcoming state and federal challenges to professional learning budgets, Learning Forward is hosting our first symposium to help you maximize the impact of your Title II-A funding.

Join us in Arlington, Va. February 29-March 1 for our first Title II-A Symposium. This two-day learning event is designed to help districts strategically plan, implement, and evaluate their use of Title II-A funding to support comprehensive professional learning in their systems.

Title II-A is the only federal funding source dedicated to professional learning for teachers and leaders, providing over $2 billion per year to support effective instruction through the preparation, recruitment, and development of educators. Through Title II-A, districts have the opportunity to make strategic, evidence-based decisions about the funding they receive to improve teaching and learning for all students. States and districts must have well-trained Title II-A advocates who understand how to leverage grant funds to strategically support comprehensive system improvement.

Have questions about:

• Allowable uses?
• Federal requirements and reporting?
• Aligning your grant implementation plan with your district strategy?
• Conducting a comprehensive needs assessment?
• Measuring the impact of professional learning?

Additional points of focus include: Advocating for strategic spending, using logic models and evidence-based strategies to inform programming, and designing standards-aligned professional learning programs.

This Symposium will empower Title II-A grant and program managers must be empowered to advocate for and support intentional, transparent, and strategic spending aligned to a comprehensive improvement plan, and understand how to deliver these federal resources in a way that maximizes impact for communities where needs are high and resources are tight. In addition, participants will understand how to measure results from Title II-A funded programs and use data to advance strategy.

Through this event, Learning Forward will help you advance the sustainability and integrity of this grant by providing a comprehensive training and support network to Title II-A grant managers. Developing a learning experience that amalgamates Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning, Title II-A statutory requirements, and best practices is the first step to ensuring that our school systems continue to receive annual professional learning allocations and that those funds are leveraged for maximum impact.

Participants who attend this event will:

• Develop a grant implementation plan that is compliant with statutory requirements and aligned to the Standards for Professional Learning.
• Understand how to evaluate the impact of professional learning programs and how to leverage evaluation data to advance strategy.
• Understand how to advocate for the strategic utilization of Title II-A funds to support district goals and best practices.

When: February 29-March 1, 2024

Time: 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday, February 29; 8:30 a.m.-noon Friday, March 1

Where: Lubber Run Community Center, 300 N. Park Drive, Arlington, VA 22203

Register here.

Who is this for?

Federal programs managers or directors at the district level and their team members, as well as directors of professional learning and their teams, are encouraged to attend.

Why should I attend?

Ensure your Title II funds maximize their impact on teacher growth and student success. This two-day event will help move your system beyond compliance and transform your grant implementation plan.

Cost:

$699 per attendee for Learning Forward members; $749 for non-members. Breakfast and lunch will be provided on Thursday, and breakfast will be provided on Friday. Coffee will be available.

Facilitators:

Heather Sauers is the founder of Edvance Collective, a group of educational advocates with state and national experience leveraging continuous growth strategies to advance inclusive instruction, leadership, and systems. As a Maryland native and Baltimore resident, Heather is passionate about improving programmatic implementation that impacts the recruitment, retention, and development of high-quality educators in her community and beyond. Heather has long standing working relationships with SEA Title II, Part A grant managers across the nation to improve the quality of implementation of the Title II, Part A grant. Heather served as the Coordinator of Title II, Part A at the Maryland State Department of Education and continues to provide Title II, Part A grant consultation services to many local education agencies. Heather is an active member of Learning Forward and contributed to the revised Standards for Professional Learning as a member of the District/State Working Group.

Machel Mills-Miles is vice president, standards implementation & outreach at Learning Forward. She advances the conceptualization and development of tools and resources to support the use of revised Standards for Professional Learning. Machel formerly served as senior learning strategist at BloomBoard, facilitating the use of micro-credentials to support professional learning plans in district, state, and regional contexts. Previously, she worked at the Tennessee Department of Education to lead a statewide pilot for micro-credentials and playing a key role in Tennessee’s Diversity Innovation Grant, Human Capital Network, Teacher Leader Network, New Teacher Induction Framework, and Professional Learning Systems Framework. She worked in Metro Nashville Public Schools as a lead coach for literacy, helping to support more than 120 coaches districtwide, and earlier as instructional/literacy coach in direct support of teachers. She began her education career as an English Language Arts teacher.