Meet Your PD Needs: The 2012 Whole Child Virtual Conference Starts Today
Twenty four sessions. Seven days. Six school site presentations. Two panels of experts from Australia, Singapore, Finland, and France. Free.
Welcome to the 2012 ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference!
As we've said many times across this blog and in our newsletters and podcasts, we believe that a whole child approach to education is the only approach that prepares young people for long term educational, civic, and work life success. We believe that most educators know that to be true, but sometimes act in ways quite contrary to their beliefs. We believe a whole child approach is a relatively simple concept which is quite complex to put in place.
For those reasons and more, we invite you to participate in our 2012 ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference. We hope that across our 24 sessions you will find the mix you need of experts and real life school stories. We hope that you will take advantage both of the opportunity to participate in live sessions and in the availability of archived files for inclusion in your professional learning community activities. We hope that the scope of sessions we present engages you in the full breadth and depth of a whole child approach across curriculum and instruction, school climate and culture, family and community engagement, assessment, and leadership. We hope that you learn something you can use immediately in your classroom, school, and community. We hope that the cost (free!) and the timing (whenever you want!) meet your needs in this era of budgetary crisis and complex schedules for all committed to improving their practice.
Please register. Participate with us in an online learning event open to all who believe each child, in each school and in each community, deserves to be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.
Register Today for the Whole Child Virtual Conference
We are excitedly preparing for the 2012 ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference to be held May 3–11. This year's theme is "Moving from Implementation to Sustainability to Culture," and focuses on highlighting the great work of ASCD-associated schools, providing a forum in which educators who implement the whole child approach to education can learn from one another and presenters, and expanding awareness of a whole child approach to educators worldwide.Join us and more than 1,200 registrants (and counting!) for this free online event!
Presenters include Deborah Wortham on school improvement, Charles C. Haynes on understanding and empathy, Maurice Elias on school climate, and Jason Flom on using neuroscience research to create a community of learners; Authors Michael F. Opitz, Bob Sullo, Mike Anderson, and Peter DeWitt; the 2012 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award winners Matt McClure and Liliana Aguas; and Diane Allensworth and Elaine Auld from whole child partner the Society for Public Health Education.
Additional school-site presenters include David Rawnsley and Lynn Archer from the 2012 Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award-winning Byrne Creek Secondary School, British Columbia, Canada; Kim Klepcyk and Barbara Yeatman with a panel of students from Quest Early College High School in Houston, Tex.; and Jim Roberts, superintendent of the Batesville Community (Ind.) School Corporation.
As part of the virtual conference, we will host two international sessions. These sessions will run for Australasian and European time zones and will bring together experts from each region to discuss health, education, policy, and a whole child approach to education around the world. Of note are two panel sessions with moderator Sean Slade, director of Whole Child Programs at ASCD:
The Whole Child Around The World (Australasian Panel)—Thursday, May 3
9:30–10:30 p.m. eastern time (UTC/GMT -4 hours)
In Singapore: Friday, May 4, 9:30–10:30 a.m.
In Sydney: Friday, May 4, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
The panel members are
- Lee Yee Cheong-Lim, deputy director of the Health Promotion Board under the Singapore Ministry of Health, Singapore;
- Louise Rowling, associate professor for health promotion in the faculty of education and social work at the University of Sydney, Australia; and
- Jo Mason, acting national business manager and national professional product development manager for the Principals Australia Institute and MindMatters, Australia.
10:30–11:30 a.m. eastern time (UTC/GMT -4 hours)
In London: Friday, May 4, 3:30–4:30 p.m.
In Paris: Friday, May 4, 4:30–5:30 p.m.
The panel members are
- Pasi Sahlberg, director general of the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation under the Ministry of Education, Finland;
- Daniel Kropf, founder and executive director of the Universal Education Foundation and the Learning for Well-Being network, France; and
- Katarzyna Kubacka, senior analyst with the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, France.