I think it’s safe to say that 2020 has been a strange year for everyone. Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been widespread and ongoing, especially in the educator field. Back in March, as schools shut their doors for extended spring breaks and shifted over to distance learning, we at ILA immediately started looking for ways to support educators.

We leveraged digital platforms like Zoom and Facebook Live to provide new professional learning experiences. We canceled our annual in-person conference, ILA 2020, and created ILA Next, an entirely new program built from the ground up for the digital space. Much like educators who very suddenly shifted to teaching remotely, we’re learning as we go, and we’re continuing to design new profession development models to provide the best learning experience for educators.

ILA Workinar

Which brings me to our next professional development event, our webinar/workshop hybrid, the ILA Workinar (see what we did there?). For our inaugural workinar, Planning for Social-Emotional Learning in Literacy Instruction (August 16, 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. ET), we teamed up with CASEL to create a robust learning experience that focuses on helping educators understand the social-emotional needs of their students.

During the first half of this 90-minute event, participants will learn how to apply the four SEL Critical Practices outlined in CASEL’s Roadmap for Reopening School to literacy teaching and learning from our keynote speakers, Justina Schlund from CASEL and Christine M.T. Pitts from NWEA.

The workshops

But this event goes beyond listening to a presentation. Following the keynote, attendees will be asked to select one of four smaller discussion groups, three of which are organized around the age of the learner, with the fourth focusing on the needs of principals, literacy coaches, and administrators. Each workshop will be guided by literacy educators immersed in social-emotional learning (SEL) work.

We’ve broken these workshops into four categories:

• Primary/elementary students (grades K–3), led by Rhonda M. Sutton and Tamera Slaughter
• Intermediate/middle school students (grades 4–8), led by Sara K. Ahmed and Chad Everett
• Secondary/high school students (grades 9–12), led by Gerald Dessus and Kimberly Eckert
• Principals and staff developers, led by Arlène Elizabeth Casimir

These facilitators will prompt discussion and reflection as well as providing additional resources to workshop participants. Participants will also have the chance to connect with colleagues and deepen their understanding of their students’ SEL needs.

Video archives

We understand how busy educators are. Professional development needs to flexible and accessible to fit educators’ schedules. That’s why our digital events are recorded. The main keynote and all four workshops will be recorded and available to all registrants. That’s right: You get access not only to the workshop you attended but also the other three. That’s a total of 135 additional minutes of professional to watch and learn from at your leisure.

Confirm your membership or join ILA before you register

Registration for this ILA Workinar is just $25 for members ($75 for nonmembers). You can become a member of ILA for just $44. Plus, membership gives you access to a suite of resources free for members.

That includes our ILA at Home webinars, such as “Making a Case for Reading Joy” (featuring Donalyn Miller) on August 30, as well as archives of previous webinars featuring educators such as Timothy Shanahan, Marjorie Y. Lipson, Jeanne R. Paratore, and Victoria J. Risko.

Be sure to join us for this new professional development event!