Remake Learning Days showcase in Morgantown, WV. Property of Remake Learning.

Happy start to school, all! It is so great to see you all coming back together and being excited for the new school year. I am sure we will continue to see plenty of creative, innovative, and just plain awesome projects, programs, and activities happening across the region. In addition to this excitement, below are upcoming August/September Remake Learning events and opportunities, as well as relevant articles and additional resources.

First, shout-out to our latest rural network members (as well as the many individuals):

• Mohawk Area School District in Lawrence County

• Neshannock Township School District in Lawrence County

• The ARC of Butler County

• Rayne Elementary School in Indiana County

• The Saltsburg Schools Foundation in Indiana County

• The Shack Neighborhood House, Inc., in Monongalia County, WV

• Ohio County Schools in WV

• Spark! Imagination and Science Center in Monongalia County, WV

• Mylan Park Elementary in Monongalia County, WV

• The Hope Center for Arts & Technology in Mercer County

Also, shout-out to network member Dr. Sparks, Pittsburgh’s own STEM Storyteller! Incorporating his own inventions, Dr. Sparks intersects STEM, creative storytelling, and fun to teach science concepts to K-5th graders. Dr. Sparks is hoping to have a more rural reach, so please reach out if you are interested in having a school or organization assembly with him. It is very fun!

Property of Dr. Karl Smith.

Events and Opportunities:

1. Rural Meet Up: Virtual! August 28th

2. Tech-Ad Educators Meet Up, August 29th

3. Community Foundation of Westmoreland CO internship opportunities-Community Philanthropy and Non-Profit Network

4. Request for Proposals: ARC High School Entrepreneurship Program Implementation, Deadline: September 6th

5. Grant Opportunity: 2019 Regional SEL Convening, Deadline: September 6th

6. “What Do I Do With This Stuff?” Maker Series, September 18th

7. Engage in the Future: Engineering Workshop, September 24-25th

8. Apply for the Spring 2020 Language Access Project, Deadline: September 30th

More events and opportunities are added here.

Articles and Additional Resources:

1. Spotlight: Parents in Toto on learning with Autism & supporting those in need

2. Article: Please wait while we connect you: Rural broadband access an issue…

3. Article: Hearing explores lack of rural broadband access

4. Article: Benedum Foundation awards Marshall University Foundation $50,000 grant for STEAM education

5. Article: Rural students prepare for STEM majors through new summer camp

6. Resource: Native Stories with Native Voices, K-12 Technology

7. Research Report: Principal and Teacher Preparation to Support the Needs of Diverse Students, RAND Corp.

8. Resource: Grant to Advance Student Learning—$1,000, Deadline: September 1st

I hope to see you at some of these events, or see you virtually for our rural meet up! Please never hesitate to reach out if there is a way I can help showcase, empower, and champion your education work. Have a great start to the school year!

Until next time—

Allie

allie@remakelearning.org

Property or Remake Learning | Connellsville High School iMedia Center | 2018

Happy end of July, all!

I don’t know about you, but that heat wave was a challenge. Now that the temperature has cooled down and the month is coming to a close, we, as always, have plenty of opportunities coming up for the Remake Learning Network in rural communities! Below you will see a quick re-cap of our Meet Up at Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7, some quick reminders, upcoming dates to put on your calendars, and relevant articles.

WIU7 Re-cap:

We were so fortunate to have representation from Westmoreland and Fayette counties, and Athens, Ohio, among others.—not to mention across the spectrum of youth service!

Attendee goals as they continue their work:

• Having youth be ready for the job market beyond school

• Learning more of what is happening across school districts to build consistency and understanding

• Getting high schoolers more involved in decision-making

• Getting other teachers on board with innovative tools and approaches

• “Making” and community development as an important intersection of this work

• Having a volunteer database to match community-need, including industry and open projects

• Getting teachers and adults more comfortable with new tools through volunteer assistance—let’s break the stigma and have the kids lead you!

  **Remake Learning Tech Ag Meet Up happening in the near future—stay tuned**

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Quick End-of-July Reminders:

• **Remake Learning’s Blueprint for Learning grant opportunity LOI due by July 31, 2019.**

  We would love to see more rural member LOI’s!

Coming Up In August:

• STEAM Tinker Tank for Educators: Design, Make, and Innovate, August 5 - 7, 2019

• Educators Retreat, Laurel Highlands, August 5 - 9, 2019

• State of Black Learning, Pittsburgh, August 15 - 16, 2019

• Grant Opportunity: NSF Innovative Technology, Deadline: August 19, 2019

• Engage in the Future: Engineering Workshop, September 24 - 25, 2019

• Apply for the Spring 2020 Language Access Project, Deadline: September 30, 2019

**See more on Summer Professional Development here.**

News and Articles:

• How Do You Fabricate Change in Mental Wellness and Education?, HundrEd—Shout out to network member Don Martin, Executive Director of Intermediate Unit 1!

• FCC changes its rules, puts education spectrum up for open auction, Hechinger Report

• All ninth graders study at the local 4H center in this Maine district, Hechinger Report

• Creative Market—Wheelings Arts and Culture Commission Public Art Design Submissions

• Interest in Game-Based Learning Surges

• Building Power: One Foundation’s Story of Funding Grassroots Organizing and Engaging, The Nellie Mae Foundation Report

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Due to the start of the school year, we will resume #RemakeRural Meet Ups and Lunch Learns in September. I hope the start of your school year, programming, and the alike is strong—most importantly, continuing along the path of engaging, relevant, and equitable learning.

Until next time!

-Allie

Property of Sunanna Chand, 2019.

Happy almost July, everyone! I hope you are having a great start to summer and staying cool in this humid weather. The Remake Learning Network has had quite the month, including the opening of our Blueprint for Learning grant opportunity, summer PD events kicking off, and our Rural Lunch and Learn with Parents in Toto Autism Resource Center and Seneca Valley School District in Zelienople, PA. Below you will see a brief recap of the Lunch and Learn, what to keep on your radar for the month of July and beyond, as well as some relevant articles.

June Lunch and Learn Recap: The Autism Spectrum and Sensory Learning

• The Autism Spectrum includes difficulties in social situations, communication, and obsessive or inappropriate behaviors. Diagnoses can be isolating for youth and families

• Support groups are important for community engagement, but you cannot force attendance. Signing up for autism-based newsletters, and going to support group meetings and activities are some ways to learn more and be an advocate for a child or your child.

• ‘Zones’ of Emotional Regulation is a systematic, cognitive behavioral approach used to teach self-regulation by categorizing all the different ways we feel and states of alertness. This ranges from the following:

  Blue: Sad, sick, tired, bored, slowly moving

  Green: Happy, calm, feeling okay, focused, ready to learn

  Yellow: Frustrated, worried, silly/wiggly, excited, loss of some control 

  Red: Mad, angry, terrified, mean, yelling and hitting, ‘out of control’

• Questions to consider and ask: How are you feeling? What ‘Zone’ are you in today? How can we help you? This at the beginning and end of the school day.

• This is beneficial for each and every student and the same for sensory learning practices.

• Training staff about ‘Zones’, openly discussing this concept with youth, and talking through the tools and strategies you can use to get to the ‘Green Zone’.

• More details on sensory learning can be found here.

July: For your Radar

• #RemakeRural Meet Up: Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7, July 10, 2019

• Remake Learning Blueprint for Learning Grant Opportunity, Deadline July 31, 2019

• CUESEF 2019 (Center for Urban Education Summer Ed Forum), July 18-20, 2019

• Teachers as Writers 2.0/Western PA Writing Project, July 22-26, 2019

• STEAM Tinker Tank at New Castle School District, August 5-7, 2019

• 2019 Play Make Learn Conference, Madison, WI, August 8-9, 2019

• State of Black Learning Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, August 15-16, 2019

Check out the Rural Communities portal, as well as the network-wide calendar for more events and opportunities.

Articles/News:

• SW PA STEM Grant Recipients—Congrats to our rural network members!

• RCBI (WV) Printing and Making Camps, Summer 2019

• Rural students often go unnoticed by colleges. Can virtual counseling put them on the map?

• Grants to Integrate Media in the Classroom, Big Deal Book

• Program Combining Mindfulness and Music

As always, we would love to see you at our upcoming events, within our network directory, and repping Remake Learning in your own networks and work. We are so happy to be connected with you and to help you expand you innovative and equitable work. Have a great July!

See you next time.

Best,

Allie

Remake Learning Days Kick-Off, Carnegie Museum of Art, May 7, 2019.

Hurray for the end of the school year and an amazing two weeks of Remake Learning Days across southwestern PA and WV! I hope you all were able to attend some events, or host some of your own. Shout out to our rural network members that did host—there is always next year for those that did not! This summer is full of conventions, professional development opportunities, meet ups and lunch and learns, and more.

These are always available to view via the Remake Learning Calendar, as well as our Rural Communities page.

Here are a few spotlights for the upcoming month:

Convening and Lunch and Learn:

• #CSforInclusion , June 20, 2019, 11 AM - 3 PM, Hosanna House Wallace Center — Special Guests from Microsoft TEALS, PA Department of Ed, and PGH schools — RSVP while you still can and be a part of the conversation!

• Personalized Learning Leadership Conference, June 25 - 26, 2019

• #RemakeRural Lunch and Learn: Sensory Learning and the Autism Spectrum with Parents in Toto Autism Resource Center and Seneca Valley High School, June 26, 2019, 11:30 PM - 1:00 PM — Only 10 spots left!

• PA Computer Science For All Summit, June 27 - 28, 2019

June Professional Development:

• IU1 Innovation Summer Institute

• ABC Create @ Burrell Teacher’s STEAM Camp

For Your Radar:

A rural-based district and interested in an info-session/webinar with Microsoft TEALS? Fill-out this interest form.

News and Articles:

• Podcast Promoting Diversity in Children’s Books

• Grants for Fostering Global Perspectives

• Trying Together: Harnessing the ‘Power of Play’ to Build Equitable Cities

• Carnegie Mellon Releases Tools for Better Teaching

• In These Rural Schools, the Computer Science Teachers are Volunteers…

I hope your start of June is one for the books, and as always, we look forward to seeing you and/or your organization represented in the Remake Learning Network. Let’s keep pushing towards engaging, relevant, and equitable learning across the region.

Until next time!

Best Wishes,

Allie

Rural Outreach Coordinator | allie@remakelearning.org

Remake Learning

@AllieKMullins | @remakelearning

Derry Area School District Greenhouse

Photo by Allie Mullins, Remake Learning, 2019.

Happy Spring to each and every one of you! I’m thrilled that it has been a sunny and warm start. April has been such a great month for Remake Learning—Micro Grant applications coming to a close (30% being outside of Allegheny County), a ton of new directory members (shout out to new rural members), gearing up for the end of the school year, and Remake Learning Days Across America!

Remake Learning Days in Southwestern PA and WV

May is going to be a busy, beautiful month for us all. Personally, I’m excited for all of the rural-based Remake Learning Days events happening across southwestern PA and the state of WV. I’ll be attending quite a few events from May 9th to 19th, ranging from youth dance and movement to outdoors learning. Want to take the family, friends, or neighbors to a community-based event that is free or low cost? Here’s your chance to get involved with thousands of others across the region! You can search events by date, time, theme, and more specifics here.

Brochures of events for southwestern PA and WV:

• Remake Learning Days in Westmoreland County

• Remake Learning Days in Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence Counties

• Remake Learning Days in WV

• The entire region brochure (including Greene, Washington, and Fayette Counties on page 44)

• Brochure for Professional Development

A Brief Recap

I've had such a great time championing and meeting folks across the region, including attending Catalyst Connection’s “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” awards ceremony at Penn State Fayette, and being in awe of student-led agriculture/horticulture work being done in Derry Area School District. Our meet-up event with Intermediate Unit 1 (IU1) at their Waynesburg campus this month was a great success, as well! District and community leaders across Washington, Greene, and Westmoreland counties came together to discuss their passionate work in STEM and Computer Science, being interdisciplinary with technologies, and engaging students in social-emotional learning. Here are some re-cap notes from the meet-up. A huge thank you to all that have welcomed me into their spaces!

Quick End-of-Month Reminders** and For Your Radar

• **Grant Opportunity Deadline: Small, Rural Achievement Program— April 26th

• **Parents in Toto Autism Resource Center Free Open House, April 26th

• **Grant Opportunity Deadline: IU1 Innovation Mini-Grants—April 29th

• **Grant Opportunity Deadline: 2019 P-3 Governor’s Institute—April 29th

• TransformED Spring 2019 Professional Development Calendar

• EDTalks Wheeling (WV), May 6th

• Remake Learning Days Kick-Off Event at CMOA, May 7th

• Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and Technology Meet and Geek, May 7th (Mt. Lebanon, Washington, and Cranberry Township)

• Grant Opportunity Deadline: Schneider Electric’s K12 Bold Ideas Contest

Check out Remake Learning in Rural Communities for more May and beyond conferences, professional development opportunities, and events.

News Articles and Shout-Outs

• Wi-Fi Enabled School Buses A Small Step in Expanding Broadband Access for Rural Pennsylvanians— —Shout out to our network member, McGuffey School District, on this work!

• ALA, PLA Select First Round of Libraries Lead with Digital Skills Awardees: 20 Pennsylvania Public Libraries Receive Funding for Workforce Development—Shout-out to B.F. Jones Memorial Library in Aliquippa, and our other library members!

• Silicon Valley Came to Kansas Schools. That Started A Rebellion.

• Prepare for virtual assistants in special education

• How Do We Get Middle School Students Excited About Science? Make It Hands-On

• Fantasy Tale Encouraging Children to Explore their Creativity

• Scholastic Books Release: Culturally Responsive Literacy Strategies—K-12 Technology

Now with close to 100 rural network members, I’m so amazed by the programming and connecting work happening in our rural communities. As always, we would love to see you represented in our network directory. This free membership includes e-blasts and newsletters for Remake Learning opportunities, “this just in” funding and conference opportunities, professional development, and posting your events to our network-wide calendar and blog. Add yourself or your local organization to our directory and start connecting!

In closing, as always, how will you continue to remake learning for youth?

Until next time,

Allie | Rural Outreach Coordinator

@AllieKMullins | #RemakeRural | #RemakeLearning