All your favorite in-person workshops, seminars, and conferences got cancelled, and finding the funding for virtual PD is becoming a challenge. We want to help.

We know how important it is for you to keep your instruction fresh each year through regular professional learning events. We also know that knowing which virtual events to attend, and how to get the money to attend them isn’t so clear. So we want to offer some ideas on how you might raise the funds to get access to those events, and let you know about some of the affordable, high-quality, digital PD options we have available.

• Write the right people. You’d be surprised at what a simple letter can do. Here are two example letters you can use as a template to write to your supervisor/colleagues or business in your community and ask for their assistance in your professional learning journey.
• Choose to be chosen. DonorsChoose is an organization dedicated to helping teachers request assistance for materials and experiences that will build a better classroom for their students. Explore their user-friendly site and get started today.
• Go social and crowdfund. There are many fundraising sites out there that you can access and post on your social media pages to ask for help from friends and family. Here are a few we like: GoFundMe, Kickstarter, Modest Needs, and PledgeCents.
• Tap into other resources and grants. Head over to the Staff Development for Educators (SDE) website funding resource page to explore the many other organizations who can offer funding assistance to much-deserving educators.

Affordable PD Opportunities

And if you’re looking for affordable, virtual professional learning seminars that you can access from the safety of your own home, here are two opportunities from two of our most dynamic presenters on two of the most relevant topics today. The great thing about these is that even if you can't attend the live event, every person who registers will have on-demand access to the recording for 30 days.

Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language, Grades 1–5 with Whitney La Rocca

In this full-day digital seminar, Whitney La Rocca, co-author of the Patterns of Power family of resources, will show you how to create classrooms—whether in-person or remote—where students are curious about language, engage with the world around them, and notice and experiment with the conventions all writers use.

How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom, Grades 7–12

Developed by Matthew R. Kay based on the principles behind his book, Not Light, But Fire, this series of four 75-minute digital seminars is designed to give teachers and administrators a method and strategies for initiating and facilitating meaningful, productive, and respectful dialogues about race.

Purposefully Planning for Differentiating Your Instruction: Principles and Practicalities, Grades 3–12

In this interactive seminar, Rick Wormeli, author of Fair Isn’t Always Equal will show you how to differentiate content, process, and product to meet the needs of all your diverse learners. Don’t miss this candid, behind-the-scenes look at one of the most powerful practices of the modern classroom.

While you're here...

If live PD events are simply out of the question this year, then take a look at the many professional books and classroom resources from Stenhouse that are guaranteed to transform your teaching to the benefit of your entire class. Take a look at our website and find our newest and upcoming titles that tackle some of the most relevant and urgent topics in education today.