Our Showcase of Learning

April 24, 2025

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I hope you all found some time to rest, recharge, and catch up on sleep during the April school vacation week. As the temperatures finally tick upward and the buds blossom, I urge you all to take a moment to reflect on your own growth as a professional this past year. What have you learned, and how will that change your practice next year?

At Power of Place we are planning two upcoming opportunities for you to push your growth even further: The May 21 ECLC Showcase of Learning and the two-day August 5-6 Summer Institute.

Our May 21 Showcase of Learning will be a celebratory event at Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum. Think cocktail party meets science fair: There will be drinks and hors d’oeuvres, Salem’s Witch Pitch (Salem High School’s a cappella group) will be performing, and educators from across the region will host booths and share stories of the strategies and ideas that have helped them grow over the past year. Come to celebrate and be celebrated!

For the first time, we are hosting the ECLC Summer Institute in partnership with another organization. Together with Project Adventure we will offer two full days of learning at their Moraine Farm location. This beautiful farmland from 1880 will serve as the perfect location for our future-focused theme: “Staying Human in the Age of AI.” We know this is a topic of some interest across our communities, so we are lining up some of the nation’s experts on the integration of artificial intelligence with public education to serve as guest faculty. We encourage districts to send teams of up to 20 people to this year’s Summer Institute.

These upcoming events will be our two biggest of the year. Be sure to register for each one so we can accommodate allergies, accessibility issues, and ensure that we have more than enough food and drink for everyone. (As the PoP team can attest, my recurring nightmare is that there won’t be enough food for you to enjoy. So please humor me and register!)