Hey all! Quick post today inviting you to join me for the Association for Middle Level Education's Annual Conference, October 23-25. If you teach kids ages 9-15, whether your school is a "middle school" or not, this is THE conference where every session, every bit of information, is tailored specifically to the needs of kids this age (and those who teach them). Because it's gone virtual this year, this is the most affordable way to attend the world's largest middle grades conference. Lower registration rate, no travel costs, no time away from work! Sure, it's definitely not the same as gathering in person, but we're doing the most to make lemonade, right?
Look, they even made a virtual me!
Some friends have pointed out that:
1) I hardly ever wear my hair down (true--I have rebellious hair), and
2) Virtual Me doesn't wear ankle-foot orthotics and sensible flats the way I do. Virtual Me can pull off heels Real Me misses ;)
Available all this week, you can view pre-recorded bite-sized speed learning sessions and participate in virtual conversations in the "teachers' lounge." If you're on fall break this week, like I am, the timing is definitely an added bonus!
Live sessions start Friday. Recordings of featured sessions will be available shortly after the conference closes in case you either can't attend a session at its time OR want to check out even more sessions.
I'll be presenting a couple sessions, and you can catch sessions from absolute masters in their fields like Michael Matera, Rick Wormeli, Brad Weinstein, Nathan Maynard, Phyllis Fagell, Cedrick Gray, and many more.
I know PD money can be hard to stretch, but if you're in a position to register for your school, perhaps the fact that you can use the recorded sessions with your staff even after the conference closes will help make the case to the powers that hold the purse strings. To put it another way, you'll get access to dozens of expert presenters for FAR less than what it typically costs to book just one. For the rest of us that often have to foot the bills ourselves, you definitely get a lot of bang for your buck with this one.
As a special bonus, both the print and Kindle versions of my book are available at a reduced rate on Amazon.
Sorry for sounding commercial-y. I rarely directly promote my book and avoid anything that reeks of a sales pitch, but I wanted to share this opportunity for those that might benefit. I've attended (and presented at) the AMLE Annual Conference for years, and it definitely fills my soul every year. Don't we all need a bit of that these days? There's still a cost, and I totally understand if that means this isn't for you. As always, if there's some other way I can support you, please let me know.