ESC Summer Learning Institute 2025: Full Schedule

Unlocking the Power of Knowledge: The Key to Deeper Learning for All

Join us on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Grandview Heights Middle School for a dynamic day of professional learning at the Summer Learning Institute 2025! This year’s theme, "Unlocking the Power of Knowledge: The Key to Deeper Learning for All," will inspire educators to explore innovative strategies that foster deeper understanding and engagement for every learner.

For just $60*, attendees will gain access to expert-led sessions, collaborative discussions, and valuable resources—all while enjoying a provided lunch. The steps to register are provided below.

*An early bird discount of $50 is available thru April 15th!

Day-At-A-Glance
Here is the plan for Summer Literacy Institute 2025 (SLI25). Registration begins at 7:30 with coffee and a light breakfast served. While waiting for Dr. Christopher Emdin to kick off SLI25 with an inspiring keynote at 8:30, network by visiting our Partnership Fair. Two self-selected breakout sessions round out the morning. At 12:15, lunch is provided by Apple Spice. Finally, Kara Vandas leads our afternoon keynote from 1:15-2:15 on Learner Agency with one more self-selected breakout rounding out the day of learning. All sessions will be finished by 3:30.

For content questions, please contact Rachel at Rachel.Daniels@escco.org. For purchase order questions, please contact Sam at Samantha.Finkel@escco.org.

Check out our breakout session options below by toggling "schedule" in the Next Steps-Schedule-Search bar.

Review the lunch options listed below so you are prepared to make your selection when registering.

Sandwich Options–All sandwiches are served with chips and a cookie:

Granny Apple Turkey | Honey Wheat Tangy sliced green apples, Havarti cheese, lettuce, and our famous apple cider vinaigrette dressing on top of our oven roasted turkey breast.

Trio Classic | 13-Grain A trio of thinly sliced meats including cured ham, roasted turkey, lean roast beef, with lettuce, Swiss cheese, and our signature sauce.

Vegetarian (V) | 13-Grain Mushrooms, cucumbers, vine-ripened tomatoes, sprouts, roasted red peppers, and avocados on lettuce with cheddar cheese and pesto mayonnaise.

Grilled Chicken Club| 13-Grain Grilled chicken, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon, green leaf lettuce, and our signature sauce.

Salad Options–All salads are served with bread and cinnamon butter and a variety of dressings :

Strawberry Grilled Chicken

Vidalia Grilled chicken breast, strawberries, and feta cheese make this a sweet and savory favorite.

Classic Cobb

Grilled chicken with bacon, hard boiled egg, and bleu cheese crumbles on fresh salad greens.

Chef Salad

Oven-roasted turkey, cured ham, and hard boiled egg with jack & cheddar cheese on crisp salad greens.

Apple Walnut | Poppy Seed

Fresh apples, candied walnuts, crumbled bacon, and mozzarella cheese on a crisp bed of salad greens

Super Food | Raspberry Vinaigrette

A super antioxidant mix of kale, baby spinach, and red cabbage, topped with dried cranberries, raspberries, almonds, and feta cheese.

Registration Process
Note: Due to Google and Apple’s App Store policies, tickets must be purchased through the Sched website and cannot be purchased through the Sched mobile app. Once registration is complete, you can use the mobile app to create and edit your conference schedule.

Step 1
At the end of these registration directions, you will find a "Reserve Tickets" button on the right side of this page. Click on that button. On the next screen, select your ticket, and you will be directed "to continue with ticket purchase, "Sign up or Log in."

If you do not have an existing Sched account, you will click on "Sign up" to create a free Sched account. If your school is a Google Workspace district, it is as easy as clicking “Sign in with Google.” Otherwise, you can create a Sched account with your work email address and a password.

Step 2
Once you are signed into Sched, you will be prompted to purchase your registration “ticket.” Because of how Sched works, individuals must have their own Sched account and register for the conference themselves.

Payment Details
Credit Cards
Credit Cards are processed by Stripe. This includes a non-refundable processing fee.

Purchase Orders
Purchase orders should be made payable to ESC of Central Ohio, 2080 Citygate Drive, Columbus OH 43219. We ask that the creator of the Purchase Order send a copy to Sam at Samantha.Finkel@escco.org before distributing the PO number to your attendees for registration.

Refunds and Cancellations
Cancellations received up to ten (10) business days prior to the date of the conference will receive a full refund, minus any credit card processing fees if applicable. Cancellations received less than 10 business days prior to the event will have an additional $50 administrative fee, on top of any credit card processing fees. Individuals who register and are "no shows" will pay the full registration.

10:00am EDT

Building Background Knowledge in the Art Room to Strengthen Student Literacy

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

This session is designed to help ALL adolescent educators enhance students' literacy skills by first building a strong foundation of background knowledge in the classroom. Although we will use art history and curriculum for examples, this session is valuable for teachers of all subjects!

We will cover things such as:
Vocabulary Development: Ways to expand and deepen student vocabulary.
Building Strong Content Knowledge: Ways to help them know it and know it well.
Talk Routines: Strategies to encourage meaningful classroom discussions.
Writing Routines: Methods to integrate writing practice effectively.
Real-World Connections: Ways to relate learning to the outside world.

These practical strategies can be immediately implemented into any classroom to strengthen learning and academic literacy for students!

Speakers

Jessica Skinner

Art Teacher, 8-12, Margaretta Local Schools

Jessica Skinner is a seasoned educator with a passion for art that spans over 15 years. Having navigated through diverse educational landscapes, Skinner has left her mark in Illinois, Wisconsin, and her current home state of Ohio, where she now teaches near her hometown. This educational... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

4-12, Humanities

Audience 4-12
Area Humanities

10:00am EDT

How to Begin Teaching Morphology

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

Teaching students morphology can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. This session will cover the basics on how English words are built, reveal key components of English orthography, and model example lessons. Participants will leave equipped with tools and resources needed to begin using morphology as a key component of vocabulary and literacy instruction.

Speakers

Mike Kula

High School Language Arts Teacher and District Head ELA Content Lead, Dublin City Schools

Mike Kula has taught Language Arts in Dublin for 16 years and is his district's Head ELA Content Lead. For Mike, what began as curiosity of English spellings and pronunciations became a passion for morphology, etymology, and phonology and reimagining how vocabulary instruction is... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

4-12, General

Audience 4-12
Area General

10:00am EDT

Tackling Tough Texts in 6-12 Math

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

What do tough texts look like in middle and high school math? Teachers want to support their students in mastering challenging mathematical concepts, but tough math problems also include hidden language and literacy demands that teachers are often unaware of. Using examples from Ohio EOCs, SATs, ACTs, AP tests and beyond, we’ll dissect the linguistic aspects of challenging math texts. Then, we’ll explore a principles to guide math teachers’ instructional scaffolding to support their students in developing not only a conceptual understanding and procedural fluency, but also the reading competence necessary to face linguistically challenging math problems.

Speakers

Dr. Dan Reynolds

Senior Education Researcher, SRI

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

4-12, Mathematics

Audience 4-12

10:00am EDT

Thinking on Paper in the Content Areas

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

When students write about what they are reading and learning, they are ‘thinking on paper’” (Sedita, 2023). Join me to discuss how to both monitor and assess your students’ thinking through writing while addressing the struggles content-area teachers face about teaching writing. I will cover the 3 F’s of Writing: Fluency (Power Writing), Form (Content-Area Learning Tasks), and Focus (Formal Learning Tasks). Let’s get thinking together.

Speakers

Dr. Shannon Beach

Adolescent Literacy Specialist, ESC of Central Ohio

Dr. Shannon Beach, the Adolescent Literacy Specialist at the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio, taught high school English for 24 years. Through her teaching career, she encountered the many joys and the many frustrations of teaching reading and writing which has impacted... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:00am - 11:00am EDT

4-12, General

Audience 4-12
Area General

11:15am EDT

Building Effective Text Sets for Secondary Classrooms

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT

In this interactive session, educators across all core subjects will examine the purpose of text sets and discuss strategies for selecting diverse, engaging texts--ranging from articles and primary sources to multimedia--that align with curriculum goals and student needs. Leave with the necessary understanding to create text sets that enhance comprehension, promote student engagement, and build cross-disciplinary connections.

Speakers

James Cutlip

Regional Literacy Specialist, State Support Team, Region 11

James Cutlip-Savage recently joined State Support Team 11 as the Regional Literacy Specialist, bringing over two decades of experience in literacy instruction, teacher development, and data-driven decision-making. Previously, as the ELA Curriculum Specialist at the Madison-Champaign... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT

4-12, Literacy

Audience 4-12
Area General, Literacy, Humanities, Mathematics, STEM

11:15am EDT

Tackling Tough Texts in 6-12 STEM

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT

Whether it’s science textbooks, research reports, experimental results, scientific diagrams or popular journalism, STEM texts are critical for disciplinary and literacy learning. They are also loaded with hidden reading challenges. In this session we’ll unpack principles and share examples of knowledge-building text set design in STEM. Then, we’ll examine how to design scaffolding around the texts’ disciplinary concepts, knowledge demands, vocabulary, text structures, and language demands. Finally, we’ll discuss how to support adolescents who aren’t fluent word readers--even in STEM classes. You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how reading research can inform STEM literacy.

Speakers

Dr. Dan Reynolds

Senior Education Researcher, SRI

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:15am - 12:15pm EDT

4-12, STEM

Audience 4-12
Area STEM

2:30pm EDT

Drone Discoveries

Tuesday June 10, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Learn from real classroom experience how to incorporate drones into your teaching! We’ll explore the opportunities and challenges of using drones with upper elementary and middle school students, as well as, give you the chance to try flying a drone yourself. Walk away with fresh ideas and resources for how to bring drones into your classroom.

Speakers

Claire Anthony

Science/STEM Specialist, ESCCO

Claire Anthony is the Science/ STEM specialist at the ESC of Central Ohio. She has spent a her career as a middle school teacher and leader at a STEM school and believes in STEM for all!

Tuesday June 10, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

4-12, STEM

Audience K5, 4-12
Area STEM

2:30pm EDT

Tackling Tough Texts in 6-12 ELA and History

Tuesday June 10, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Whether it’s primary sources in archaic language or complex literary texts laden with layers of meaning, tough texts are critical for disciplinary and literacy learning in history and ELA. They are also loaded with hidden reading challenges. In this session we’ll unpack principles of knowledge-building text set design in ELA and history. Then, we’ll examine how to design scaffolding around the texts’ disciplinary concepts, knowledge demands, vocabulary, text structures, and language demands. Finally, we’ll discuss how to support adolescents who aren’t fluent word readers. You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how reading research informs ELA and history scaffolding.

Speakers

Dr. Dan Reynolds

Senior Education Researcher, SRI

Tuesday June 10, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

4-12, Humanities

Audience 4-12
Area Humanities

ESC Summer Learning Institute 2025

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