CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New teachers will have opportunities to reflect on their first year on the job, share best practices and learn from a former at-risk youth whose life was transformed by his high-school English teacher at the annual Beginning Teacher Conference, June 30-July 1, in Champaign.
Nearly 125 first-year teachers are expected to attend this year’s event, “Y2: Moving Beyond Survival,” at the I Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 S. First St.
The conference is the sixth such event for beginning teachers organized by the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative, a statewide partnership of individuals and groups interested in attracting and retaining new teachers and enhancing their abilities to promote student learning.
“This conference offers ideas and strategies to help new teachers learn from each other and provides valuable tools they can use in their classrooms next year,” said Chris Roegge, director of INTC, based in the College of Education at the University of Illinois.
The keynote speaker at the conference will be Manny Scott, who was among the California teens known worldwide as the Freedom Writers, a group of 150 students whose lives were changed by journaling in a high-school English course. The students’ narratives and their personal odysseys were examined in a book and inspired a 2007 film.
Currently an author and motivational speaker, Scott also is founder of Ink International Inc., an educational consulting team focusing on suicide prevention, raising student achievement and improving teacher effectiveness.
Breakout sessions at the conference – led by educators from schools throughout Illinois and the university – will explore topics such as being a responsive instructor, promoting student engagement, working with educational technologies, and supporting children with autism and their families.
“Having the chance to reflect with other educators currently at the same point in their careers was truly invaluable,” wrote one new teacher and past conference participant. “Many of us found common ground in our shared struggles during our first year of teaching.”
INTC receives support from the college and the State Farm Companies Foundation.