At this time of year, many of us want to think of relaxing with friends and family, but many of the Innovation Network members are keeping busy this summer. Some divisions ended the year with a call to team members to consider innovative initiatives for the Fall. Others celebrated good work already completed. And still others are planning or participating in professional learning to start the 2019-20 school year off right. We hope these stories from the Network inspire you and keep you motivated throughout the summer, and we look forward to sharing your story in an upcoming issue.

Congratulations to all of the recent graduates of every grade and good luck to the Class of '19!

Ted Dintersmith is graciously donating copies of his latest book, What School Could Be, to participating members of the Virginia is for Learners Innovation Network. Initial team members received hard cover copies at the March Institute. Paperback copies are now available. If you would like paperback copies of What School Could Be for additional staff, students, or parents, please contact Becky Ellis at rge4bc@gmail.com and she will arrange to get them to you at Martinsville at our next meeting. To have your copies available by July 25, please contact Becky by July 11.

Don't be shy! Share your story on how you implement PBL in your school or division, just like Jennifer Miller, Supervisor of Community Connections from Loudon County. Jennifer shares a response to the question "Who creates PBL Topics?" from teachers in her division, sharing how teachers and students collaborate on topics and closing with a great example of working with community partners on implementing PBL units together! Check out her fantastic response and share your stories on the PBL FLIPGRID for the Network. Feel free to share with some PBL experts in your school or division so they can provide their stories, too. Thanks!

Our #VAis4Learners teammates in Powhatan invite members of the cohort to join their upcoming educational conference, emPOWer. The conference will be held on August 8, 2019, at Powhatan Middle School from 9am - 3pm. The theme for this year’s conference is “Learning from Each Other” Click here to register on or before May 30, 2019.

Virginia is for Learners is an initiative of the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia School Consortium for Learning (VaSCL), and James Madison University with support from Ted Dintersmith. Coaching is provided by Advanced Learning Partnerships and Dr. Scott McLeod from the University of Colorado at Denver.