You are invited to attend a social reception co-sponsored by Illinois ASCD, Indiana ASCD, Iowa ASCD, Michigan ASCD, Minnesota ASCD, Missouri ASCD, Nebraska ASCD, Ohio ASCD, Pennsylvania ASCD, and Wisconsin ASCD at the ASCD Annual Conference in Los Angeles, California. Light refreshments will be served. Piano entertainment will be provided by Wisconsin ASCD's Tony Frontier and Fun and Frolics by Wavelength!

Sunday, March 16, 2014 - 4:30 - 6:30 P.M.

J.W. Marriott Hotel, Diamond Ballroom, Salons 6-8

This event is sponsored by . . .  

Emerging leaders are educators who  . . .  

• Have been in the profession approximately 5-15 years;
• Demonstrate a passion for teaching, learning, and leadership; 
• Collectively exhibit a broad range of diversity in position, location, cultural background, and perspective
• Hold promise as leaders; and 
• Are committed to ASCD's beliefs and to pursuing leadership opportunities. 

All emerging leaders establish an understanding of ASCD's mission and goals, attend the ASCD Leader to Leader (L2L) Conference, connect with experienced ASCD leaders, and engage in a two-year program of activities.

Is there an age limit for Emerging Leaders program participants?  

There is no age limit for Emerging Leaders program participants. However, since the program is targeted at educators who have been in the profession for 5-15 years and are just beginning to pursue leadership opportunities within ASCD and the field of education, most ASCD emerging leaders tend to be under the age of 40. We ask for a date of birth on the online application to help ensure that each class of emerging leaders comprises a diverse group of individuals.

How do I apply for the Emerging Leaders program?  

The Emerging Leaders online application is open from February 1 to April 1 each year. The application is currently open until April 1, 2014. 

How does the Emerging Leaders Program work?  

Once the new class of emerging leaders has been selected, ASCD makes an announcement welcoming the new class to the ASCD community. Emerging leaders are given a press release template to aid in communicating this achievement at the local level.

Emerging leaders will be invited to attend an online orientation session, which covers the expectations for program participants as well as tips for maximizing the program experience. The orientation session will be recorded and archived for those who are unable to attend the live session.

Emerging leaders are then asked to complete an interest inventory, which will help ASCD staff distribute targeted resources and information to program participants. Depending on emerging leaders' interests, they may be matched with an emerging leader coach or ASCD liaison.

Once matched with a coach or liaison, emerging leaders may choose to craft an action plan outlining what they would like to accomplish over the course of the emerging leader program. With support from ASCD and a coach or liaison, each emerging leader is expected to create and pursue unique leadership pathways at ASCD.

Throughout the program, emerging leaders will

• Become part of a select pool of educators with exclusive access to opportunities to expand their professional reach.
• Receive the Leader to Leader (L2L) newsletter, a monthly e-publication with timely notices and news for ASCD leaders.
• Be encouraged to share news and updates with ASCD staff. News about emerging leaders will be shared via social media and in the L2L newsletter.
• Have the opportunity to connect with local affiliate leadership, if applicable.
• Have the opportunity to participate in activities for emerging leaders at the Leadership Institute for Legislative Advocacy (LILA), Annual Conference, and the L2L Conference.
• Have access to program updates and resources on the online Young Professional Leaders group on ASCD EDge^� social networking platform.

At the conclusion of the program, emerging leaders receive a certificate of completion and a letter of congratulations from ASCD. Emerging Leaders alumni are encouraged to remain involved with ASCD and continue their leadership and influence through formal and informal leadership roles.

Jason Ellingson (Collins-Maxwell) and Stefanie Rosenberg-Wager (Iowa Department of Education) are recent Emerging Leaders.  Iowa ASCD Executive Director Lou Howell has also served as a coach for Emerging Leaders in Washington, D.C, Canada, and Atlanta, Georgia as well as Iowa.

Check out additional information on the ASCD website. 

• Mail a check/purchase order with date/name of conference and names/e-mail addresses of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith, Drake University School of Education, 3206 University, Des Moines, IA 50311.

• E-mail a purchase order with name/date of conference and names/e-mails of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu.

• FAX purchase order with name/date of conference and names/e-mails of participants to Bridget A. Arrasmith at 515.271.2233.

• Sign up with a credit card on the Iowa ASCD website. 

Surprising and reassuring!  These two words best describe Iowa ASCD member's, Jeff Watson's, day as a part of the Iowa ASCD's Advocacy Workshop.

"In the morning, I learned along with the other 30 or so teachers and administrators how surprisingly simple it can be for a novice like me to craft a message for legislators that is personal, meaningful, and brief.

"There was quite a bit of excitement at the capitol while we were in the workshop.   I was surprised to have our Iowa ASCD group visited by capitol staff members who talked to us about the events unfolding there. A few individuals were attempting to build support for the elimination of the Iowa Core and the use of Smarter Balanced Assessment.

"Around noon, we finished creating the message that we hoped to deliver to our representative, grabbed our box lunches, and headed to Capitol Hill. Here, I discovered that there are only 4 public restrooms (2 for men and 2 for women) in the Iowa capitol building, and I learned just how challenging getting from point A to point B can be. While we were hurrying to a meeting on the 3^rd floor, we discovered that we had to return to the 2^nd floor and enter the 3^rd floor by another staircase in order to get to our room. All this is due, of course, to the age of the structure (128 years old, to be precise) and the incredible restorations that were completed with the purpose of maintaining the building's original magnificence.

"Also surprising was the number of both Democratic and Republican caucus members who took time out of their busy schedules to meet us during our visit.

"Finally, I was surprised by how much time that the members of our school district's team were given to meet with our legislative district's representative, Dave Deyoe, a Republican from Nevada.    

"This leads me to some of the reassuring things that happened while we were in the capitol. Representative Deyoe was welcoming and seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say. Our school district team's message was this: Good things are happening in our school district, and a consistent and reliable source of revenue is essential to the continuation of this work. To personalize our message, we followed this with examples of how support from the Department of Education's C4K program was allowing us to better meet student needs. We also wanted to be clear that support from our AEA, as well as the legislature's support of funding for Teacher Leadership and Compensation, was helping us to plan to continue to build our capacity.

"I now believe that it truly helps legislators like Representative Deyoe to hear about our successes and challenges as educators. And, that if we put our message in the context of our legislators' work at the capitol, the result can be a better understanding of how we can work together for our students, their families, and the community.

"It would be good to know that our visit also reassured Representative Deyoe that his work, like ours, is essential to the success of each and every student in Iowa.

"I plan to dedicate more of my time to support Iowa ASCD's efforts to build understanding for us all."

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• Jason Ellingson's Blog: The Boxes Have Arrived.  Jason looks at the power of competency-based education for students' learning.
• ASCD's Forum:  How do we cultivate and support teacher leaders?  Share your voice. 
• ASCD Members:  Be ready to cast your ballot April 1 - May 15 for two directors for the board.  Candidates include Tony Frontier (Wisconsin), Josh Garcia (Washington), Patrick Miller (North Carolina), Lorraine Ringrose (Alberta, Canada), and Anne Roloff (Illinois).
• Contact your legislators.  Be sure to use Iowa ASCD's Legislative Agenda to develop your "ask" and support for Iowa education.