Sunday, Feb. 24 and
Monday, Feb. 25, 2020

immediately prior to the Digital Learning Annual Conference (DLAC) in Austin, TX

Rural schools face a number of issues and obstacles in their effort to provide quality, comprehensive, educational programs to their students. Online and blended learning programs have been helping rural students and schools in a variety ways for years, but for many educators and advocates, the important instructional role digital learning plays has not been front and center in discussions about how to improve rural education. We believe much more can be done to make these opportunities available to rural students.

A summit, sponsored by the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA) and Future of School (FoS), two educational non-profit organizations focused on supporting the needs of rural schools, will address the following questions:

• What are the new trends, obstacles, opportunities and shift coming down the pike that are impacting rural districts across America?

• How does educational philanthropy play a role in advancing opportunities for rural teachers and students?

• How can swiftly-implemented policies that support an increase in access to innovative practices and resources shape shift rural schools? Several state-specific examples.

• What happens when policy does not change at a rate that drives equity of rural schools? Local communities and districts are transforming their schools in creative ways. Several district-specific examples included.

• How can this collaborative summit provide the necessary forum for attendees to learn, share, grow, and connect? A pre-summit survey will be sent out asking attendees about their experiences, goals for attending, and most relevant topics to be included.

For more information about the Rural Summit, please contact Amy Valentine.