Services for Educators

COVID-19 is having a huge impact within our families, classrooms and communities. Faced with school closures, many schools are turning to online tools to continue learning outside the classroom. Such tools can help you rethink your already planned lessons into a digital format.

IDRA is actively developing webinars and digital workshops for educators to continue student learning during this unprecedented event. This library of webinars is growing so please check back often to find what you need or get on our email list to receive notices.

This series is provided through the IDRA EAC-South.

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Webinar Schedule

Ready – Reopen – Reconnect! – Proven Strategies for Re-engaging Students Who Need You the Most

Thursday, May 20, 2021 • 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CST – Get Details & Watch Recording 

When schools open this fall, students and educators will carry with them the trauma of the pandemic experience. Faced with students’ increased mobility, family economic hardship, lost relationships with teachers, and lack of academic success, schools lost touch with many students. Find out key factors that keep students coming back and how you can help them feel a sense of success day after day. IDRA shows strategies that have been proven successful in the IDRA Valued Youth Partnership program and how you can integrate them into your school planning for the next school year. We also outline ways you can use federal relief funds to strengthen student engagement and increase attendance.

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First Steps in Project-Based Learning – Webinar

Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 2:00-3:00 pm CST – Get Details & Watch Recording

Are you interested in project-based learning but not sure where to start? Project-based learning is a transformative pedagogical method based on student-centered classrooms, but it requires teachers to adjust how they present information and facilitate learning. This IDRA webinar answers some of the most common questions about planning, implementation and best practices for project-based learning. Learn how to transform your teaching to better support your student’s learning.

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Highlights for Creating a More Bilingual Texas 

Wednesday, March 31, 2021, 2:00-3:00 pm CST – Get Details & Watch Recording

Dr. Chloe Latham Sikes outlines six recommendations in our just-released report, Creating a More Bilingual Texas – A Closer Look at Bilingual Education in the Lone Star State, that she co-authored with Chandra Kring Villanueva of Every Texan. The report provides an overview of policies, history and current issues for emergent bilingual students and bilingual/ESL education in Texas. It also shares recommendations to address the ongoing challenges to achieving educational equity for emergent bilingual students.

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Principals Leading in a Pandemic 

Thursday, February 25, 2021, 2:00-3:00 pm CST – Get Details & Watch Recording

Educational leaders are juggling many priorities with the extraordinary challenges COVID-19 brought for principals and all campus administrators. This webinar explores lessons learned during the pandemic on how to provide thoughtful and effective leadership. Principals Dr. Timothy Vaughn from Edgewood ISD, Rawan Hammoudeh from San Antonio ISD and Jorge Cruz of Southwest ISD join Dr. Nilka Avilés of IDRA to discuss the competencies they have used in finding solutions to the challenges and concerns during this pandemic.

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Impact of the Pandemic on Bilingual Education Webinar 

Tuesday, January 26, 2021, 2:00-3:00 pm CST – Get Details & Watch Recording

In-person student engagement with teachers is ideal for listening, speaking and other social interactions that are critical parts of language development. But virtual platforms and limited in-person engagement caused by COVID-19 precautions hinder such engagement. This webinar features a phenomenal Texas educator, Grace Delgado, executive director of multilingual services for Aldine ISD, to review programming and instructional considerations for bilingual education and serving emergent bilingual students, as well as relevant applications for virtual and remote learning.

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The Power Schools Bring to the Last Days of the 2020 Census – How Schools Can Help their Communities Get Counted Webinar 

Thursday, August 27, 2020, 2:00-3:00 pm CST – Get Details & Watch Recording 

This webinar aims to mobilize the education community to complete the census. Due to COVID-19, the U.S. Census Bureau extended operations to October 31, 2020. But the Census Bureau suddenly announced it was rolling back operations to September 30, cutting a month of much-needed time to achieve a complete and accurate census. In this webinar, we contextualize the 2020 Census and its timeline, discuss efforts over the past year, review completion data, and provide a toolkit for effective census outreach in the last month of operations.

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Youth Tech Mentors Bridge Schools and Families – Creative Community Responses to COVID-19 Webinar 

Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 6:00-7:30 pm (cst) – Get Details & Watch Recording 

The shift to virtual learning brought on by the pandemic hits families with limited resources particularly hard. At the same time, students miss out on chances to practice leadership when they are schooling from home. In this webinar, meet teens and college students who have been helping families and their children navigate technology for school. They share their ideas for how schools and communities can engage youth while also providing much-needed tech support in their family engagement work this year.

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Getting Schools Ready to Support Students Facing a New World of Challenges – School Reopening Webinar Series

July 22, 2020, at 2:00 to 3:30 cdt – Get Details & Watch Recording 

Districts are working hard to develop back-to-school plans that meet the needs of all learners. They also must consider how to address the socio-emotional needs of students. Moderated by Dr. Paula Johnson, Director, IDRA EAC-South, this panel of student advocates and educational leaders discusses policy recommendations for district decision-makers on reopening schools that embrace restorative justice, ethnic studies and culturally responsive practices.

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Partnering with Families to Reopen and Reimagine Schools – School Reopening Webinar Series

July 15, 2020, at 11:30 to 1:00 cdt – Get Details & Watch Recording 

Hear from parents, grandparents and caregivers sharing their concerns and questions about what the future holds for reopening schools and students’ emotional wellbeing. Connecting with families was vital for educators as they welcomed students back in a world changed by COVID-19, immigration and the Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movements. Moderated by Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., IDRA Family Engagement Coordinator.

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Nurturing Students’ Hearts and Minds – School Reopening Webinar Series

June 23, 2020, at 2:00 to 3:30 cdt – Get Details & Watch Recording 

Our panel of advocates and practitioners discuss the needs of students on issues such as COVID-19, school safety, immigration, and the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements that schools needed to prepare for as they reopened.

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Student Perspectives on a Changing School Climate – School Reopening Webinar Series

June 16, 2020, at 2:00 to 3:30 cdt – Get Details & Watch recording

What does the future hold for school re-openings, mental health and student emotional well-being in the wake of a myriad of issues facing today’s youth? Our student panelists help us understand the needs of their peers on issues, such as COVID-19, school safety, immigration, and the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements.

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Teacher, Parent and Student Perspectives on Using Google Classroom Effectively

Tuesday, May 26, 2020, at 2:00 PM (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

Most people know that Google Classroom is a free online classroom management system, developed by Google for schools. But being a powerful and popular tool, doesn’t necessarily keep teachers from experiencing bumps along the way in. In this webinar, get tips on how to use Google Classroom more effectively from the perspectives of a teacher, parent and student.

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How a School District Tackled the Digital Divide 

Tuesday, May 19, 2020, at 2:00 PM (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording 

Hear how San Antonio ISD faced the digital divide to ensure learning continued for their students during COVID-19. Eva Mendoza, executive director of information technology, describe the work that San Antonio ISD performed to bridge the digital divide in her district. She discusses the challenges, successes and what’s next. Also, Clarissa Ramon from Google Fiber shares how funders can support your district when immediate needs arise.

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Teaching Science in Virtual Learning Environment

Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at 2:00 PM (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

Explore how to leverage online platforms to make high-quality science learning interactive and hands-on from home. Dr. Stephanie Garcia and Michelle Vega showcase four online platforms for teaching science concepts virtually: Educreations, Explain Everything, Quizlet and Padlet. They show how to use these tools through an online learning module template focused on Newton’s Laws of Motion, a middle school science concept.

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Chief Science Officer Students Determined to Promote STEM Despite School Closures

Thursday, April 30, 2020, at 2:00 PM (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording 

IDRA’s Texas Chief Science Officer students have an inspirational message to share about how they have been coping with COVID-19 challenges and distance learning. These youth STEM ambassadors did not stop their work to enrich a STEM culture despite their school and community closures. Instead, they have insightful perspectives on how they have been navigating these challenges, how they have stayed connected, and how they keep innovating and creating during this time. Watch as we elevate student voices and share their student success stories.

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From Journaling and Personal Narratives to Letter Writing – ELAR Webinar Part 3

Thursday, April 30, 2020, at 2:00 PM (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

In the final installment of this three-part webinar series, trainers presented steps for students to select from their journal entries one issue important to them. Students expand their writing into a letter to someone in authority suggesting how the issue and its outcome could have been improved upon.

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From Journaling to Personal Narratives – ELAR Webinar Part 2

Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at 2:00 PM (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

In the second of this three-part webinar series, trainers demonstrated a process where students select one of their journal entries to expand it into a fully developed personal narrative, reflecting the significance of the COVID-19 event.

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Journal Writing About the Present for the Future – ELAR Webinar Part 1

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, at 2:00 PM (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

Lead your students as they create a primary source for future historians. In Part 1 of this three-part webinar series, trainers outlined literacy lessons adaptable for all grades as students use journal writing to record their responses to a pandemic that has upended their school year.

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PBL at Home & Across the Curriculum

Tuesday, April 14, 2020 @ 2:00-3:00 pm (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

Project-based learning (PBL) is a powerful approach for educators to use with distance learning because it creates quality home learning experiences. Through hands-on experiences, students can explore, create, engage and connect what they are learning to the real-world. Join us as we explain PBL components of this interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning approach with an equity lens and discuss applications of PBL across the curriculum.

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Facilitating Online Math Sessions 

Tuesday, April 7, 2020 @ 2:00-3:00 pm (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

Get tips you can use right away! Compare ways of supporting students in Google Classroom in shared spaces versus virtual learning environments. And see how to use Zoom Whiteboard, Explain Everything, and Google Classrooms and Training.

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Tools & Tips to Alleviate the Homework Gap

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 @ 2:00-3:00 pm (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

The homework gap is not a new problem. But with the move to system-wide distance learning, it’s not just a homework gap any longer. This webinar presents ways to support students who do not have internet access or computer.

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Digital Divide: Connectivity, Infrastructure and Devices

Tuesday, March 24, 2020 @ 2:00-3:30 pm (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

Featuring Jordana Barton, Federal Reserve Bank; Rene Gonzales, Lit Communities, and Terrence Wilson, J.D. IDRA

Get practical solutions to addressing the digital divide for your students. This webinar explores immediate and sustainable long-term strategies that preserve the integrity of district fiscal policies.

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Equitable Practices for Teaching Online

Friday, March 20, 2020 @ 2:00-3:00 pm (cdt) – Get Details & Watch recording

Featuring Dr. Paula Johnson, IDRA, and Dr. Stephanie Garcia, IDRA

This webinar helps teachers rethink their lesson plans for an online platform, including resources like teacher-created YouTube channels and explainer videos, tools for sharing resources with your peers, and ways of working with your district to ensure students have access.

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