2025 Educator Summit
- Date: June 10-June 12, 2025
- Location: James Madison University
About:
Apply for the three-day Educator Summit focusing on middle school students! This is a fantastic opportunity for you to dive into the world of self-determination, focusing on the importance of relatedness and its impact on student outcomes.
Throughout the Educator Summit, connect with fellow educators from across the state while engaging in goal setting, skill development, and collaboration to empower students with extensive support needs for long-term success. The Educator Summit happens alongside the I’m Determined Youth and Family Summit, giving you exclusive access to the opening and closing sessions.
Details
🗓 Important Dates:
– Event – June 10-12, 2025 (Tuesday morning – Thursday afternoon)
– Application Closes – February 21, 2025, or when 75 applications have been received (whichever comes first)
– Acceptance notification – February 28, 2025
📍 Location: James Madison University
🙌🏽 Event type: Face-to-face workshop-style event
👨👩👧👦 Attendees: We will accept up to 30 middle school educators working directly with students with extensive support needs (e.g., students with intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, students participating in VAAP)
🎯 Educators: Educators include: teachers, teachers for the visually impaired, teachers for the deaf and hard of hearing, paraeducators, OT, PT, SLP, BCBA, AT coordinators, administrators
💰 Cost: This event is sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education through the I’m Determined Project. Accepted educators receive free registration, meals, and hotel lodging during the event. A stipend will also be given for full participation in pre-event work and sessions during the event.
Event Focus:
The Educator Summit is an opportunity for a small group of educators to workshop, learn, and create together in a way that benefits educators beyond those who come to the event. This happens by sharing ideas, which are later polished and released through I’m Determined on our website. There are key differences between this event and our annual fall educator event.
| Educator Summit (this event) | Aspire: Educator Symposium |
| Goal: Bring educators together who are already practicing self-determination to learn together and build new resources that will benefit all educators in VA | Goal: Bring educators together to learn about and see examples of how other educators are practicing self-determination, and learn how to implement it in their environments |
| Small – around 30 educators from across the state | Large – around 100 educators from across the state |
| Taking place in June in conjunction with the Youth & Family Summit | Taking place in November as a stand-alone event specifically for educators |
| Workshop style – where educators are creating together | Conference style – where educators are learning together |
Applications:
Applications are due by February 21st, 2025. Applicants agree to complete the pre-work on time, join a pre-event virtual meet-up, and participate in all activities within the summit timeframe.
Please do not delay filling out an application if you feel you are a good fit for this event! Only 30 educators will be accepted, and late applications will not be allowed to be submitted. Please read all information on the application before making your decision to apply.
🗓️ Applications will remain open until February 21st or when 75 educators have submitted – whichever comes first.
✅ A review team will then score each application to determine acceptance to the event.
📧 All applicants will be notified by email regarding their acceptance by Friday, February 28th, 2025.
🚨 NOTE: Two application questions have a recorded video component. If you would like to create your recordings beforehand, we are listing the questions below. Recording ahead of time will allow videos to be ready to go for the application.
Application Questions – Written Response:
Responses should be 200 words or less. Please be as specific as you can with any examples used to support your answers.
- This year’s theme focuses on Relatedness and belonging. I’m Determined Youth Leaders define relatedness as: Feeling at home in your community while building supportive relationships to share your strengths and needs. What does this mean to you?
- How have you supported your students with having their voice heard/included?
- How do you see yourself contributing to the Educator Summit?
- Share your reasons for wanting to attend the Educator Summit. What excites you about this opportunity?
Application Questions – Video Response:
The following questions should be video recorded. Don’t worry, we won’t share these, and we’re not looking for professional quality recordings! Use the following questions to showcase how you’re making a difference amongst the middle-school students you work with! *Recordings do not need to be edited in any way. Please just make sure the audio can be heard and understood and the video is clear. Recording with a phone is perfectly fine for this!
- Create a video (up to 3 minutes) describing a time that you supported a student in an inclusive setting. What was the hardest part of this experience? Why was it worth it?
- Create a video (up to 3 minutes) of you explaining something you have adapted to best fit your student or students with extensive support needs. In the video, show what you adapted and explain the significance of this support.
Additional video instructions: Record a video of yourself answering the questions. Save the recording, and upload it to a personal online storage folder (such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox). Copy the sharing link, and paste that link into the answer box on the application form. Be sure the share settings are set so our team can view the video. You can use 1 recording for all of your answers or separate recordings for each question. Each question has a 3-minute limit, so think carefully about how you want to answer the question! Anything beyond the 3-minute mark will not be scored as part of your application.
Contact:
If you have any questions about this application process, please contact event@imdetermined.org.