EdCamp is a concept for bringing educators together in an “un-conference” format to exchange ideas, discuss critical issues, and form professional connections.

The National Staff Development Council is a professional organization focused on expanding professional learning and advancement for teachers and educational professionals. They organize conferences, support leadership opportunities, and provide materials for teachers and administrators.

http://www.nsdc.org

Check out stories from Belmont Day School classrooms over the past two years.

www.bdsinstitute.blogspot.com

The Northeast Foundation for Children is the creator of one of our favorite approaches to the social curriculum, Responsive Classroom. The Foundation offers workshops, print resources, and classroom materials for teachers.

http://www.responsiveclassroom.org

The idea of a shared set of curriculum standards can be controversial, but it is a significant issue in contemporary educational discussions.

http://www.corestandards.org

NEPC is based at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Its mission is to provide access to research and policy documents about critical issues in education.

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/schools/current

Educators for Teaching India is a group of educators dedicated to expanding teacher resources about India, as well as creating a format for global citizenship and awareness of non-Western cultures.

Their mission is “to enhance the role that India plays in curriculum through outreach and education in public and private schools. We believe that curricular and pedagogical innovation is at the heart of presenting India’s complexity to students with accuracy and nuance. Our members are K-12 teachers from a wide variety of disciplines who would like to deepen their own knowledge and teach on India and the subcontinent.” Find out more about them, or join the group, at

http://www.teachingindia.org

Strong Women Strong Girls is a non profit organization that builds mentor relationships between female college students and middle school girls in underserved or at-risk communities. Their curriculum is based on a series of biographies and investigations of women who have modeled the traits of leadership, confidence, and strength that girls need to succeed.

The Northeast Foundation for Children, based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, offers a wide variety of resources and professional development options for teachers interested in the idea of building classroom community. One of the Foundation’s best known approaches, Responsive Classroom, is a featured element of their website.

http://www.naeyc.org