We are very excited to begin this new editorial feature from CCIS. Our hope is to provide interesting and informative topics for our membership, educators and administrators as well as others in the Independent Study community.

We will explore a variety of subjects relevant to the challenges and concerns of everyone involved with independent study. For example, in future issues we will be discussing ways to make our content more engaging and accessible to the diverse students we serve. Other topics on our schedule include: teen mental health issues and suicide prevention, integrating technology in the classroom, improving communication with parents, creating effective workforce partnerships and more.

Each blog post will take a single topic, discuss the issues and concerns in relation to independent study, share current research and then offer you—our membership—the opportunity to weigh in and share your thoughts, concerns and commentary.

Upcoming Events

• Fall Conference in Rancho Mirage, November 15 – 17th, 2017: Come celebrate our 40th Birthday with us and find out why we can boldly say, “We are still HOT at 40!”

Next month will be our annual fall CCIS conference. This conference will focus on the theme of “40 Ways Independent Study Changed the Face of Education.” Your CCIS board has worked diligently to make this conference both informative and enjoyable.

Here are just a few of the topics that will be featured at this fall’s conference:

• Teaching Innovations for IS
• Strategies for Student Achievement in Independent Study
• Best Practices
• Compliance

Come join us, meet more of your colleagues and broaden your professional network!

View Conference Details

Featured Speakers

A highlight of these conferences is the workshops and seminars. This year’s speakers will be presenting on a wide range of topics in connection with our conference theme.

We will have Keynote Speaker at both conferences, presenters that are powerhouses in the independent study world. First is Jon Corippo, Interim Executive Director of CUE. Jon will be speaking on the following:

Corippo will examine the educational implications of the Victorian-style mindset and how out of place many of the values we hold to be the bedrock of education are actually misunderstandings, misconceptions and flat out wrong. This talk is inspired by Todd Rose’s amazing treatise on how we decided to use “average” to measure individuals. We can’t get education right if we don’t know the origin of our own profession and some our most deeply held—and flawed—assumptions of what education should be.

Want to see who else is presenting and what they will be talking about? Click here for a list of more speakers: CCIS Conference Presentations Fall 2017

For CCIS members located in the northern part of California the second conference will be in Sonoma, February 7 – 9, 2018.

If you haven’t registered for this conference yet, it’s not too late! Register at: CCIS Fall 2017 Conference.

Up Next

Spreading the Word: Those of us involved in Independent Study know what a great thing we have going for the students we serve. But how can we share our success with our local and state lawmakers and other stakeholders? Our next editorial will discuss strategies for getting the word out to those that need to know.

Suggestion Box

Do you have an idea for a topic or an issue that you’d like to have featured and discussed in an upcoming blog? If so, please feel free to submit that on our blog suggestions form.