Summer Virtual Institute
Trusted Practice, New Possibilities
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET | Virtual (Zoom)
Learning Forward invites educators and leaders to gather virtually for an afternoon of professional learning for two of the most important forces shaping the field right now: the relationship-centered practice of coaching and the emerging potential of artificial intelligence.
The Summer Virtual Institute brings together experienced practitioners to lead interactive sessions where participants explore how coaching frameworks and AI tools can work to deepen learning, strengthen leadership capacity, and better serve educators and the students they support.
Whether you lead professional learning for an entire district or you support colleagues as a teacher leader, this institute offers practical strategies you can take directly back to your work. Sessions are designed to be engaging, grounded in practice, and connected to the real decisions educators face every day. Come ready to think, connect, and leave with ideas worth using.
Included
- Keynote speaker Ming Shelby
- Two concurrent tracks: "AI in Professional Learning" and "Coaching Practice" (optional)
- Choice of two interactive sessions (from either track) led by experienced practitioners
- Dedicated discussion and reflection time built into each session
- Virtual format with full access from anywhere
- Afternoon schedule designed for busy educators (12:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET)
Who This Is For
The Summer Virtual Institute is designed for educators who want to grow as leaders and learners. District-level leaders, professional learning coordinators, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders will each find sessions relevant to their role. If you are responsible for designing, leading, or supporting professional learning in your school or district, this institute offers fresh thinking and practical tools.
Keynote: Experiencing Joy while Creating Courageous Cultures
Keynote speaker: Ming Shelby
In this engaging keynote, Ming Shelby challenges leaders to rethink how culture is built and sustained, showing how clarity, follow-through, and shared ownership can create environments where people thrive. Through humor, storytelling, and practical leadership strategies, participants will explore how to balance high expectations with trust, move from control to empowerment, and build courageous cultures where people are both supported and stretched. Attendees will leave with strategies to strengthen team culture, elevate performance, and create workplaces where joy fuels the work, and results follow.
First Session Options
12:55 PM – 2:10 PM ET
AI option:
Personalizing Professional Learning with AI
Presented by Dyane Smokorowski
Professional learning is most effective when it feels relevant, responsive, and empowering. In this session, educators and leaders will explore how AI can help create more personalized professional learning experiences that honor educator voice, choice, and context. Rather than relying on one-size-fits-all models, participants will consider how AI can support differentiated pathways, reflection, resource curation, coaching, and just-in-time support.
This session highlights the potential of AI to make professional learning more engaging, flexible, and meaningful for adult learners. Grounded in practical examples, participants will leave with strategies for designing learning experiences that are more personalized, more efficient, and more connected to the real needs of educators and teams.
Participants will:
- Identify ways AI can support more personalized and responsive professional learning experiences
- Explore practical strategies for using AI to differentiate resources, reflection, coaching, and follow-up support
- Examine how AI can enhance adult learning while keeping relationships and professional judgment at the center
- Create or adapt one idea for using AI in their own professional learning context
Coaching option:
Navigating the Coaching Continuum
Presented by Sharron Helmke | Recommended for Teacher Leaders
Utilizing intentional word choice and modes of communication aren’t just skills required for coaching. They are of value to any educator seeking to building the capacity of colleagues or direct reports. Join us in this session to explore and practice how you can use intentional communication to build trust, encourage innovative problem solving, and foster accountability and ownership of results.
Participants will:
- Understand the continuum and how intentional wording of statements and questions will impact the listener’s understanding and response
- Reserve the use of the consultative stance to speak with quiet, firm authority in a way that discourages challenges or doubts and guides wise choices without taking away adult choice and agency
- Utilize the collaborative stance to create a safe space for innovation and choice via application of agreed-upon choice criteria
- Foster agency, accountability, and strong habits of mind by supporting the brainstorming, decision-making process, and accountability of others.
Second Session Options
2:25 PM – 3:40 PM ET
AI Option:
Using AI Responsibly: Practical Strategies for Thoughtful and Human-Centered Practice
Presented by Rob Dickson
As AI becomes more present in education, educators are asking important questions about ethics, environmental impact, bias, privacy, access, and the broader effects of these tools on people and communities. These questions create an opportunity for deeper reflection and stronger practice. In this session, participants will explore how to engage with AI in ways that are thoughtful, responsible, and aligned to educational values.
Rather than focusing only on concerns, this session will help educators move toward action. Participants will examine practical strategies that individuals and teams can use to reduce harm, increase transparency, and make more informed decisions about AI use. The goal is to help educators approach AI with both curiosity and care so they can lead conversations and decisions with confidence and integrity.
Participants will:
- Identify key ethical, environmental, and sociopolitical considerations related to AI in education
- Explore how issues such as bias, privacy, access, labor, and sustainability can inform better decision-making
- Consider practical actions individuals and teams can take to reduce potential harm and support more responsible AI use
- Develop a values-aligned framework for discussing and evaluating AI use in their own context
Coaching Option:
Leveraging Difficult Conversations for Leadership Growth
Presented by Mikel Royal | Recommended for Central Office Leaders
Central office leaders play a critical role in developing and sustaining effective school leadership, yet many difficult conversations can unintentionally become compliance-driven rather than growth-oriented. Coaching-centered dialogue creates opportunities for reflection, trust, accountability, and meaningful leadership development that ultimately strengthens schools and student outcomes.
In this session we will explore how difficult conversations can become leadership-development opportunities.
Participants will…
- Identify strategies for navigating difficult conversations with clarity, trust, and accountability
- Examine the role of central office leaders in developing leadership capacity across schools and districts
- Leave with actionable frameworks and conversation strategies that can be directly applied within their districts
Facilitators:
Rob Dickson is the Chief Information Officer for Wichita Public Schools, where he heads technology strategy for 50,000 students and nearly 10,000 staff across 94 schools and programs. A 2021 Kansas City CIO of the Year (Public Sector) and a leader in digital transformation, Dickson has propelled Wichita to national recognition—including Microsoft Showcase School honors and innovative partnerships with higher education and industry. His work also includes founding the Education Imagine Academy, a thriving K-12 virtual school. He is driven by a passion to evolve education for the future of work — ensuring technology accelerates lifelong learning and student success.
Sharron Helmke, senior vice president of professional services at Learning Forward, is a professional certified coach with the International Coaching Federation and a Certified Gestalt Professional Coach. She is the author of the recurring “Coaches Corner” feature in The Learning Professional. Sharron formerly served as senior consultant for Learning Forward, leading our Coaches’ Academies and supporting schools, districts, and regional organizations in the implementation of instructional coaching programs, mentoring, and teacher leadership development. She also serves as a content development consultant, supporting the design of Learning Forward’s virtual offerings and customized professional learning, including the ELA Mentor Coaching and the Content Coaching programs. Previously, Sharron served as a classroom teacher, campus based instructional coach, ELA program coordinator, and coordinator of instructional coaching. She holds a doctorate in transformational change for societal impact and her published research focuses on shared leadership for instructional improvement.
Mikel Royal is a Senior Education Leadership Consultant with over 25 years of experience in education, 12 of those years have been spent studying and contributing to education reform by designing and effectively implementing evidence-based tools, practices, and polices to develop, select, support, and retain highly effective principals. Royal is passionate about school leadership and believes deeply in the impact a successful leader has on all aspects of our educational system. Royal currently consults on multiple projects focused on districtwide improvements in school leader talent development in the areas of: leader standards, high- quality pre-service principal preparation, selective hiring and placement of principals, on-the job evaluation and support, principal supervision, leader tracking systems, and systems and capacity to support and sustain a principal pipelines.
Dyane Smokorowski is the Coordinator of Digital Literacy for Wichita Public Schools, where she leads professional learning that helps educators design classroom experiences grounded in strong pedagogy and purposeful technology integration. A nationally recognized educator, Smokorowski was named the 2013 Kansas Teacher of the Year and inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame in 2019. She leads with optimism, grounded in the belief that great teaching transforms lives.
