For many, summer marks the end of the school year and the beginning of slower-paced days with sunny temperatures. Yet for NCSS, it marks the beginning of our fiscal year and summer learning!

We’re making plans for a spectacular year and kicking it off with our upcoming NCSS Summer Leadership Institute 2021: Think Global, Act Local.

All NCSS members are invited to our annual leadership development program – there is no registration fee! We especially encourage you, our valued leaders across our many leadership groups, to attend. This is our second year hosting SLI in a virtual space for maximum participation.

Our schedule has changed for this program, and I encourage you to register now. The official SLI dates and times are: 

• Monday, July 12: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET
• Tuesday, July 13: 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET

SLI’s first day features an opening panel with leaders from a few Affiliated Councils and local organizations they have partnered with, to showcase how to build strong connections in your community with groups who share similar visions to advocate for and promote the social studies profession. From there, all participants will be assigned to a breakout room to share strategies and ideas for partnerships to advocate for social studies. We conclude the day with a special keynote from Shawn Healy, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at CivXNow, who will share how to conduct state-level social studies advocacy and identify the current issues for communities to tackle.

SLI’s second day is a brief overview from 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET of the 2021 resolutions process for any member or groups interested in writing and submitting a proposed resolution for the 65th House of Delegates Assembly (NCSS Annual Conference, November 2021). 

As an added feature after the official SLI program concludes, NCSS 2021-22 President Anton Schulzki and I will conduct new year orientation sessions for Affiliated Council Leaders, Community Chairs, and Operations Committees beginning on Tuesday, July 13 at 1:15 PM ET. These sessions are by invitation only; a calendar appointment was recently sent to the most current leaders listed from your group. If you received this invitation and cannot attend, please feel free to forward it to a designee from your group. These orientation sessions will be recorded and shared with your group later.

NCSS Leadership Groups Orientation Schedule (Tuesday, July 13)

• Affiliated Council Presidents & Executive Directors: 1:15 - 2:15 PM ET
• Special Interest Community Chairs: 2:30 - 3:30 PM ET
• Operations Committee Chairs & Members: 3:45 - 4:45 PM ET

We understand that your leadership structures may be changing as of July 1; if you are changing roles in your group, please forward meeting invitations you receive to any new designees in your group, such as the new Chair, Director, or other volunteers. And please let us know of your new leadership structure by contacting Joy Lindsey, our Director of Marketing, Communications and Membership, at jlindsey@ncss.org. 

Please visit our Summer Leadership Institute page for complete information on our special program, and to register. I look forward to welcoming you to the “new year” through our innovative program.

Don’t forget to return your survey affiliation renewal forms by June 30th to ensure you receive the latest updates throughout the year. In the meantime, have a great start to the NCSS fiscal new year and summer learning! 

Sincerely,

NCSS Executive Director

Lawrence M. Paska, Ph.D.