How do you go from delivering instruction in-person with your students to delivering the same high-quality content through a screen? Educators across Indiana and the world were left asking that question in the spring of 2020, and Keep Indiana Learning was created to support them as they navigated this brand-new world of teaching students. We joyfully celebrated our 5th birthday this past March and wanted to pause to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going.

The Beginning

March 16, 2020 – a date many Hoosier educators remember well. It was the first day of virtual learning. Teachers and students were suddenly thrust into a world with limited experience but with an understanding the learning needed to continue. Many teachers felt unsure of how to proceed with delivering quality instruction in a manner that, for most, felt completely new. 

The staff of Indiana Online was a group that wasn’t new to this delivery method. Armed with their online teaching knowledge, they created a Facebook group to give teachers a space to ask questions, share ideas, and learn from each other. With that, Keep Indiana Learning was born! 

The Facebook group provided a grassroots place for educators to share successes and find help from others doing the same work. It provided a space to come together and learn together. 

The Foundation

Keep Indiana Learning was meant for more than a Facebook group. The Central Indiana Educational Services Center (CIESC) saw the need the Facebook group was filling and believed in the ongoing growth of educators. Thanks to COVID relief dollars, CIESC expanded its Professional Learning department to further support educators. The department began in the fall of 2020 with four members.  This small group hosted virtual workshops, created video content, and wrote blogs to help educators as they navigated teaching students in virtual classrooms.

While the pandemic is behind us, the need for professional growth for educators is not! The Keep Indiana Learning department has now grown to over twenty people. We have hosted summer conferences for a number of years – from an all-virtual option in 2021 and 2022, to the Building Thinking Classrooms Conference in 2023,  the Reading Summit and MidCon in 2024, to this year’s KINLCon. We continue to host virtual learning options as well as in-person workshops. Our YouTube channel is an ever-growing source of information for educators as well as our blogs and the KINL Podcast Network.

Making a Difference

We know we are only here because of the educators we support. We have issued over 14,000 PGP points since the fall of 2020. Not only are educators learning and growing, they are sharing how it’s making a difference for their students! 

• Just last month, after a workshop for multilingual learners, Angela shared, “I’m so excited about all of the new information I am learning and can now apply in my classroom.” 
• After a workshop for writing teachers, “This was a strong PD that reminded me of strategies that I [had] forgotten and introduced me to new practical ideas that I can use tomorrow.”

It’s not only teachers we support. Student Services Professionals are critical to student success. 

• Vicki shared, “As the Pathway Coordinator for our school corporation, this webinar was very important to my daily activities.”

Looking Ahead

We’re not done learning, growing, and being an impactful part of educators’ Professional Learning Communities! We are exploring the creation of additional asynchronous learning opportunities to expand our Canvas offerings. Additionally, we’re looking to expand our virtual offerings, provide opportunities for instructional audits, and design “playbooks” for administrators and instructional coaches to continue to increase their capacity. Beginning in mid-March, we began posting a Friday Five across our social media accounts. These are five simple things we want to highlight across the education world. 

We are always looking for educators to join us as contributors! From our early days to today, we strive to elevate educator voices. Our most-read blogs are by educators who are practicing in the field today! Check out some of their work: Ashley, Carrie, Colette, and Kelsey. If you would like to chat about how to become a contributor, reach out to us!