For the third straight year , the Fall SLN meeting was held at the Chicago Teachers Center of Northeastern Illinois University, thanks to our host Dr. Maureen Gillette, Dean of the College of Education and one of GYO's strongest supporters. Every consortium was represented and the attendance was the largest ever - more than 110 participants attended, including 35 current GYO candidates. (Here is the Attendance List.)
The agenda for the meeting balanced powerful plenary sessions with extensive small group discussions on the challenges of implementing Grow Your Own projects. Here is an extensive report on the activities.
The second morning began with a brief but emotional ceremony honoring Linda Jamali of ISBE, who has had a significant role to play in the project since the idea for an Illinois Grow Your Own Teachers program was first brought to the Governor's office in 2003. Here is Linda with Anne Hallet, the attending candidates, and her award:
The conference ended with a spirited set or organizer training exercizes, emphasizing the importance of the skills of community organizing to the work of building the program and the work of teachers.
