The Sumer Professional Development Institute brings together member schools’ staff, 
principals, college partners for four days to focus on pedagogy and curriculum as well as issues specific to the MCNC Design Principles. This conference is also open to non-member schools and districts interested in adapting the MCNC model.
Titles and themes of previous conferences include:
- College Readiness
- Strengthening the Position of the MCNC Investment Portfolio
- Education: Out of the Box
- Changing the Horizon Line
- Building a School-wide Culture of College Readiness
Participant comments:
“It was good for “aspiring leaders” to get together to hear one another and to exchange ideas about why they are excited about ECHS and what they are doing to move their students and schools forward.” (2010)
“The peer review sharing gave an opportunity for those doing it and for those who have an interest in doing it to exchange ideas and to learn from each other the positves, negatives and struggles of participating in a peer review among the school’s faculty.” (2010)
“The two presenters at the science workshop were terrific. They demonstrated real passion in science and had ready projects they use to engage students. They showed how the projects are designed, and attempted to walk attendees through the process. I’ll bet they see tremendous improvements in their student’s academic and social progress as a result of the project and inquiry- based learning that appears to be a major component of learning in their classroom.” (2010)
“The Successful Partnering Workshop played to an overflow audience which shows the interests and concerns among participants in improving their relationships with their partners. There should be more workshops at future conferences that deal with this topic.” (2010)
“The conference always seems to promote creating independent learners. This requires that students have the ability to discover knowledge through higher level thinking. Dr. Conley’s presentation and the seminars that focused on his work really helped us realize how to go about creating students that can be self-learners.” (2010)
“The NCREST team did another outstanding job getting the participants to look at and analyze data and come up with strategies to improve the collaboration between the high school and the college.” (2009)
“Numeracy was probably the most inspiring professional development I have ever attended. My principal literally had to coerce me (:)) into attending (I’m an English teacher, and I received a “D” in high school algebra!); however, I came away from the workshop with a new understanding of and appreciation for numeracy across the curriculum. Bravo!” (2009)
“The College Personnel session was extremely enlightening. I enjoyed hearing the challenges and successes voiced by representatives from other states. The session presenter was also very good.” (2008)
“The Senior Project Sessions was quite informative. The information helped to clarify that we had done some things quite well. Also, it showed areas for improvement and inclusion. The hands-on activities and web links helped to make this session far above the usual workshop sessions. Since so many high schools include this project, additional workshops/discussions would really be helpful. This was my first conference, and I learned so much!!!!” (2008)
“As a first- time attendee, this was a great experience for me. Having exposure to other schools, having dialogue with school instructors and administrators, and discussing their programs, was very helpful, as we begin to shape the Middle College progam in our area. It was equally helpful to hear about the “pitfalls” that schools have experienced and survived. This will be a great network of resources for our Middle College movement.” (2008)
