RTI International will host the 2026 Early College Summit on June 9–10, 2026 at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC. This two-day event for early college leaders and program teams will focus on research-based early college and dual enrollment strategies to improve practice and support student success in rigorous learning environments. The Summit is designed so that veteran and new early college practitioners and college partners can collaborate to learn and share expertise to improve learning and student outcomes. Join us as we strengthen our capabilities to empower learners for future ready success!
Educators and instructional leaders are invited to reflect on Innovation Early College's journey of cultivating faculty capacity to create a school-wide culture of student-inquiry. In this session, participants will develop a shared understanding of high-level inquiry as sustained investigation with increased student agency, examine how intentional vocabulary instruction and exemplars build teacher capacity, apply a practical observation tool to support inquiry-based instructional growth, and examine how inquiry-based instruction advances core Early College outcomes, including student agency, persistence, postsecondary readiness, and credit attainment.
Student performance rightfully consumes us, but as state tests have fallen away from certain subject areas and data with them, how do we measure and track growth?
Teacher, Brunswick County Early College High School
I am completing my 22nd year of teaching high school social studies here in North Carolina and I currently live in Myrtle Beach, S.C. I grew up in Halifax County before attending UNCW and returning to that area to teach at SouthWest Edgecombe High School in Edgecombe County. After... Read More →
Tuesday June 9, 2026 10:45am - 11:45am EDT Salem 3A
Future readiness requires more than academic proficiency. Students must be able to navigate diverse cultures, collaborate across differences, apply learning in authentic contexts, and lead with curiosity and confidence.
• MCP builds independence, mastery, and ownership. • Global Education expands students’ perspectives and cultural competence. • Experiential Learning connects classroom learning to real‑world challenges. • A.C.T.I.O.N. provides the schoolwide culture and habits that sustain these practices. • The Portrait of a Graduate defines the competencies students develop through this ecosystem.
This session helps educators envision how these elements work together to empower early college students academically, socially, and globally.
This session supports future-ready instruction by helping educators design instruction that uses AI to deepen critical thinking and writing while preserving student agency, originality, and intellectual ownership.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly present in ELA classrooms; educators must understand how it can be used to strengthen, not replace, critical thinking and writing. I will highlight research-based principles and authentic examples demonstrating how AI use can deepen analysis, support revision, and strengthen student voice. Participants will examine student work, engage in guided discussion, and reflect on next steps for integrating AI in ways that preserve rigor and originality.
