2026 Early College Summit

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 development of a common language and exemplars builds 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.

Presentation Slide Deck

Student performance rightfully consumes us, but as state tests have fallen away from certain subject areas (and the data that came with them), how do we measure and track growth?  What is a student's role in that processs?  I have done my best to investigate best practices and have started exploring ways to help students monitor their growth in the hopes of starting a cycle of empowerment and reflection. 

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.

Teaching Critical Thinking in the Age of AI: Using AI Responsibly to Develop Critical Thinkers and Writers

Students can now generate an essay in seconds. So, how do we ensure they are still doing the thinking?

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly common in schools, educators face a new challenge: helping students use AI as a tool for learning instead of a shortcut around it. The question is no longer whether students will use AI, but how we can design learning that encourages them to think critically, write authentically, and maintain ownership of their ideas.

In this session, participants will explore practical, classroom-tested strategies for using AI to strengthen critical thinking, support meaningful revision, and amplify student voice. Through classroom examples, student work samples, and guided discussion, attendees will examine how AI can be used as a tool for inquiry, reflection, feedback, and analysis while keeping students at the center of the learning process.

Participants will discover ways to design assignments and writing experiences that require students to evaluate information, justify decisions, critique AI-generated responses, and engage in deep thinking that leads to stronger writing and deeper understanding. The session will also address responsible and ethical AI use, including academic integrity, bias awareness, transparency, and preserving student ownership of learning.

Attendees will leave with practical resources, classroom-ready strategies, and a framework for integrating AI in ways that maintain rigor, foster critical thinking, and empower students to become thoughtful, responsible communicators in an AI-rich world.

Interdisciplinary Days at Craven Early College offer a powerful model for Future‑Ready learning by immersing students in themed, cross‑curricular experiences that mirror real‑world problem solving. In this showcase, participants will explore how grade‑level teams design cohesive, standards‑aligned learning days—such as Journey to the New World, Viva La Revolution, Zombie Apocalypse, and CSI Owl Country—that integrate math, science, English, and social studies into authentic, hands‑on challenges. These experiences boost engagement, strengthen collaboration, and help students apply academic concepts in meaningful contexts, echoing the Next Generation Early College emphasis on innovative instruction, student voice, and active collaboration.

Attendees will see sample student products, hear about planning structures, watch video reflections from student participants, and learn how interdisciplinary days foster deep learning, SEL connections, and future‑focused skills. The session will highlight how this model strengthens teacher collaboration, supports diverse learners, and builds a unified school culture. Participants will leave with replicable frameworks and inspiration to design their own interdisciplinary learning experiences.

Teachers and instructional leaders, join us for a transformative workshop wherewe'll delve into the ethical and equitable implications of AI in education. Through acollaborative design thinking process, participants will explore the potential benefits andchallenges of AI integration and develop innovative solutions to address critical issues.

What does high-quality teaching and learning look like in an early college setting, and how do we move from vision to consistent practice? In this interactive session, participants will explore the Essential Practices Framework as a tool for clarifying and strengthening instruction that prepares students for postsecondary success. Through collaborative analysis and application, participants will engage with key components of the framework and examine how aligned tools—including a teacher self-assessment and classroom walkthrough tool—can support reflection, feedback, and continuous improvement. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for using these tools to build coherence across classrooms and support meaningful learning experiences for all students.

How do we embrace AI in the classroom without letting it replace student thinking? This session shares a practical, classroom-ready model for “human-first, AI-enhanced” learning. Participants will see how to redesign assignments so students use AI to deepen understanding, not bypass it. We’ll explore scaffolded prompts, transparency routines, AI-use levels, and assessment strategies that preserve rigor, voice, and academic integrity. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use templates, a course integration roadmap, and concrete examples that help students become AI-literate, ethical, and workforce-ready learners.

This session introduces P.A.C.K. Skills—Presence, Academics, Conduct, and Knowledge, a college-readiness framework developed by New Heights Charter School of Brockton (NHCSB) and used as a college-readiness measure to guide student preparation for early college pathways. Participants will explore how everyday high school choices directly impact high school diploma completion and future college outcomes.

Activating Excellence introduces a structured, high-impact instructional model that integrates collaborative protocols into daily classroom practice. Participants will explore how Rally Coach, Math Stations, Station Rotation, Jigsaw, and Numbered Heads Together align with the Essential Practice Framework to increase engagement, accountability, and academic rigor. This session demonstrates how structured routines reduce teacher overload while meeting diverse learning needs. Educators will leave with practical strategies to scaffold content-area literacy through gradual release, creating organized, student-centered classrooms where learners actively process, apply, and teach content to one another.

How can we design learning experiences that move beyond compliance to true transformation? This session highlights a year-long Junior Seminar project aligned to NCDPI’s Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Participants will examine a scaffolded framework featuring planning, product creation, community outreach, reflection, and feedback cycles. Through interactive protocols and a mini project-sprint, attendees will actively design elements of their own capstone experience. Participants will leave with a customizable blueprint for implementing a Portrait of a Graduate aligned project that fosters communication, collaboration, critical thinking, growth mindset, and personal responsibility in early college students.How can we design learning experiences that move beyond compliance to true transformation? This session highlights a year-long Junior Seminar project aligned to NCDPI’s Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Participants will examine a scaffolded framework featuring planning, product creation, community outreach, reflection, and feedback cycles. Through interactive protocols and a mini project-sprint, attendees will actively design elements of their own capstone experience. Participants will leave with a customizable blueprint for implementing a Portrait of a Graduate aligned project that fosters communication, collaboration, critical thinking, growth mindset, and personal responsibility in early college students.