Funding Opportunity: The Corporation for National and Community Service kicked off its 2011 AmeriCorps grant competition by releasing two funding notices for organizations interested in using national service as a solution to critical problems facing our communities and our nation. The total funding available will be set by Congress through the appropriations process now underway. If the President's fiscal year 2011 budget request is fully funded, the agency anticipates approximately $311 million to be available for new, recompeting, and continuation grants in all of the AmeriCorps State and National grant categories, and $1 million for AmeriCorps planning grants. Deadeline: January 25, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Successful applicants will be notified in June 2011. http://bit.ly/b3jxas

Good Tuesday afternoon to our esteemed Professional Interest Community leaders!
Thanks to all who responded to my request for feedback on our next meeting time. Our next Professional Interest Community live online meeting will be at 1:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, September 29, 2010. We will work on developing the criteria for identifying a thriving Professional Interest Community at this meeting, so please attend if you can.
All of ASCD’s affiliates and communities have a unique relationship with the parent organization. While you are closely affiliated with ASCD, you are each separate, distinct entities and independent organizations in your own right. Our common bond is our vision for children and education, and we have a mutually beneficial relationship: ASCD benefits from your excellent subject matter expertise and you benefit from access to ASCD’s excellent programs and services. Much like you, ASCD is adapting to new ways of learning, teaching and leading in the 21st century. Why change? ASCD is a longstanding, well-respected professional association that is known for its quality work! Absolutely - this is why I am so proud to have joined the ASCD team. But the signs are all around us that the world is changing, and that organizations that flourished in the 20th century need to evolve to continue to make a difference in the 21st century. Change is impacting all of us, from the ways we think of ourselves internally to the ways we communicate and conference externally. It is a challenging time, but with challenge comes opportunity!
This afternoon we will issue notifications of funding for those Professional Interest Communities who made requests. While we could not fully fund every request, I am glad to report that everyone who made a request is receiving funding. Moving forward, we will discuss options and strategies for promoting your own sustained revenue streams.
Looking forward to our meeting on the 29th – and don’t forget the online ASCD EDge training at 1 PM on October 1st too.
Have a good rest of the week!

Walter -- I viewed the archive of the Aug 27 PIC Facilitators meeting. That is a good way for people who cannot attend live. I agree with others -- the article, the questions, and the use of technology are spot on. It appears the meetings magically appear in my Outlook calendar - which is just fine by me except I wish I understood how you do that. My hunch is that I will be catching the Oct 1 archive. I am interested in the EDGE functions so if you have handouts and articles, can you make them magically appear in my in box? I am glad to hear that there will be regular online meetings as well as a meeting in San Francisco.

As for the content expertise issue at the beginning of the meeting, there are many experts in the field of Global Education who can help, although they may not be members of the PIC. We can find them.

Thanks to everyone who attended this past Friday’s PIC facilitator’s meeting! The URL to view the archived recorded session is http://ascd.na4.acrobat.com/p10372130/ - the recording is 57 minutes and 24 seconds long.

PIC Online Meeting Friday, August 27, 2010 http://ascd.na4.acrobat.com/picsfd/
Login with your first and last name

Thank you to everyone who responded to the Professional Interest Community’s survey on the 2011 conference. I am now processing all your input and will be working with staff to identify the best opportunity for you in San Francisco. I will be in touch as things move forward; your input will be invaluable in the process.
I am attaching a quick read by Etienne Wenger, the creator of the Community of Practice (CoP) model. It is a good explanation of the characteristics of a CoP. You can read the article on his site at http://www.ewenger.com/theory/
Wenger’s model is a very practical, empirical view of how professionals come together around a common cause or interest. It is a nice framework for the discussion we started at L2L: what is your Professional Interest Community’s passion? Many of our communities have been around for some time, and this discussion is an excellent opportunity to reassess and revitalize your passion: your reason for being a Professional Interest Community and the ways you serve your membership. Your passion today may not be the same passion that formed your Professional Interest Community in the first place: CoPs evolve over time!
Once you have clarified your current Professional Interest Community’s passion, you can consider your goals: action items you can successfully document and complete. Is it to study a critical issue? Offer recommendations to the greater profession on a high-interest topic? Advocate for specific populations of students? Promote the transformation of education in the 21st century? There are plenty of laudable goals from which to choose. The key is to have your goals tightly align with your passion.
With your goals identified, we can discuss the optimal strategies for you to achieve your goals. The more you align your goals and strategies and passion, the more successful you can be in the coming year. While your annual update is a good starting point for this conversation, let’s drill down deeper and tap into what truly makes each of your communities thriving, vital CoPs. Clearly this will take some time and effort the next couple of months, but I can assure you it will be well worth it to do so!
I would like to propose that we have a virtual meeting later this month, where we can all come together online and discuss Wenger’s model and where we are in connecting with our passion for our respective Professional Interest Communities. I will tentatively set the date and time for Friday, August 27, 2010 at 1:00 PM EDT. Please mark your calendars accordingly and let me know if you can attend. This will be a critical discussion and it is important that as many of us attend as possible. Realistically I know no single time slot will work for everyone, but please let me know if that time slot works for you.

Today is the last day to submit requests for funding. The deadline cannot be extended.

Fianl day to suubmit your survey input on the 2011 Annual Conference!

Reminder: Annual Conference Surveys due by COB (close of business) this Wednesday. Requests for funding due by COB this Friday.

Social Media: Huge, and Here to Stay http://bit.ly/cGhhYJ

Walter, Thanks for sending the survey about our interests for having a successful PIC facilitator's meeting next March in San Francisco. Richard

Hi Walter,
It was great to meet you during your session @ the L2L Conference. I am looking forward to dialoguing with you and the members of the PIC Group. Take care and do stay in touch.

Social Networking Breaks Down Internal Silos http://bit.ly/9dZjZd

The deadline for nominations for the ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award is this Sunday, August 1st!
http://bit.ly/ce5v2e

Setting Students Up for Success with Brian Mendler, August 3, 2010, 3:00 p.m. EDT
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/326018041

Looking to forward to meeting those of you attending L2L this week!

Annual Conference Proposals are due May 1: http://www.ascd.org/conferences/Annual_Conference/ac11.aspx

Greetings Professional Interest Community Facilitators: Proposal Submissions
It was great seeing many of you at the Annual Conference facilitators’ meeting in San Antonio. There was much excitement about your successful workshop sessions at Conference. Don’t forget to submit your proposals for 2011 Annual Conference scheduled in San Francisco. The due date is
May 1, 2010, go to: http://www.ascd.org/conferences/annual_conference/ac11proposals.aspx. The drop box will identify your network group. If you have a featured presenter, please include your name as facilitator along with the presenter.
Capacity Building
The opportunity for capacity building is available to all Professional Interest Community Facilitators. Plan to attend ASCD Capacity Building: L2L Event, July 22 – 24, 2010. L2L Event registration is now open! Join us in Lansdowne! The Leader to Leader (L2L) Web Seminars are available for your participation. Join us Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. EST, for Measuring Success: Data Gathering and Anlysis for ASCD Leaders. Register today: complete the online registration form.

Would like to know more about peer coaching initiatives at the college level.