With Summit 2011 two months away, we’d like to remind all invited guests to register before this early-bird (seagull!) special flies away on March 25th!  This year’s Summit offers participants  more opportunities to connect one-on-one and in small groups. That’s just one of the ways Summit 2011 will look different from past events.  Here are a few of the new formats on tap for May 18:

Inside the Entrepreneur’s Studio. Entrepreneurs are playing an increasingly important role in education reform today. Entrepreneurs, and the organizations they have started and run, are developing important innovations in teacher and principal recruitment and training, the use of data to inform instruction, charter school models and scale, education technology, and more. As Greg Dees has written, social entrepreneurship “is not just a one-time burst of creativity” but rather “a continuous process of exploring, learning, and improving.” In the spirit of “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” pairs of education entrepreneurs will interview one another, sharing the “process of exploring, learning, and improving.”  Audience members will then break into small groups for discussion with featured speakers.

Bay Area EdTech Entrepreneurs Lab Pitch Competition. This competition will showcase the innovative solutions developed by this year’s inaugural cohort of aspiring education entrepreneurs. The program – a collaboration between Teach for America, NewSchools Venture Fund and the Stanford d.school – is designed to support the launch of technology-based ventures that improve America’s public schools. In this session, teams will pitch their ideas to a panel of expert judges with experience in the education and technology sectors, who will provide feedback and select a winner.  At the close, audience members will have the opportunity to pose questions to both the judges and next generation entrepreneurs.

Reimagining Education. As preK-12 schools and school systems try to do more with less – ensure their students are prepared for the 21st century and the demands of higher education and the workplace, while facing increasing economic constraints – educators across the country are reimagining the traditional classroom.  In this session, organizational leaders will share different approaches they are taking to rethink the classroom – including innovating with the use of time, physical environment, role of the teacher, and use of technology – and the successes and challenges they have experienced with implementation.  In small groups, participants will have the opportunity to share collective knowledge and problem-solve, with the goal of learning from the varied innovations of educators from across the country.

We are thrilled to see the participants who have already signed up for this year’s Summit. Spaces are filling up fast, so register now.

Also, don’t forget to book your stay at the Hyatt Regency today!