Speak Up News - September 2015 Welcome back to school! We hope you had a wonderful summer! The Speak Up Team is busy preparing for this year's survey and we're sure you are as well. To help you plan the beginning of your school year, we've included our Speak Up promotional materials, information about our two new Speak Up surveys, information about our Speak Up 2014 introduction webinar, and details on our upcoming webinars - keep reading to learn more. In this newsletter: ▪ Registration for Speak Up 2015 is open! Sign up to take part in our annual survey from October 1 - December 18, 2015. ▪ Updated promotional materials: With Speak Up 2015 only one month away, now is the perfect time to spread the word about the survey. ▪ New Speak Up surveys! We are excited to announce new surveys for two specific education stakeholders groups this year. ▪ Speak Up 2015 Introduction Webinar: Are you new to Speak Up or do you need a refresher? Plan to attend our introduction webinar. ▪ Speak Up on the go! Check out this month's upcoming events with Project Tomorrow CEO Julie Evans.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog. -The Project Tomorrow team

Speak Up 2015 is in one month! Surveys run from October 1 - December 18 Can you believe Speak Up 2015 is only one month away? Register today to save your school or district's spot for this year's survey! Sign up at bit.ly/SU15survey. If you are a returning school or district contact, you can automatically register for Speak Up 2015 by logging in with last year's contact information. Click here to visit the administrator log in page, or email us and we'll complete the registration process for you.

Speak Up 2015 promotional materials now available Click here to download this year's materials With Speak Up 2015 just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start promoting the survey to your school(s) and community. We've updated our flyers (as shown above), sample emails and blog posts, and guides to help you promote Speak Up. We've also created an all-new welcome packet with shortened versions of our promotional materials in case you need quick and simple ideas for promoting the survey. Follow the links below to download a selection of our tools, and click here for the full list of promotional materials. Promotional materials ▪ Welcome packet ▪ General information flyer ▪ Student password flyer ▪ Participation guide ▪ Speak Up 2015 timeline ▪ Sample promotional emails ▪ Sample tweets ▪ Downloadable banners

The Speak Up family of surveys is growing! We are excited to announce that we have created new surveys for two specific education stakeholders groups this year. NEW SURVEY for Science Teachers Digital content, tools and resources are increasingly critical in the 21st century science classroom for several reasons including supporting the new curriculum standards in science. This new survey, created with support from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), will give us an opportunity to explore deeply how science teachers in particular are using technology to drive the development of student skills and interest in STEM fields – and what their needs are for professional development around digital learning. NEW SURVEY for District Communications and Public Relations Officers The job of the district communications professional is changing quickly. As many districts aim to improve their community outreach and parental engagement efforts, the communications officers are increasingly on the front line of using a wide variety of digital tools and resources to support their work. This new survey has been designed especially for these communications and PR officers with support from the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). We are excited to learn more about technology use within the district communications offices.

Speak Up 2015 Introduction Webinar Are you new to Speak Up or in need of a refresher? If so, plan to attend our introduction webinar - with two chances to catch up on all things Speak Up! Stay tuned for more details, and make sure you save the following date and times: Thursday October 1, 2015 9AM PT/12PM ET 12PM PT/3PM ET Keep an eye out for more webinar details coming soon!

Speak Up On the Go! Join Julie Evans and Blackboard for two free webinars this month Digital Learning Trends Making an Impact on Student Engagement and Development Blackboard and Project Tomorrow Monday, September 14 3:30pm ET Click here to register The increased use of technology, both in school and out of school, creates an urgency for teachers to embrace digital learning to make the student educational experience more productive and personal. The annual Speak Up National Research Project provides an exclusive window into the views of education leaders, teachers and students on personalized learning and innovative learning environments. In this webinar we will share the latest Speak Up national findings from over 403,000 K-12 students, parents and educators with an emphasis on how the use of digital content, tools and resources in innovative classrooms are having a large impact on students' engagement and development of critical college and career ready skills. Maximizing Your K-12 Communications to Support Student Success Blackboard and Project Tomorrow Wednesday, September 30 3pm ET Click here to register Did you know that 86% of the public believes that parent support is the most important way to ensure student achievement? Blackboard and Project Tomorrow have surveyed thousands of parents across the U.S. to understand how they want to be communicated with, which channels they prefer, and how to increase their engagement with schools and districts. In this webinar, explore the parent survey data we’ve collected and learn what tools and practices you need to maximize family and community engagement in your district that ultimately influence student success.

Thank you for your interest and continued support of Speak Up! Be sure to stay updated on all things Speak Up by following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our Blog. If you have any questions please feel free to contact our Speak Up Operations Manager, Jenny Hostert, at jhostert@tomorrow.org or via phone at (949) 609-4660 ext. 17.

Welcome to our new Speak Up sponsors: Scholastic and CDW! Thank you for your support and welcome to the Speak Up family. Many thanks to our sponsors and partners for the support of Speak Up: Blackboard Inc., BrainPOP, Fuel Education, DreamBox Learning, Qualcomm Wireless Reach, Rosetta Stone, American Association of School Administrators, Consortium for School Networking, Digital Learning Day, International Association for K-12 Online Learning, International Society for Technology in Education, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National School Boards Association, the National Science Teacher Association, and National School Public Relations Association.