The Education Exchange Program Schedule: Monday, Feb. 1 This group will meet on the first Monday of each month from 4 – 7 p.m. Recommended Participants: Innovative schools, educators, parents, service providers, and organizations shaping the future of K-12 education. Cost: Free February Exchange Topic: NeurodiversityThe Provocation: Who gets to decide what is “normal,” and how should we respond to people who experience the world differently? What if the challenge isn't always the person who thinks, learns, communicates, or experiences the world differently, but the environments and expectations we've built around them? This month, we'll explore neurodiversity and how our ideas about “normal” shape the way we approach learning, behavior, relationships, and belonging. Together, we'll consider who gets to define what is typical, when the desire to help becomes pressure to conform, and how we can create spaces that honor different ways of thinking and being without losing sight of individual needs, growth, and support. 4 – 4:50 p.m. Workshop & Resource Exchange A short presentation introducing neurodiversity, exploring different ways people experience and interact with the world, and sharing practical resources for creating more inclusive learning environments. Then, we'll reflect on the unspoken expectations we place on others and identify ways to make our spaces more responsive to different needs. 5 – 5:50 p.m. Education Exchange Socratic Discussion A facilitated discussion built around one question: Are we helping people thrive as they are, or teaching them to fit into a world that wasn't designed for them? 6 – 7 p.m. The Social Light refreshments, open conversation, and space for whatever got stirred up in the discussion to settle before it's carried back into classrooms and communities. Education ExchangeAcross Wichita, people are already building more, better, and different ways to educate kids- often without a playbook, working from instinct and conviction rather than a manual. The Education Exchange is a monthly gathering for those reshaping the future of K-12 education, built on one conviction: education gets better when the people doing the hardest parts of it stop working alone and start talking to each other. Each session brings the community into one room for a structured evening of shared learning, honest discussion, and connection- a recurring space to exchange ideas, resources, and support with people doing the same hard work in different spaces. Thoughtfully structured in three parts, participants can register for the individual session that excites them the most or join us for a meaningful night of exchange by attending all three: Workshop & Resource Exchange- a short presentation connected to that month's topic, plus space to share tools, contacts, and resources with the room Socratic Discussion — a facilitated conversation built around a single provocation, open to real disagreement and different perspectives A Social Hour— an hour to unwind, build community, and grow connectionsRegister as an attendee to join Between the Bells, our discussion group that sends monthly recaps of each Education Exchange topic, key takeaways, and opportunities to continue growing and learning from the peer community. Presented in Partnership with Learning Lab Wichita and Lily Lake Kansas
The Education Exchange
Program Schedule: Monday, Feb. 1
This group will meet on the first Monday of each month from 4 – 7 p.m.
Recommended Participants: Innovative schools, educators, parents, service providers, and organizations shaping the future of K-12 education.
Cost: Free
February Exchange Topic: Neurodiversity
The Provocation: Who gets to decide what is “normal,” and how should we respond to people who experience the world differently?
What if the challenge isn't always the person who thinks, learns, communicates, or experiences the world differently, but the environments and expectations we've built around them? This month, we'll explore neurodiversity and how our ideas about “normal” shape the way we approach learning, behavior, relationships, and belonging. Together, we'll consider who gets to define what is typical, when the desire to help becomes pressure to conform, and how we can create spaces that honor different ways of thinking and being without losing sight of individual needs, growth, and support.
4 – 4:50 p.m. Workshop & Resource Exchange
A short presentation introducing neurodiversity, exploring different ways people experience and interact with the world, and sharing practical resources for creating more inclusive learning environments. Then, we'll reflect on the unspoken expectations we place on others and identify ways to make our spaces more responsive to different needs.
5 – 5:50 p.m. Education Exchange Socratic Discussion
A facilitated discussion built around one question: Are we helping people thrive as they are, or teaching them to fit into a world that wasn't designed for them?
6 – 7 p.m. The Social
Light refreshments, open conversation, and space for whatever got stirred up in the discussion to settle before it's carried back into classrooms and communities.
Education Exchange
Across Wichita, people are already building more, better, and different ways to educate kids- often without a playbook, working from instinct and conviction rather than a manual.
The Education Exchange is a monthly gathering for those reshaping the future of K-12 education, built on one conviction: education gets better when the people doing the hardest parts of it stop working alone and start talking to each other.
Each session brings the community into one room for a structured evening of shared learning, honest discussion, and connection- a recurring space to exchange ideas, resources, and support with people doing the same hard work in different spaces.
Thoughtfully structured in three parts, participants can register for the individual session that excites them the most or join us for a meaningful night of exchange by attending all three:
- Workshop & Resource Exchange- a short presentation connected to that month's topic, plus space to share tools, contacts, and resources with the room
- Socratic Discussion — a facilitated conversation built around a single provocation, open to real disagreement and different perspectives
- A Social Hour— an hour to unwind, build community, and grow connections
Register as an attendee to join Between the Bells, our discussion group that sends monthly recaps of each Education Exchange topic, key takeaways, and opportunities to continue growing and learning from the peer community.
Presented in Partnership with Learning Lab Wichita and Lily Lake Kansas
