SOREN

Southern Oregon is a big region with a lot of schools, and for a long time, many of them were doing important work in isolation from each other.

SOREN changed that.

Today, educators across Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath Counties are connected through a network built on a simple idea: that schools grow stronger when they learn together. Not because they have to, but because it works.

If you're not already plugged in, there's a place for you here. 🦉

It's pretty simple, actually.

When educators have access to great professional learning, meaningful mentorship, and a network that genuinely supports them, they get better at what they do. And when educators get better at what they do, students notice.

That's the whole idea behind SOREN Summer. Not just a collection of workshops, but a sustained investment in the people who show up every day for Southern Oregon's kids.

August still has plenty ahead. Registration links in the first comment below. 👇

SOREN has been doing this work long enough to know that real change in schools is slow, and that's not a bad thing.

It means the changes that happen are built on something solid. Relationships that took time to form. Trust that was earned rather than assumed. Cultures that shifted because enough people kept showing up, kept learning, and kept choosing each other.

That's the kind of change that lasts. And it's what SOREN is committed to building across Southern Oregon, one educator, one school, one district at a time. 🦉

The SOREN Dignity Summit is less than two weeks away, and registration is open now!

Two days. Nationally recognized presenters. Practical tools for building school cultures where every person, student and adult, experiences genuine dignity and belonging.

Featuring John Krownapple, Summer Snyder, Belong Partners, and the SOREN team. | August 11–12, 2026 | Phoenix, OR

Open to all educators across Southern Oregon. Registration link in the first comment below. 👇

You can have the best curriculum in the world and still dread going to work if the people around you aren't your people.

SOREN invests in professional learning because skills matter. But the relationships that form inside those rooms, between educators from different schools and different districts who are figuring out the same things, those matter just as much.

Sometimes the best thing a PD session gives you isn't a new strategy. It's a person who gets it. 💛

SOREN's 11 partner schools span Southern Oregon, different sizes, different communities, different challenges.

What they share is a commitment to doing the work of improvement together rather than alone. And what we're seeing as a result is real: stronger school cultures, educators who feel more supported, and students who are more engaged.

Networked improvement is what happens when schools stop trying to figure everything out by themselves. 🦉

August is closer than it feels, and SOREN Summer still has three standout sessions ahead!

☀️ Rooted Relationships for School Leaders — August 10
For principals, administrators, counselors, and instructional coaches. Practical tools for building school cultures rooted in belonging. Free | 6 PDUs

☀️ Dignity Summit — August 11–12
Two days exploring dignity as the foundation for educator well-being and student success. Featuring John Krownapple, Summer Snyder, and Belong Partners. Free | 14 PDUs

☀️ Connect Prepare Launch — August 17–19
Built for novice teachers heading into their first or second year. Connections, tools, and confidence before day one. Free | 21 PDUs

Registration links in the first comment below. 👇

The first year of teaching is unlike anything else.

There's so much nobody tells you until you're already in the middle of it — the classroom management curve, the paperwork, the weight of caring deeply about students while still figuring out your own practice.

Connect Prepare Launch is a three-day August experience designed specifically for novice teachers across Southern Oregon. Facilitated by Jenni Jones and team, it gives new educators the connections, practical tools, and confidence to walk into their first classroom ready, not just hopeful.

If you're heading into your first or second year of teaching this fall, this one was made with you in mind.

August 17–19, 2026 | Currently open to SOESD Mentors and 1st–2nd year mentees — additional spots may open if space allows

Registration link in the first comment below. 👇

Most professional learning is designed for classroom teachers. Rooted Relationships for School Leaders flips that.

This one-day session on August 10 is designed specifically for district office administrators, principals, counselors, deans, PLC leaders, mentors, and instructional coaches — the people responsible for building and sustaining school cultures where everyone belongs.

Facilitated by Belong Partners, the session brings together brain science, culturally responsive teaching, trauma-informed practices, and restorative discipline through a leadership lens. You'll walk away with tools you can implement immediately in your school or district.

Monday, August 10, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 3:15 PM | Designed for school and district leaders

This is a once-a-year opportunity. Registration link in the first comment below. 👇

What if the most powerful innovations in school improvement aren't new at all, but opportunities to remember what allows people to thrive?

That's the question at the heart of the SOREN Dignity Summit, a two-day learning experience coming in August that brings together educators, school leaders, and community partners to explore how dignity can serve as the foundation for educator well-being, belonging, and student success.

Featuring nationally recognized presenters John Krownapple, Summer Snyder, Belong Partners, and the SOREN team, the summit blends keynote presentations, interactive workshops, practitioner stories, and collaborative learning, all grounded in the Four Standards of Dignity:
✅ Affirming identity and uniqueness
✅ Assuming good intent
✅ Cultivating authentic partnerships and community
✅ Repairing harm through accountability, acknowledgment, and fairness

Whether you're a teacher, administrator, counselor, mentor, instructional coach, or district leader, you'll leave with practical tools, meaningful connections, and a renewed sense of purpose.

August 11–12, 2026 | 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM both days

Registration link in the first comment below. 👇