Charter Champions Helps Create “Instructional Excellence” at Summer Teachers Institute
- Charter Champions
- Aug 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 26
Charter Champions hosted its second annual Summer Teachers Institute August 4–8 at Charter Champions’ new headquarters on University Avenue. 24 educators, nominated by charter schools across Rochester, attended the full week. Over the course of 40 hours of professional development, participants engaged with nationally recognized facilitators, including Dr. Paul Miller, Dr. Ruhi Khan (National Institute for Excellence in Teaching), Kobie Wilkerson, Christine Farrell, and veteran educator Sara Rosenfeld.
Quality of Presenters
The caliber of the facilitators was a strength of the Institute. Each presenter blended deep subject matter expertise with highly practical strategies:
Equity Foundations & Classroom Management – Dr. Miller set the tone by grounding participants in We Need to Do Better 2.0, focusing on equity-driven mindsets and practical classroom management.
Instructional Design & Assessment – Dr. Khan led an intensive two-day session on curriculum planning, formative assessment, and data-driven lesson design, drawing on her national expertise in teacher induction.
Relationships & Differentiation – Kobie Wilkerson and Christine Farrell modeled purpose-driven relationship building, differentiated planning, and student engagement techniques tailored for diverse learners.
Culture & Engagement – Sara Rosenfeld emphasized practical, servant-leadership approaches to managing classrooms, ensuring teachers walked away with concrete methods for fostering belonging and structure.
Teacher Feedback
Teacher evaluations reflected strong appreciation for both the depth of training and applicability of strategies to real classrooms. Feedback included:
“This week helped boost my confidence as a teacher SO much! Thank you!”
“Outstanding for a brand-new teacher like myself.”
"Loved it! The sessions were very engaging, and I can use a ton of strategies in my classroom.”
“Would love to participate in more professional development like this throughout the school year. I recommend 200%.”
Overall, the Institute succeeded in both developing teacher skills and reinforcing Charter Champions’ role as a driver of instructional excellence in the city. Charter Champions regularly provides training opportunities for local educators. Please contact info@charterchampions.org for details.