📺 Ditch Summit Day 4: Great school culture + Padlet

Quick Ditch Summit note:

We’ve had some trouble with our registration system. Several people have told us they registered but weren’t receiving emails. I think it’s fixed! For some of you, this might be your first Ditch Summit email. Welcome! You can see previous emails here. If you know someone who had registration troubles, would you tell them to go to DitchSummit.com to register again? (And this time it should work!)

PS: Yesterday’s Google PDF notes were temporarily linked incorrectly, but they’re available now. (I’m on the struggle bus running an online event and teaching!) 🤦🏻‍♂️

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📢 New speaker days: 4 days down, 4 to go
We’ll send Ditch Summit emails every day thru Wed. Dec. 24, when all speakers will be released (then less frequent emails until the summit ends Jan. 11).

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🗓 Ditch Summit: 4 days down, 23 days to go
The Ditch Summit closes on Jan. 11, 2026. After that, sessions + resources are unavailable until

🤔 What to do during the Ditch Summit: Get a certificate of completion

One of the things that educators love the most about Ditch Summit? The certificates of completion.

It means that, for many educators, they can turn their Ditch Summit learning into professional development credit to renew their teaching license.

You can generate a certificate for ANY Ditch Summit session, past or present:

• Open the video presentation page

• Watch the video presentation

• Click the “Generate PD Certificate” button

• Fill out the form and hit “Submit”

• Check your email for a certificate

We “automagically” send you the certificates — so you don’t have to wait very long.

Will they count for my state / province / district? Our certificates aren’t accredited by any governing body for professional development, but we have found that lots of schools and districts do accept them.

Illinois educators: We do have a partnership with TeachIllinois to offer official PD hours for Illinois! Get more details here.

📺 VIDEO: If you’re new to Ditch Summit — or want to make sure you’re not missing out on anything — watch our Ditch Summit welcome / tour / tutorial video here.

📲 SOCIAL: Don’t forget to share what you’re learning on social media using the #DitchSummit hashtag on social media — Twitter/X, Instagram (log in to view hashtag), Bluesky, wherever!

🔎 SPOTLIGHT SPONSOR 🔎

A World of Multimedia Digital Possibilities with Padlet

Padlet has been around about as long as I’ve been teaching … but I’ve seen it morph and change into a really unique tool.

It started like sticky notes on a bulletin board.

But now? It’s so, so much more than that. Students can attach multimedia — video, audio, AI images, drawings, and more.

Padlet has also added Sandbox, a collaborative whiteboard tool that’s a mix of slides and a whiteboard. (It’s great for brainstorming, Venn diagrams, and comic striips.)

And if you haven’t seen Padlet TA yet, check it out … it’s a tool to generate quick teaching materials like quizzes, matching games, and lesson plans.

Catch up on what’s new in Padlet with this fun session with Padlet’s Zareen Levien!

🔎 WATCH: A World of Multimedia Digital Possibilities with Padlet

📺 FEATURED SPEAKER 📺

One Principal's School Turnaround Story (with Strategies for YOU)

Amen Rahh got into the classroom as a teacher. He quickly realized something, though …

If he wanted to make the big changes he envisioned at a school, he needed to get into the principal’s office.

That’s when he founded what he called “The U” — University Pathways Public Service Academy, a charter school in Los Angeles USD.

What happened next in his story left me inspired!

It wasn’t your average school. He wanted to create the school that HE would have loved to attend as a student.

Example: He built a courtroom in the school (a courtroom!) to support a pathway to the legal system.

Example: He partnered with the L.A. Clippers and Planet Fitness to bring modern athletic and training facilities to the school.

In this inspirational and empowering session, “Principal Rahh” shares his guiding principles for building a positive school culture — including strategies that you can apply no matter your role in education.

📺 WATCH: One Principal's School Turnaround Story (with Strategies for YOU) with Amen Rahh

Watch any Ditch Summit session from previous years on the Ditch Summit Video Library page any time.