Keynote Speakers
Dr. Muhammad Khalifa
Learn More
Create the conditions for equitable instruction to finally meet the needs of all students.
We all feel the weight of leadership growing heavier and heavier. With widening achievement gaps, unfinished instruction, chronic absenteeism, and staff shortages, the path forward isn’t always clear. But through it all, your commitment to each and every student has never wavered — because you’re a leader.
You know success is possible, but progress takes a team and a plan. Leaders must dig deep and address the root causes of their challenges to drive change. During this three-day leadership retreat, you and your team will have the time and space to align on a shared vision and build an actionable plan for addressing systemic barriers and inequities that keep you from meeting the needs of all students.
Through consultancies and professional learning communities, leaders will learn to create the conditions for equitable instruction by aligning the time, talent, and tools within their sphere of control. Participants will clarify their leadership role, receive hands-on support with their problem of practice, and learn to drive progress through continuous improvement. By planning and learning together, teams will grow their collective impact and leave ready to lead for grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM™ — instruction.
What to Expect at the Leadership Institute
At Leadership Institute, you and your team will have the time and space to:
- Examine the barriers and inequities affecting your school system and develop an action plan to address them.
- Focus on a problem of practice aligned with the team’s vision for impact.
- Evaluate leadership approaches and their impact on urgent problems of practice.
- Learn how to utilize time, money, and people more effectively for improved outcomes.
Leaders and teams will leave Leadership Institute with:
- An action plan and a vision for grounding your work and classrooms in equitable instruction.
- The skills necessary to lead, support, and sustain equitable instruction across every classroom.
- A national community of justice-seeking leaders committed to every student’s success.
- A partner equipped to help you see your plan through, no matter what’s next.
Our commitment to you doesn’t end after three days. UnboundEd and our subsidiary, CORE Learning, are uniquely equipped to help you see your plan through. We work side-by-side with teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders to cultivate the mindsets, knowledge, and skills at the heart of truly transformative teaching and learning.
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About the Pathways
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District Leaders Pathway
State and district leaders explore their leadership identity and how it impacts educational equity. They apply an “equity lens,” examining their power to reshape policies and the systems they lead. Through UnboundeEd’s approach, they learn how to create conditions that foster grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM™ — instruction across districts and schools.
State and district leaders then:
- Identify barriers to advancing equitable policies and instructional models across schools.
- Collaborate with role-alike peers to develop strategies for overcoming time, staffing, and budgeting challenges.
- Leave with tools, protocols, and an action plan for leading and scaling GLEAM instructional practices.
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Principals and Assistant Principals Pathway
Principals and assistant principals explore how their roles impact educational equity in their schools. They apply an “equity lens,” examining their power to reshape policies and practices within their schools. Through UnboundEd’s approach, they identify and strategize around barriers to operationalizing and implementing grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM™ — instruction within a school system.
Principals and assistant principals then:
- Identify barriers to advancing equitable practices in their schools and ensure collective leadership.
- Collaborate with role-alike peers to develop strategies for implementing GLEAM instruction, focusing on optimizing time, teams, and budgets.
- Leave with tools, protocols, and an action plan for leading and scaling GLEAM instructional practices.
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School-Based Leaders Pathway
School-based leaders, including coaches, grade, team, or department leads, and operations directors, explore how their practices influence student outcomes and contribute to educational equity in their schools. They apply an “equity lens,” examining their influence on policy creation and implementation within their schools. Through UnboundEd’s approach, they strengthen their ability to foster collective efficacy on their teams and implement instructional practices that advance grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM™ — instruction.
School-based leaders then:
- Identify barriers to advancing equitable instructional practices in their schools and classrooms.
- Collaborate with role-alike peers to develop strategies for improving instructional practices by optimizing time, teacher teams, and resources.
- Leave with tools, resources, and an action plan for building team efficacy and implementing GLEAM instruction.
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CORE Learning: Leadership for Literacy
The Leadership for Literacy pathway provides participants with transformative instructional practices to develop a foundational understanding of the Science of Reading and create a literacy system to accelerate student literacy. Through CORE’s Leadership for Literacy course, educational leaders will:
- Develop a foundational working knowledge of the Science of Reading and how it can be implemented in a system through transformative instructional leadership
- Utilize tools and processes to evaluate schoolwide literacy programs
- Identify leadership actions that build schoolwide professional capacity to remove barriers and increase opportunities for students to become successful readers and communicators
This pathway is for leaders who serve K–5 students.
Leadership Institute 2025 is in San Diego, CA, at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel (1 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92101).
We have a limited number of special-rate hotel rooms reserved for your stay. To take advantage of our special pricing, please reserve your hotel room using the button below.
Registration for Leadership Institute is $2,350.00 per participant. The Leadership Institute price includes attendance to the pathway session for the duration of the event (three days), lunch for all three days, access to special events and keynotes, snacks, and materials. Breakfast and dinner are not included, and travel and expenses are also not included.
To register, you must provide your Accounts Payable contact name, email address, and phone number. We accept credit cards, Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments, or checks.
To reserve a seat (s), you can submit a purchase order to AR@UnboundEd.org. Please ensure your name and confirmation number are on the purchase order.
After registering, UnboundEd will send an invoice to your Accounts Payable contact. The invoice can be paid via ACH, credit card, or check.
Remit all checks to:
UnboundEd Learning, Inc.
PO Box 69046
Baltimore, MD 21264-9046
Cancellation and Substitution Policy
UnboundEd offers a refund if cancellation requests are made by February 7, 2025. Modifications or cancellations can be made online until February 24, 2025.
If needed, we can transfer registrations to another person at your organization until February 24, 2025. After February 24, 2025, contact support at SupportDesk@UnboundEd.org.
Registration for Leadership Institute is now open!
Event Registration Check-in
Stop by our registration check-in kiosk and tables to let us know you’ve arrived and pick up your UnboundEd Swag!
Sunday: 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Monday: 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Coming Soon
Post, share, connect, and engage!
The fun part about social media is that it allows you to share all the great things you’re doing and learning at Leadership Institute and, more importantly, connect with fellow educators.
Our event hashtag is #LeadershipInstitute!
Leadership Institute Daily Schedule Overview
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Sunday, March 2
Registration Open
Registration Open
Meet & Greet
Meet & Greet
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Monday, March 3
Registration Open
Registration Open
Keynote Address
Keynote Address
Morning Break
Morning Break
Morning Session
Morning Session
Lunch
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Afternoon Session
Afternoon Break
Afternoon Break
Afternoon Session
Afternoon Session
Team Sync Session
Team Sync Session
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Tuesday, March 4
Help Desk Open
Help Desk Open
Morning Session
Morning Session
Morning Break
Morning Break
Morning Session
10:00 AM – 11:10 AM
Team Sync
Team Sync
Lunch
Lunch
Afternoon Session
Afternoon Session
Afternoon Break
Afternoon Break
Afternoon Session
Afternoon Session
Team Sync Session
Team Sync Session
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Wednesday, March 5
Keynote Address
Keynote Address
Morning Break
Morning Break
Morning Session
Morning Session
Lunch
Lunch
Team Sync Session (Action Planning Workshop)
Team Sync Session (Action Planning Workshop)
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About the Event
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Where will Leadership Institute 2025 be held?
Leadership Institute is in San Diego, CA, at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel, 1 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101.
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Who can I reach out to if I have any questions prior to the start of the event?
You can contact us at SupportDesk@UnboundEd.org.
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What is the schedule for the event?
To view the event schedule, click the Daily Schedule tab.
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Do you provide participation certificates after Leadership Institute?
Yes. We will send participation certificates to the email address provided during registration within three weeks of attending Leadership Institute. The certificates will include the pathway and session attended, as well as the total number of hours completed. Please note that these certificates are only available to participants who attend all three event days. We do not provide Continuing Education Units or other credits.
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How long is this event?
Leadership Institute will last three full days (Monday–Wednesday), with participants expected to arrive on Sunday.
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Who will be speaking at the event?
We will have two keynote speakers at Leadership Institute.
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What special events are taking place?
We will have several special events throughout the event and will be announcing special events soon on this page. Stay tuned!
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Do I have to check in when I am onsite?
Yes, please stop by our registration check-in to get your badge and pick up your UnboundEd swag.
Sunday: 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Monday: 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Coming Soon
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Attending the Event
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Can I attend some days/partially, or do I have to attend all days to receive a participation certificate?
Participants must attend all three event days in the pathway and grade band they registered for. Those who attend all three days will receive a participation certificate.
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What pathways/grade bands are available at the event?
State and District Leaders Pathway: K–5, 6–12
Principals and Assistant Principals Pathway: K–5, 6–12
School-Based Leaders Pathway: K–5, 6–12
CORE Learning Literacy for Leadership Pathway: K–5
For more information, see the Pathways tab.
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I attended one of your virtual events. Will the content be different at Leadership Institute?
Leadership Institute is a three-day program for participants interested in becoming justice-seeking leaders. Justice-seeking leaders are committed to addressing systemic inequities in education. These leaders do more than manage immediate challenges. They dive deep into creating environments where equity, diversity, and inclusion are the foundations of educational practice — not just buzzwords. Through professional learning communities and consultancy protocols, leaders will learn how to set the conditions for equitable instruction. To do this, they will clarify their unique contributions to the team, receive real-time support to tackle localized problems of practice and connect with partners for continuous improvement. The learning journey is iterative. It gives teams time to refine their view of collective impact for grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful — GLEAM™ — instruction, UnboundEd’s framework for equitable instruction. It enables leadership teams to drive equitable, substantive change.
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Will my district/school/organization have the opportunity to meet as a team at any point during the event?
Yes, organizations attending Leadership Institute will have the opportunity to meet daily at the end of the learning on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, as well as on Tuesday morning. Your team will be able to reflect on the overall learning from the event, discuss implications, and determine the priority actions to take when you return to your district. You will find the location for your district/team to meet in the UnboundEd app.
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I’ve attended Standards Institute in the past. Will the content be different for the Leadership Pathway? What is your recommendation if I wish to participate this time?
Our Leadership pathway content has been updated to focus on equitable instructional practices and examining bias focused on planning toward grade-level engaging, affirming, and meaningful (GLEAM™) instruction. This three-day offering leverages the conditions of a professional learning community and the protocols of a consultancy to help school teams revise a problem of practice by exploring the conditions (self and/or system) impacting GLEAM.
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Pricing and Payments
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What is the cost of registration?
The price to attend Leadership Institute is $2,350 per person.
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What is included in the price?
The Leadership Institute price includes attendance to the pathway session for the duration of the event (three days), lunch for all three days, access to special events and keynotes, snacks, and materials. Breakfast and dinner are not included, and travel and expenses are also not included.
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What payment methods do you accept for the event fee?
We accept all major credit cards or purchase orders for payment.
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Are there any group discounts?
We do not offer group discounts at this time.
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What is your cancellation policy?
We will provide refunds if cancellations are made by February 7, 2025. Modifications or cancellations may be made online until February 24, 2025. You can transfer registrations to another person at your organization until February 24, 2025. After February 24, 2025, please contact support at SupportDesk@UnboundEd.org.
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Are meals included in the event pricing?
We provide lunch and snacks to participants during the event. We do not offer breakfast and dinner.
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Registration
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Can I switch or swap my registration to join my colleagues in the same room?
Leadership Institute participants are placed in sessions randomly to learn from one another. Changing sessions will not be allowed.
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How do I register?
You can register here until February 24, 2025.
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How can I update my registration? I signed up for the wrong pathway/grade band. Can I change my registration?
Click on the Already Registered link here. From there, you can modify your registration until February 24, 2025, using the confirmation code that was sent to you when you registered. We will not be able to accommodate changes when you arrive at the hotel. If you experience any issues with updating your registration, please contact SupportDesk@UnboundEd.org.
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Hotel and Travel
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What is the hotel for the event? Where should I book rooms?
The Hilton Bayfront Hotel, located at 1 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101, is the hotel where participants can stay while attending the Leadership Institute. Please see the Location tab for hotel options, as participants can receive a discounted rate when booking through the link on the hotel key.
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Will there be transportation to the event from the airport?
We do not provide transportation from the airport to the Hilton Bayfront Hotel. Please make your travel arrangements from the nearest airport (San Diego International-Lindbergh Field Airport) to the Hilton Bayfront Hotel and back again (about 3.6 miles each way). The learning starts promptly at 8:30 AM PT on Monday and ends at 4:00 PM on Wednesday.
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If I’m driving to the event, will there be parking available? Is there a parking fee?
Yes, parking will be available at the hotel if you drive to the event. Parking is also available (public and private) around the Hilton Bayfront Hotel.
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What ADA and other accommodations do you have available?
We will have ADA accommodations available at the event. We will also have a Mother’s room, a prayer room, and wheelchair access. Please make sure to include specific ADA needs when you complete your registration.
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Are there gender-neutral bathrooms at the venue?
Gender-neutral bathrooms are available at the venue, which will be clearly labeled. If you have any questions regarding the location of the gender-neutral bathrooms, please stop by the registration desk upon arrival at the event.
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Do you provide a shuttle service from the hotel to the conference center?
No, the event is in the same hotel where participants are lodging.
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Food
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I have dietary restrictions. Who should I contact so my meals are appropriate for my needs?
Please indicate any dietary restrictions when you register. Feel free to contact us at SupportDesk@UnboundEd.org with additional questions.
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How will the meals be served?
Lunch will be served buffet style from Monday through Wednesday.
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What meals are included?
We will provide lunch and snacks, including beverages. We do not offer breakfast and dinner.