Welcome to DREAM 2021, Achieving the Dream’s annual flagship conference gone virtual in the time of COVID-19. This year, more than 3,300 participants are tuning in from around the world. They include prominent thinkers, distinguished faculty and administrators, exceptional students, and kindred colleagues grappling with current issues and challenges. Throughout the conference they will gain fresh perspectives, inspiration, and a deeper understanding of the priorities for community colleges today and in the future.

It's not too late to register! Join us at DREAM 2021 by signing up here: www.achievingthedream.org/dream2021

Achieving the Dream's president and CEO Dr. Karen Stout said it best in her welcome video posted on the DREAM event platform: “Set an intention now, if you can, to be as present as possible and to actively connect what you are learning here to your own institutional and practice challenges.”

DREAM Daily is a wrap-up of the prior day’s plenaries, a guide to upcoming sessions, news of note about speakers and attendees, ATD resources, and important announcements.

DREAM 2021: Five themes to turn hope into action

The following five themes weave through the plenaries, workshops, fast forums highlighting cutting-edge innovations, and concurrent sessions on specialized topics.

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  Racial equity
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  Leveraging the power of place
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  Listening to big data
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  Fostering teaching and learning excellence
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  Anchoring a bold, new access agenda

Today’s highlights

Our two-hour DREAM Studios will take a deep dive into effective practices from 11:00am to 1:00pm ET. Registered participants can choose between:

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  Building a Culture of Teaching & Learning Excellence
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  Community Colleges as Engines for Upward Mobility and Community Vitality
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  Diving into the Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) Dashboards for Decision Support (sold out)
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  Understanding the K-12 Landscape to Build Rigorous Postsecondary On-ramps for Non-traditional Students

The opening plenary session, The Future Is Now: Hope at the Forefront of Change, will take place from 1:00pm to 3:00pm ET. Featured speakers:

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  Dr. Karen A. Stout, President and CEO, Achieving the Dream
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  Jesmyn Ward, Professor of Creative Writing at Tulane University, two-time National Book Award winner and MacArthur Genius

DREAM attendees can sharpen their focus at a Spotlight Session. From 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm ET, participants can choose between:

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  Beyond COVID: Exploring the College Experience Post-Pandemic
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  Building Resiliency in Rural Communities for the Future of Work
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  Critical Conversations: A Discussion among Diversity and Equity Officers
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  Designing Faculty Professional Learning for Student Success
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  Equity in Dual Enrollment

Meet our DREAM Scholars

Achieving the Dream is proud to welcome this year’s DREAM Scholars — eight dynamic student leaders looking to make a difference on their campuses and in their communities. The DREAM Scholar program is an experiential learning and leadership program that also involves participation in DREAM 2021. Participants will hear directly from these students throughout DREAM, including videos of their "I Am From" poems. We will also highlight two Scholars in each issue of DREAM Daily. Today, meet Bheri and Estefany:

For more DREAM 2021 updates, follow @AchieveTheDream on Twitter.

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