Sphere on the Road

Sphere brings civil discourse, civics lessons, and scholar expertise to schools and communities across the country through our expert professional development programming.

Image of educators attending a Sphere on the Road Workshop

About Sphere on the Road

Sphere wants to bring civil discourse strategies to your school through engaging professional development with scholars and content to implement in your classrooms! We will work with you to create an event that aligns with your goals and vision. Contact us and we will start working on your Sphere event at your school, in your district, or community.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about our programming.

Bring Sphere

TO YOUR SCHOOL

Fill out our form to arrange for Sphere to visit your school, or view sample programming below. 

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Testimonials

“Sphere is hands down the best professional development I’ve ever attended.”

“Quite possibly the single most significant staff development opportunity in my 25 years of teaching high school.”

“I want to thank you for your presentation on Sphere at the Social Studies department head meeting. Your program is just what is needed at this time in education.”

Request Sphere to visit your school:

Sample Professional Development Programming

Sample: Two‐​Hour Workshop

Welcome

1st Hour Options:
What is Civil Discourse and why does it matter?

  • Focus on civil discourse, student free speech, and viewpoint diversity

  • Outline pedagogical strategies to implement civil discourse including building a toolkit for fostering and managing conversations

  • Audience participation: modeling discourse through the lens of complex issues; tabletop scenarios: managing challenging conversations

2nd Hour:

  • Collaborative group breakouts

  • Topic or subject deep dive

  • Developing a lesson plan implementing civil discourse based on local, state, or national issue

  • Putting it all together

Sample: Half‐​Day Event

Welcome

1st Hour Options:
What is Civil Discourse and why does it matter?

  • Focus on civil discourse, student free speech, and viewpoint diversity

  • Option to open with a plenary address

2nd Hour:

  • Outline pedagogical strategies to implement civil discourse including building a toolkit for fostering and managing conversations

  • Audience participation: modeling discourse through the lens of complex issues; tabletop scenarios: managing challenging conversations

3rd Hour:

  • Content or topic specific presentation

  • Collaborative group breakouts, lesson plan development

  • Putting it all together

Sample: Full‐​Day Workshop

Welcome

1st Hour Options:
What is Civil Discourse and why does it matter?

  • Welcome and optional plenary address

  • Focus on civil discourse, student free speech, and viewpoint diversity

2nd and 3rd Hours:

  • Pedagogy, implementation of civil discourse strategies, and building a toolkit for fostering and managing conversations, especially in unrehearsed moments or when things go awry

  • Audience participation: modeling discourse through the lens of complex issues; tabletop scenarios: managing challenging situations and contentious conversations

5th and 6th Hour Options:

  • Content or topic specific presentation

  • Collaborative group breakouts, lesson plan development

  • Putting it all together

Frequently Asked Questions

About Sphere

Sphere Education Initiative works with grades 5–12 educators to advance free speech, civil discourse, and civic culture. Our events, educational programming, and professional development opportunities are exclusively nonpartisan. We bring together experts from across the ideological spectrum and from a wide diversity of experiences and backgrounds to engage educators on the most pressing topics of the day. Sphere programming does not advocate for any policy position but strives to inform educators about the breadth and diversity of positions on any given topic so that they are well equipped to support discussion among students.

The staff of Sphere Education Initiatives bring decades of teaching and professional development experience to its workshops and programs. Additionally, Sphere works with the premier professional development organizations covering civics, history, economics, and media literacy. All the groups we work with provide exceptional, unbiased, and nonpartisan professional development opportunities for all educators.

Who We Work With

We partner with all types of schools and districts across US states and territories.

We also collaborate on a limited number of events each year with higher education institutions and organizational partners to support current educators.

Sphere’s professional development is interdisciplinary. We’ve worked with entire school staffs as well as specific subject‐​area teams, including social studies, English language arts, and science. We’re happy to collaborate with you to design sessions that meet both broad and subject‐​specific needs.

Yes, we work with schools across the country and are experienced in designing professional development that aligns with state standards and local regulations. We’ll connect our programming to your state, local, district, or building standards.

Sphere works with current 5th‐ through 12th‐​grade educators and leaders. Programming can be tailored to meet specific grade‐​level audiences or designed for a wider range. Reach out to us to discuss what might be possible to serve the needs of other audiences.

Structure

You can expect interactive discussions, engaging activities, and practical, adult‐​centered learning. Sessions are designed to leave you with actionable strategies you can implement right away, renewed inspiration to support civil discourse across disciplines, and tools to navigate classroom challenges confidently.

Session lengths are flexible and vary based on your staff’s needs. They range from single‐​hour sessions to half‐​day or full‐​day formats, delivered either on a single day or spread across multiple days. The best results usually come with a commitment of a half‐​day or multi‐​touchpoint engagement. We’ll work closely with you to design the appropriate program to fit within the time window(s) you have.

Yes, Sphere offers in‐​person sessions, which are best for engaging conversations and activities. For in‐​person visits, we typically ask for a group of at least 25 educators. We also accommodate much larger group sizes. Virtual sessions are available as an alternative for smaller groups or as follow‐​ups to in‐​person training.

Yes. Professional development groups can be comprised of educators from across schools and districts. We encourage small communities to come together to reach a minimum group size.

We don’t take a one‐​size‐​fits‐​all approach. We recommend starting with a conversation so we can collaboratively design single or ongoing sessions tailored to your community’s unique needs. We are happy to work with you to create a series of opportunities where it makes sense.

Costs

Sphere on the Road professional development is at no cost to your school or district.

Sphere provides professional development, resources, and expert training to schools and districts, including covering all associated travel and lodging, at no cost.

While not required, Sphere accepts donations from schools with the means to do so to make professional development available at no cost to other schools.