Published: July 28, 2026
2026 Summer Institute
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Monica Washington, NEA's teacher quality director, kicked off Summer Institute with a 90-minute keynote address.
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The Summer Institute keynote speech was interactive – Washington asked questions that participants answered, their responses filling the screen overhead. Some participants were selected to share out their answers with the audience assembled at LCSC's Silverthorne Theater.
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Keynote speech attendees were encouraged to share their experiences from the classroom with their seatmates.
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The crowd at Silverthorne Theater shared their own experiences during the 90-minute keynote session.
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IEA President-Elect Peggy Hoy (standing) was on mic duty during the keynote speech.
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Angie Hickman, who represents Region 9 on the IEA Board of Directors, shares her experience during Monica Washington's keynote speech.
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Carmi Scheller, who represents Region 9 on the IEA Board of Directors and also serves on the board for the Center for Teaching and Learning, gets ready for Monica Washington's keynote.
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Summer Institute participants can engage in multiple classes over four days.
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This year's theme is "Clues to Excellence," and participants receive clues every day to help them solve the "crime."
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IEA Board of Directors member Cyndi Faircloth was one of the trainers at Summer Institute. Classes are taught by educators, for educators.
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Class topics range from executive function to behavior management to using picture books during lessons and beyond.
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Classes give educators a chance to connect with their peers from throughout the state.
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IEA Board of Directors members Marta Hernandez, left, and Cassie McBean.
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Participants in Tama Meyer's "Dicey Picasso Portraits: A Game of Chance" created Cubist portraits using the legendary artist's works as material.
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Meyer took some of the elements that made Picasso famous — his unique depictions of eyes, noses, mouths, and faces — and assigned them numbers that corresponded with the numbers on a pair of dice. When a participant rolled a 2, for example, they had to draw the Picasso part that corresponded with the number.
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Meyer, standing, is a member of the North Idaho Education Association-Retired Chapter and continues to offer art classes to retired IEA members in her region.
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During Leslie Briggs's class, "Educational Signing: 'Handy' Ways ASL Signs Enhance Learning," participants practiced their ASL skills and learned how to incorporate the language into their classes.
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Participants had a speaking partner they practiced with during the class.
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Participants did not need to know ASL before joining the class.
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The class was one of many interactive offerings during Summer Institute, which takes place in Lewiston in late July.
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During "Unlock a Traveling Trunk - Elementary: Lewis & Clark and Hispanic Heritage," members learned how to develop their own experiential trunks to help students engage with content.
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IEA members learned how traveling trunks can help students better engage with history.
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In the Lewis and Clark trunk, members interacted with items the explorers would have used during their journey, including an old-fashioned plant press.
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Attendees of "Teaching Democracy Through Dialogie: Fostering Civil Discourse and Brave Conversations in Grades 6-12 Classrooms" talked through thorny classroom conversations.
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Sarah Jones of the Cassia County Education Association co-taught "Teaching Democracy Through Dialogue" with Alex Walker of the Boise Education Association.
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One-on-one discussions were a key part of "Teaching Democracy Through Dialogue."
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Participants in "Teaching Democracy Through Dialogue" worked through common situations they might encounter in class.
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Alex Walker of the Boise Education Association (standing) co-taught "Teaching Democracy Through Dialogue."
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