NorCal Educator's Digest
August 2023
NorCal ELC -- What Can You Learn & Do This Year?
NorCal ELC (Northern California Educational Leadership Consortium) the regional provider for 21st Century California School Leadership Academy services is set to continue operations. NorCal ELC provides transformational professional learning and networking opportunities for school and teacher leaders, current and aspiring. Look through the opportunities announced in this issue, starting below the feature article. We want you to take advantage of them. We are here to help you transform your career and your students’ outcomes. And we will have more to announce in upcoming issues.
Taking a Problem of Practice Abroad
Jori Krulder, NorCal ELC participant and a teacher at Paradise High School, spent the spring semester on a Fulbright Scholarship in Greece studying Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)
A Fulbright Fellow in Butte County!! Last school year, Jori Krulder, teacher at Paradise High School and NorCal ELC participant, received the exciting news that she was awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Education fellowship.
After wildfires and the challenges of COVID, Jori has been particularly concerned about the well-being of teachers. Jori commented, “We are losing teachers… they are leaving education.” Jori has been working to provide teachers with social and emotional learning (SEL) strategies to support them as they work with students, but to also to help them understand themselves and feel connected to one another. Paradise Superintendent Tom Taylor supports this work by funding teachers' time while they work with Jori to learn about SEL and how it can impact learning in their classrooms. This “Connected Group” mitigates the isolation that teachers feel at the same time as it helps them learn to connect more with their students.
In January 2023, Jori headed to Athens, Greece to expand her SEL research through a Fulbright Scholarship that spanned five months. Jori worked with NorCal ELC on this SEL problem of practice from Greece, joining via Zoom. Jori shared stories of her time in Greece and her scholarship work, “I never had the opportunity to freely explore and research a question like this. I was able to go to schools and interview teachers and students of all ages and in all kinds of schools.” Jori noted that Greece is going through a lot of struggles and everywhere she went she would ask young folks she came into contact with, “How is school for you?” And she learned that although students had some negative things to say about their school experience, they invariably said that the teachers they learned from were the ones who cared about them beyond the curriculum. And the teachers doing well were intuitively using SEL strategies in the classroom and building strong relationships with their students. In addition to all she learned about how SEL works to make learning more effective, Jori also said that she felt extremely fortunate to explore this beautiful country.
“I came away realizing in Butte County that we have so many resources and training opportunities. Teaching SEL doesn't’t have to come at the cost of content; in fact, it often enhances learning of the curriculum because students are more engaged. “I’ve been using the three SEL Signature Practices for example; teaching them to embed one welcoming opener, one engaging activity, and an optimistic closer in their lessons”, stated Jori. This year, back at Paradise, Jori wants to continue developing SEL and strengthening relationships amongst teachers as well as between teachers and students. She is aiming for a more systematic approach and better ways of measuring its effectiveness. Participating again in NorCal ELC, Jori is confident her team will further develop this work. NorCal is grateful to have Jori’s expertise and learning from her SEL focused scholarly adventure to Greece.
Upcoming NorCal ELC Professional Learning Opportunities
Inquiry Now | Equity Centered Instructional Leadership
This is a 2-day workshop composed of distinct modules, each based on a different stage of the inquiry cycle. The series is hosted by a diverse and experienced team of educators from both the California Subject Matter Project (CSMP) and the 21CSLA State Center. This workshop will be offered in the Shasta Geo Region later in the fall. Watch this space for information, dates, and the location.
NorCal ELC, Local School Teams Program
- August 2023 thru June 2024
NorCal ELC, the regional provider of Shasta for 21st Century California School Leadership Academy services, has been awarded another three years of funding for 2023-2026. NorCal ELC provides professional learning and networking opportunities for school and teacher leaders to help them address a local problem of practice to achieve school transformations and improve student outcomes. Open recruitment going on now.
Submit a Team Application today.(opens in new window)
21CSLA Principal Collaborative Support Network
If you are a school principal who wants to join a collaborative community of practicing principals, this Network is for you. Its primary objective is to help principals create coherent and effective systems of instruction in their schools; as well as explore strategies to develop teacher leadership using a “case study problems of practice and theories of action” model of inquiry.
Sign up for the Principal Network today.(opens in new window)
Free! North State Prop 28 “Boot Camp” for Region 1 and 2
Learn about funding and opportunities for the arts and music!
Ready to learn more about funding and opportunities for the arts and music? Free North State Prop 28 “Boot Camp” for Region 1 and 2 to be held at the Museum of Northern California Art in Chico.
- Hotel rooms provided for folks traveling to Butte from non-adjacent counties. Space limited.
View the flyer to register today.(opens in new window)
Hot Topic: Community Schools
“How are the Children?”
Linda Darling-Hammond, President and CEO of Learning Policy Institute, on Transforming Schools to Serve Our Children Well, recognizes the value of community schools.In a new blog post, Linda Darling-Hammond writes, “.... a diverse and growing chorus of educators, students, families, and policymakers are calling for a reimagining of our schools. They are highlighting the need to center relationships, belonging, and community; to create structures and practices to support relevant and engaging learning; and to organize resources, supports, and opportunities in ways that mitigate the pernicious effects of structural racism and decades of disinvestment in low-income communities of color.” Community schools, she notes, are grounded in the equitable whole-child practices and grounded in the science of learning and development.
In the Community Schools Playbook, referenced by Darling-Hammond, four pillars are outlined that make community schools unique. When these four pillars exist together, the necessary conditions are created for students to thrive. The pillars are: 1) integrated student supports; 2) expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities; 3) active family and community engagement; and 4) collaborative leadership and practices. California is significantly investing in Community Schools. Regionally community schools are being supported through our county offices of education and our Shasta Geo Lead. Learning from the work of northstate community schools as they evolve will help educators, students and families at every school.
Looking to Stay Balanced this School Year?
Check out the new online resource by Be Well from the California Center of School Climate led by WestEd.
Be Well offers strategies for educators to manage emotions that are overwhelming; strategies for calming, activating yourself, and increasing well-being. “By noticing how you are feeling, you can choose an appropriate strategy to help your brain return to a more regulated state.”
Here are a few examples from Be Well:
- Monterey Bay Aquariums's Live Jelly Cam for Visual Calming (7am - 7pm Pacific Time)
- Beautiful Relaying Music for Stress Relief
- Spend Time Being Creative with Sketchpad
National Forum to Advance Rural Education, Annual Conference
Chattanooga, TN | November 16-17, 2023
- Held in-person or virtually
The National Forum to Advance Rural Education (NFARE) is one of the country’s leading rural education conferences. Hosted by the National Rural Education Association (NREA) and the Rural Schools Collaborative, in partnership with the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and the Tennessee Rural Education Association, NFARE 2023 will build upon prior years' theme, Raising Rural: A Fair Chance for a Good Life.
The event is designed to create an environment for collaboration and innovation with a diverse community that includes national experts, K–12 and higher education practitioners, leading researchers, policymakers, and philanthropic leaders. Hundreds of attendees from across the United States will have the opportunity to discover and experience the latest rural innovations, best practices, research, and more.
You can learn more and register on NREA’s website.(opens in new window)