July 2025 Newsletter

NorCal Educator's Digest

July 2025

Quick Access | Main Sections

• NorCal ELC 2025 Summer Leadership Instate Feature
• Glenn County Office of Education Feature
  • Literacy Trainings
  • Module Curriculums
• Professional Learning Opportunities
• Resource Spotlights

Join the NorCal ELC Network in 2025-26

Shasta Region schools need leaders for school improvement and transformation, regardless of title, position, or role. NorCal ELC programs are professional learning that builds leadership knowledge and skills for all educators, and includes guidance, support and coaching to increase effectiveness.

Do you and your colleagues want to get envolved? We Offer:

• Instructional Leadership Teams (ILT) Program
• Individualized Coaching (IC)
  • For school administrators, teachers, and team leads of ILT program
• The Principals' Collaborative Support Network
• 21CSLA Universal Transitional Kindergarten Modules and UTK Community of Practice

Join today! You can access the listed program applications and/or sign-up materials on our Professional Learning Opportunities page of the NorCal ELC website.

End of Year NorCal ELC Program Feature

Empowering Educators at the 5th Annual NorCal ELC Summer Leadership Institute

The Northern California Education Leadership Consortium (NorCal ELC) hosted its 5th Annual Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) as a dynamic hybrid event at Chico State University, drawing educators from across the region. The two-day institute featured powerful keynote addresses, beginning with Carmen Williams, author of System Wise, who inspired attendees with insights into systems thinking in education. Day two welcomed John Krownapple, author of Belonging through a Culture of Dignity, who emphasized practices that support dignity. Participants engaged in rich, local expert-led sessions on timely topics such as Restorative Practices, Professional Learning Communities, and Women is School Leadership. 

A hallmark of this year’s institute was the use of the Open Space technique, which empowered attendees to shape their own learning by initiating and joining peer-led discussions on issues they found most pressing. The event concluded with a showcase of year-long improvement projects, giving school teams the opportunity to share progress, challenges, and outcomes with their peers. As the institute wrapped up, it left educators feeling energized, connected, and better equipped to lead transformational change in their schools and districts.

We encourage you to watch the 2025 SLI Event Playlist, containing recordings and resources from our hosted Content Sessions & ILT Storytelling’s. Happy Learning!

- NorCal ELC Grant Team

Glenn County Office of Education Feature

NorCal ELC is thrilled to feature Glenn County Office of Education to spotlight some of their recent powerful work and share upcoming Professional Learning offerings that may be of interest to North State educators. You can see all GCOE professional learning offerings, some open to educators outside of Glenn County, on this Wakelet. Below, you will find specific training opportunities related to Literacy and Model Curriculum.

Literacy Trainings

• Right to Read Conference

  As lead of the Literacy Coaches and Reading Specialists Educator (LCRSET) grant, Glenn supports LCRS sites across the state; this Right to Read Conference is free, virtual, and open to all!

• North State Reading Consotium

  The North State Reading Consortium (NSRC) is a collaborative team from Butte, Glenn, Siskiyou, Shasta, and Tehama County Offices of Education, working passionately to support teachers and administrators to strengthen literacy across Northern California. Through professional learning offerings, lesson study, coaching, and book studies, NSRC empowers educators to foster literacy success for every student. All offerings are open to educators in the region regardless of county. See the NSRC website for the 2025-26 offerings or to find your county office contact for more information.

• Project Arise Community of Practice Fall 2025

  While Glenn is one of the leads of Project ARISE, which will end in March 2026, there is still an opportunity for you to join the virtual community of practice on executive function and literacy, foundational skills, and comprehension. See the PROJECT ARISE COP Fall 2025 flyer for stipend and date information.

Module Curriculums

• Hmong History and Cultural Studies Model Curriculum (HHCSMC)

  HHCSMC is an open-source set of lessons and strategies to assist educators in teaching about the histories, cultures, and traditions of Hmong people in diaspora. These universally designed lessons are appropriate for elementary, History/Social Science, English Language Arts, and Ethnic Studies contexts. All students can benefit from learning this previously overlooked history. Symposium presenters will demonstrate lessons, offer planning support, and make recommendations for district implementation. 

• • Sample lesson: Stories of Our Families
  • Additional Model Curriculums can be found here including Vietnamese American Experiences, Cambodian American Studies and, Native American Studies (coming Sept. 2025).

Professional Learning Opportunities

NoCalling all Assistant Principals, Vice Principals, and Deans: We want to hear from you!

21CSLA State Center and Berkeley Leadership Programs are conducting a survey—open to assistant principals, vice principals, deans, and school-site leaders other than principals who work in California's public and charter schools—to learn more about the professional learning opportunities you’ve had and which experiences have been most useful for you. Your feedback will help us determine how best to support site leaders who work with principals to become excellent leaders for equitable schools. The survey is 20 minutes long with a chance to win a $100 gift card. Contact Rebecca Cheung or Melissa Virrueta with questions, or fill out the survey before the deadline on Friday, August 1.

Interested in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)?

Did you know that a new program is available to certify schools in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), similar to those that receive Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) Certification? We need authorized leads for SEL certification in Northern California! It’s free. Submit an interest form, attend a 90-minute training, and pass a post-training assessment. See more on the information flyer here.

Resource Spotlights

Carnegie Foundation and the Future of High School Network

For more than a century, the Carnegie Unit (or credit hour) has defined the American high school. It shapes the daily work of teachers, how we organize schools, what teachers teach, what students learn and how we measure success. And it has reached the end of its useful shelf life. In mid-June, Carnegie and the XQ Institute, announced the launch of the Future of High School Network, a new initiative designed to spur learning, deepen knowledge and accelerate student success. Together, we aim to catalyze collective learning, elevate promising practices and generate evidence to promote high school transformation nationwide.

There has never been a shortage of examples of excellent high schools. Exemplars have existed in communities across the country for over 100 years. The fundamental challenge has been making the examples the norm. The core purpose of the Future of High School Network is to tackle this problem head-on and illuminate how high school transformation can take root, sustain and scale.

California Collaborative for Educational Experience

- Wondering how to support schools with behavioral challenges?

“Discover how Hemet Unified School District transformed student behavior and campus safety through a daily, data-driven collaboration process. By combining real-time data tracking with focused, action-oriented huddles, Hemet USD empowered site leaders and staff to identify challenges early, solve problems collectively, and deliver immediate improvements. Learn how this simple but powerful system led to measurable reductions in student aggression and suspensions—and how you can adapt these strategies to drive change in your own schools.”

The best part… CCEE shared their resources here.