Join the NorCal ELC Network and we’ll send you an email when each newsletter is available. Our newsletter is an information source for project activities, events, resources, school success stories, and hot topics for schools in the Shasta Region of 21CSLA.
NorCal Educator's Digest
February 2025
Quick Access | Main Sections
- NorCal Educational Leadership Consortium, 5th Annual Winter Leadership Institute
- Opportunities for Shasta Region Educators
- Upcoming Event Spotlights
- Article Spotlights
- Eucational Resource Spotlights
NorCal Educational Leadership Consortium, 5th Annual Winter Leadership Institute
NorCal ELC hosted its 5th Winter Leadership Institute (WLI) on January 27th and 28th, 2025 via Zoom. Approximately thirty-six local school teams and 155 participants shared their individual leadership growth goals and their teams' projects and continuous improvement journeys. A student panel from Gerber Elementary School was facilitated by Vanessa Ortiz. Participant reactions to the panel included a desire to:
- Increase student voice
- Increase cultural representation and inclusive curriculum
- Strengthen relationships and create safe spaces
- Take action against discrimination
- Enhance professional development
- Encourage family and community engagement
Content sessions at the WLI covered various topics and included Teaming for Improving Tier 1 Practices, Shadowing for Multilingual Learners, Artificial Intelligence, Fierce Conversations for Transformational Leadership, and more! The event was a great success with high engagement and valuable learning experiences for all participants.
Resources and recordings from the WLI can be accessed here.(opens in new window)
Opportunities for the Shasta Region Educators…
UTK Modules Spring 2025
21CSLA Universal Transitional Kindergarten Modules 4, 7, and 8 will be offered in the Shasta Geo Region this Spring 2025. Both virtual and in-person sessions are being held to prepare school and teacher leaders to better serve TK students and families. Sign-ups for Modules scheduled in Spring 2025 are now open with active flyers to register. For each module, NorCal ELC is offering a $250 stipend to eligible participants upon completion.
View the flyer to access the UTK Modules Schedule and their respective event Google forms.
UTK Community of Practice Spring 2025
You’re invited!
Please join us for our Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) Community of Practice (CoP) for the Northern California/Shasta Region. Each CoP meeting will be held on the first Thursday of the month. The next CoP is scheduled for March 6, 2025.
This CoP is an opportunity to TK, K and preschool teachers and admins to:
- Hear about how 21CSLA is approaching UTK and P-3 alignment
- Share needs you have and ideas for partnerships
- Collaborate with regional colleagues
- Share resources and local events
- Connect with others from around the region
Access and share the UTK CoP flyer today!
Join the NorCal ELC Network 2025-26
We’ve started thinking about the next school year, and you should, too. NorCal ELC programs build leadership knowledge and skills for school improvement and transformation, regardless of your position or role. Start thinking about how you and your colleagues can get involved. Our programs include:
- Local School Teams Program
- Principals' Collaborative Support Network
- Individualized Leadership Coaching for
- School Administrators
- Teacher Leaders
- Team Leads
- 21CLSA Universal Transitional Kindergarten Modules and Community of Practice
Watch this space for dates of Info Sessions, or check out our website.
Upcoming Event Spotlights
EmbraceAbilities Communities of Practice for Spring 2025
Rindy DeVoll, BCOE and California Rural Education Network, shared a resourse for various Communities of Practice, hosted by EmbraceAbilities – a grant-funded project within the California Statewide System of Support(opens in new window) that focuses on serving students with extensive support needs. Rindy says,
“As a rural advocate, your voices are needed in this space to share your experiences within your school systems about how students with extensive support needs are served. We know that our system needs improvement, and this is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on innovative strategies being practiced in rural schools, as well as the unique needs in rural areas that require attention.”
Check out the various EmbraceAbilities flyers here.(opens in new window)
Climate and Equity: A Summer Institute for High School Teachers, All Expenses Paid!
TERC, in partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, invites high school teachers to apply for a one-week, all-expenses-paid intensive institute on the beautiful coast of Maine, from Sunday, July 20 - Saturday, July 26, 2025. Application deadline: March 3rd, 2025.
Teachers will:
explore the inequitable impacts of climate change
be inspired by sharing best practices for teaching climate equity
build community
explore some science
enjoy the tranquility of Maine woods and seashore
leave with a renewed sense of hope and purpose about making a difference!
“The institute was one of the most meaningful professional development experiences of my career. The schedule was expertly thought out, providing a wonderful balance of useful pedagogy, productive dialogue, and effective facilitation alongside time for mental health.”
APPLY HERE.(opens in new window)
Questions? Email us at climateandequity@terc.edu or visit https://www.terc.edu/climateandequity(opens in new window)
California MTSS Professional Learning Institute 2025
The Orange County Department of Education and the Butte County Office of Education are inviting educators and leaders to the California MTSS 2025 Professional Learning Institute on July 22-24, 2025, at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Registration is now open!(opens in new window)
Article Spotlights
A Call to Action: Addressing Chronic Absenteeism Together
The National Coalition for Improvement in Education (NCIE) at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education launched the National Attendance & Engagement Meta Network in January 2025. This network will leverage continuous improvement capabilities across the state, fostering collaboration and collective understanding to tackle this issue at scale. By uniting students, families, schools, districts, researchers, government agencies, and community organizations, the network aims to build a coherent system where EVERY STUDENT grows and flourishes EVERY DAY.”
NCIE has created a new, free dashboard that can be customized for schools and districts. See example charts here that you can instantly generate for your school or LEA:
Teams representing states, districts, or networks of schools will be part of the first cohort. The goals of the network are to cultivate a community of leaders in the field who:
- ACCELERATE: Radically improve chronic absenteeism rates for students who are most vulnerable across the entire country
- CONNECT: Grow a community of peers across the country all working together on a common aim
- LEARN: Share promising improvements and timely data to build practice-based evidence across various efforts
If interested in learning more about National Attendance & Engagement Network, complete this interest form: hthdata.co/join or see flyer here (PDF).
To stay updated visit hthdata.co/network.
Got Behavior?
The What Works Clearinghouse released a new practice guide in December 2024 that provides information on implementing "Teacher-Delivered Behavioral Interventions in Grades K–5". This two-page summary (PDF) introduces the seven recommendations and supporting evidence described in the full practice guide, which can be downloaded for free from the link above.Access the full guide here.(opens in new window)
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act Federal Funding Cut
Rural counties have large swaths of non-taxable national forest land. Since 1908, the federal government has compensated these counties to make up for lost tax revenue. The extra money goes toward schools, roads, public health and other services that ordinarily would be paid for through local property taxes or timber revenues.
“It might not seem like much, but it’s real money for us,” said Allan Carver, superintendent of schools for Siskiyou County and a NorCal ELC Advisory Board member. Access the full article below to learn more about these funding cuts' potential impacts on rural California communities.
Read the Cal Matters Article.(opens in new window)
California Wildfire Resource from Northern California Leaders
NorCal contributes lessons learned post Camp Fire with a “Playbook on How to Support Children, Youth and Families during a Wildfire”. Playbook contributors include leaders from Paradise Unified School District, North Valley Boys and Girls Club and Butte County Office of Education. In it, “Find tips, to-do lists and resources for immediate response and recovery after a wildfire emergency, including logistics, how to handle donations, provide self-care opportunities, address trauma and resiliency, and welcome children back into your space.”
Access the ACSA Resouce Hub Playbook here.(opens in new window)
Educational Resource Spotlights
Evidence for ESSA Quarterly
To improve student success you need to select effective educational tools. The Evidence for ESSA Quarterly provides clear and authoritative information on programs that meet the ESSA evidence standards. You can find these programs in the Evidence for ESSA user-centered database and sign up for the free Quarterly at: https://www.evidenceforessa.org/.CCEE Hot Topics: CA Math Overview
Have you seen the latest from CCEE? Executive Director Matt Navo presents an update with links to the California Math Overview and other resources from the State System of Support. Access it here.
Student Engagement is an Essential for Student Success
The January issue of the Carnegie Foundation Newsletter highlighted the primacy of engagement beautifully in a new book, The Disengaged Teen. The authors explore signs of its alarming absence among young people (just 29 percent of high school seniors say they love going to school), but they also provide clear recommendations for parents and educators on what to do about it. Read the Foundation’s Q&A with the authors here.