The Teaching Foundations program is designed to support the growth and success of all teachers—particularly those in their early years at independent schools—by focusing on foundational areas of teaching.

The Teaching Foundations program is designed to support the growth and success of all teachers—particularly those in their early years at independent schools—by focusing on foundational areas of teaching.

This one-day Summer Institute for middle and high school educators will focus on building our understanding of executive functioning and give space and opportunity for designing and refining our assessments.

Building Blocks strengthens participants’ fundamental teaching skills and emphasizes inclusive practices for unit design, equitable classroom management, navigating school culture, deepening cultural competencies, and engaging confidently as a teacher leader. Participants will build community with each other, work with diverse educational leaders from the CATDC community, and have the opportunity to engage in two individual, 30-minute coaching sessions over the course of the program.

This workshop offers educators relevant and practical entry points to begin the process of making sense of AI. We’ll cover three guiding principles and seven strategies for understanding AI’s impact on education and harnessing its power to support deeper learning and teaching.

CATDC’s Humanities Curriculum Cohort will provide a space where teachers can share what’s working for them, get support on what’s not yet working optimally in their classrooms, and pilot new strategies using critical friends or lesson study protocols. This group will also support navigating conversations with colleagues about culturally responsive teaching practices.

In this day-long intensive, educators will learn more about the current mental health climate and how this widespread epidemic is affecting young people. During this program, educators will develop strategies, curricular guidelines, and pedagogical approaches to address how physical health and mental health intersect in classrooms. Educators will leave this workshop with tools to support students in recognizing their stressors, coping mechanisms, nervous systems, and social wellness and to begin facilitating age-appropriate discussions about mental health.

Sustainable Futures is a year-long professional development series that equips Grades 3-12 teachers from various disciplines with the tools and strategies necessary to integrate outdoor education, place-based learning, and environmental justice into their curricula. This series is structured around five in-person sessions and two virtual check-ins, designed to foster collaborative learning and practical application in classroom settings.

This 5-session series focuses on the unique role and responsibilities of educators who support teachers directly while maintaining a non-supervisory or evaluative role. These professionals inside schools—curriculum coordinators, learning specialists, instructional coaches, and others—who inhabit the space between classroom teachers and administrators often work within this context and without the power to change the overarching systems.

This ongoing program is for K-12 educators who have experience beyond the early years of teaching and who are looking to reflect and expand on their practice. We will explore effective strategies and foster the exchange of ideas in a supportive cohort to address some of the challenges that are hindering participants’ ability to shine as their best selves as educators.

Join an interactive teaching lab focused on instructional rounds, one of the most effective tools for fostering teacher growth and development. Instructional leaders Karen Pavliscak, Associate Head of School at Archer School for Girls, and Maggie Cenan, Math and Computer Science Department Chair, offer school leadership and teacher leaders a chance to learn about the theory and practice behind instructional rounds and their connection to schools’ instructional core.

This online program is designed for educators who are interested in strengthening their AI skills while exploring how to engage students in productive, ethical use of generative AI tools. By bringing together educators from different schools for learning, discussion, and practice, this program aims to not just deliver knowledge, but share it. Understanding how different schools and people are navigating the ever-changing boundaries of appropriate AI use at school will help us make decisions about the best way to engage our students.

In this two-part virtual workshop series, participants will have the opportunity to unpack incidents that have taken place at their own schools, discuss how to make lasting repairs in partnership with students, rather than fall into damage control patterns, and to think long-term about what it means for young people to be accountable in the digital world.

This workshop is a beginner’s guide to becoming a liberatory educator who centers social justice within and beyond their classroom community. We will delve into transformative educational strategies that focus on community building, decentering Western narratives, and fostering critical consciousness.
This comprehensive exploration of liberatory education aims to empower educators to cultivate inclusive learning environments that challenge traditional power dynamics and promote equity and empathy.