News
Black Lives Matter: Resources and a Commitment from CATDC
We are angry and sad. The recent horrific murder of George Floyd, coming on the heels of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, has sparked global outrage and we join the collective call: the violence against Black men and women must stop. During this time of grief and protest, john a. powell, Director…
Read MoreGrowing Myself, Growing CATDC in Central California
On February 4, heads, administrators, and teacher leaders from seven Central California schools will gather to engage in a dialogue about how best to approach local ongoing programming.
Read MoreLet the Nervous Come Out (And Other Advice From Kids)
Watch this first. the Scared is scared from Bianca Giaever on Vimeo. February is a great time for storytelling and story listening. Whether in California or Vermont, there is an inherent coziness of the month, nestled between the January return and the sight of spring to come. I recently rewatched one of my all-time favorite…
Read MoreProviding a FAIR² Experience for All: Five Elements of an Inclusive Classroom
The more I read in the field of education, and the longer I work with teachers, visit classrooms, and research up-to-date best practices, the more I see the integration among mind, body, and heart. In other words, the more I learn about brain science, and mindfulness, and social-emotional learning, and design thinking, and culturally responsive…
Read MoreWe Can’t Afford Not to Discuss Current Events
We discuss current events just about every day in my eighth-grade U.S. history classes. Sometimes it takes five minutes, when I bring in an article I think students should know about – on taxes or technology, oral arguments or international diplomacy. Sometimes it takes the whole period, especially on Fridays when students give presentations and…
Read MoreThe One Word We Need for a Great School Year
I love to drop in on classes for five to fifteen minutes. Most often I leave having observed something about how a student learns or the way a teacher teaches. Occasionally, however, I learn something that makes me have the proverbial, “aha!” moment. That just happened. After leaving a fifth grade humanities class, I immediately…
Read More4 Must-Read Books for the Beginning of the School Year
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain This book by Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction and is appropriate for all teachers at any experience level who strive to make their classrooms a safe and rigorous place for all their students. In…
Read MoreLean Into Discomfort: Developing Better Skills to Really Talk about Race in Schools
As we post this, events are unfolding in Charlottesville and across the nation that bring a new urgency to our need to increase our racial literacy. Yet, even as some of our school leaders denounce the white supremacy on display, there remain critical gaps and omissions in our words, our actions, and our understandings. Schools…
Read MoreLeaders of Change: Profiles from BATTI’s New Leadership Program
In 2015, BATTI launched an innovative new Educational Leadership program, designed to support Bay Area educators who were ready to move into a leadership role. The two-year program allows aspiring school heads, principals, division heads, administrators and teacher-leaders to gain a Master’s Degree tailored to their unique goals and to support their current work at…
Read MoreLetter from Lisa Haney, Incoming Executive Director
Dear CATDC Community, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year, and to express my great excitement about taking over as the next Executive Director of the California Teacher Development Collaborative come July 1, 2017. I look forward to leading and growing the organization, building upon the great work…
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