School Leaders

Current & Upcoming

Learning and Leading in the Age of AI: New Tools, Skills, and Strategies

Jun 15, 2026 4:00PM—Jun 18, 2026 12:00PM

Midland School | Los Olivos, CA

Register

This three-day, in-person institute invites educators and school leaders to develop the mindsets, skills, and practical applications needed most in this rapidly changing landscape keeping human relationships at the center. With Eric Hudson as our core facilitator, this collaboration between CATDC and Midland School combines hands-on learning with thoughtful dialogue, ensuring participants leave with technical know-how and a clear vision for how AI can enhance the human elements at the heart of education.

View More

From Busy to Intentional: Leveraging Analog, Digital, and AI tools to Bring Balance to Your Work Life

Jun 16, 2026 2:00PM—Jun 18, 2026 4:00PM

Virtual

Register

Take control of your time and shift from reactive to strategic in this interactive workshop designed to help busy educators work more efficiently. You’ll practice proven strategies for managing projects, email, and digital workspaces while integrating generative AI tools to streamline tasks. Led by Head of School Andrew Davis, this hands-on experience will equip you with practical systems to make your work more productive and rewarding.

View More

Neurodiversity in Practice: Building Executive Functioning Skills to Support All Learners

Aug 03, 2026 9:00AM—Aug 06, 2026 3:00PM

Campbell Hall School

Register

Campbell Hall and CATDC are partnering to co-create a two-part professional learning experience that centers educators’ intentional development of students’ executive functioning (EF) skills across grade levels and disciplines. Grounded in a neurodiversity-affirming framework and led by expert facilitator Lindsay Astor Grant, founder of Learning Redesigned, the program positions executive functioning as a universal set of skills that strengthen academic engagement, emotional regulation, collaboration, and lifelong learning for all students.

View More

Department Chairs Institute

Aug 05, 2026 10:00AM—Aug 07, 2026 3:00PM

Virtual

Register

The Department Chairs Institute will guide participants in exploring the multilayered challenges of this unique position and in developing the knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to become effective department leaders.

View More

Leading From The Middle: Managing Up, Down, and Across

Sep 23, 2026 10:00AM—Feb 24, 2027 11:30AM

Virtual

Register

This program is designed for leaders who want to navigate these complexities with greater confidence and clarity learning with and from a community of practitioners. Together, we’ll tackle the challenges that come with making tough decisions, leading effective meetings, supervising your peers, and giving feedback that builds rather than erodes trust.

View More

Southern California School Visit Program

Oct 01, 2026

Participating Schools

APPLY HERE

This school visit program is an offering to CATDC member schools invested in building community with fellow educators, cultivating their educational practices, and supporting the continued growth, reflection, and evolution of best practices within their school communities. The program focus for 2026-2027 will be differentiation in mathematics and sciences. There will be two cohorts of 4-5 schools each: one for early childhood and lower school educators, and a second for middle and upper school educators.

View More

Women Rising: Cultivating Clarity, Courage, and Community

Oct 14, 2026 10:00AM—Apr 28, 2027 2:00PM

Pacific Ridge School

Register

Born out of the powerful conversations and reflection at the CATDC Women + Leadership Conference, Women Rising creates an intentional space for women leaders to pause, reflect, and grow together. Beginning with a retreat grounded in nature and community, and continuing with a combination of in-person and virtual convening, participants will explore the inner work of leadership while strengthening the tools needed to lead schools, teams, and communities with confidence and authenticity.

View More

Making Thinking Visible: 4 Key Practices to Support Learning

Oct 15, 2026 3:30PM—5:00PM

Virtual

Register

Drawing on the book The Power of Making Thinking Visible, this interactive workshop with author and educational leader Ron Ritchhart will provide participants with the chance to learn how teachers at all levels can make students’ thinking visible through 4 key strategies: thinking routines, documentation, questioning, and listening. The effective use of these practices can transform classrooms into cultures of thinking.

View More

Finance & Sustainability in Independent Schools: A Practical Approach to Management and Innovation

Oct 21, 2026 2:30PM—Apr 21, 2027 5:30PM

Virtual

Register

This 5-session program will help educators develop practical financial and risk management skills necessary for leadership roles in K12 schools, both day schools and boarding schools. Moving beyond the theoretical and foundational principles of finance, we will ground our work together in the practical tools that educators and schools can use to understand trends, articulate current and potential economic challenges, and develop strategic and action-oriented approaches to sound financial management and financial sustainability.

View More

From Identity to Impact: A Book Study on Identity Consciousness for Educators

Oct 22, 2026 3:00PM—Feb 11, 2027 5:30PM

Virtual

Register

Grounded in Liza Talusan’s The Identity-Conscious Educator, this ongoing book group invites independent school educators into structured, reflective, and actionable exploration of identity and its impact on professional practice. It approaches identity as formative and centers educator growth as a pathway to belonging and culture shift in independent schools.

View More

Leadership Fellows Program

Oct 23, 2026 6:00PM—Oct 25, 2026 12:00PM

Upham Hotel in Santa Barbara

Register

This year-long fellowship for experienced educators from throughout California supports the unique demands of independent school leaders—the only program of its kind in California!

View More

Partnering with Teachers: Connections & Strategies for Instructional Impact

Nov 03, 2026 9:00AM—Mar 09, 2027 2:00PM

Drew School

Register

This 5-session series focuses on the unique role and responsibilities of educators who support classroom teachers directly and indirectly from positions outside of senior administration. These professionals inside schools—curriculum coordinators, learning specialists, instructional coaches, assistant teacher program directors, 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.

View More

Emerging Leaders (Southern California)

Nov 09, 2026 10:00AM—Apr 26, 2027 2:00PM

Polytechnic School

Register

This program will provide new and aspiring leaders with tools and strategies to transition successfully into a leadership role. Throughout this program, participants will also have the opportunity to discuss the dynamics, challenges, and opportunities unique to their roles and schools. Participants will engage in focused conversations around navigating colleague dynamics, becoming a supervisor, prioritizing tasks, and engaging in effective communication strategies.

View More

Past | Archive

Coaching Connect: Strategies, Support, and Shared Wisdom 

Feb 20, 2026 10:00AM—2:00PM

Harvard-Westlake Upper School