For more than 25 years, CATDC has created opportunities for California independent school educators to learn with and from each other, strengthening their capacity to serve students in a rapidly shifting world and building vital community. The pace of change and the complexity of the issues facing schools today call for spaces where educators can connect, reflect, and navigate uncertainty together.
Our Vision
Our evergreen vision centers on a strong foundation, expanded impact, and a human-centered approach. CATDC supports educators by deepening professional learning, strengthening school culture, and helping to create communities rooted in belonging. With people and relationships as the foundation of our work, we pursue sustainable growth, broaden our impact, and invest deeply in the educators and communities we serve.
Learn More About Our Four Strategic Priorities
Equity as Practice
Our commitment to equity determines not only WHAT we do but HOW we do it. We are embedding equity into the design and delivery of programs so educators experience professional learning that centers belonging and strengthens their practice. This approach guides innovative program models and supports schools in bringing equitable practices to teaching, leading, and learning, creating better outcomes for educators and students.
Empowered Community
We are investing in the people and relationships at the heart of CATDC because strong partnerships, clarity, and trust allow us to do our best work for schools. With our team, board, facilitators, and school partners aligned and connected, CATDC delivers an even greater transformational impact.
California and Beyond
We are expanding access to CATDC’s learning community so more educators can connect, grow, and lead with confidence. Educators across the country are looking for values- aligned professional learning opportunities and can feel isolated in their work. By building strong partnerships and testing offerings beyond California, we create new communities of practice that carry our impact forward.
Financial Sustainability
We are strengthening CATDC’s financial foundation so we can continue offering high quality, values aligned learning experiences for educators over the long term. As we refine our revenue models and program design, we are also committed to increasing affordability and access for more schools and educators. Sustainable membership pathways ensure ongoing connection and support.
A new approach that turns strategic planning into a lived practice
As an organization, we are embracing “strategic practice.” This means moving from planning to plan to responsive intentional action designed to teach us what works best in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty.
Our vision and priorities lay the foundation for this work. These came from deep discovery and a clear understanding of who we are as an organization and what our community needs. Strategic practice brings our vision and priorities to life.
Strategic practice enables us to learn by doing, engaging in small, focused experiments that test key assumptions about how CATDC can grow and sustain its impact.
In this time of rapid change, it is impossible to have every answer up front. That is why we are focusing on this ongoing practice, increasing our capacity to navigate uncertainty with agility.
And because strategic practice is iterative, we’ll reflect regularly on what we’ve learned and decide what to continue, evolve, or replace so we keep moving forward with confidence and coherence.