California Educator

December/January 2019

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At the Cultivating Teacher Leaders event on Sept. 21. Since its inception, ILC teacher lead- ers have provided ongoing professional learning to more than 32,000 educators statewide (see sidebar). As documented in the LPI report, educators' responses to ILC conferences and training have been over w h elmin g ly p o sitive, w ith many participants identifying this as the best professional learning experience they have had. Building the teacher pipeline Fliers for a CTL event Sept. 21 enticed educators and aspiring educators: "Do you need new ideas to implement in your classroom? Come join us for a morning of empowerment as we work together to build our professional capital!" is was the 10th event presented by CTL; sessions ranged from "Got Card- board 2.0? Design Thinking & PBL" to a workshop for those interested in becom- ing National Board Certified Teachers. While CTL's partnerships allowed the event to take place at CSU Fullerton's Center for Careers in Teaching, its pro- fessional development workshops have also taken place at CTA chapter offices. Karin Barone, teacher leader and member of Orange Unified Education Associa- tion, says in the LPI report that running trainings through the union had a dual purpose: "to get teachers to understand that your fellow colleagues have skills and expertise in an area that they can train you in … [and] to help them see the union is [about] more than just bargaining your contract; there's more to offer and more support that we can give you than just that. at was important to me." Educators from Southern and Central California have attended CTL events. The latest NEA grant is allowing CTL to expand on the ILC mission to address not only California's teacher shortage, but the shortage of teachers of color and the high number of educators who leave the profession within the first few years of teaching. Specifically, CTL is tailoring its work to recruit and retain a diverse population of: • Potential educators in high school. • Aspiring educators in college. • ESPs and paraprofessionals interested in becoming teachers. • Early-career educators. To date, some 170 high schoolers and college students have participated in CTL's mentorship programs, which offer, for example, monthly local member-led workshops on best teaching practices and relationship-building with commu- nity partners, nonprofits and colleges/ u n i v e r s i t i e s . C T L i s a l s o c re a t i n g a 50-member union-led "new educator cohort." e group will assist new mem- bers in their first challenging years in the classroom by helping strengthen their skills and providing meaning ful training to improve their professional practice. And CTL i s collaborating with CTA's Institute for Teaching on a social justice curriculum for early career educators. e teachers-teaching-teachers model is spreading, says Rabanera, pointing to how ILC colleagues Angela Der Ramos, Alisal Teachers Association, and Colleen Maroney, San Bernardino Teachers Asso- ciation, are already conducting their own events and workshops. He's e xc it e d by th e bi g pi c tu re al l these various facets will present. " With these components we'll be able to track b e tw e e n e d u c a t i o n a l e c o sy st e m s a s students and educators move through them. We'll be able to use the data to say if these programs are effective, durable and sustainable. "It's helping the next set of future edu- cators who will become our colleagues." To read the full Learning Policy Institute report, "The Instructional Leadership Corps: Teachers Lead- ing Sustainable Professional Learning in Their Communities," go to learningpolicyinstitute.org. The Reach of the Instructional Leadership Corps Since ILC's inception in 2014: • Teacher leaders have provided multisession professional learning to more than 32,000 edu- cators in more than 2,000 schools in California. • An additional 30,000 educators participated in ILC-related conferences and presentations. • 38,000 more were indirectly impacted as ILC members trained instructional coaches in a trainer-of-trainers model. " WE SAID, 'IF WE REALLY WANT TO TAKE BACK THE PROFESSION, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? LET'S PUT ACTION TO THOSE WORDS.'" — Al Rabanera, Fullerton Secondary Teachers Organization 45 D E C E M B E R 2 019 / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0

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