Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/686175
Instruction and Professional Development (IPD) Strand: Noted keynote speakers, education experts and teacher-led sessions for grades K-12 highlight a week focused on instruction (including ELA/ELD and the new state standards), assessment and school culture. Educators learn various ways to support student learning that is innovative, engaging, interactive and rigorous — tak- ing into consideration cultural, social, economic and equity issues. Speakers: Rick Stiggins, founder of the Assessment Training Institute; Anthony Muhammad, expert in school culture and organizational climate; Patricia Gándara, UCLA research professor and co-director of the Civil Rights Project; Gary Orfield, UCLA distinguished research professor of education, law, political science and urban planning. Communications Strand: Learn why, when and how to use various communications tools for PR and member engagement campaigns, as well as state and local elections. Skills-building sessions on writing for print and digital media, working with news media, creating and maintaining social media sites, public speaking, and photography. Community Engagement Strand: Learn and practice the skills of identifying, recruiting and developing leadership; building com- munity around leadership; building power out of community; and bringing members and community stakeholders together and chal- lenging them to act on their shared values and interests. Legal Strand: Two introductory content areas: Group Rights, about participants' rights as CTA members serving in various leadership, advocacy and problem-solving positions; and Individual Rights, which provides an "issue spotting" overview of statutory laws and rights important to a bargaining unit member's employment. Member Benefits Strand: Assists participants in coming up with unique approaches to continually engage members, and provides plans and tools to help build and maintain a strong local. Learn how to use new Member Benefits tools for organizing, and develop an annual organizing plan to promote Member Benefits. Negotiations and Organizational Development (NOD) Strand offers six tracks: • Charter Educators: For charter union leaders and activists to build strong and effective local unions and increase coordination and expertise around bargaining and organizing strategies. • Emerging Leaders: Provides faculty/site reps, association com- mittee members and education advocates with resources and skills needed to become effective organizers and future leaders. • Essential Bargaining Skills: Teams bargain an agreement using real-life issues and work through extensive coaching and debrief- ing sessions to determine successful strategies. • Advanced Bargaining Skills: For negotiators who have com- pleted the Essential Bargaining Skills and School Finance tracks at Summer Institute and have at least one year of experience on a local bargaining team. • School Finance: For chapter leaders and bargaining team mem- bers to gain knowledge about school finance and school district budgets. Prerequisite: Essential Bargaining Skills track. • Tax Fairness: Helps leaders become knowledgeable, persuasive advocates for the profession; provides overviews of growing socioeconomic inequality in the U.S. and the state school funding system, and how they're connected. To learn more and to register, see ctago.org. #CTASI16 Get With the Program CTA's Summer Institute offers chapter leaders essential training and professional development C T A ' S S U M M E R I N S T I T U T E , July 31-Aug. 4 at UCLA, is the premier training of its kind. It offers six content strands and numerous concurrent tracks that prepare members for leadership roles in their chapters and help them meet professional development goals. Scenes from last year's IPD Strand at Summer Institute. Photos: Karen Taylor SUMMER INSTITUTE Participants in the Communications Strand at the 2015 Summer Institute. Photo: Cynthia Menzel 49 May / June 2016