Professional Learning Opportunities

Professional Development Opportunities
for Candidates and Coaches

CTI offers online synchronous professional development for coaches and candidates to increase student achievement

Series Flyers

Sessions

October 2025

Thriving Thursday: Making Mandalas

Thursday, October 2, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Louisa Higgins
Christine Matthew

Please join artist Louisa Higgins to create a fun and easy mandala art project. We will be creating a circular design that symbolizes harmony and wholeness. This project will allow personal expression and meditation during the creative process.

Get ready to join in this fun and relaxing session. To be prepared, you will need to have a few materials on hand:

White Paper (8 1/2 X 11)
Black Pen, Sharpie, or Marker
Small Paper Plate
Optional: Colored Pencils or Markers

Classroom Management- Foundations 1.1 - Waiting Too Long for Students to Listen? Get Attention and Keep It

Monday, October 6, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Increase your repertoire of attention getters and also consider strategies for keeping students’ attention once you have it. This is session 1 of 3.

Student Engagement- Engagement 1.1 - How Can I Keep My Students Engaged Throughout a Lesson?

Tuesday, October 7, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Do your students sometimes lose the enthusiasm they have at the start of a lesson? This session will offer strategies for engaging students at the start, middle, and end of a lesson. This is part one of a three part series.

AI Basics

Wednesday, October 8, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Jaymie Baiza
Tonya Almeida
Angel Van Horn

New to AI? Start here! This session breaks down how to generate an effective prompt, including how it works, responsible use, and practical applications for teaching and learning.

Inquiry with Intention: Tools, Steps, and Support for Candidate Success

Thursday, October 9, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Ocean Walker

Unlock the power of purposeful inquiry! This interactive session is designed for both candidates and coaches to deepen their understanding of the inquiry process from start to finish.

CM - Foundations 1.2 - Tired of Disciplining? Aim for More Collaborative Approaches

Monday, October 13, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Explore strategies where you and your students cooperatively develop a discipline plan and solve problems together. This helps students learn to manage their own behaviors with increased learning as the goal.

SE - Engagement 1.2 - How Can I Increase Student Participation during Whole Class Discussions- Part 1 - Talk Moves

Tuesday, October 14, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Whole class discussions often involve only a few voices. This session focuses on “talk moves” to ensure active participation across all students. Applicable to all grade levels.

Differentiation For All: Using Strengths to Tap into Student Potential

Wednesday, October 15, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Deirdre Edwards
Gayle Bently

Learn strategies to support gifted and twice-exceptional students by leveraging their strengths. Led by an experienced teacher with a doctorate in cognitive diversity in education.

2024 CSTP 2: Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning

Thursday, October 16, 2025
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM
Ocean Walker
Randi Parreco

Explore the 2024 CSTPs and strategies for creating and maintaining effective learning environments. Practical tools and reflection prompts provided.

Thriving Thursday: Integrating SEAL to Boost the ABCs

Thursday, October 16, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Christine Matthew

Discover why belonging is foundational for academic and social-emotional growth, and learn strategies to intentionally build connection from day one.

CM - Foundations 1.3 - Are You Ready for Students to be More Responsible? Offer More Student Choices!

Monday, October 20, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Learn how adjusting consequences and providing student choice can promote responsibility and deeper engagement in learning.

Designing Spaces
Where Every Student
Feels They Belong

Tuesday, October 21, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Lisa Moe
Angel Van Horn

What does it look like when restorative practices, flexible learning environments, and inclusive behavior systems truly come alive in the classroom? In this interactive webinar, you’ll step inside examples of restorative circles, intentional classroom design, and collaborative community-building in action. Then, you’ll roll up your sleeves and outline your own class layout, expectations system, or student-centered protocol.

Together, we’ll explore how intentional design supports student safety, equity, and authentic collaboration. You’ll leave with a clear plan—and a visual you can use immediately—that communicates your expectations and values to your students.

SE - Engagement 1.3 - How Can I Increase Student Participation during Whole Class Discussions - Part 2 - Wait Time

Tuesday, October 21, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Learn about the two types of wait time and how their combined use can lead to deeper, more equitable class discussions.

PK-3 Series: Part 2 - Nurturing Digital Skills in Early Education

Wednesday, October 22, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Ocean Walker

Learn practical strategies for supporting young learners in developing foundational digital skills. Blend research, reflection, and real-world application.

Elevating Special Education:
AI & IEPs

Monday, October 27, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Morgan Singleton

Understand the potential and constraints of AI (e.g. generative models) in writing Present Levels, goals, accommodations, and service plans.

Learn prompting strategies and data-driven workflows for generating draft components and refining them with human judgment.

Address ethical, privacy, and bias concerns in AI-assisted IEP development.

Explore practical cases or prototypes (e.g. multi-agent systems) that combine AI with educator input to reduce workload while preserving quality.

EL Series: Introduction to the EL Road Map

Wednesday, October 29, 2025
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Victor Portillo
Dr. Jorge Alvarez

This session introduces teachers to the California English Learner Roadmap and its practical application in today’s classrooms.

Google Sites digital reflection workshop

Building Your Digital Reflection Website:
A Google Sites Workshop

Wednesday, October 29, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Jaymie Baiza

Candidates synthesize their induction journey by creating a Digital Reflection Website to share at Colloquium. Participants in this workshop will gain a clear understanding of the digital reflection criteria, have hands-on experience with Google Sites, and walk away with a personalized template that can be used for their digital reflection portfolio. Join us for a creative and insightful session on creating a Digital Reflection Website.

AI in Your Child's World: What Parents Need to Know

Wednesday, October 29, 2025
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Randi Parreco
Tonya Almeida

Discover how Artificial Intelligence can transform your family's approach to education! This hands-on session will demystify AI and show you practical ways to support your child's learning at home.

November 2025

Teachers and students engaged in classroom discussion

CM – Foundations 1.1: Waiting Too Long for Students to Listen? Get Attention and Keep It

Monday, November 3, 2025
5:00 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Increase your repertoire of attention getters and also consider strategies for keeping students’ attention once you have it. You should leave this session with practical approaches that promote a community of collaboration for learning. This is session 1 of 3. Feel free to attend one, two, or all three sessions.

Students collaborating and sharing ideas

SE – Engagement 1.1:
How Can I Keep My Students Engaged Throughout a Lesson?

Tuesday, November 4, 2025
5:00 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Do your students sometimes lose the enthusiasm and engagement they have at the start of a lesson? In order to maximize learning, they need to maintain engagement from start to finish. This session will offer strategies for engaging each student at the start of a lesson, throughout the middle portion, and as the lesson winds down with reflection on learning and anticipation of future learning. You should leave with several strategies to use in your own classroom! This is part one of a three-part series. Feel free to attend one, two, or all three sessions.

Educator creating content with AI and design tools

Unleash Your Creativity
with AI & Canva

Tuesday, November 4, 2025
5:00 PM
Jaymie Baiza
Steven Hickman

Whether you’re a seasoned artist, an art teacher, or someone who’s never picked up a paintbrush, this session will show you how AI can spark new ideas, transform your artistic process, and open creative possibilities you may have never imagined. Discover how tools like Canva, ChatGPT, and other AI art tools can help you design, remix, and reimagine art in ways that blend human imagination with cutting-edge technology. We think you’ll leave inspired, empowered, and ready to create—no art degree required.

CM – Foundations 1.2:
Tired of Disciplining? Aim for More Collaborative Approaches

Monday, November 10, 2025
5:00 PM
Deirdre Edwards

What kind of approach are you using to promote students’ ability to engage during lessons? In this session, you will explore a strategy in which you and your students work together to develop a discipline plan and solve problems collaboratively. This approach helps students learn to manage their own behaviors, with the goal of increased learning as a potential outcome.

Building Your Digital Reflection Website: A Google Sites Workshop

Wednesday, November 12, 2025
5:00 PM
Jaymie Baiza

What We Bring to the Room: Session 2-
Reputations, Labels, and the Power of Assumptions

Wednesday, November 12, 2025
5:00 PM
Randi Parreco
Angel Van Horn

This session focuses on reputational bias and the long-term impact of labeling students. Teachers will examine how quickly reputations form, how assumptions are reinforced over time, and how their expectations influence student behavior and self-perception. A mix of research, reflective journaling, and case study discussion will support deeper awareness of how teacher beliefs and past experiences with students can shape classroom interactions. The session will offer strategies for “reframing” student stories and proactively resetting relationships.

Whole-class discussion with active participation

SE – Engagement 1.2: Increase Student Participation in Whole-Class Discussions
Part 1 – Talk Moves

Thursday, November 13, 2025
5:00 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Whole class discussion tends to take a large portion of lesson time, and yet sometimes, only a few students actively engage. This session will focus on defining “talk moves” for discussions, and you should leave with a vision of how to plan and implement these moves in your classroom. Talk moves are for all grade levels!

Thriving Thursday: Integrating SEAL to Boost the ABCs

Thursday, November 13, 2025
5:30 PM
Christine Matthew

Students thrive when the adults around them model emotional awareness and regulation. This session focuses on strengthening your social-emotional competencies so you can show up calm, centered, and connected in the classroom. You’ll practice quick, doable strategies for managing stress, building resilience, and modeling the skills you want your students to develop.

Teacher guiding students to take responsibility in class

CM – Foundations 1.3: Are You Ready for Students to be More Responsible? Offer More Student Choices!

Monday, November 17, 2025
5:00 PM
Deirdre Edwards

Can consequences for appropriate and inappropriate behavior better help students value learning opportunities while also keeping them more engaged? Making simple changes to the way we communicate consequences, while being selective about the types of consequences we use, may make a bigger difference than we expect! Join this session for a thought-provoking discussion of varied approaches to consequences!

December 2025

January 2026

February 2026

March 2026

April 2026

May 2026

June 2026

To all the passionate educators ready to elevate your teaching craft,

As we embark on this professional learning journey, let us remember the incredible impact we have on shaping young minds and hearts. Like seeds planted in fertile soil, your dedication and knowledge will bloom into a garden of bright futures.

Learning and growth have a powerful impact on our lives and the lives we touch, and as such we have a great impact on student trajectories in life. So just as we want our students to learn and evolve, we must do so as well. In every challenge lies an opportunity, and in every student, there is a unique brilliance waiting to be illuminated. So let us show up with curiosity, compassion, connection, caring, collaboration, and commitment to action based on your key learnings.

Together, we have power beyond measure to shape generations to come because our influence reaches farther than we can ever imagine…far beyond the classroom walls.

Thank you for investing in yourselves by allowing these professional learning sessions be a catalyst for transformation within your classroom and school community. The world is brighter because of teachers like you, who want to do better, be better, so that we can all look forward to the best tomorrows!

Go now and get ready to create magic in the classroom.

Keep inspiring, keep dreaming, and keep changing lives!

Professional Development Opportunities for Candidates and Coaches