"The CATDC Buzz" Issue #6

The California Teacher Development Collaborative (CATDC), is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing professional growth opportunities for teachers and administrators from independent schools. Its member schools represent the diverse range of small and large elementary, middle, and high schools from all over the greater San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas.

What is the mission of the organization?

The aim of the CATDC is to: 1) Promote enriching professional development opportunities.

2) Support collegiality and cooperation among teachers and schools.

3) Inspire teachers to become educational leaders.

I thought you were called the BATDC?

The BATDC started in the San Francisco Bay Area in the year 2000, and has since grown to include a network of over sixty independent schools in the region. In 2012, a group of LA area heads of school asked if the BATDC could replicate its proven model by launching a branch of its operations in Southern California. Now, following the completion of the two-year pilot program, and with a thriving group of over thirty member schools in Southern California, we have changed our name to the "California Teacher Development Collaborative."

How can I take part in the CATDC's offerings?

1) If your school isn't already a member, encourage them to join here !

2) Register for our upcoming events, and keep an eye out for our spring schedule of workshops.

3) Get in touch and let us know what kind of professional development opportunities you're looking for.

4) Let us help you leverage the power of the network by connecting you with colleagues from other schools.

5) Join our mailing list to stay up to date on all our future workshops and events.

A Message from the Executive Director,

Janet McGarvey

Global education has been at the center of many school initiatives and curricular programs for a number of years. It is fascinating to see how these programs integrate into the daily life of students. Often linked to service learning, STEAM, language immersion, or social-emotional learning, global studies and cultural responsiveness are often woven into the very fabric of a school's culture. What does it look like at your school? In this issue of the CATDC Buzz , we highlight just a few of the wonderful things happening in California schools to increase global competencies. We invite you to join in upcoming conversations around how to deepen or expand your own interests in global studies, cross-cultural partnerships, or international travel experiences.

On October 30, 2015 the CATDC will host a one-day Global Symposium at the Crystal Springs Uplands School. Its purpose is to connect educators throughout the area to learn more about what we are already doing, to discover new approaches to our work around global studies and cultural responsiveness, and to build a network of colleagues throughout the Bay Area and beyond. A similar event took place in Los Angeles last year and was a big success. Eryn Hoffman, Director of Programs in Los Angeles, has written a description of it and highlights the power of collaboration across schools; she points out that, "Conversations quickly moved from "my school does..." to "what if we worked together to do...." We hope you are inspired by the ways students are supported in becoming global citizens and will share your ideas, conundrums, and successes. Education First is helping with the planning of this day and is bringing our keynote speaker, Amanda Taylor. Please join us!

Creating a Community of Global Educators

By Eryn Hoffman, The CATDC

On a Friday afternoon in early September 2014, over fifty independent school administrators and teachers gathered at Windward School to share best practices and engage in collaborative professional development on global education.

Inspiring Global Citizens: Experiences That Make A Difference was a first of its kind-a half-day symposium, sponsored by Windward School and EF Educational Tours, for educators to explore strategies for preparing students for global competence. Framed by the opening keynote from Dr. Yong Zhao, an internationally known scholar and author whose work focuses on the implications of globalization and technology in education, the event challenged participants to think about their programs and practices in light of a 21st Century, ever-connected world. Read more...

DNA of the Global Citizen

By Robert Movradinov, French American International School

Founded in 1962, French American International School is San Francisco's first bilingual and only international school. Our educators and 1,075 students live permanently at the cross-section of an independent U.S. school, a French state school, and an international school. We are international by name, by accreditation, and by nature. So what does it mean to be an international school?

While French American offers bilingual immersion Pre-K through 8th grade, students undertake either the French or International Baccalaureate program in our International High School. Simply put, the cultural and linguistic duality developed through the 8th grade prepares for students to cast their eyes onto the world; onto multiplicity. Read more...

Mark Day School: A Philosophy of Partnership

By Fernanda Pernambuco, Mark Day School

Since 2000, Mark Day School has been developing long-term relationships with schools and organizations locally and globally with whom we share the common goals of broadening horizons and deepening the educational experience. At the heart of our partnerships lies the idea of reciprocity: everyone involved has something to learn and something to give. Developing a true understanding of what we might learn and what we might have to offer a partner takes time and requires an ongoing dialogue between our organizations. While we enter with a sense of shared opportunity and the potential for engagement, it is only through open conversation, trying on new ideas, and truly listening that we construct a path to achieve our initial goals-and, more important, to begin cementing a relationship that will lead us to deeper understandings of our partners and of ourselves that are often unimaginable at the outset of a partnership. Read more...