"The CATDC Buzz" Issue #29

"The work of teachers is made ever more complex by the flood of new technologies for learning and the new domains of knowledge that teachers must master to serve their students well ."

--Zanette Johnson, Taking Design Thinking to School

"June: Know Yourself. In June you can reflect on last year, transition into summer, and contemplate next year while gaining deeper self-understanding."

--Elena Aguilar, Onward

I came to teaching in an age when summer was a more distinct season; I attribute this less to climate change and more to the rapidly evolving educational ecosystem. Back in the day, once we finished up our last faculty meetings, I felt myself free from the urgent need to do more and learn more in order to teach my students well. Of course, I read ravenously, searching for the perfect new novels to bring to my literature courses, but the pressure lifted. As I moved into administration, summers grew shorter and busier, as it seems they are for many of us now;

the lines between "on" and "off" not as clear. At the end of my first year as Executive Director of the CATDC, I am keenly aware that with the quantity of information at our fingertips (including a rapidly growing body of research about how students best learn) and the abundance of professional growth opportunities available through our organization and others, it can be challenging to balance our quest to be better educators with the need to take care of ourselves.

Ironically, we become better educators when we prioritize self care. This month's Buzz offers suggestions "to sculpt your off-switch muscles" as Bay School Dean of Faculty Lori Cohen writes, while also providing reflections on and invitations to deep professional learning: Kalyan Balaven, the new Director of Teaching and Learning at The Athenian School, shares the story of how his participation in Leadership Fellows helped him to move forward on his professional path; Elizabeth Denevi, who leads Equity as Excellence, writes about how this signature program helps educators become more responsive to all forms of diversity in her guest blog for Gender Spectrum. Finally, we offer our own list of suggested summer reading, several books authored by leaders of our Summer Institutes.

In one of our selections, Bold Moves for Schools, Heidi Hayes Jacobs poses three questions regarding curriculum decisions that can be useful in reflecting on our teaching and leadership roles, as well as our professional journeys: "What do we cut? What do we keep? What do we create?"

Jacobs, who will be leading Curriculum Mapping for the Contemporary Learner in Los Angeles next week, also defines new roles for the contemporary educator, among them "self-navigating professional" and "social contractor: expanding resources and perspectives." Elena Aguilar, author of Onward and leader of our Transformational Coaching Symposium in August, argues that what teachers need most today is "time, space, and attention to managing stress and cultivating resilience."

The CATDC has become ever more important along these lines: our programs providing both compass points and community, supporting educators in all stages of their careers to find new direction, develop new skills, share innovative practices, and engage in collaborative inquiry. In fact, the CATDC provides an unparalleled opportunity to delve into the kind of learning experiences we hope to create for our students, with a focus on social and emotional learning, equity and inclusion, and the 21^st century skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.

Janet McGarvey was ahead of her time in founding such an organization. I have so appreciated the solid groundwork she laid, and how my role allows me to steep myself in collaborative projects with dynamic educators from across the state. This last month has been especially rich in that regard: despite very full plates, the Women in Leadership planning committee came together, deciding to change the name of our annual conference to Women+Leadership and beginning to outline our program for the day (January 25 in Los Angeles and January 29 in the Bay). Another highlight has been developing a completely new program, the Impact Lab Series, with Annie Makela, Founding Director of the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the Hillbrook School; Guybe Slangen, Director of Community Engagement at San Francisco Friends School; and Dan Meyers, Associate Head of School for Academics at Mercy High School. We will tell you more come August, but in the meantime, put September 26 on your calendar for our evening launch and networking event in San Francisco.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for participating in and supporting the work of the CATDC. I recognize the considerable investment of time and money this represents. Research confirms what we know in our hearts to be true: well-designed professional learning leads to higher student outcomes, so I trust that the impact of your involvement has been positive for your students and your schools.

And as you reflect on the past year and contemplate the year ahead, I hope that learning with the CATDC will be part of both what you decide to keep and to create . We still have space in several of our Summer Institutes, and the lineup of ongoing groups and fall intensives is rich indeed. I am also eager to hear your ideas for new programs.

I hope to see you at one of our upcoming events. We will take a break from publishing The Buzz in July, so let me also offer my best wishes for an enlightening and rejuvenating summer.

Why the Spectrum Matters

Guest Blog by Elizabeth Denevi, Gender Spectrum

When considering diversity and how it impacts academic achievement, many schools rely on binary thinking: the placement of girls vs. boys in higher level math and science classes or the number of Black students in a predominantly white school. While we certainly need to address the gender and racial inequities that still exist, we also need to complicate our thinking. Growing numbers of gender fluid and multiracial students mean that our typical binaries of boy/girl and white/Black will not tell us the full picture. Identity development occurs over time and across contexts, and as we watch this generation of students move through our schools, we need tools that will embrace the range of identities that exist between our traditional binaries.

Equity as Excellence is a unique professional development space in that we seek to help educators become "diversity responsive," able to address any issues of difference that impact teaching and learning (Hawley & Wolf, 2012).

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Taking Off This Summer

By Lori Cohen, The Bay School of San Francisco

As our school years finally end, and as we wrap up our culminating meetings in preparation for a quieter summer, I'm reminded of this powerful internal tool that allows us to recharge these next couple of months: the off-switch.

For teachers, the off-switch may be an easier sell. Time away from school will allow teachers to downshift from the higher-octane part of themselves-planning lessons, developing curriculum, managing students' needs, building and maintaining classroom culture, promoting equity and cultural responsiveness to give all students access. If anything, this time of year reminds us there's a reason teachers need time away from work before they begin again in August: this profession, while rewarding, also is exhausting, and in order to keep pace with "on" months, teachers need that time off for personal care and professional recharging-time to choose how to spend their days and what they most need to focus on. Time off is not the luxury most outside the teaching profession believe it is; it's a necessity.

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Cultivating the Leadership Seed: My Journey with the CATDC

By Kalyan A. Balaven, The Athenian School

Leadership Fellows gave us invaluable theory, but also the opportunity to practice. Beyond the reading of resumes and specific advice on cover letters given to each of us by Reveta and Debbie, the true validation of this cohort was in the fact that in our last reflective session, we learned that for many of us, the seeds within us had been nurtured so deeply that we were actually moving into roles of greater leadership, growing nearer to our goal of headship.

Divine Direction led me to open the CATDC door in the first place. And my mother provided the reason why I walked in her educational footsteps at all. But it was Leadership Fellows that helped me to see it. Surrounded by like-minded peers, and coached by experienced stalwarts in educational leadership, I was cultivated by the Leadership Fellows to discover what my inner-seed needed and given the nutrients that helped me to grow into the leader I dreamed I'd become.

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Summer Reading List: Emotional Resilience, Deep Learning, and Culturally Responsive Teaching

Check out the CATDC's recommended summer reading list in the areas of leadership, social and emotional learning, equity and inclusion, and curriculum and pedagogy. You will find resources that promote collaborative and equitable schools, and practical strategies to help build capacity in leadership and innovation. We hope you all have a restorative and inspired summer and look forward to seeing many of you at a CATDC Summer Institute.

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