Join experts from the California Center for School Climate at the California MTSS 2023 Professional Learning Institute, July 18–20, in Anaheim, California.
This annual event convenes classroom educators, administrators, school counselors, school psychologists, school-based mental health clinicians, district leaders, county offices of education leaders, higher education faculty, and community-based organizations to support inclusive and equitable learning environments.
This year’s theme is Equity in Action: Every Student, Every Day.
At WestEd, we promote a whole-person, whole-systems approach to building resilient and healthy schools and communities across all K–12 education levels and other child- and youth-serving systems.
Our Resilient and Healthy Schools and Communities team helps our community, district, and state partners create the conditions for learning, human development, and well-being so individuals, communities, and systems can thrive.
WestEd’s sessions will focus on the following topics:
- Restorative practices and sustainable implementation
- Effective partnerships between youth and adult
- Collaborating with youth and families to explore school climate data
- Brain-based strategies for teaching and learning
Below is a list and schedule of our sessions. We hope to see you in Anaheim!
Tuesday, July 18
Pre-Conference Session: The Toolkit Before the Toolkit: Centering Adaptive and Relational Elements of Restorative Practices
Time: 8:30 a.m.– 11:30 a.m.
Location: 162 – ACC North
Presenters: Lauren Trout (WestEd)
This interactive and relational session is driven by The Toolkit Before the Toolkit: Centering Adaptive and Relational Elements of Restorative Practices for Implementation Success, a free resource published by the Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety that has received national attention and praise. Intended outcomes for the session include participant networking; deepening restorative practices knowledge, mindsets, and practice; and applying session content to address real and complex restorative implementation challenges.
Session: Youth Experts As Partners: Collaborating to Address School Climate in California
Time: 2:20 p.m.– 3:20 p.m.
Location: 251 ABC – ACC North
Presenters: Timothy Ojetunde (WestEd) and Rebeca Cerna (WestEd)
Building effective youth-adult partnerships involves recognizing the expertise and assets youth contribute. In this session, you will learn how schools, districts, and the California Center for School Climate have worked with youth partners to support the development of resources for the field. Attendees will reflect on levels of youth engagement, learn strategies to facilitate collaboration and identify opportunities where youth experts can serve as partners in their work.
Wednesday, July 19
Session: Brain-Based Strategies for Teaching and Learning
Time: 8:30 a.m.– 9:45 a.m.
Location: 201 AB
Presenters: Jenny Betz (WestEd)
The COVID years, and the related adversity and uncertainty, have left all members of our school communities under intense stress. At the same time, the challenges of the current education landscape have fostered new conversations, new relationships, new strategies, and new ideas. This interactive session will explore brain-based strategies that create the conditions necessary for meaningful teaching and learning and support social and emotional well-being and academic success.
Session: The Toolkit: Centering Adaptive and Relational Elements of Restorative Practices
Time: 8:30 a.m.– 9:45 a.m.
Location: 163 – ACC North
Presenters: Lauren Trout (WestEd)
Like the pre-conference session, this interactive and relational session is driven by The Toolkit Before the Toolkit: Centering Adaptive and Relational Elements of Restorative Practices for Implementation Success, a free resource published by the Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety. Intended outcomes for the session include participant networking; deepening restorative practices knowledge, mindsets, and practice; and applying session content to address real and complex restorative implementation challenges.
Thursday, July 20
California Department of Education (CDE) Session: Beyond the Data: Collaborating with Youth and Families to Address School Climate
Time: 10:10 a.m.– 11:25 a.m.
Location: 256 AB – ACC North
Presenters: Rebeca Cerna (WestEd) and Hilva Chan (CDE)
Local school climate surveys are used as one source of data to identify school climate strengths and opportunities for growth. How can school climate data be explored with more intention? How can we go beyond the numbers to explore the local context? This session, facilitated by experts from the California Department of Education and the California Center for School Climate, will engage participants by reflecting on ways data can be explored with educational partners to advance school climate practices.
Please email Danny Torres, Associate Director of Events and Digital Media, for more information.