1. 8 | N magazine
This summer, teams of
teachers from Natomas and Twin
Rivers Unified School Districts
joined 15,000 teachers across the
state to take part in an innovative
approach to fostering teaching
excellence. The California Teach-
ers Summit, held statewide at 33
different sites, signaled the launch
of a state initiative to build and
sustain strong teacher-led col-
laborative networks supported by
technology. The College of Educa-
tion at CSUS hosted
350 area teachers.
Based on the
Edcamp model of
professional learning,
participants were invited
to download the CA
Teachers Summit mobile
app to access the local
agenda, generate topics
for teacher-led break-
out sessions and connect with
teachers statewide on Facebook
and Twitter. The opening session
included live video podcast of
keynote speeches by Yvette Nicole
Brown, an actress and teacher
advocate, and Leland Melvin, an
astronaut and STEM (science,
Technology, engineering and
math) education pioneer. Local
sites followed the televised presen-
tations with on-site Ed Talks by
area teachers and spontaneously
organized, interactive breakout
sessions facilitated by attendees.
State Superintendent of
Public Instruction, Tom Torlak-
son, participating from the CSUS
site, emphasized the importance
of supporting our teachers. “This
event gives teachers a chance to
grow professionally by allowing
them to share their ideas, inge-
nuity, passion, and to learn best
practices,” Torlakson said. “It
gives teachers additional tools
they can use to teach the new
California Standards in math and
English — standards aimed at
helping students learn the skills
they need to succeed in 21st
Century careers and college.”
Inderkum High School teach-
ers Lisa Stubenrauch and Belen
Tenorio were among the Natomas
Unified School District teach-
ers who attended the Summit
with Dr. Susan Heredia, NUSD
trustee and CSUS faculty
member. Lisa is enthusiastic
about her experience. “The
Edcamp model provided an
open forum for collaboration.
It was great to feel con-
nected to teachers statewide
and to feel appreciated for
our expertise,” she said.
Lisa, who teaches history,
chose to attend sessions on
Project Based Learning (PBL)
and using Google apps in the
classroom. “Teachers shared their
real world strategies for imple-
menting the Common Core State
Standards by engaging students
By Martha Mills
Natomas Education
(top) (1) Robert S. Nelson, CSUS
President; (2) Tom Torkalson, State
Superintendent of Public Instruction;
(3) Vanessa Sheared, Dean of the
CSU College of Education, join
teachers at the California Teachers
Summit
(right) Ann Veu,(left)GATE
Coordinator at Rio Tierra Jurnior High
School, and Mai Yang (right) who
teaches at the Rio Linda Preparatory
Academy in the Twin Rivers Unified
School District, facilitated breakout
sessions at the Summit.
(center page 9) Mai Yang facilitates
a Google Apps and Chrome Books
breakout session.
(top right page 9) Inderkum High
School teachers Lisa Stubenrauch
(left) and Belen Tenorio (right) at the
California Teachers Summit
TeachersSummit
Using Technology
to Build Communities
photos: CSUS | Jessica Vernone
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2. 9N magazine |
in deeper learning, providing
immediate feedback and correc-
tive instruction,” she noted. Her
takeaway, “I plan to explore ICiv-
ics for creative ways to engage
students in Civics, and School-
ogy, a free learning management
system for project collaboration.”
Ann Veu, the GATE Co-
ordinator at Rio Tierra Junior
High School, and Mai Yang who
teaches Pre-Algebra, math and life
science at the Rio Linda Prepara-
tory Academy in the Twin Rivers
Unified School District, attended
the Summit. Ann facilitated
breakout sessions on establish-
ing the classroom environment in
the first few weeks of school, and
integrating Common Core Math
Standards and special education.
“Teachers, including myself,
were able to share ideas and
strategies across primary and
secondary grade levels, which is
rare in workshops,” Ann said,
“We even heard from a Sac State
professor who wanted to learn
strategies on integrating and
teaching Common Core Math!
Teachers were able to share
our knowledge with him.”
Ann and Mai have served as
Teachers on Special Assignment
(TOSA) providing mentoring
support to teachers. “My biggest
takeaway from the perspective
of an instructional TOSA,” Ann
said, “was seeing a different ap-
proach to the delivery of profes-
sional development. The Edcamp
model allowed for effective,
whole group collaboration and
the fast pace encouraged creative
thinking which is sometimes
lost in traditional professional
development or workshops.”
Vanessa Sheared, Ed.D.,
Dean of the CSUS College of
Education, said the catalyst for
the statewide
summit and
Edcamp ‘un-
conference’
originated at
CSU Fullerton
which led
to funding
from the Bill
and Me-
linda Gates
Foundation,
the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation,
and the Silver Giving Founda-
tion. The New Teacher Center ,
California State University, and
the Association of Independent
California Colleges and Uni-
versities partnered to organize
the free event co-sponsored by
the California Department of
Education. “The goal was to
get 20,000 teachers in one day
to assemble and to share best
practices,” Sheared said. “We
all have connections. Let’s use
them to partner, to get the word
out and to share our collective
knowledge toward implement-
ing the Common Core State
Standards, restorative justice
and other best practices.”
California State
Department of Eduction
Recommended Resources
Digital Chalkboard (mydigitalchalkboard.org) is an
online community of California public school and district educators
collaborating through group participation and discussion, uploading
educational classroom and administrative resources that help educators
access what works best in California schools.
Common Core California (cdefoundation.org/what-we-do/
common core) has developed a two phase Common Core State
Standards (CCSS) Awareness and Capacity Building Campaign to
support the shift to CCSS.
Achieve the Core (achievethecore.org) invites educators and
people curious about the Common Core State Standards to explore
hundreds of math and literacy resources for teachers.
BetterLesson (betterlesson.com) Outstanding educators across
the country run Master Teacher Projects and create over 16,000 rich
lessons covering Common Core Math, Common Core English Language
Acquisition, Next Generation Science and Blended Learning.
New Teacher Center (communities.newteachercenter.org)
NTC supports new teachers with a wide range of available professional
development, communities of practice and free resources.
Center for the Collaborative Classroom
(collaborativeclassroom.org) provides continuous professional learning
for teachers and develops curricula that support academic, ethical, and
social development of children.
Inside Mathematics (www.insidemathematics.org) supports
teachers with the implementation of Common Core State Standards in
Mathematics. This site contains classroom videos, problems of the month,
and performance tasks aligned to CCSS M Standards.
LearnZillion.com (learnzillion.com) offers a free and growing
set of Math and English Language resources for grades 2 -12 developed
by expert teachers.
The Mathematics Assessment Project (MAP) provides well
engineered tools for formative and summative assessments that expose
students to mathematical knowledge and reasoning.
Deeper Learning
Collaborative (Hewlett.org/
programs/education/deeper-
learning) details strategies
for designing new ways to
evaluate what students know
and can do, with high school
graduation projects, more effective
assessment, and in-class activities
to measure their deeper learning
knowledge and skills.
LearnMore
California Teachers Summit
cateacherssummit.com
#CATeacherSummit
California Dept. Education
cde.ca.gov
California State
University Sacramento
csus.edu/coe
Edcamp Foundation
edcamp.org
photo: NUSD | Jim Sanders