Systemic racism and racial bias negatively impact the social, emotional, and academic lives of non-white students, teachers, and staff in our schools. The multiple impacts of these issues are both immediate and long-lasting. In this course, participants will explore racial identity and racial privilege. Awareness, knowledge, and understanding of systemic inequity; of one's own racial and cultural identity; and students' racial and cultural identity are cornerstones for teaching that more effectively meet the need of all students, and in particular, non-white students and historically marginalized students.

Humans have an incredible capacity for happiness but many hold tight to negative thinking. This limits growth, an ability to find passion or motivation, and quite simply, an inability to see the opportunity in tomorrow. It’s important to understand the science behind your evolutionary bias for hanging on to negative experiences. Did you know, there is a specific part of your brain, the amygdala, that is responsible for how you respond to situations and experiences?? Neuroscience has shown our ability to concentrate on happy thoughts depends the amygdala response. The goal of this course is to teach you how to train your mind to cultivate happiness and recognize when the brain is lying to you.

The key to student success is not how well they perform on standardized tests or their ranking in school, but their ability to work hard, struggle, and persevere until they accomplish a task. Learn how to instill grit in your K-12 students through relationship building, challenging tasks, goal setting and active reflection. Students should perceive mistakes as an opportunity to grow. When taught in the classroom research suggests grit may have an impact key to long term success and happiness.

Check For Understanding (CFU)-we know it is important, we all do it and still we readily admit there is always room for improvement. Find out more by delving into 10 easy to implement CFU techniques used by master teachers of grades 1-12. Create a powerful synergy by combining techniques to increase understanding. It is easy and effective, plain and simple. Text about $16 from Amazon.

How often do we get to simply read for pleasure and inspiration in ways that enrich our lives and our work?  In this course you will choose from a wide range of reading  that suit your personal and professional needs.  You will also reflect on the importance of engaging your students in productive reading.

Google is currently offering schools a hosted solution for their email, calendar, documents, websites, and chat through Google Apps for Education, an integrated communication and collaboration cloud-based network. Email storage and search tools that help find information fast.

The 99 strategies explored in this course are going to help you engage your students. And you will find boredom's been banished from your classroom and from your teaching as well.

How do we set boundaries and guidelines without it turning into a power struggle? Is the way we set up rules at the beginning of a year that important? Is there a way to help children understand parameters without getting them frustrated?

In this diversified driving tour, you will travel Portland and surrounding suburban areas to discover a variety of forested parks, gorgeous gardens, wetlands sites, and geologic sites, where you will learn about trees, plants, birds, ecosystems and natural formations. Most importantly, you will learn how to bring this information to your students across the curriculum, both in the classroom and on field trips. $25 payable to instructor for a course field guide after registration.     

Make a difference to your Hispanic students when you master a few Spanish phrases. This course will introduce Spanish with a goal of learning to say basic vocabulary and sentences for communicating with Spanish-speaking students and parents.