The Professional Learning department at SERRC is here to support your team!
The training opportunities listed on this page reflect a sampling of the educational events we offer. We regularly adapt our trainings to meet the needs of the schools we serve. A professional learning event may be as short as a single hour-long workshop, or as long as a ten-day series spread out over the course of the year. Our trainings can be facilitated on site in your community or done remotely through a virtual platform.
If you see a topic you're interested in, we can customize it to your needs. If you don't see what you're looking for here, reach out and we can design what you need.
SERRC is dedicated to supporting the critical work Alaskan educators perform every day!
Culture
Culture in the Classroom
This introductory training explores the definition and domains of culture. Educators will examine their own cultural belonging and norms, as well as those of their students and their school.
- Elements of culture
- Alaska’s cultural standards
- Connection between cultural & content standards
Audience
Educators
Length
1-4 hours
Culturally Responsive Teaching
This interactive, engaging professional learning opportunity explores a range of instructional strategies that promote access for all students. Educators will have the opportunity to apply their learning and will leave with tools and resources they can use immediately.
- Culturally responsive strategies
- Lesson and unit design
- Differentiating for all learners
Audience
Educators
Length
1-4 hours
Culturally Proficient Coaching
While originally designed with instructional coaches in mind, this training is appropriate for any educator who supports the development of others. The framework and strategies presented in this training can be used by administrators, teacher leaders, mentors, and members of a professional learning community. This blend of cognitive coaching and cultural proficiency is also relevant for the classroom teacher looking to create a more reflective, inclusive environment for students.
Audience
Teacher Leaders
Mentors
Administrators
Length
3 days
Cultural Proficiency Certification
Build the capacity of your team to lead the cultural proficiency work within your school or district. Over the course of this 10-day training, participants will explore the essential elements of cultural proficiency and reflect on their place (and that of their organization) on the cultural proficiency continuum. At the end of the training, participants will earn certification from the Center for Culturally Proficient Educational Practices and will be prepared to act as trainers in their own organizations.
Phase I:
- Introduction to Cultural Proficiency
- Tools of Cultural Proficiency
Phase II:
- Guiding Principles and Essential Elements of Cultural Proficiency
- Self-assessment of school or district to inform needs
Phase III:
- Training-of-Trainers
- Equity inquiry
Audience
Educators
Teacher Leaders
Administrators
Length
10 days
Culturally Responsive Restorative Practices
This training applies the lens of culturally responsive education to the social emotional work of restorative practices. Participants focus on valuing the whole person and using structures and strategies to:
- Address the needs of the community
- Build positive, healthy relationships
- Reduce/prevent harmful behavior
- Repair harm & restore positive relationships
- Navigate conflict and create accountability
Audience
All school staff
Community
Length
1 day
Literacy
Literacy Strategies for Paraeducators
Designed to support paraeducators providing individual or small group support, this training addresses the foundational skills of literacy and approaches for special populations.
- Early literacy
- Foundational skills
- Supporting English learners
- Reading for understanding
Audience
Para-educators
Length
6 hours
Teaching Reading in the Content Areas
Literacy skills are not only critical to accessing subject area curriculum, but also for students to become responsible consumers of information by analysing and evaluating what they read. This training provides practical strategies for teaching reading through science, social studies, the arts, and other subject areas.
- Graphic organizers
- Metacognition
- Background knowledge and vocabulary
- Word attack strategies
Audience
General educators
Special educators
Para-educators
Length
3 hours
Early Literacy Instruction
This training is focused on evidence-based early literacy practices, including engagement and support practices for early learners.
- Foundation skills
- Strategies for remote teaching
- Developing vocabulary
Audience
General educators
Special educators
Para-educators
Length
6 hours
Differentiated Literacy Instruction - Strategies for Supporting All Readers
Literacy instruction is critical to student success. It is particularly important to provide thoughtful, systematic instruction for students who are acquiring a new language, who have a disability, or experience other factors that impact their reading progress. This training explores strategies for supporting learners with diverse needs in literacy development.
- English learners
- Students with disabilities
- Gifted and talented
- Multiple intelligences
Audience
General educators
Special educators
Para-educators
Length
1 hour
Fundamentals of Reading
In addition to specialized trainings, SERRC believes in the importance of instruction in the fundamental domains of literacy. These topics can be taught together, or expanded to create an in-depth series.
- Phonemic Awareness/Phonics
- Vocabulary Development
- Decoding and Fluency
- Comprehension Strategies
Audience
General educators
Special educators
Para-educators
Length
Multi-day
Social Emotional Learning
Restorative Practices
Restorative practices include a set of structures and strategies that take a proactive, person-centered approach to school climate and discipline. While this training is often geared toward classroom teachers, it is most powerful when implemented schoolwide, including with administrators and classified staff. Extensions may be added to train parents and community members.
- Address the needs of the community
- Build positive, healthy relationships
- Reduce/prevent harmful behavior
- Repair harm and restore positive relationships
- Navigate conflict and create accountability
Audience
All school staff
Community
Length
1 day
Mental Health First Aid
SERRC’s Southeast Area Health Education Center offers Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid. Learn the risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, as well as strategies to support individuals in crisis.
Audience
Educators
Administrators
Para-educators
Community Members
Parents
Length
1 day
STOP School Violence Anonymous Reporting System
SERRC currently has funding through the federal STOP School Violence grant to offer free access for school districts to a comprehensive anonymous reporting system. This grant includes the anonymous reporting system, incident monitoring and management, social-emotional learning supports for students, and staff training and onboarding.
Audience
Districts
Length
N/A
Special Education
Para-educator Training
Appropriate for new or veteran paraeducators, participants will learn practical skills to improve in all areas of their work with students. This training is also appropriate for new or substitute teachers.
- Promoting student independence
- Ability awareness
- Elements of the IEP
- Data collection
- Behavioral support
- Subject area support strategies
- Collaborating with service providers
Audience
Para-educators
New teachers
Substitute teachers
Length
1 day
Supporting Students With Disabilities
This foundational training provides an introduction for general education teachers, paraeducators, and others who work with students with diverse needs in the general education setting.
- Disability types and characteristics
- Understanding the IEP
- Subject-specific support strategies
- Accommodations and modifications
Audience
General educators
Para-educators
Length
1 hour
Co-Teaching
Co-teaching is a powerful strategy to support students with disabilities while also creating a collaborative staff culture. This training covers the why’s and the how’s of co-teaching and can be customized to fit a team’s level of experience. This training may also be customized to support partnerships between classified and certificated staff.
- Rationale for co-teaching
- Co-teaching models
- Staff member roles
- Troubleshooting common challenges
- Resources
Audience
General educators
Special educators
Length
1 hour to multi-day
Inclusive Education
This training addresses both the philosophy and the practice of inclusion, supporting schools looking to increase access for students with diverse needs.
- Rationale for inclusive education
- Research overview
- Common questions
- Strategies for supporting all learners
Audience
Educators
Length
1 hour
Differentiated Instruction
Every student is unique – they vary in learning styles, strengths, and needs. A single classroom may have students who are gifted, students who are language learners, students with disabilities, not to mention athletes, artists, and academics. Differentiated instruction is critical to meeting the needs of this diverse student population.
- Knowing when to differentiate
- Differentiating content, process, and product
- Universal Design for Learning
- Sample lessons
Audience
Educators
Length
1 hour
Dynamic Transition Plans
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A primary goal of education is to prepare all students for independence after high school. However, for students with disabilities, a thoughtful, comprehensive transition plan is particularly critical for post-secondary success. This training is appropriate for any professionals who support students with disabilities and develop or implement transition plans. The training is particularly powerful when paired with a free, SERRC-staffed, multi-day transition camp for students.
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Audience
Special educators
Para-educators
Parents
Length
1 hour to multi-day
Student-Led IEP's
This training can be customized for any members of the IEP team – educators, parents, or students. Learn how to develop a student-centered IEP and facilitate a student-led IEP meeting.
- Elements of a student-led IEP
- Preparing the student and gradual transition
- Strategies for success
- Resources
Audience
Special educators
Parents
Students
Length
1 hour
ABC's of IEP's
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This session is designed for non-employees who participate in the IEP process, including parents, guardians, and community members. The ABCs of IEPs introduces the IEP document, the IEP meeting process, and the basics of navigating the school system, including team member roles.
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Audience
Parents
Length
1.5 hours
Special Education for Administrators
Many school administrators do not have an extensive background in special education yet find themselves needing to facilitate an IEP meeting, hire and evaluate special education staff, or budget for related services. This training is adaptive to individual need, but focuses on the information most critical for site and district administrators that supervise elements of special education.
- Components of the IEP
- Role at IEP meetings
- Special education service models
- Timelines and compliance
- Supporting special education staff
- Special education and discipline
- Resources
Audience
Administrators
Length
3 hours
Developing High Quality IEP's
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A good IEP is student-centered, data-based, and legally-defensible. This training is designed to support new and veteran special educators alike in creating high-quality IEPs. Teams may choose to pair this training with a guided self-review process to identify areas for growth.
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Audience
Special educators
Length
1-6 hours
Classified, Administrative and Guest Staff Training
Substitute Teacher Training
SERRC has developed a substitute teacher training curriculum — one that can be customized to districts’ specific needs — that can be delivered on-site and in-person across the state.
At its core, the training will cover essential skills and strategies, including classroom management, professionalism, communication, policies, procedures and more. The sessions can also be customized, with policies, procedures and strategies specific to schools and districts.
Training topics include:
“On average, teachers miss 11 days of school each year. This means that over the course of their K-12 experience students spend almost a full year learning from someone other than their regular classroom teacher.”
Individual Technology Learning Plans
In a world where online technology plays an increasingly core role in how we communicate and manage knowledge, staying current in our classrooms is not a simple task. The Individual Technology Learning Plan (ITLP), designed by Ryan Stanley and Christina Hum, helps Alaskan teachers cross the digital divide and upgrade the particular skills they need.
The Individualized Technology Learning Plan program allows teachers to increase their technology capacity by working to set and meet goals for technology integration in the classroom.