Our B.E.S.T. training provides essential knowledge and practical skills to support safe, confident travel. An online module must be completed before the in‑person session, where participants apply key concepts through guided practice.

This training meets the requirement for all licensed childcare and foster care providers who must complete a child passenger safety training program to transport children under age nine. The Basic Education for Safe Travel (B.E.S.T.) Program replaces the former C.A.R.S. Program as the state’s required training. Providers must complete this program every five years to remain compliant with state requirements.

Register below:

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Wadena County >

This day of professional development including, a keynote presentation, breakouts, and networking, is dedicated to current topics in the field of early childhood education. Topics presented are relevant for individuals, partners, and teams.

The event will also feature a walkabout session with agencies, partners, and local organizations offering opportunities for early childhood professionals.

This is a specialized training on both practical and legal considerations of Minnesota’s Open Meeting Law and Data Practices requirements. Participants will gain an understanding of these complicated laws, gain an understanding of updated regulations, learn how to access appropriate resources, and leave with practical knowledge for working within the laws’ parameters.

The Paraprofessional Conference is a regional conference designed to celebrate and strengthen the essential role of paraprofessionals in today’s schools. This year's conference, with the theme The Power of You, features a NEW interactive format with an inspiring keynote and three breakout sessions that allow participants to personalize their learning. Join us for a day of connection, learning, and empowerment focused on the power and impact of you.

Join us for an energizing School Administrative Assistant Conference designed to empower, educate, and celebrate the amazing administrative professionals who keep our schools thriving. This conference provides you with an opportunity to enjoy a day of skill-building, fresh ideas, and meaningful connections with peers across the region. 

Don’t miss this chance to grow, connect, and be celebrated!

The Sourcewell Educator Summit is the region’s premier professional learning event—bringing educators together for a day of inspiration, connection, and growth. Designed for PreK-12 teachers, administrators, and education leaders across central Minnesota, this one-day Summit offers an energizing start to the school year. 

Attendees will hear from nationally-recognized speakers, engage in high-quality breakout sessions, and explore strategies that strengthen both student success and educator well-being. Whether you're looking to recharge, learn something new, or connect with colleagues across the region, the Educator Summit provides an experience that empowers and equips you for the year ahead.

Beyond NTA is designed to support teachers in years 2, 3, and beyond. The sessions will be structured around standards, procedures, and fostering collaboration with other regional teachers. There will be 4 professional development days at Sourcewell and 3 individual coaching days in their classroom. Content will be presented, collaboratively discussed and applied to lesson planning for use in their classrooms. Attendees will have the opportunity to take Catalyst Whole Group Classroom Leadership Day 1 and attend Catalyst Live.

The Beyond Special Education New Teacher Academy is designed to enhance the fundamental classroom practices of novice special education teachers. The Beyond Special Education New Teacher Academy includes four professional development sessions focused on classroom practices. Session topics include High Leverage Practices, Catalyst Foundations, and classroom management strategies. In addition to professional development, support throughout the year includes four individual in-classroom coaching sessions.

This cohort is for districts who are participating in the Career Consultant program. District identified career committees will attend to engage in professional learning, collaboration, and program planning. Development of career pathways is based on the nationally recognized Redefining Ready metrics and professional learning will include outside expertise and exemplars to guide district teams in design.

The New Teacher Academy is designed to increase confidence and capacity in novice educators by combining relevant training with growth-focused coaching support. Support throughout the year includes five full-day trainings at Sourcewell, four individual in-classroom coaching sessions, Catalyst Whole Group Leadership, and Catalyst Live.

The Special Education New Teacher Academy is designed to enhance the fundamental due process skills of novice special education teachers. Sessions will include collaborative, interactive content, opportunities to network, and include due process application time within each session. Support throughout the year includes six full day trainings at Sourcewell.

Sourcewell will offer a Special Education Licensure via Portfolio Cohort for the 2026–2027 school year, beginning with a kickoff event on October 7, 2026.

Licensure via portfolio provides a non-traditional pathway to teacher licensure in Minnesota. Through this process, educators may obtain a Tier 3 license or add an additional licensure area by successfully demonstrating competency in the Minnesota Teaching Standards. Participants develop a curated collection of professional evidence, or artifacts, that reflect their instructional knowledge and practice. Each artifact is paired with written reasoning statements that clearly explain how the evidence meets the depth and breadth of the applicable teaching standards.

This cohort is designed to guide participants through the portfolio process by offering structured support, clarity around requirements, and opportunities for reflection and feedback. Educators will leave with stronger portfolios and increased confidence navigating the licensure pathway.

View Special Education Licensure via Portfolio Cohort flyer >

The Special Education Academy Plus-New Teacher Academy is designed to enhance the fundamental classroom practices of novice special education teachers. The Special Education Academy Plus includes two professional development sessions focused on application of due process and classroom practices. In addition to professional development sessions, support throughout the year includes eight individual in-classroom coaching sessions. The Special Education Academy Plus focuses on the individual participant’s needs.

Add+VantageMR® (AVMR), Course 1 includes dynamic assessments, organizational, and teaching tools in number words and numerals, structuring numbers, and addition and subtraction strategies. Course 1 is most appropriate for kindergarten through elementary classroom, special education teachers, and interventionists who work with children in K-8.

This is a certification we have offered on and off over the past several years.

Building resilience, diversifying revenue, and strengthening your nonprofit for the future. Nonprofits today are navigating rapid change—economic uncertainty, shifts in donor behavior, rising community needs, and increasing competition for limited funding. But turbulence also brings opportunity. This interactive Lunch & Learn will equip nonprofit leaders, board members, and development professionals with practical, realistic, and sustainable strategies to weather volatility and build long-term strength. Together, we’ll explore four key pillars of sustainability and leave you with actionable ideas you can implement immediately.

1. Reality Check: Funding Trends That Matter


2. Fundraising That Works: Donors, Relationships & Real Engagement


3. Social Enterprise: Revenue That Works for You


4. Collaboration & Capacity: Growing Together

This event is offered in partnership with the Initiative Foundation, Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, and Sourcewell.

This Catalyst Coaching professional development is geared for instructional coaches, mentors and administrators. The session will provide strategies for effective coaching and communication when working with adults.

Learn to create environments that support all children in engaging thoughtfully through room layout and design by understanding how a student’s physical surroundings impact their ability to function, learn, and thrive at school. Students who learn in a predictable, safe, and purposeful environment are able to spend more of their energy on the content and less on navigating their space.

Dig deeper into the Catalyst Whole Group Leadership foundation skills as well as additional strategies and refinements to impact the learning in your classroom even more. Collaborate and practice with other educators who are committed to preserving relationships, increasing engagement, and have more curriculum time for their students.

At the core of strong classroom management is how the adults manage themselves. In this class, participants learn strategies (based on observations and field-testing in more than 50,000 classrooms) that allow them to strengthen relationships, increase equity, reduce frustration, and foster independence in the classroom.

This training is an in-person professional development for math educators and leaders on implementing the 2022 Math Standards: 

• Engage in a K-12 Math Task & connect to MN Math Standards 


• Instructional Math Practice 4: Build Procedural Fluency from Conceptual Understanding 


• How to use the Math Standards Hexagon Tools


• 9 math prompts that every math teacher and leader (including non math leader) needs to use


• Utilizing existing standards tools


• What to use first and how to use it.


• Networking Time 


• Q&A

Educators know that relationships are key to student belonging and learning. This training highlights the importance of relationships, provides practices that promote relationship building, and addresses barriers that can interfere with creating connections. Explore the stages of the Relationship Framework and utilize strategies to build trust, establish connection, then grow and maintain relationships at each stage, including repair. Participants will also practice approaching difficult conversations and conflicts through connection.

The Minnesota Service Cooperatives have collaborated to bring you a virtual, asynchronous option to meeting your Cultural Competency licensure requirement. This course provides video learning, personal reflection time, an opportunity to hear from educators in the field, and many additional resources to explore as you continue your journey to be an even more culturally competent educator.

This is area is a Minnesota teacher licensure requirement. By attending this workshop participants will demonstrate evidence of self-reflection and discussion of the following topics in a way that deepens teachers’ understanding of their own frames of reference, potential bias in these frames, and the impact of bias on expectations for and relationships with students, students’ families, and school communities. 

Topics identified by state statues and PELSB:

• Racial, cultural, and socioeconomic groups 


• American Indian and Alaskan Native students 


• Religion 


• Systemic racism 


• Gender identity, including transgender students


• Sexual orientation 


• Language diversity 


• Individuals with disabilities and mental health concerns

This is an updated course. Some content is the same as last offering, but will have most up-to-date resources.

In this session, 5-12 educators will explore practical strategies that help students read, write, and think like experts in each discipline. Participants will learn how to scaffold complex texts so that all learners, regardless of background knowledge or skill level, can access rigorous content. Through hands-on examples and collaborative discussion, teachers will identify the discipline-specific literacy moves that build deeper comprehension and confidence. Educators will leave with ready-to-use approaches that make challenging texts meaningful and manageable for every student.

Get renewed energy, connection, and engagement for the upcoming school year. Explore practical approaches to strengthen family partnerships. This training will include learning, engagement, and community strategies, regardless of your role while building understanding and responsive strategies for emotional regulation that strengthen learning environments. Address the intersection of nutritional wellness and learning through a poverty-aware lens.