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.

This training will teach you how to effectively support your emergency responders during an active violence situation while doing your role as a community leader.

This course was designed specifically for Region 5 based on input from our emergency response entities. 

Unlock the potential of AI in education with this comprehensive workshop. In the morning session, dive into foundational AI concepts and explore the capabilities of ChatGPT, equipping educators with essential knowledge and skills. Engage in practical exercises and discussions to understand AI’s role in innovating learning experiences. In the afternoon, take your understanding to the next level with advanced AI concepts and hands-on activities, empowering you to revolutionize your teaching practices. 

Whether you join us for the morning, afternoon, or both sessions, you’ll gain valuable insights and strategies to leverage AI effectively in the classroom. Don’t miss this opportunity to bridge the gap from AI basics to mastery in education!

Would you like to know how to have a cohesive AVID system at your school? Come and spend a day with Shannon Bailey and Karin Swainey reviewing the AVID framework, learning and collaborating with other administrators from AVID schools in the region. You will learn what AVID can look like in your district, reflect on your current practices, and determine what will be your next steps. You will learn the critical methods of AVID schoolwide and learn how to build capacity with AVID professional development and determine what it can look like at a district leader level. This is an annual AVID District Leaders event.

Beyond New Teacher Academy (NTA) is NEW this year. Beyond NTA is designed to support elementary and secondary teachers in years 2, 3, and beyond! The sessions will be structured around standards, procedures, and fostering collaboration with other regional elementary and secondary teachers. There will be four professional development days at Sourcewell and three 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.

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

Join the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits to discuss and receive updates on a new report on challenges and opportunities facing Minnesota nonprofits as well as legislative updates for the nonprofit sector.

Sourcewell strives to bring the highest-quality resources, information, and training opportunities to our members. We’re honored to team up with these organizations to bring this opportunity to our central Minnesota region.   

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. 

In the course customized to para-educators, explore communication strategies that make the biggest difference for educators who work with some of our most fragile and misunderstood students.

Join the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to discuss the vital role that telecommunications personnel play during these critical active violence incidents. 

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.

Minnesota statute requires Cultural Competency training for educators to renew their teaching license with PELSB (Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board). Sourcewell has developed an updated (2022) PELSB-approved training that meets all components of PELSB's definition.

Join us for a transformative speaker series designed to empower educators with the knowledge and tools to create inclusive and culturally responsive learning environments. Our series focuses on three timely topics in education. Register for a single day session that fits your professional learning goals or all three with access to the Open Windows Books Cohort.

This on-demand course will define formative assessment and explore the benefits of utilization. Participants will learn about various formative assessment techniques for both virtual and in-person learning, and will leave the session ready to implement and achieve some formative assessment quick wins.

Using formative assessments regularly and consistently can give both educators and learners an even clearer picture around what learners know. Formative assessments also provide educators with a guide to developing learning experiences and lesson planning that can meet the needs of all learners. By using formative assessments with purpose, educators can maximize student learning and increase the effectiveness of their lesson design and delivery.

The Foundational Skills (for short-call subs): Learn the most impactful strategies to successfully engage students while also helping the adults save their energy. Based on the ongoing applied research in over 50,000 classrooms and school settings, The Catalyst Approach is committed to finding relevant and practical solutions to the most common school challenges. This course introduces the roots of The Catalyst Approach and the 12 Foundational Skills to help every adult working with students know where to focus their efforts. Hopefully you’ll finish the course with a renewed sense of hope, joy, and confidence in your work.

The Foundational Skills (for student teachers): Learn the most impactful strategies to successfully engage students while also helping the adults save their energy. Based on the ongoing applied research in over 50,000 classrooms and school settings, The Catalyst Approach is committed to finding relevant and practical solutions to the most common school challenges. This course introduces the roots of The Catalyst Approach and the 12 Foundational Skills to help every adult working with students know where to focus their efforts. Hopefully you’ll finish the course with a renewed sense of hope, joy, and confidence in your work.

Quick Start to Coaching Adult Learners (for those mentoring teachers): Gain insights about the important role of mentoring adult learners. Whether you’re working with a student teacher, a new colleague, or a school leader who supports ongoing professional development for teachers, the strategies in this brief learning experience will sharpen your mentoring skills. Even if you have previous experience in this kind of role, you’ll get to reflect and refine your skills to gain confidence and make your work even more effective!

This is a beginner training session. This workshop is intended to help build capacity for city leaders, zoning administrators, and Planning Commission members when it comes to a foundational understanding of land use. This training will help cities to approach zoning questions with increased confidence.

This webinar will identify elements of differentiation and explore differentiation strategies such as questioning, grouping, and choice. Use these strategies to meet both support and challenge needs of your diverse students.

This training focuses on why and how our body and brain respond to stress/crisis and how that affects our work, wellness, and interactions. Explore Social-Emotional Learning strategies to recognize dysregulation in yourself and others, as well as strategies to regain and retain regulation. These strategies apply to interactions with students, colleagues, and caregivers.

Multilingual learners in our classrooms are a huge asset. Not every educator may feel confident in how to best support and include these students. This webinar offers insights to support educators in creating optimal learning environments and instructional strategies for each learner.

This event is offered in partnership with the Initiative Foundation.

Join this training and conversation tailored for nonprofit staff and board members. Nonprofits are not owned by anyone (like typical businesses), they are overseen by a board of directors who represent the best interests of the community. Come and learn about board roles, responsibilities, and ethical and legal obligations, along with how board members can best support the organization they serve and how roles change over time base on the evolution of the nonprofit.

Sourcewell strives to bring the highest-quality resources, information, and training opportunities to our members. We’re honored to team up with the Initiative Foundation to bring this opportunity to our central Minnesota region.   

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, learn how to access appropriate resources, and leave with practical knowledge for working within the laws’ parameters.

Join this on-demand training opportunity to access a wide variety of online courses designed to provide paraprofessionals the targeted training needed to succeed as a Title I paraprofessional, including strategies that can be applied immediately.

The training includes access to over 150 courses and can be used for professional development or certification. Access to the content will be available for one year from your registration date. If you are using this training for certification, you must complete PARA Assessment 1 and PARA Assessment 2. The assessments must be proctored. Please be aware that this is an on-demand training and any preparations for the assessments are up to the individual to complete online.

Sourcewell will not be hosting proctoring sessions at this time, please see this FAQ document for more information.

School leaders will come together five times throughout the year to share a meal, network with one another on topics of interest to them, and learn up to date information on key leadership topics.

Language is ever evolving and changing. Sometimes knowing which terms or descriptions to use can be difficult and sometimes we don’t even know we are using outdated or harmful language. This webinar is focused on promoting positive language around topics such as race, gender, and common school-based labels and language.

This training will help prepare your entity to handle reunification effectively by equipping individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills. It will also provide an introduction to family assistance centers and how to manage long-term effects of events that require the reunification process.

This course focuses on understanding themes of reciprocity and restoration applied to both human relationships and the environment. We will use the text Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer and adopted by Monique Gray Smith. Learn introductory circle keeping practices, restorative justice methods, and build background through the text about indigenous wisdom, scientific teaching, and knowledge of plants.