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. Cohort sessions may take place at Sourcewell or another location dependent on content of the session.

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.

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 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 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.

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

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.

Take part in a professional development training day focused on leveraging Fastbridge assessment data to enhance student instruction and intervention strategies. This hands-on workshop will equip you with the skills to analyze screening data and translate insights into actionable instructional decisions.  

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 course is designed to equip new paraprofessionals with essential skills and knowledge for effective work in educational settings. Participants will explore foundational topics, including an Introduction to Special Education, which covers 13 disability categories, and the impact of implicit bias in the classroom. The course also emphasizes the importance of leading in the classroom and understanding the paraprofessional role. Additionally, learners will gain insights into how the brain responds to stress and the concept that behavior is communication. This comprehensive approach ensures that paraprofessionals are well-prepared to support diverse learners effectively.

Participants will explore foundational topics, including an Introduction to Child Development, which covers physical and cognitive development as well as developmental delays. You will also watch an interview with Shana Larson, Early Childhood Special Education Coordinator and Heidi Hahn, Sourcewell Special Education Partner. The course also emphasizes that behavior is a form of communication and what to expect. Additionally, learners will gain insights into de-escalation, dysregulation, and how to support students. This comprehensive approach ensures that paraprofessionals are well-prepared to support diverse learners effectively.

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.

Led by a mental health professional and educator, this webinar will cover key facts about children's mental health, early warning signs of mental health disorders, and signs and symptoms of childhood suicide. Discussion will include strategies for how to respond and how to access help for 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.

Explore components of effective reading instruction, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation and engagement. Within each component, participants will learn what it is, why we teach it, and how we teach it.

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.