The challenges of the past year - from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, to the ongoing uprising against police brutality - have produced real conflicts which affect students and educators in our schools and classrooms. Common Thread Consultants, in partnership with CASDA, is offering tools and information so that school communities have the capacity to create safe, inclusive and equitable learning environments where all members are able to heal, grow, and thrive.

School Leadership and Board Training:

Creating an inclusive, diverse, safe culture and environment is an essential component of both school leadership and school board governance. Common Thread will work with districts to help leaders develop the necessary skills, tools and practices to create learning and working environments where everyone thrives and continuously pushes organizational potential.

• Establishing Equity and Antiracism Concepts and Vocabulary

• Identifying and Addressing Disproportionality

• Developing and Implementing District Equity Policies

• Understanding Identity and Power Dynamics in Educational Leadership

Training and Services for Classroom Educators:

Classrooms are the heartbeat of any school. For this reason, it is essential that teachers are fluent in the attitudes, beliefs and practices of Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education so that all students are seen, appreciated, and valued. Common Thread will work with classroom practitioners to develop a plan to ensure that all educators are able to grow their capacity with an essential understanding of CRS-E principles to support the academic and social-emotional needs of all students.

• Identity, Culture and Learning: Connecting the Dots for Student Success

• Culturally Responsive Instructional Coaching

• Strategies for an Affirming Classroom Culture

• Antiracism and SEL

Family, Community and Student Engagement Training:

Meaningful family and community engagement creates spaces for authentic dialog and collaboration to help schools develop equitable and responsive programming and practices that empower all community stakeholders. Common Thread Consultants will work with districts to reimagine school-community partnerships and how family and community engagement can revitalize and transform schools into the learning centers of the 21st century.

• Moving Beyond the Survey: Generating Authentic Feedback for School Improvement

• Unpacking Power Dynamics: Understanding the School/Community Relationship

• Authentic Communication Strategies for Family and Community Engagement

To learn more, visit www.casdany.org/commonthread or contact CASDA Executive Director Dr. Michael Piccirillo at mpiccirillo@casdany.org.