Professional Learning Calendar

During the 2025-2026 school year, the following six (5) district modules will be facilitated onsite for staff members at each CPS school:

• September - Family Engagement - Part I | Facilitated by School Principals | This workshop is designed to strengthen the professional capacity of CPS educators around the essential elements of effective family engagement. Educators will consider research-based strategies for building trust, establishing meaningful and respectful partnerships with families, and preparing for effective conferences.

• October - Verbal De-Escalation | Facilitated by Members of the OSS Team | This professional development workshop is designed to equip school staff with effective strategies for verbal de-escalation and a deeper understanding of student behavior. The goal is to foster a positive and supportive school environment by enhancing staff skills in managing challenging situations and promoting constructive interactions with students, colleagues, and other stakeholders. In 2024-2025, this will be an in-person training presented at each individual school site. 

• November/December - Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist Practices | Facilitated by Manuel J Fernandez, Chief Equity Officer and Dr. Leslie Jimenez, Director of Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging | Building on last year’s focus, the purpose of this year’s session will be to continue enhancing our equity lens by 1) interrogating the assumptions that underpin our current practices and 2) drafting a plan to transform them into transformative, equitable, and inclusive practices.  

• January - LGBTQ+-Inclusive Schools | Facilitated by Sam Musher, Youth Advocacy Specialist and Ailene Orr, Curriculum & Training Specialist | Educators will build on last year’s LGBTQ+-inclusive practice basics. Our focus will be on intersectionality: How can we support our LGBT+ and Questioning students and their families, while honoring their cultural, religious, and other identities? 

• March - Family Engagement - Part II | Facilitated by School Principals | This workshop will serve as an opportunity for educators to further refine their family engagement practices. The session will include opportunities to reflect upon successes, explore dilemmas, and consider additional strategies.

A schedule for each module can be found here (CPS login required).

At least once each month, school leaders and their respective administrative and school-based leadership teams - and in consultation with their respective Faculty Advisory Committees (FACs) - will facilitate building-based professional learning aligned with school-specific goals and priorities, as identified in each school's School Improvement Plan.

Indicated by the code TCH on the Professional Learning Calendar, seven (7) of the twenty-eight (28) blocks of professional learning time on Wednesdays over the course of the school year will be teacher-directed collaboration time. Teachers will submit a form indicating date, time, topic, description, participants and location to the school principal prior to the collaboration meeting occurring. Paraprofessionals, ETS teachers, and building subs should participate in collaborative sessions alongside their lead teaching partners.

Five times during the school year elementary and upper-school educators will engage in role-specific learning after school. These sessions, designated with the code DPT on the Professional Learning Calendar, will complement the August 27th Colloquium-day department meetings and the November 4th, and March 18th professional days. Depending on the needs of the particular departments, the Wednesday after-school department meetings may take place in person or virtually.