Summer Institute does differ from typical PSD professional development classes in that classes are designed to allow specific audiences to co-create products that will help that audience during the following school year and beyond.  These are not traditional trainings but follow more of a collaborative workshop model.  Please review the information on the Home Page for the purpose and expectations for Summer Institute.

Summer Institute classes are open to all licensed, classified, and administrative staff with a PSD contract/position for the following school year.  Due to the content and structure of Summer Institute, individual classes are open to specific audiences.  When registering, staff should ensure their job assignment matches the class audience.  Summer Institute is not a "conference" or opportunity to take any class that might look interesting or simply to accumulate credit.

Yes.  New hires are invited to participant in Summer Institute.  We simply need to do registration a little differently and the compensation won’t show until their first paycheck at end of August.  The individual should contact Janelyn Lilly including the class(es) they are interested in.  Depending on the capacity of the class, Janelyn will help initiate the registration.

Please visit the Registration and Credit page for details about credit and compensation.

We recognize multiple opportunities exist for staff in June (STEM Institute, summer school, vacation,...) and know that staff may need to make decisions based on their interests, availability, or resources.  Due to the collaborative and interactive nature of the Institute, full participation in classes is expected.  Review the Registration and Credit page for more details.

We continue to analyze possibilities for professional learning throughout summer months.  Due to calendars and scheduling of other events, often there are no available dates in August to host Summer Institute.  For time being, we will continue to host the institute in June and as possible offer additional opportunities in late July or early August (eg. Launch Learning. Collective Clarity Workshop).  Staff are also encouraged to visit the PD Online Catalog for online or book study classes held over the summer months.  

Our preferred mode of collaboration during Summer Institute is in-person.  Due to the dynamic nature of COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols, we will continue to follow PSD procedures and determine if additional options of online synchronous classes are needed.

Instructors of Summer Institute classes are responsible for sharing products with the broader audience of job-like employees.  Please contact the instructor or central office liaison department for the product you are interested.  If you are unsure of the instructor or department, contact the PSD Professional Learning Team.

No.  The third expectation of Summer Institute classes is that the class should be open to staff from multiple schools.  Individual schools or teams might explore collaborative efforts in June but if the content is not applicable to multiple schools, that class would not be part of the PSD Summer Institute.  Teams are instead encouraged to speak with their administrators or supervisors to determine what school or department resources are available to support this collaboration.

When a Summer Institute class does not reach the minimum of 10 participants, the PD Team reaches out to instructors to determine if the class will run or not.  When a cohort has a small number of educators (eg. CTE areas, Discrete Math teachers), we often make an exception to this minimum so that the collaboration can occur.  Per our policies, a class must have two participants not including the instructor to not be considered independent study.

No.  Based on the structure of the options for educators to complete the CDE Evidence-Based Reading and READ Act training requirement and especially because the option supported by PSD PD credits* is self-paced, none of these options can be offered during Summer Institute.  The model of these classes also does not meet our Summer Institute expectation, “The time should be used for staff to collaboratively design a product that would be used in the following school year.”  Our Literacy Team is currently designing classes that will be offered during Summer Institute and one possibility may be collaborating on strategies and resources to implement and apply the research that is presented in the various CDE Evidence-Based Reading trainings 

Staff have two main paths towards the CLDE requirement.  

1. The first is to complete the PSD pathway of classes* that was approved by CDE – this is a pre-approval of content to get the CLDE requirement certificate.   The CLDE Pathways tab has a Google Slides presentation that breaks everything down regarding the District pathway that we designed to obtain the 45 hours needed for the CDE License renewal requirement. 

2. The second path is to fill out the CDE CLDE matrix to show PD or other evidence that meets the CLDE standards (see more information copied below).  Specific classes that are not part of the PSD approved pathway through CDE for the new CLDE requirements can still happen across schools or be offered centrally.  Staff can submit these other classes as part of the application process using the English Learner PD Standards Matrix.  If you choose to meet the requirement with course not on the PSD approved pathway, you must complete and submit the English Learner PD Standards Matrix (XLS) when renewing your professional license. Please refer to CDE for specific requirements.  Individual staff are responsible for reviewing the Matrix and determining if Summer Institute classes may meet the standards.  CDE makes the final decision about the requirement. 

You can find additional information here about the CLDE requirement:  CDE: Relicensure Information, Standards, Approved PD Pathways  |  CDE: Requirement Details, Processes, Timelines; For a list of available PD opportunities offered by CDE, visit the Office of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education.

When posted, check the Summer Institute Classes at a Glance to see if classes may be offered that match the PSD pathway of classes or other classes that may have content that matches this requirement.

As result of HB 20-1128 and HB 20-1312, educators must complete a minimum of 10 contact hours of training in special education and behavioral health with at least one (1) hour in special education or behavioral health. This is a recurring requirement for licensure renewal.  All educators whose professional licenses expire on or after June 30, 2025 will need to meet this requirement with each renewal.  Click here for more detailed information from CDE.

When posted, check the Summer Institute Classes at a Glance to see classes that may have content that matches this requirement.