- Los Angeles Unified School District
- Professional Development
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Current Professional Learning & Development
The Community School Initiative (CSI) offers professional development designed to create inclusive, dynamic, and student-centered learning environments. Our primary offerings include Joyful Disruption, which empowers educators to build nurturing and responsive classrooms, Defined Learning Project-Based Learning, an award-winning platform that facilitates high-quality project-based learning (PBL), and Start With Hello (SHP) a program designed to teach youth how to minimize social isolation, empathize with others and create a more inclusive and connected school community . We also support certification in Equitable Grading and Instruction and Social Emotional Learning already offered through our district.
Joyful Disruption ™ consists of interactive workshops and asynchronous learning modules that focus on fostering joy and resilience in the classroom. Our Wayfinding Guides provide hyper-responsive support to help educators address systemic racism and implement high-impact practices, creating compassionate and inclusive school ecologies. Participants develop skills to create positive classroom cultures, respond to diverse student needs, and sustain critical and inclusive practices.
Defined Learning ™ offers engaging, career-based projects that deepen students' understanding and application of knowledge. The platform includes performance tasks, research resources, and editable rubrics, serving as a repository of real-world problems for students to solve. Through this program, educators master PBL design and assessment, connecting with a network of professionals passionate about experiential learning.
Sandy Hook Promise Foundation (sandyhookpromise.org) provides a free online learning management system for their award-winning Start With Hello and Say Something programs. On-demand video trainings, violence prevention and anti-bullying curriculum, lesson plans and learning tools that are an easy to use, one-stop-shop for Know the Signs resources. The online courses were designed by educators with decades of experience in curriculum development, leveraging programs informed by research. The Learning Center includes full training videos, interactive lessons, school safety lesson plans, and a searchable digital library of resources.
Other partners include The Center for Powerful Public Schools ™ a project based learning community of practice, LAUSD Positive Behavior Interventions and Support/Restorative Practices (PBIS/RP) within our Student Health & Human Services Branch, Equitable Grading & Instruction (EGI) within LAUSD’s Division of Instruction, and many more to come.
Earning a Micro-credential can be the first step towards mastering these approaches. We look forward to offering further opportunities for skill refinement, including support sessions, and advanced micro-credentials in the near future. Explore our professional development opportunities and join us in creating equitable and responsive learning environments for all students. To view our different offerings please click the button below.