5 Summer Professional Development Resources

Happy summer, teachers! As you know, the summer offers valuable time to reset and recharge. Every day we hear from teachers who are looking for tools to rethink high school over the summer. Ask and you shall receive. We gathered in-depth resources on topics like relationship building, supporting all learners, and centering equity. Think of it as DIY professional learning! Ready? Let’s jump in.

Reflect on the past school year and plan for the next one with resources from our Rethink Together.

Why It Matters: As you take a break from the classroom, think about what you value as a teacher and how you can incorporate those values into your practice. That’s what our Rethink Together resources are all about: how educators can put bold ideas and values into action. Resources include expert advice, real-world examples, and concrete strategies for teachers. Explore topics like:

Extra Credit: Growth Mindset in the Classroom: A Teacher’s Guide

To address students’ challenges, tap into their strengths.

Why It Matters: In partnership with the Educating All Learners Alliance and Digital Promise, Brooklyn Laboratory High School—an XQ school in Brooklyn, NY—published this guide to rethinking individualized education plans (IEPs). The guide explores the research behind a whole-child approach. It also provides a framework teachers can use to support students with unique needs, with questions like:

What does this student do well?
What do they enjoy doing?
How can I pair what they do well and enjoy doing with challenges they face to improve opportunities for learning?
How can I, in partnership with the student and family, create strategies that allow their strengths to support their challenges?

Extra Credit: How Schools Can Meet the Moment With Programs to Teach the Whole Child

Explore resources from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) to prepare your students as global thinkers.

Why It Matters: When your students graduate, they’ll face the challenges of a changing, interconnected world. Preparing them to succeed means helping them develop as leaders in a global context. That’s the goal of the programming from CFR: to help students understand the fundamentals of foreign policy and international relations to make sense of the world around them. Explore their open-sourced programs, including:

Extra Credit: What Is Citizenship Education and Why Is it Important?

Looking for professional development opportunities this summer? Facing History and Ourselves has a fantastic collection of resources and webinars that center equity and justice.

Why It Matters: Mark your calendars for Facing History and Ourselves’ June 29th webinar From Surviving to Thriving: Creating Equitable Environments Through Emotional Intelligence and Culturally Relevant Practices, hosted by Dr. Dena Simmons. This webinar will explore topics like:

Imposter syndrome
The intersections of culturally responsive teaching and emotional intelligence
How to bring culturally responsive approaches and emotional intelligence into your classroom, as well as your personal life

Extra Credit: Facing History and Ourselves: On-Demand Learning Center

To prepare your students for success in an uncertain future, focus on social and emotional skills they can apply to any context.

Why It Matters: What skills do today’s graduates most need for future success? That’s the question posed in Putting SEL to Work, a white paper published by Wayfinder, a social and emotional learning and purpose-learning provider. They found that social and emotional skills are among those most desired by today’s employers. Explore the paper to see how you can teach future-ready skills like:

Collaboration
Self-awareness
Empathy
Adaptability

Extra Credit: Wayfinder Summer Webinar Series

Are your students ready to raise their voice in support of the issues that matter most to them and their generation?

Invite your high schoolers to become a part of America’s largest high school art project with artist JR’s renowned Inside Out Project AND support a cause that’s close to their hearts. Share the XQ Yearbook with students in grades 9-12!