The Institute for Educational Leadership's 2026 National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference will be held in Long Beach, CA on May 27 - 29, 2026.
The conference theme, Guiding Lights, Brighter Futures, reminds us that everyday matters for every child. Brighter futures are possible when we come together through shared leadership, strong connections, and collective action
REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
Hosted annually by the State Transformational Assistance Center (S-TAC), the Community Schools EMPOWER Summit is a dynamic gathering that brings together the educational ecosystem. Designed to spark creativity and collaboration, the summit offers engaging sessions that highlight how we—collectively—are strengthening community-classroom connections and aligning resources to support the whole child.
Call for Presenters
The S‑TAC is offering three virtual APR sessions designed to support grantees during this year’s reporting cycle. Sites and LEAs are invited to join, bring questions, and receive real‑time support from our team.
The session will be held virtually on the following dates:
The California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) California Department of Education (CDE) team is hosting two CCSPP Spring Budget Webinars.
Date: Thursday, April 9, 2026
Time: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Date: Tuesday, April 21
Time: 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Join the SC R-TAC for a community schools onboarding learning series designed exclusively for new community school leaders like yourself.
This learning series will equip new leaders with an overview of community schools, CCSPP deliverables, and foundational strategies and practices vital for creating a thriving community school.
The Level I Series will meet regularly throughout the 2025-26 school year from 1 to 3 p.m.
Join us for the 2025-2026 Community School Network Meetings that will provide opportunities to collaborate with other districts, discuss best practices, and share ideas as we work to create our community schools.
The network will meet regularly throughout the 2025-26 school year from 8:30 to 11 a.m.
Calling all community schools coordinators! Please join us at our community of practice meeting devoted to supporting your unique, pivotal, and essential role in the development of community schools. Learn from and share expertise with others in your position from across the county and beyond.
The Community School Coordinators CoP will meet regularly throughout the 2025-26 school year from 9 to 11 am.
Please join us for the OCDE Community Schools Network Meeting. This is a network for all Orange County California Community Schools Partnership Program planning or implementation grantees and any others developing the community schools framework in their district. The network will provide an opportunity for teams to deepen their understanding of community schools, network with colleagues, share best practices, and obtain information from the Regional Technical Assistance Center (R-TAC).
The Community School Coordinators CoP will meet regularly throughout the 2025-26 school year from 9 a.m. to 12 pm
The SDCOE Community Schools Team is hosting three virtual APR Group Sessions. During the sessions, grantees will learn about the APR and recent updates, how to complete the APR, and tools and resources available. In addition, time will be allotted for a Q&A session with attendees.
The sessions will be held virtually on the following dates and times:
The Community School Coordinator Community of Practice (CoP) is designed to provide educators, school leaders, and community partners with a foundational understanding of the Community Schools strategy. Participants will explore the core principles, implementation strategy, and best practices for transformational systems change.
The Community School Coordinators CoP will meet regularly throughout the 2025-26 school year.
School principals will receive professional learning, coaching support, and opportunities to collaborate with other site leaders to enhance their leadership in transforming student outcomes in their community schools.
The Community School Principals CoP will meet regularly throughout the 2025-26 school year.
The Community Schools Showcase will provide grantees the opportunities to visit community schools and learn how each site has implemented the community schools strategy to meet the specific needs of their community.
The Community School Showcase will be held quarterly throughout the 2025-26 school year from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Explore how to use learner variability to rethink the design of professional learning. Leveraging the foundational concepts of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), we’ll consider how we create rigorous goals for learning, reduce barriers to create opportunities, and leverage the assets that jagged learner profiles offer in design choices. Grow through discussions, practice with vignettes, and leave with tools to design professional learning for variable learners.
Date: April 29
Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Come together with other Community Schools educators to leverage Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a tool for equitable practices in order to collectively remove barriers for learning for all.
During this series we’ll dive into the heart of UDL and discover what it means to have a "UDL mindset." We'll also share tools to help make lessons accessible to all students, help students learn more deeply, and empower students to take charge of their own learning.
The virtual series will be hosted on Zoom from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.:
You're invited to our monthly meetings dedicated to fostering stronger family and community engagement. At San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), we believe in the power of collaboration and meaningful connections within our community.
Dates:
The Grant Basics in Small Bites courses are designed to fit your schedule and needs. Whether you want to explore a specific topic in depth or take a quick refresher, these sessions can be completed individually or as part of a learning series. Each course stands alone with focused content, which allows you to choose what will best support your professional development goals without the need for a long-term commitment.
All sessions will be held on Wednesdays, 1 to 2 p.m. virtually, via Teams
Join County Office of Education and school district staff, educators, and grant professionals for two days of engaging discussions, hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities.
Engage with fellow grant professionals to share best practices and cultivate an extensive collaborative network.
Conference Details:
Join Shane Safir & lead facilitator Jessica Wei Huang for an introduction to the Equity Transformation Cycle. Discover how can we reimagine education from the student up - where the joy, agency, and cultural wealth of students on the margins is at the center of our classrooms and schools?
School leaders will also learn more about the CEI-hosted year-long Street Data community of practice (CoP) for school year 26-27.
Dates: April 22, 2026
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
For more tools and resources, please visit our toolkit
or contact the SDCOE Community Schools team.
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