CALSA's Summer Institute 2026

What does it look like when a school district truly listens—to students, families, teachers, principals, and board trustees—before charting its future? This session tells that story.
Salinas Union High School District (SUHSD), one of California's largest and most diverse high school districts, embarked on a multi-year, community-centered process to develop its Framework for the Future and Portrait of a Graduate. Serving over 15,000 students in the heart of the Salinas Valley—where the children of farmworkers sit beside the children of engineers—SUHSD's work required a process as bold and inclusive as the community it serves.
In this session, district leaders will share how they moved from aspiration to action: designing a co-creation process that centered student voice, elevated family wisdom, and built ownership across every layer of the organization. Attendees will leave with a replicable process, practical tools, and the inspiration to launch their own community-driven visioning work.