CALSA's Summer Institute 2026

 Successful negotiations begin with a solid understanding of the bargaining process. This session will introduce participants to the essential elements of collective bargaining, including preparation strategies, effective communication, and common challenges. Attendees will gain practical tools and insights to approach negotiations with confidence and support positive labor relations outcomes for student success. 

Caring for the whole child means caring for the whole family. Leaders from Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD), a diverse urban community, will present on how the district expanded its comprehensive network of five Family Resource Centers (FRCs) to strengthen the entire educational ecosystem for students and their families. This initiative, rooted in the Community Schools Framework and the California English Learner (EL) Roadmap, showcases how schools can act as vital hubs of opportunity. In these hubs, families, students, educators, and community partners work together to eliminate barriers and increase access to academic and wellness supports. Through this focused collaboration, GGUSD successfully created a coordinated system of care that provides expanded access to academic supports, wellness resources, and basic needs services, ensuring students can fully engage in their education.
Presenters will explain how the district's commitment to safe, welcoming, and inclusive schools is supported by the GGUSD Board of Education’s vision and Resolution 20, which helped secure sustainable funding and strategic alignment for this work. Participants will see how the FRCs function as true hubs of partnership, where schools and the community join forces to remove obstacles, elevate family voice, and cultivate environments where students and families feel valued, supported, and empowered.
Attendees will gain practical strategies for developing partnership models that go beyond traditional family engagement. These models create integrated systems of support that build trust, expand opportunities, and establish families as essential, active partners in student success.

 
This session centers on transforming special education systems into spaces of access, empowerment, and belonging by leveraging the collective power of families, educators, and community partners. Grounded in the belief that students and families are co-architects of their educational experiences, participants will explore actionable strategies to better support students with diverse learning needs while equipping families, particularly those from historically underserved communities, with the knowledge and confidence to navigate complex special education processes.


Aligned to a collaborative, community-driven approach, this session highlights how educational leaders can serve as bridges between schools, families, and broader support systems by demystifying processes, strengthening communication, and fostering authentic partnerships. Participants will engage with practical tools that not only support individualized student success, but also elevate family voice, promote advocacy, and create inclusive environments where students are empowered as active contributors to their learning journeys.


Through an equity lens, the session will address common barriers families face, including language access, trust, and systemic inequities, while offering concrete, partnership-driven solutions to remove those barriers. Emphasis will be placed on culturally grounded family engagement, intergenerational collaboration, and shared leadership between students and adults to shape school culture and practices.


Participants will leave with ready-to-implement strategies that expand access to resources, strengthen home-school connections, and build thriving, inclusive educational ecosystems where every student and family feels seen, valued, and empowered to lead and transform their educational experience.

What if families were not just participants, but powerful partners? What if students were not just learners, but leaders shaping the future of our schools?
In today’s evolving educational landscape, schools must move beyond traditional family engagement models to cultivate authentic, intergenerational ecosystems of leadership. This session highlights the transformative work of the Community Schools model and the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) within Alisal Union School District, where families, students, educators, and community partners collaborate as co-architects of student success.
Participants will explore how culturally grounded practices and relationship-centered strategies shift engagement from participation to true partnership. Through real-world examples, this session will showcase how authentic family connections drive meaningful engagement, strengthen trust, and expand access to academic, social-emotional, and wellness supports.
This presentation will also center student voice as a critical component of system transformation. Attendees will learn how students are empowered to lead, share their experiences, and influence school culture and decision-making alongside adults—creating a shared responsibility for educational innovation and equity.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will:

• Understand the core components of Community Schools and the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) as drivers of equitable systems
• Identify strategies to build authentic, trust-based relationships with families that lead to sustained engagement
• Explore models of intergenerational leadership where students, families, and partners collaborate to shape school culture and outcomes
• Learn how to elevate student voice and leadership as essential to continuous improvement and innovation

Session Format:
This session will showcase the wins, challenges, and adaptations from Alisal Union School District’s implementation of Community Schools and the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI). Presenters will share authentic examples from their journey, highlighting lessons learned, barriers encountered, and the responsive strategies used to deepen engagement and partnership. Participants will engage in reflection and dialogue to consider how these insights can inform and strengthen their own practices.
Target Audience:
School leaders, district administrators, community school coordinators, family engagement leaders, and community-based partners
Impact:
This session will inspire educators and leaders to reimagine engagement as a shared leadership model—one that honors the voices of families and students, strengthens community partnerships, and builds sustainable systems where all stakeholders are empowered to lead. By highlighting the Alisal experience, participants will leave with practical tools and a renewed vision for creating inclusive, community-driven schools that respond to the needs and strengths of their communities.

Join seasoned leaders Dr. Rafael Gaeta and Dr. Ruben L. Fernandez as they map out their non-traditional pathways to becoming Chief Business Officials (CBOs), showcasing the full arc of their professional journeys. This session will provide actionable strategies for navigating career transitions and building the confidence and tools needed to thrive. Attendees will gain valuable perspectives on how diverse backgrounds and unconventional routes create new leadership pathways, strengthening the profession through intentional mentorship and succession planning for the next generation of public education leaders.

This session will describe a strategic framework for reducing chronic absenteeism, which resulted in a 31% reduction in chronic absenteeism at the elementary level of a Central Valley school district within 18 months. Utilized in a second Central Valley School district, chronic absenteeism was reduced in the 2025-26 school year to 7%. These districts implemented a proactive, data-driven approach that combines actionable attendance data, early warning indicators, and targeted intervention strategies designed to identify and address barriers to student attendance.
This session will also highlight how districts can leverage real-time attendance data systems such as Ed-Link, to identify students at risk for chronic absenteeism and deploy timely interventions. Data dashboards allow school teams to monitor attendance patterns, identify trends, and implement targeted recovery strategies before absenteeism becomes entrenched.
Participants will also explore flexible attendance recovery strategies that districts can implement to support students in recovering lost instructional time, including:

• One-Day Independent Study (IS)
  
  
  
• Short-Term Independent Study
  
  
  
• Attendance recovery opportunities through before- and after-school programs
  
  
  
• Saturday academies designed to provide additional instructional time and engagement
  
  

At a time when schools nationwide are grappling with unprecedented challenges, including intensified chronic absence and widening achievement gaps, many states are looking to community schools as an approach to improve student learning and well-being. California has responded with an historic $4.1 billion investment to transform schools into community hubs that support students and families through the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP).


Additionally, the Governor has proposed one billion dollars in ongoing funding for Community Schools. 


This session will provide an overview of LPI's report—Community Schools Impact on Student Outcomes: Evidence From California as well as discussion with policy experts regarding the proposed investments and rollout. 


In just their first full year of implementation, schools in the study that were either newly implementing or expanding community school approaches showed consistently positive impacts on student outcomes across multiple areas:
Improved Test Scores
Reduced Chronic Absence
Reduced Suspension Rates
Largest Gains Among Historically Underserved Students

This interactive session, My Name. My Identity, empowers educators to recognize, honor, and celebrate the significance of each student’s name and identity as a cornerstone of an inclusive classroom. A student’s name is deeply connected to culture, family, history, and personal identity. When educators intentionally create space to honor this, they foster a learning environment where students feel seen, heard, and respected.


Participants will explore practical, culturally responsive strategies that elevate student voice and build belonging. Through activities such as name storytelling, identity mapping, and reflective writing, educators will learn how to integrate identity-centered practices into daily instruction. The session will also model ways to establish classroom norms that promote respect for diverse identities, including correct name pronunciation, inclusive language, and opportunities for students to share their personal narratives.


In addition, this module highlights the importance of connecting classroom practices to family and community. Educators will consider ways to invite families to share the meaning and history behind students’ names, strengthening partnerships and creating a more holistic understanding of each learner.


By the end of the session, participants will leave with ready-to-use strategies and tools that support social-emotional learning, increase student engagement, and promote equity. Ultimately, this session equips educators to cultivate classroom environments where every student’s identity is valued as an asset, laying the foundation for academic success and a strong sense of belonging.