Summer Learning Institute 2026

Get checked in, eat a great breakfast, visit our vendors, and network!

Welcome & Introducation

In this inspiring keynote, Scott Pickel brings together the central messages of his books, Impact Mentoring and Impact Artificial Intelligence, to challenge and equip today’s educational leaders. As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the educational landscape, Scott emphasizes the enduring importance of human connection, mentorship, and purposeful leadership. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how to build cultures of support, develop people through intentional mentoring, and embrace AI as a tool to enhance, rather than diminish, the human side of leadership. Fresh off presentations at major conferences, including CASCWA in Sacramento, Scott delivers a timely message for leaders who want to influence the future with both heart and vision.

Chronic absenteeism is widely recognized, but many districts struggle to translate data into effective action. In this interactive session, participants will explore a small set of high-impact, research-backed practices that have helped districts improve attendance without adding unsustainable demands on staff. Through a guided discussion of a real-world attendance scenario, attendees will examine how to identify early warning signs, engage families supportively, and align efforts across teams. Participants will leave with 1–2 concrete next steps they can take back to their district.

Goal setting has the power to create focus, alignment, and accountability at every level of an educational system. This session will explore how clear, meaningful goals can drive improvement from individual students to Professional Learning Communities, departments, schools, and the district as a whole. Participants will examine how goal setting creates coherence across the organization, ensuring that daily actions, team collaboration, and systemwide priorities remain connected to improving student learning and outcomes.
Attendees will learn how to establish goals that are specific, measurable, and actionable, while also building the structures needed to monitor progress, reflect on results, and make timely adjustments. The session will highlight the importance of vertical alignment so that student goals, classroom goals, PLC goals, departmental goals, and district goals reinforce one another rather than operate in isolation. Participants will leave with practical ideas for creating a goal-driven culture that promotes clarity, ownership, continuous improvement, and stronger results for students.

This session will provide educators with practical trauma-informed classroom practices designed to strengthen student connection, increase engagement, and create emotionally safe learning environments. Participants will explore how trauma can affect students’ behavior, attention, emotional regulation, and relationships, and how these effects often show up in the classroom. The session will emphasize proactive strategies that help educators respond to students with empathy, consistency, and structure while maintaining high expectations for learning and behavior.
Participants will leave with concrete approaches they can implement immediately, including relationship-building practices, predictable routines, co-regulation strategies, restorative responses, and classroom structures that reduce stress and support student success. The session will also highlight how trauma-informed practices benefit all students by improving classroom climate, reducing behavior disruptions, and increasing students’ sense of belonging, safety, and readiness to learn.

Relax, stretch, network and enjoy the hosted lunch!

Teachers have a lot on their plates and are constantly asked to engage in a delicate balancing act of “getting through” the curriculum and managing student behaviors. This session explains the Education Code’s disciplinary structure as it pertains to teacher rights, with a specific focus on the legal requirement to provide other means of correction prior to most disciplinary removals. Participants will also examine trauma-informed strategies to support students while reducing the need to remove them from class. Ultimately, teachers will leave this training with a clear understanding of how to implement the discipline code of conduct without violating the rights of their students.

Discover how Madera Unified School District is transforming classrooms through trauma-informed and healing-centered practices within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). This session offers hands-on experiences from the district’s professional learning initiative, including calming station activities, peer coaching strategies, and tiered supports like Bounce Back and CBITS. Participants will leave with practical tools, classroom strategies, and guidance to create safe, supportive environments that promote emotional regulation, belonging, and academic success for all students.

Fusion Charter School staff return to the PSC Summer Learning Institute in Morro Bay to share an evolved approach to Restorative Practice Talking Circles. Building on prior presentations, this interactive session introduces a new dimension through the use of Conversation Starter Cards developed by Dr. Nancy Dome of Epoch Education. Participants will engage directly in a Restorative Practice Talking Circle and use Compassionate Dialogue cards to explore statements rooted in generalizations and stereotypes about different groups. Some prompts may feel uncomfortable, and that discomfort is part of the work. When educators are willing to surface difficult statements in a structured and respectful environment, they create the opportunity to reflect, respond, and grow.
Grounded in the RIR Protocol, participants will practice the three steps of the Compassionate Dialogue framework: Recognize it, Interrupt it, and Repair it. This experiential session invites educators to engage authentically, deepen understanding, and expand empathy through courageous conversation. Rather than seeking performative agreement, the session is designed to strengthen participants’ capacity to navigate challenging dialogue in ways that build compassion, trust, and collaboration within schools and communities.

Relax, stretch, network and enjoy some afternoon snacks!

This session will help school administrators distinguish between what constitutes a true student threat and what does not. Participants will explore the legal and practical responsibilities that follow when a threat is reported, including investigation, assessment, documentation, duty to inform, and potential disciplinary response. Through real-world examples, this session will provide guidance to help leaders respond in ways that protect school safety, support students, and remain legally sound.

This presentation offers a practical blueprint for operationalizing a truly unified MTSS by intentionally aligning a school’s organizational architecture with its strong, positive cultural features. We will share a case study demonstrating how our comprehensive 6-8  setting achieved system coherence, moving MTSS from a set of separate initiatives to an integrated framework centered on fostering belonging and inclusion for every student. The session will detail our specific approach, which starts with inventorying existing assets and strategically mapping them across the three MTSS domains. Key organizational features discussed include leveraging the Professional Learning Community (PLC) structure for academic intervention like “Grizzly Power Hour,” utilizing specialized support teams (COST/SST), and integrating data systems (SWIS/DESSA) to drive decisions. We will specifically highlight how behavioral systems, such as PBIS and Restorative Justice, are reinforced by a strong cultural foundation built on positive recognition systems like "GRRR Passes" and "Grizzly Celebration." Crucially, we will showcase how dedicated cultural elements like "SEL Wednesdays" and the use of the "Grizzly Zen Den" ensure social-emotional health is systematically embedded into Tier 1. Attendees will receive concrete, actionable strategies for transforming existing meetings and celebrations into powerful drivers of MTSS. This session will provide leaders and practitioners with a roadmap to inventory their own structures and assets, build cultural buy-in, and successfully unify their multi-tiered supports, resulting in improved academic outcomes and a stronger sense of student belonging.

This session, led by Dr. David Diehl, Director of Student and Community Services at Selma Unified School District, delves into the complexities of drug abuse in schools. Drawing from Dr. Diehl's extensive background in both law enforcement and education, participants will gain insights into various categories of drugs, understand the signs and symptoms of drug use, and explore practical intervention strategies. The session will focus on building a tiered approach to prevention and treatment, highlighting the importance of ongoing education for students, staff, and families. Attendees will leave with resources and tools to foster a safer and more informed school environment.

A networking event at Pizza Port. Attendee’s will enjoy their own individual pizza and a drink, creating the perfect setting for relaxed conversations and new connections. Additional tickets can be purchased for $30.00 from the PSC Staff.