Professional Learning Opportunities for SDEA Members

Being a member of your union is an opportunity to learn and grow as an educator, connected to a wider network of professionals. SDEA members are also members of our statewide and national affiliates, giving access to a wide range of professional learning opportunities.

New opportunities are frequently highlighted in Union Notes emails that go to all members, but there is also a new website page specifically for opportunities for Professional Learning.

As we begin the academic school year, there are a few specific opportunities to highlight.

Grants to Attend CTA Conferences

To cover the costs of attending in-person conferences, there are a variety of grants available through the CTA and locally through SDEA. (Those applying through SDEA must also apply for the CTA grant.)

Some upcoming deadlines for grant applications:

• To attend the 2025 Issues Conference in Las Vegas from January 17-19, 2025, apply by October 31, 2024
• To attend the 2025 Equity & Human Rights Conference in Santa Clara, CA from March 7-9, 2025, apply by January 6, 2025
• To attend the 2025 Good Teaching Conference South in Garden Grove, CA, from March 14-16, 2025, apply by January 6, 2025

Access virtual professional learning at your convenience

The CTA Virtual Pass gives you access to a huge variety of virtual training opportunities, which you can access on your schedule. You can earn university credit and advance on the salary scale for both virtual and in-person trainings.

Get free credits toward salary advancement

CTA offers university credit through Chico State for their virtual and in-person trainings, and covers the cost of up to six of the nine credits available each term. This means that beyond free professional learning, you are getting paid more for taking advantage of learning opportunities! See more information on 2024-25 university credit here.

Note: If you recently completed credits and have not gotten your salary advancements yet, reach out to HR. It appears that transcripts from some universities (including Chico) sometimes don’t have enough identifying information to differentiate between SDEA members with similar names.

Support for National Board Certification

Have you considered becoming National Board Certified? Per the SDEA contract, National Board Certification can be used in place of routine performance evaluation procedures (Section 14.2.1.) and earns credits toward salary advancement (Appendix A, Section 2.030 or B, 2.027.) If you need guidance on navigating the process of certification, you can get support from fellow educators who have already gone through the process, through a Community of Practice facilitated by CTA. See full information and sign up for a webinar here.

Stay tuned for more!

Bookmark the SDEA Professional Learning page and watch for more opportunities in Union Notes!