SSDA Webinars

Webinar - Centering Indigenous Voices: Building Vision and Governance through the Native American Studies Model Curriculum

September 23, 2025 | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Speaker: Maggie Peters, Learning Specialist, Learning Services Department, Native American Studies Model Curriculum at Humboldt COE

Register today for a webinar with Maggie Peters on implementing the Native American Studies Model Curriculum (NASMC) in small and rural districts. With over 450 TK–12+ lessons developed with Native educators and Tribal leaders, the NASMC helps districts honor local Tribal histories, foster culturally sustaining education, and build strong community partnerships. Learn practical governance strategies to embed this curriculum into your district’s vision and lead the way in creating accurate, inclusive, and community-rooted learning environments.

Resources:

• https://hcoe.org/native-american-studies-model-curriculum
• https://leadership.acsa.org/the-california-native-american-studies-model-curriculum
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xx9E9gWvq8LEFIHXoZsGi8-2N5rVWJ7oZZcel_wK5bM/edit?tab=t.0
• https://vimeo.com/1049822849
• https://vimeo.com/1089105749

Watch the Recording Here!

This marks the kick-off of the second annual 2025-2026 Governance Series, a six-part virtual training hosted by the Small School Districts’ Association (SSDA) for elected and appointed members of school district governing boards.

THE PROGRAM

Please join us for a webinar series specifically designed for elected and appointed members of the governing boards of small and rural school districts. These engaging and informative one-hour fifteen-minute workshops are hosted by a diverse panel of experts from the Small School Districts Association (SSDA). This workshop aims to empower both new and veteran board members with the essential skills and knowledge needed to effectively govern and advocate for their communities.

REGISTER HERE!

August 7, 2025 | Setting the Standard for Excellence

View the Recording Here!

View the Slide Deck Here!

Watch the Austin's Butterfly video!

Ron Berger, Chief Academic Officer at EL Education (formerly Expeditionary Learning) demonstrates the transformational power of models, critique, and descriptive feedback to improve student work. Here he tells the story of Austin's Butterfly. 1st grade students at ANSER Charter School in Boise, ID, helped Austin take a scientific illustration of a butterfly through multiple drafts toward a high-quality final product.

You can purchase Ron Berger's book An Ethic of Excellence here!

Drawing from his own remarkable experience as a veteran classroom teacher (still in the classroom), Ron Berger gives us a vision of educational reform that transcends standards, curriculum, and instructional strategies. He argues for a paradigm shift—a schoolwide embrace of an "ethic of excellence." A master carpenter as well as a gifted teacher, Berger is guided by a craftsman’s passion for quality, describing what’s possible when teachers, students, and parents commit to nothing less than the best. But Berger’s not just idealistic, he’s realistic—he tells exactly how this can be done, from the blackboard to the blacktop to the school boardroom.