This multi-day professional development experience will support educators and school teams in developing an individual Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) educator identity. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss the collective conditions needed to sustain that work at the classroom, team, and school levels. We invite educators to deepen their understanding through self-reflection, relationship-building, and practical application. Participants will explore what culturally responsive education looks and feels like in conjunction with Indigenous ways of being. As a result of this training, participants will feel empowered to adapt instructional approaches, classroom environments, and systems-level thinking to better support historically underserved students and communities.

Grounded in regional and Tribal perspectives, educators will engage with the history of the land, the experiences of Indigenous peoples, and the ongoing impacts of historical and systemic inequities affecting Indigenous partner communities today. This learning experience empowers participants to move beyond individual guilt and instead consider how educators and systems can collectively move forward in more responsive, relational, and accountable ways.

Participants will also have opportunities to engage directly with planning and reflection protocols using Teachers for the People (TPP) units and resources. Through collaborative discussion and applied practice, educators will build familiarity with Indigenous and culturally responsive instructional practices while developing tools and strategies they can continue using in their own contexts. This session is designed to support ongoing learning and encourage deeper engagement with culturally responsive systems work and future professional learning opportunities through Northwest Educational Service District 189