Educational Leadership Network (ELN) | University of Portland

Educational Leadership Network (ELN)

The University of Portland School of Education's Educational Leadership Network (ELN) supports current and emerging educational leaders by offering opportunities for professional growth and development, mentorship, and networking in the Portland metropolitan area. Participants in Educational Leadership Network activities include local school and school system leaders, community leaders, current students in leadership programs, and alumni.

ELN Areas of Focus
  • Local activities provide yearly access to national expertise, issues, and best practices without the time and cost of conferences.
  • The three-fold focus on professional development, networking, and mentorship provides for immediate relevance and support to current and emerging educational leaders.
  • Yearly professional development includes three formal events (fall, spring, summer) linked to credit options and formal leadership credential programming. Low- or no-cost registration encourages a broad participation of local leadership.
  • An advisory board staffed by Leadership Fellows, respected local school and community leaders, plans a topical annual program of ELN activities.
  • A focus on mentorship and networking characterizes all ELN activities.

Want to learn more about the ELN and find out when our next event might be occurring?

Teresa Ketelsen, Ed.D.
Educational Leadership Network (ELN) Coordinator
Franz Hall 347
ketelsen@up.edu
503.943.7510


April 7, 2022 | An Evening with Colt Gill, A Path Forward

The Educational Leadership Network invited Colt Gill, Oregon's Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Director of the Oregon Department of Education to give a keynote presentation at the University of Portland. Throughout this school year, the ELN theme of Reframe to Renew: Rekindling Joy has served as a focal point to provide relevant strategies and promising practices for educational leaders around the challenges they face. Together as a network of leaders we can spark solutions within each other to turn these challenges into opportunities.  
 
PowerPoint Presentation: A Path Forward


March 8, 2022 | Reframe to Renew: Rekindling Joy

Has the kaleidoscope of this school year left you longing for an opportunity to connect with other educational leaders and share strategies on how to thrive, not just how to survive? Please join the Educational Leadership Network for the second event of the school year, Reframe to Renew: Rekindling Joy. This will be an interactive session that will include panel speakers from Columbia River High School and from Oregon City School District.

The landscape of education is continually shifting and the need to share effective strategies that will rekindle the joy in our staff and students is as important as ever. Please join us for this opportunity to engage with your educational leadership colleagues for networking and conversation on the beautiful UP campus.

Zoom Video Recording of Event: Reframe to Renew: Rekindling Joy
PowerPoint Presentation: Oregon City School District
PowerPoint Presentation: Columbia River High School


 

April 22, 2021 | Leading Adult SEL: Building Capacity Within Our Schools with SEL For Impact

The third and final event of the school year, “Leading Adult SEL: Building Capacity Within Our Schools”.  During the event, SEL For Impact facilitated an hour-long session that will be a continuation of supporting and strengthening Adult Social Emotional Learning through examining and building knowledege around the CASEL competencies of Social Awareness and Relationship Skills.

Within the session there will be opportunities to participate and reflect on new knowledge along with time to engage in activities and tools to build our own SEL skills. Participants will leave with resources and tools that can be used immediatly with staff and families.

Zoom Video Recording of Event: Leading Adult SEL: Building Capacity Within Our Schools
PowerPoint Presentation: Leading Adult SEL: Building Capacity Within Our Schools


February 11, 2021 | Supporting and Strengthening Adult SEL with SEL For Impact

SEL for Impact will facilitate an interactive presentation allowing participants to reflect on adult social and emotional strategies already in practice, as well as share new activities and impletmentation strategies that will take effective SEL practices deeper.

The mission of SEL For Impact, founded by Angela Healow, Dolisha Mitchell, and Lindsay Wierdsma, is to improve the lives of all young people and adults by empowering advocates and leadership to support social and emotional learning in their schools and communities. They support schools and districts ability and capacity to engage in social emotional learning from a systems level. SEL For Impact works to sustain and spread the use of high-quality, anti-racist equity-focused SEL building and community levels by raising awareness of the benefits of SEL, promoting and supporting effective SEL implementation thorugh high quality trainings, workshops and coaching.

Zoom Video Recording of Event: Supporting and Strengthing Adult SEL
SEL For Impact Bingo Board 
PowerPoint Presentation: Supporting and Strengthing Adult SEL with SEL for Impact 


October 29, 2020 | Adult Social and Emotional Learning: Now More than Ever, Strategies to Support Staff Environments that Boost Adult Social and Emotional Capacity

This is the year of "unprecedented events", and as adults, we continue to be surrounded by circumstances that are out of our normal routines. Now more than ever, we need to learn from each other about strategies that support the social and emotional capacity of all educators, so adults and students can thrive. A shared interest in developing programs and strategies that support healthy and productive learning environments and build positive school cultures will drive our conversations.

Zoom Video Recording of Event: Part 1, Opening
Zoom Video Recording of Event: Part 2, Closing

Notes from Breakout Rooms: ELN Notes from Adult SEL


January 16, 2020 | A Process for Schoolwide SEL Implementation

Sponsored by University of Portland’s School of Education, individual school and district leaders, teacher-leaders, and school teams were able to take full advantage of this unique professional development opportunity, free of charge. Participants were introduced to CASEL’s Guide to Schoolwide SEL, a process for implementing SEL systematically. Claire Schu, CASEL's Manager of Implementation Support, lead a participatory and experiential presentation of this comprehensive planning and implementation tool. During the evening, everyone had the opportunities to dialogue with teams as well as colleagues from the Portland metro area and SW Washington. 

Presenter Resources:
Video of Claire Schu's presentation: A Process for Schoolwide SEL Implementation
Full Video of Marcus Garvey Elementary
PowerPoint Presentation: CASEL's Guide to Schoolwide SEL 


December 2, 2019 Event | An Evening with Dr. Mark Greenberg

Mark Greenberg, PhD is an Emeritus Professor in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development and he is the Founding Director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development. He is the author of over 350 journal articles and book chapters on the development of well-being, learning and the effects of prevention efforts on children and families. He is a Founding Board Member of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society from the American Psychological Association (2016). One of his current interests is how to help nurture awareness and compassion in our society.  He is the Chairperson of the Board of CREATE, a non-profit devoted to improving the quality of schooling and the lives of teachers and students. (www.createforeducation.org)

Presenter Resources:
Evidence-Based Approaches to Social Emotional Learning PowerPoint
Video of Dr. Mark Greenberg's presentation


October 9, 2018 Event | An Evening with Carmen Xiomara Urbina

Carmen Xiomara Urbina is a proven leader who brings the diverse lived-experience and unique skills we need in Oregon today, if we are to accomplish our vital work in education. She has developed her exceptional talents serving in early learning settings, K-12 school districts and ESDs, higher education, and leading culturally specific and highly respected community-based organizations in Oregon.

As Deputy Director of the Oregon Department of Education, Ms. Urbina has the unique opportunity to learn about best practices being developed and implemented in schools and districts throughout Oregon. She will share important examples of how schools are making a real difference for children and families historically underserved. And, she will share her own personal and professional perspectives on the challenges we all face as educational leaders.

Presenter Resources:
Facing Equity Opportunities in Oregon Schools
Interruptions


October 3, 2017 Event | An Evening with Matt Utterback

Matthew R. Utterback, superintendent of the North Clackamas School District, who was recognized as the 2017 National School Superintendent of the Year. Under Utterback’s visionary leadership, North Clackamas has not only begun to close student opportunity gaps, those gaps have narrowed to nearly non-existent levels in many key areas of student achievement and high school graduation. With a laser-like focus on results, coupled with a lens of equity, Superintendent Utterback leads with a sense of urgency, clear goals, and community engagement.

Superintendent Utterback will be opening this year’s ELN focus on “Achieving Equitable Outcomes.” Matt will share what this means to him, specific leadership examples from his work in North Clackamas, and how he helps his leaders successfully balance the big picture and effective daily practice.


May 2016 Getting Equity Right: Schools and Districts That Are Making A Difference

A daylong interactive forum for educational leaders focusing on best practices, successful school models, and systems change for creating equity in our schools and districts. The presentations and workshops will be engaging and practical with opportunities for participants to share ideas and support each other in this essential work.

Presenter Resources:

Rene Canler, Principal | Woodmere K-5, Portland Public Schools
Emily Glasgow, Principal | Vestal K-8, Portland Public Schools

These two principals of high poverty/highly diverse schools discussed how they are implementing two key elements of their district's equity work-developing a position and inclusive school climate and tiered/strategic academic interventions and enrichments, both with a equity lens and a commitment to developing a culturally competent staff.

Putting "Equity" into Practice

Alex Otoupal, Principal | Columbia River High School, Vancouver School District
Ted Zehr, Executive Director of Secondary Education | Hillsboro School District

Ted and Alex shared best practice methodologies for implementing AVID in your school and district, grades 6-12. This life-changing model has created a college readiness culture in schools with very different demographics.

Getting Equity Right: Systems make a difference

Carrie Cordes, TAG Specialist | Tigard-Tualatin School District
Karen Hughart, TAG Specialist | Tigard-Tualatin School District

Learn about Tigard-Tualatin's program for evaluating and identifying underrepresented TAG students. District TAG Specialists discussed research and literature on the topic of gifted students from historically underrepresented groups including racial minorities, English language learners and students of poverty. They also shared a process and tools the TTSD TAG team has designed as an alternative method for evaluating and identifying these students as Talented and Gifted.

Potential to Perform: Identifying Underrepresented Students for TAG
TTSD TAG documents
TTSD TAG Presentation 1
TTSD TAG Presentation 2


August 2015 A "Just in Time" Workshop

The workshop sessions featured group leaders, who are all fellow practitioners. Discussions included practices that worked, approaches that look promising, and missteps that could be corrected. Also, there was a workshop titled, "Smarter Balanced Scales, Strands and Scores: Results of Spring Assessment and How it May Impact Your Leadership Work." Below are a few resources from the workshops that may be useful to your schools.

Presenter Resources:

Megan Kim, Director of Student Data & Accountability, Lake Oswego School District
Leigh Anne Scherer, Assessment & Accountability Coordinator, North Clackamas School District

Smarter Balanced Scales, Strands, and Scores

Thanks to Cheryl Williamson, Director of Curriculum and Student Learning for Centennial School District:

Centennial SD's Computer Skills Needed for SBAC-Math - SBAC Math Tech Demands
Centennial SD's Computer Skills Needed for SBAC-ELA - SBAC ELA Tech Demands


January 2015 Symposium | Strategic Instruction & Assessment in the Common Core Classroom

This symposium featured keynote speaker, Dr. Nancy Golden, Oregon's Chief Education Officer, who shared Oregon's vision for education reform and improved student outcomes, closing the achievement gap and achieving 40-40-20 goals. The keynote was followed by general sessions and workshops with embedded guided team planning featuring exceptional instructional leaders from Oregon and SW Washington.

Symposium Workshops | Presenter Resources

Sarah Dunkin
Anna Davis, Klarrisa Hightower, Leslie Lauretti & Kerri West  Beth Elliot
Brian Graham K-5
Brian Graham 6-12
Sarah Hayden & Samantha Salvitelli
Roxanne Malter & Bryan Toller
Rose Palmer & Amy Slaughter
Shannon Parvankin
Penny Plavala