By Jillian Damon, Tehama Teacher Preparation Programs and Marian Murphy-Shaw, CAL-MSCS Science Steering Team Member

Reflections on the November 9, 2024 Panel Session at CASE

During the 2024 CASE conference the California Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science (CAL-MSCS) Professional Learning Partnership panel brought together educators at different stages of their careers—new teachers, teacher leaders, and leaders from both district, county office, and informal settings. Their stories and perspectives underscored the power of mentorship, community, and alignment with shared goals. California’s educational landscape is as diverse as its geography. The panel discussion was designed for the audience to hear from a cross section of educators across California and to highlight factors they felt contributed to their own success that could be used as models to create support in other settings.

A significant takeaway from the discussion was that every educator needs access to professional learning and support aligned with their career stage. While new teachers often receive support from credentialing coursework and induction, veteran teachers will benefit from ongoing professional development where they can contribute their expertise, while learning about advancements in technology and pedagogy. These opportunities to collaborate and learn with their peers foster a sense of belonging to a broader professional community.

Panelists emphasized the importance of administrators in fostering an environment where teachers feel valued, supported, and motivated to develop and grow as professionals. Investing in teachers’ long-term development builds an environment where they are more likely to stay and contribute, and share their mentorship and historical knowledge with early career colleagues. Providing veteran educators with professional learning opportunities aligned with both school-wide initiatives and individual teachers’ growth goals, helps veteran teachers feel empowered to stay in the classroom while growing as professionals. 

There was some discussion about supporting teachers in rural areas of the state and how professional development for geographically isolated teachers should be tailored to support their needs. One way to meet this need is to leverage local partnerships through collaborations with county offices of education and regional consortiums that can bring professional learning closer to rural communities. These partnerships and relationships are critical to creating sustainable, responsive systems that address local needs.

As a result of this panel at CASE and the fall Science Community of Practice session on Supporting Early Career Teachers, a follow up resource session was presented at the January 28, 2025 CAL-MSCS Trending Tuesday digging deeper into tools local systems have developed, and how they can be modified to fit other K-12 contexts for teacher support and retention. A recording and links to the tools are on the CAL-MSCS Science landing page, just scroll to Trending Tuesdays. 
CAL-MSCS is committed to building responsive systems, facilitating collaboration, and connecting educators across California. CAL-MSCS strives to ensure that every teacher—regardless of location—has the tools and support to succeed and continue to grow as a professional. 

Authors

Jillian Damon
Ed.D Director
Tehama Teacher Preparation Programs


Marian Murphy-Shaw, 
CAL-MSCS Science Steering Team (SST) Member

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