As the first regional convening since the Supreme Court ruling on "fair share," the fall CalTURN conference focused on sustaining relationships and nurturing the culture of "We."
After a warm welcome from the Moreno Valley Labor-Management Team, the conference began with an overview of the pending legal challenges unions are still facing at state and federal levels.
Jo Anderson, Co-Executive Director of CEC, challenged the room to think boldly and not just "tinker around the edges" of change. He framed the current context as an opportunity to rethink and refine the work we do in our own organizations and the work we do together. To highlight an example of bold change, Unschool, an innovative high school in San Juan Unified, presented their progress in developing an educational system that is driven by student interest and voice while endeavoring to ensure students graduate college and career ready.
Later in the day, teams had the opportunity to reflect on their own initiatives and to identify a few areas they would like to learn from other teams within the network.
On day two, a presentation from Elk Grove embodied the theme of the conference Strengthening Relationships During Challenging Times by sharing their journey of self-exploration: identifying how we view others and how it impacts relationships. They shared that these efforts have allowed them to have more authentic and effective conversations about the work they do to support students.
Due to the overwhelming response by participants, the spring CalTURN conference will include training from the Elk Grove team.
The next CalTURN conference is scheduled for March 14 & 15, 2019, in Elk Grove, California.