Since the early 1990s, CHSSP sites around the state have hosted summer institutes to collaborate with teachers and scholars.  In the early days, campuses across California offered three-week research-rich workshops; in the era of Teaching American History grants, regional sites worked with teachers to develop lesson plans and sometimes to tour sites of significance; in recent years, CHSSP sites have worked with specific groups of teachers to address certain eras of the past or topics, like LGBTQ history.  Summer institutes have been core to the mission of developing teacher leaders, polishing lessons, and extending knowledge.  Yet for the most part, these institutes were open only to a certain number of teachers in parts of the state that lived near or were willing to travel to the campus that housed the institute.  If the UC Davis site hosted a one-week seventh-grade world history institute that interested a teacher in San Diego, typically the teacher either had to travel to Davis or miss out on the collaboration.  The summer of 2020 is different. 

So many summer experiences – including our face-to-face institutes – cannot proceed as they have in past years.  But one of the silver linings for the CHSSP is that now teachers all across the state can participate in summer institutes from any and all of the regional sites.  Geography no longer binds teacher participation.  Teachers all around the state can join, for example, the Youth as Changemakers institute at the end of this month or the Trade and Exchange in Asia institute at the end of next month.  Please take a look at the summer institute options to explore topics that may interest you that in previous years may have been out of reach because of location.  The institutes are entirely online and will help you to prepare for the year ahead.  These institutes are a great way not only to learn and hone new content, but they offer a space for teachers to connect, commiserate, and plan as professionals for the many possible options for instruction. 

Looking forward, we’re planning new ways to connect educators across the state.  Stay tuned for our upcoming statewide grade-level initiatives this fall.

• Teacher Collaboratives (summer discussion groups on four topics:  teaching HSS online, elementary education, civic education, and ethnic studies for Sacramento area teachers).  June - August.
• Site of Encounter:  Baghdad and Nishapur, 300-1200.  June 18-20.
• Youth as Changemakers. June 23-25.
• Local Histories of Racism.  July 8, 10, 22, and 24.
• An Introduction to Ethnic Studies for Bay Area Teachers. July 13-17.
• Trade and Exchange in Asia. July 27-31.
• Teaching the FAIR Act (Teaching with Primary Sources).  July 28-30.
• What Makes a Democracy? (Teaching with Primary Sources).  July 28-30.