Target Audience: General Education and Special Education Math Teachers grades 6-12; Instructional Coaches; Administrators
Are you looking for ideas to transform your middle or high school math class into a place where students want to learn and are engaged mathematicians? Vibrant learning encourages students to take ownership of their learning–to make it matter to them. In this workshop, you will unlock the power of rich tasks that challenge students to reason, problem-solve, and collaborate. Participants will learn how to foster a classroom culture where students explore big ideas, ask questions, and take intellectual risks. You will be equipped with ready-to-use strategies that bring energy and purpose to every math lesson.
Participants will be asked to bring in at least one lesson that they can rework during the workshop.
Free for District Members and $125.00 Fee for Non-Members
6 Hours of EILA will be available. Contact mark.helton@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Coaches, & Administrators
Are you passionate about transforming your teaching practices and fostering a richer learning experience for your students? Join the CKEC Deeper Learning Cohort—an exclusive, year-long professional development opportunity designed for educators committed to promoting deeper learning in their classrooms. Meeting four times throughout the school year (September 24, November 18, February 4, and April 21), this cohort provides a collaborative space to explore innovative strategies, engage in meaningful dialogue with like-minded peers, and receive ongoing support from experienced facilitators. Participants will gain practical tools and resources that can be immediately implemented to enhance student engagement, critical thinking, and creativity. As part of the cohort, educators will also receive copies of three essential professional books: Teaching for Deeper Learning: Tools to Engage Students in Meaning Making, 50 Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement: Creating a Thinking Culture in the Classroom, and Total Participation Techniques: Making Every Student an Active Learner. Ideal for teachers eager to grow professionally and deepen their impact, this cohort will empower you to create vibrant, student-centered learning environments.
6 hours of EILA credit will be provided for each session attended.
$199 Fee for Member Districts and $325 for Non-Member Districts
Contact lindsey.ellis@ckec.org for more information.
Target Audience: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Coaches, & Administrators
Transform your classroom from passive knowledge consumption to one of active, dynamic engagement! In this in-person session, you will explore strategies designed to foster deep-level processing and active participation. Using 50 Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement: Creating a Thinking Culture in the Classroom as our anchor text, we will analyze practical methods to build a thinking-centered learning environment. Participants will receive a copy of the book and walk away with innovative ideas and actionable strategies to shift from traditional, teacher-centered models to a culture of thinking and meaningful engagement. Learn how to sustain a thinking classroom and reimagine student engagement—from passive participation to driving curiosity and learning.
6 hours of PD/EILA credit will be earned upon completion of this workshop.
$50 for Member Districts and $125.00 for Non-Member Districts
Contact lindsey.ellis@ckec.org for more information.
Target Audience: Elementary Writing Teachers, Instructional Coaches
In-Person Session
Participants will learn essential strategies for building and maintaining a strong writing community in the elementary classroom. Discover what students should know and be able to do as writers, along with key instructional practices that support growth and foster independence. We will explore how to use assessment to benefit students, tailoring feedback and instruction to develop writers. Participants will also learn how to shift agency from teacher to student, creating a classroom environment where writers feel empowered and responsible for their own work. The first 15 participants to register will receive a copy of the book Answers to Your Biggest Questions About Teaching Elementary Writing to support the application of these practices in their classrooms.
6 hours of PD/EILA credit will be provided.
Free for Member Districts, $125.00 Fee for Non-Member Districts
Contact lindsey.ellis@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: Math Teachers grades K-12, Co-teachers, Special Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches
Transform your mathematics classroom into an active thinking environment where every student is engaged and challenged! This full-day, in-person workshop, based on Peter Liljedahl’s Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, will explore the 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. During this interactive workshop, participants will explore research-based practices that create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student owned deep mathematical thinking and learning.
6 Hours of PD/EILA Credit
$125.00 Fee for Non-Member Districts. Contact holly.lawrence@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: Math Teachers grades 6-12, Co-teachers, Special Education Teachers, Instructional Coaches
This full-day, in-person workshop is designed to provide strategies to foster productive struggle in math classrooms. We will explore misconceptions and move towards building communities of mathematical thinkers in our classrooms. A focus will be on the Math Teaching Practices of implementing tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving, facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse, posing purposeful questions, and supporting productive struggle in learning mathematics.
During this session, participants will also receive an overview of the free tools of the Desmos Classroom Activity Builder. Participants will explore an activity from the student and teacher perspectives. Participants will learn how to create engaging activities that promote critical thinking and problem solving and begin developing an activity of their own.
6 Hours of PD/EILA Credit
$125.00 fee for Non-Member Districts. Contact holly.lawrence@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: Teachers and Administrators
Join us for a virtual book study of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System and How to Fix It by Natalie Wexler. This eye-opening book explores why so many students, especially those from under-resourced communities, struggle with reading comprehension and what educators can do to close the gap.
Each registered participant will receive a complimentary copy of the book prior to the first session.
Together, we’ll unpack Wexler’s insights about the importance of building background knowledge, the limitations of skills-based instruction, and how schools can improve outcomes by embracing a content-rich curriculum.
Each session will include guided discussion, practical classroom connections, and opportunities to collaborate with other educators. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, instructional coach, or district leader, this study will deepen your understanding of literacy development and challenge conventional approaches to reading instruction.
The Zoom link for this session will be shared no later than September 8, 2025.
4 hours of EILA credit will be provided.
$50 fee for Non-Member Districts. Contact lindsey.ellis@ckec.org with questions.
Teacher Audience: Multilingual Learner Teachers and Administrators, All Teachers, Support Staff, School and District Level Administrators
The CKEC Multilingual Learner Teacher Network will be a time to work with other EL/ML teachers, specialists, admin, and other educators in the region. Through participant input, training and workshop opportunities will be developed based on the needs, trends, and ongoing issues that face schools and districts across our region and the state. The network will provide open chair time for members to share success stories. There will also be time to vet specific issues in a supportive and constructive manner.
There will be two in-person sessions: September 8, 2025 and March 2, 2026
There will be one virtual session on October 20, 2025 from 4:00-5:00 pm ET
EILA credit will be awarded each day.
Contact mark.helton@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: General and Special Education Teachers, Grades 7-12; Co-Teaching Teams; Interventionists
Are you looking for tools to help you gauge where your students are and how they are progressing with respect to essential skills in the Algebra classroom? If so, then this training is for you! Project AAIMS (Algebra Assessment and Instruction: Meeting Standards) is a project funded by the US Department of Education with the purpose of developing algebra assessment tools that can be used for monitoring the progress of students with and without disabilities as they learn algebra. Outcomes of this training include:
- Develop an understanding of progress monitoring
- Know how to administer, score, and use data from three (3) different measures
- Understand the relative merits and weaknesses of each of the measures
- Consider issues related to implementing algebra progress monitoring.
These measures are designed to be administered in person, not in a virtual setting.
To ensure fidelity, participants of this training may use the probes with their classes ONLY. They may NOT share the probes with others or train other teachers to use them. Participants will be asked to sign a User Agreement prior to the training.
At the completion of the training, participants will be given a link to a Google Folder containing the measures.
$125 fee for Non-Member Districts
Contact mark.helton@ckec.org with questions.
Target Audience: Special Education Paraprofessionals
The Special Education Paraprofessional Academy is a high-impact professional learning experience designed to equip paraprofessionals with the knowledge, tools, and confidence they need to support students with disabilities effectively. Through a blend of interactive training sessions, hands-on strategies, and real-world application, participants will deepen their understanding of instructional support, behavior management, communication strategies, and compliance basics.
Whether new to the role or looking to grow their skill set, paraprofessionals will walk away with practical techniques they can use immediately to promote inclusion, independence, and student success.
The Location of the Academy will be at Northeast Christian Church (990 Star Shoot Pkwy, Lexington, KY 40509)
Lunch will be on your own.
6 PD Hours will be provided
