Current Professional Learning Opportunities
This page lists upcoming graduate courses and seminars that are open for registration or have wait list spaces available. Additional offerings will be posted as they become available. For information about the DEI Anti-Racism Certificate program, click here.
Download a flyer (PDF) with an overview of the current course offerings. Updated September 2, 2025.
Graduate Level Courses
(2) Credits, (30) Hour Courses
IDEAS 1: Anti-Racist School Practices to Support the Success of All Students
This 25-hour foundational course invites educators to critically examine how identities and lived experiences shape our understanding of privilege and systemic injustice, across racism and other forms of identity-based oppression, and our role in challenging them. Participants will explore what it means to develop a conscious racial identity while working toward equity and justice, and how this process strengthens our capacity to build inclusive, equity-driven learning environments.
Through reflection, dialogue, and applied practice, participants will:
- Investigate racial identity development frameworks and their relevance to fostering belonging.
- Examine the ways privilege and power operate within classrooms, schools, and communities.
- Build skills to recognize, interrupt, and transform systems of oppression at personal, interpersonal, and institutional levels.
- Strengthen the knowledge, awareness, and strategies needed to move from intention to meaningful impact in anti-racist practice.
By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with practical tools and deeper self-awareness to advance equity and justice in their teaching and leadership. Successful completion earns 25 professional development hours, 2 graduate credits through Bridgewater State University (optional), and PDPs for hours attended (Certificates of Completion).
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Course Dates & Times: Location: Live Virtually via Zoom |
Course Dates & Times: November 5th, November 12th, November 19th December 3rd, December 10th, December 17th Location: Live Virtually via Zoom |
| Instructor(s): Jennifer Dirga & Kerryn Hinds | Instructor(s): Dr. Claudia Fox Tree & JoAnne Kazis |
Cost: $650 IDEAS members /$780 non-members
Graduate Credit: Participants may choose to apply for 2 graduate credits for an additional fee of $150, payable to Bridgewater State University.
Registration: To register, please complete and submit this IDEAS1 & IDEAS2 registration form. Please ensure that you have approval from your district before registering. Please email any questions to Dana Mullaley – dmullaley@massupt.org.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation notice must be received 2 weeks prior to the start of the course to be eligible for a refund. IDEAS reserves the right to cancel courses with insufficient enrollment.
IDEAS 2: Enacting Systemic Change in Educational Institutions
This 30-hour course is designed to build upon the foundational theories and complex issues studied in IDEAS 1: Anti-Racist School Practices to Support the Success of All Students. Participants will study systemic change models and develop, enact, and evaluate a project to effect change in their educational setting, whether that setting is working with a small group of students, a classroom, a grade level, a school, or an entire district. Successful completion of IDEAS 1 is a prerequisite for the course.
Dates & Times: Mondays, October 6th, November 3rd, December 1st, January 5th, February 2nd, March 2nd, April 6th & May 4th; 3:30pm – 6:30pm
Instructors: Lateefah Franck & Rebecca Smoler
Location: Live virtually via Zoom
Cost: $650 IDEAS members /$780 non-members
Graduate Credit: Participants may choose to apply for 2 graduate credits for an additional fee of $150, payable to Bridgewater State University.
Registration: To register, please complete and submit this IDEAS1 & IDEAS2 registration form. Please ensure that you have approval from your district before registering. Please email any questions to Dana Mullaley – dmullaley@massupt.org.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation notice must be received 2 weeks prior to the start of the course to be eligible for a refund. IDEAS reserves the right to cancel courses with insufficient enrollment.
(1) Credit, (15) Hour Courses
Co-Teaching with a Culturally Responsive Lens
This course explores co-teaching models to support diverse learners, including students in special education, those with trauma histories, English language learners, and students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Grounded in Zaretta Hammond’s neurological research and Anne M. Beninghof’s co-teaching strategies, the course emphasizes enhancing attention, retention, and assessment, while integrating humor, movement, and novelty to create inclusive environments. Participants will also examine the work of scholars such as Cornelius Minor, Patricia Devine, Joe Feldman, and Tara Yosso to address implicit bias, apply culturally relevant practices, and develop actionable plans for effective co-teaching. This course satisfies special education endorsement requirements.
Dates & Time: Thursdays, November 6th, November 13th, November 20th & December 4th 4:00pm – 7:15pm
Instructors: Dr. Claudia Fox Tree & JoAnne Kazis
Location: Live Virtually via Zoom
Cost: $325 IDEAS members /$390 non-members
Graduate Credit: Participants may choose to apply for 1 graduate credit for an additional fee of $75, payable to Bridgewater State University.
Registration: To register, please complete and submit this registration form . Please ensure that you have approval from your district before registering. Please email any questions to Dana Mullaley – dmullaley@massupt.org.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation notice must be received 2 weeks prior to the start of the course to be eligible for a refund. IDEAS reserves the right to cancel courses with insufficient enrollment.
Transforming Curriculum through a Social Justice Lens
This course is designed for educators to explore multicultural curriculum transformation. Participants will examine strategies for integrating multicultural perspectives, adapting culturally responsive pedagogy, and addressing systemic racism and bias. Drawing on the work of scholars such as James Banks (multicultural curriculum), Geneva Gay and Zaretta Hammond (culturally responsive pedagogy and neurological research), and Gloria Ladson-Billings (culturally relevant pedagogy), participants will learn to create inclusive curricula. The course also incorporates the work of Michael Eric Dyson and Paul Gorski (race, privilege, and equity literacy), Karen McLean Donaldson (cultural relevance), Peggy McIntosh (white privilege), and Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Indigenous knowledge), helping educators address bias and foster justice-oriented learning. By the end of the course, participants will adapt or develop lesson and unit plans that reflect these principles.
Dates & Time: Mondays, October 20th, October 27th, November 17th & November 24th; 3:30pm – 6:45pm
Instructors: Dr. Claudia Fox Tree & Rebecca Smoler
Location: Live Virtually via Zoom
Cost: $325 IDEAS members /$390 non-members
Graduate Credit: Participants may choose to apply for 1 graduate credit for an additional fee of $75, payable to Bridgewater State University.
Registration: To register, please complete and submit this registration form . Please ensure that you have approval from your district before registering. Please email any questions to Dana Mullaley – dmullaley@massupt.org.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation notice must be received 2 weeks prior to the start of the course to be eligible for a refund. IDEAS reserves the right to cancel courses with insufficient enrollment.
(6) Hour Seminars
Anti-Racism: An Indigenous Perspective
Even if Native Americans are not explicitly part of your curriculum, the school year includes moments that are significant to Indigenous Peoples—such as Indigenous Peoples Day, Thanksgiving, and the mascot stereotypes that resurface in fall sports at both local and national levels. Educators need to be prepared to address these topics with accuracy and respect.
This interactive seminar series invites participants to unlearn and relearn the First Nations (Native American) story through a decolonizing lens. Using anti-racist frameworks and the Learning for Justice standards of identity, diversity, justice, and action, the sessions explore racial, cultural, and Indigenous identity, invisibility, bias, and cultural appropriation. Participants gain practical strategies to challenge dominant narratives, transform curriculum, and create culturally responsive, equity-driven learning environments. Applicable to all grade levels, subject areas, and community contexts, this seminar equips educators and advocates to promote accurate representation and systemic change.
Dates & Time: Tuesdays, October 7th & October 14th; 3:30pm – 6:30pm
Instructors: Dr. Claudia Fox Tree
Location: Live Virtually via Zoom
Cost: $175 members / $210 non-members
Registration: To register, please complete and submit this seminar registration form. Please ensure that you have approval from your district before registering. Please email any questions to Dana Mullaley – dmullaley@massupt.org.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation notice must be received 2 weeks prior to the start of the course to be eligible for a refund. IDEAS reserves the right to cancel courses with insufficient enrollment.
Understanding the METCO Program
This 6-hour professional development seminar offers educators an in-depth understanding of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program’s origins, historical significance, and contemporary impact on students, families, and suburban school communities. Designed for teachers in METCO-participating districts, the course explores the experiences of Boston students in suburban schools, the role of educators in fostering inclusive environments, and the broader implications of voluntary school desegregation. Through historical context, student and family perspectives, and practical strategies, participants will leave better equipped to support METCO students and contribute meaningfully to diverse school communities.
We can facilitate this workshop for your district as well as other seminars. Please contact Karen Thomsen (kthomsen@massupt.org) if you are interested in bringing an interactive workshop to your district at a date and time convenient for you. The cost for IDEAS members is $1,140.
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