Professional Development
CU Denver is pleased to announce professional development opportunities for teachers, school leaders and district administrators. Not only can we partner with your school or district to offer professional learning for graduate credit, we are also hosting these amazing upcoming learning opportunities. Sign up today!
Training and Retaining Paraeducators
School and district leaders are invited to join this free webinar to learn the latest research in retaining paraeducators. Learn simple techniques, infrastructures, and capacity building methods that will result in increased job satisfaction for these crucial classified employees.
Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025
Location: Virtual webinar
Time: 12:30 pm-1:30 pm
Facilitator: Jody Tucker, EdD
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual webinar
Time: 12:30 pm-1:30 pm
Facilitator: Jody Tucker, EdD
Cost: Free
Paraeducator Supervision Academy
Audience: General and Special Education Teachers, School and District Administrators, Related Service Providers
Purpose: Equip participants with essential knowledge and skills for supervising paraeducators. Topics include identifying paraeducators’ strengths, clarifying teacher and paraeducator roles, and creating systems of support to ensure paraeducators are used effectively.
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: In-person at University of Colorado Denver
Facilitator: Ritu V. Chopra, PhD, Executive Director, The Paraprofessional Research and Resource (PAR2A) Center
Cost: $225
Graduate credits available: 1*
*Optional graduate credits available at an additional cost
Bigger Than Belonging: The Co-Creation of Flourishing Learning Communities
This transformational two-day workshop is an experiential learning opportunity to explore and create the conditions for flourishing learning communities by blending a rich variety of scholarship and resources. It is designed for educators, leaders, and facilitators of learning of all kinds across a wide range of settings. Participants will deepen their understanding of authenticity, belonging, community, and psychological safety. They will be empowered with a collection of tools and practices to implement in their own contexts.
Dates: January 24, 2026 & January 31, 2026
Location: In-person at University of Colorado Denver
Facilitator: Arianne Rivera, EdD
Cost: $650 for individual or $1300 for a team of 2-4
Graduate credits available: 1 or 3*
*Optional graduate credits available at an additional cost
Arianne Rivera
Program Director, Student Success Center
Program Director, Student Success Center
About the Facilitator
Dr. Rivera has over 25 years of experience in PreK-16 Education. She has worked as a teacher’s aide, substitute teacher, classroom teacher, K-6 ESL teacher/instructional coach, K-12 ESL and dual language resource teacher, central administrator, university instructor and program director, and consultant. Her passions are learning and connection. She develops practices and systems grounded in dignity, joy, and multi-directional impact. Her research interests include the phenomenological study of authenticity, belonging, community, and safety within and beyond educational contexts. Arianne currently serves as the Director of Student Success at the University of Colorado Denver School of Education and Human Development.
The University of Colorado Denver School of Education & Human Development is delighted to invite teacher leaders from around the state and nation to convene for the Teacher Leader Summit. This is an incredible opportunity for the most powerful voices in our schools and classrooms to come together to inspire each other, encourage one another, and learn together.
Dates: June 4-5, 2026
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
Cost: TBD
This two-day workshop brings leading experts in the field of instructional supervision with the latest research on mentoring and teacher development. It is designed for mentors, instructional coaches, school leaders, district administrators, or anyone else interested in improving student outcomes in the classrooms of new teachers.
Dates: July 30-31, 2026
Location: In-person at University of Colorado Denver
Facilitator: Jody Tucker, EdD
Presenters: Stephanie Cavallaro, Allison Johnson, Arianne Rivera, Esther Valdez, Laurie Wretling, and Pam Yoder
Cost: $650 for individual or $1300 for a team of 2-4
Graduate credits available: 1 or 3*
*Optional graduate credits available at an additional cost