Professional Development for Teachers
Today’s busy teachers need time to breathe, re-set, meet other educators, and explore new ideas for their classrooms. To help teachers build on their knowledge and update their toolkits, the Newberry offers a series of content-based professional development seminars.
A teacher takes notes during a professional development seminar at the Newberry.
Practice what you teach.
Seminars for Illinois Teachers
In the ever-changing world of K-12 education, this professional development series provides Illinois teachers with ideas and resources they can apply in their classrooms. Led by scholars and educators from the Chicagoland area and beyond, these humanities-focused seminars create space for teachers to learn, connect with peers, and explore the Newberry’s collection as scholars. They also target important humanities curriculum standards, including the C3 Framework, IL State Standards (Social Science, ELA), and IL Inclusive Mandates in Asian American History, Black History, Native American History, and US Women’s History.
CPScholars seminars run from 9:30am to 3:30pm (including a one-hour lunch break). We provide five Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) for each seminar.
Educators who participate in Newberry Teacher Programs are responsible for logging their Continuing Professional Development Unit hours in their ELIS account following their full participation in a PD seminar.
The Newberry is an accredited Professional Development provider for Illinois State Board of Education. To receive CPDU credits, participants must attend the seminar in its entirety and provide their Illinois Education Identification Number (IEIN).
Full-time certified teachers with permanent teaching positions at Chicago Public Schools have registration priority in CPScholars and are encouraged to participate in this program. If seminar seats are still available, CPS administrators, instructional coaches, support staff, and cadre status teachers are welcome to attend the seminars, and are eligible to receive CPDU credits. However, per the guidelines of our program funding, these CPS employees are not eligible to receive additional compensation, including participant stipends and substitute coverage reimbursement.
We value the safety and comfort of our teacher participants, seminar instructors, and Newberry staff. To that end, we reserve the right to dismiss teacher seminar participants who disrupt the safety and trust of this space, according to the Newberry Library Rules of Conduct.
- Three-hour seminars: $210 per seat. For administrators and school districts that are purchasing six or more seats, the rate will be $180 per seat.
- Five-hour seminars: $285 per seat. This rate is reduced to $265 per seat when purchasing six or more seats.
Cancellation Policy: If a registered teacher participant is unable to attend a program, two solutions are available:
- The registered teacher may move their registration to attend a different program with seats available; or
- The registered teacher may transfer their registration to a colleague able to attend the program in their place.
There will be no direct refunds in the event of cancellation. Lapsed attendance without prior notification will still be considered a “No call, no show”. In order to best serve our community of educators, including those signed up to waitlists for programs as well as the instructors who commit their time and effort to teach them, we strongly encourage reaching out at least 10 days in advance if you are unable to attend or transfer your reserved spot to a colleague
Learn more about specific upcoming Newberry Teacher Consortium seminars here.
Seminars for Chicago Public School Teachers
This professional development series brings CPS educators to the Newberry to grow as classroom professionals, pedagogy specialists, and ambassadors of knowledge.
Our humanities-focused seminars are content-based and standards aligned. Content areas target important humanities curriculum standards, including the C3 Framework, IL State Standards (Social Science, ELA), and IL Inclusive Mandates in Asian American History, Black History, Native American History, and US Women’s History.
Seminars explore everything from Food and Natural Philosophy in Early Modern England to Teaching Native History.
This program is generously funded by the Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation.
CPScholars seminars run from 9:30am to 3:30pm (including a one-hour lunch break). We provide five Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) for each seminar.
Educators who participate in Newberry Teacher Programs are responsible for logging their Continuing Professional Development Unit hours in their ELIS account following their full participation in a PD seminar.
The Newberry is an accredited Professional Development provider for Illinois State Board of Education. To receive CPDU credits, participants must attend the seminar in its entirety and provide their Illinois Education Identification Number (IEIN).
Full-time certified teachers with permanent teaching positions at Chicago Public Schools have registration priority in CPScholars and are encouraged to participate in this program. If seminar seats are still available, CPS administrators, instructional coaches, support staff, and cadre status teachers are welcome to attend the seminars, and are eligible to receive CPDU credits. However, per the guidelines of our program funding, these CPS employees are not eligible to receive additional compensation, including participant stipends and substitute coverage reimbursement.
We value the safety and comfort of our teacher participants, seminar instructors, and Newberry staff. To that end, we reserve the right to dismiss teacher seminar participants who disrupt the safety and trust of this space, according to the Newberry Library Rules of Conduct.
All Chicago Public School teachers and administrators in the CPS system qualify for this free program. Attendees will also receive a $200 stipend for participating in a seminar at the Newberry.
CPS educators may also qualify for an additional sub coverage stipend to offset their home district's substitute expenses. Participants will go through their school clerk to secure these funds.
Cancellation Policy: Repeat “No call, no shows” and last-minute cancellations may impact eligibility for future participation in CPScholars programs. As a courtesy to your fellow seminar registrants, we strongly encourage you reach out to Teacher Programs at least 10 days in advance if you are unable to attend.
Learn more about specific upcoming CPScholars seminars here.
Hear From Our Teachers!
"This seminar gave me great resources that can be used right away and modified for class."
"There is a lot of depth that we teachers can receive in packable and useful forums like this. I will definitely work to reorient curriculum to fold in these new ideas."
"Before this seminar, I used to think maps were ‘okay.’ Now, I think maps are my passion. Nerd alert."
"I loved learning from teachers from other schools."
"I love the hands-on resources that can be implemented right into my curriculum easily."
"Newberry Conferences are routinely the best professional development I attend each year. I highly recommend that teachers find a session that interests them and sign up."
"This was one of the most useful and actually applicable PDs I've ever attended.”
Frequently Asked Questions
While both programs are led by leading scholars in their respective fields and follow lecture or discussion-based formats, the key difference is pricing. Our CPS seminars are free for CPS-affiliated educators and administrators. Our Illinois series is a subscription-based program for all certified Illinois teachers (CPS educators included).
Illinois teachers not affiliated with CPS are welcome to apply for the CPS series. But CPS teachers and administrators receive priority access to register for these seminars. Illinois teachers not affiliated with CPS are welcome to apply, but their spot is not guaranteed upon registration. While the program is free and offers CPDUs to all participants, non-CPS teachers are not eligible for participation stipends and substitute coverage reimbursements.
Educators who participate in Newberry Teacher Programs are responsible for logging their Continuing Professional Development Unit hours in their ELIS account following their full participation in a PD seminar. Since the Newberry Library is accredited through the Illinois State Board of Education, it can be located in the ELIS searchable directory of PD Providers. It is the participating educator’s responsibility to enter their staff development or any other CPDUs that they accrue.
More information can be found here, courtesy of the Illinois State Board of Education.
Effective in the 26-27 program year, Teacher Programs will prepare one itemized invoice per school that includes all registrations for the program year, to be paid in full ahead of program attendance.
Yes, you can!
In fact, registering for 6+ seats at a time will give you a registration discount!
Yes, you can!
Program registrants will pay by invoice from the Newberry’s Teacher Programs office.
Upon registration for an NTC seminar, Chicago Public Schools administrators may request to pay for seminars via Purchase Order. The Newberry is a proud Preferred Professional Development vendor for Chicago Public Schools. (Vendor number: #37355)
Due to the high volume of seminar registrations each year, we are unable to accept Purchase Orders from non-CPS schools.
If you’re taking a seminar for credit, you’ll need your Illinois Educator Identification Number (IEIN) when you register (or when an administrator registers for you). You can look up your IEIN on the Illinois State Board of Education's Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS) site.
Once you’re officially registered, you’ll receive an email from the Newberry's Teacher Programs team with any assigned pre-seminar materials at least one week prior to the seminar.
We’re eager to hear recommendations on what you want and need from a teacher PD. You can send us a note at teacherprograms@newberry.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
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