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LA MIRADA, CALIF. (July 13, 2015) — On July 31, California teachers at 33 locations across the state will come together to share innovative strategies that empower PreK-12 teachers and build powerful teacher communities to positively impact students. ������ʷ will host one of the 33 free summits sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on campus.

New Teacher Center (NTC), in partnership with California State University (CSU), the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU) and its member institutions, will co-host Better Together: California Teachers Summit, which is designed to help teachers learn from each other, share best practices in implementing the new California Standards and celebrate their work. The events are supported by $3.5 million in grants to NTC, CSU Fullerton and Loyola Marymount University from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“California teachers know that the time to impact the lives of students is always going to be now,” said Ellen Moir, Founder and CEO of New Teacher Center. “This event will allow 20,000 teachers to celebrate in-classroom successes while building a powerful and lasting support network.”

As teachers prepare for the upcoming school year, Better Together: California Teachers Summit provides a unique opportunity to hear from nationally renowned speakers and give teachers a forum to share cutting-edge strategies and proven best practices led by teachers and for teachers. Teachers will come away with concrete tools and strategies for navigating recent changes in implementing the new California Standards, and a network of colleagues from their home region to support future collaboration.

“California’s teachers work tirelessly every day to make sure our students thrive,” said Kristen Soares, President of AICCU. “This gathering celebrates their achievements and brings them back to their AICCU campus community to equip them with research based practices to ensure their continued success in a changing environment.”

All California teachers, teacher candidates and school administrators are invited to participate in this summit.

“The School of Education at ������ʷ is uniquely positioned to participate in the Better Together: California Teacher Summit as we serve our alumni, current teacher candidates and colleagues in the area of implementation of the new California State standards,” said Dr. Carolyn Bishop, director of elementary education at Biola’s School of Education. “Current and future teachers will benefit from hearing from recognized experts in the field of education and excellent practitioners regarding best practices around Common Core standards and student learning. This is a wonderful opportunity and we are excited about being a host site.”

Biola’s event will be held on campus in the Andrews Banquet Room, Talbot East Building. For more information or to register online, please visit, and follow #CATeachersSummit for up-to-date information.

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������ʷ New Teacher Center

New Teacher Center seeks to reduce the achievement gap in our nation’s schools by accelerating the effectiveness of new teachers through comprehensive mentoring and professional development programs. NTC partners with school districts, policymakers and leaders in education to implement programs that build leadership capacity, enhance working conditions, improve teacher retention and transform schools into vibrant learning communities. Founded in 1998, NTC headquarters are in Santa Cruz, California.

������ʷ CSU

The CSU is largest comprehensive university in the world, serving 460,000 students at 23 campuses.  For more than 100 years, the university has been the vortex of teacher training, conferring the largest number of education degrees and multi-subject credentials to California’s teachers.   The CSU is known as the “people’s university,” serving the most academically, ethnically and economically diverse students in the nation.  The university is known for providing quality degree programs and preparing job-ready graduates for success.  With 1 in 10 employees in California, and 1 in 20 Americans who hold a university degree in the United States as CSU alumnus, the university has the largest alumni base of any public university in the country with 3 million living alumni.

������ʷ AICCU

The Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (AICCU) represents 75 private nonprofit colleges and universities in California who collectively enroll 320,000 students. The core mission of AICCU institutions is to improve lives through higher education. AICCU institutions are committed to the public good and are incredibly diverse—ranging from large to small traditional liberal arts institutions, including nationally ranked research universities; colleges offering faith-based, performing and visual arts, and non-traditional" programs of study; as well as professional schools that specialize in business, law, medicine, and more. Accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is required for membership, as is fulfilling a public purpose through nonprofit status. In addition to providing creative and intellectual higher education resources to assure California's future economic vitality, AICCU institutions are major contributors to the economies of the regions they serve—as large employers and consumers of local goods and services.