A Schoolwide Commitment to the Joy of Learning

A Schoolwide Commitment to

THE JOY OF LEARNING THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CRAFT OF TEACHING At a time when educators around the world are

idea. Overlooking the Lower School Blue Top with the

related learning loss, Burke’s has been well-

location offers a constant reminder of Burke’s mission to

grappling with the scope and extent of pandemicpositioned to identify learning gaps and provide

the tools to ensure our students thrive. This school year’s Professional Development (PD) schedule includes more than 45 afternoon meetings and

cacophony of student laughter in the background, its

educate, encourage, and empower our students with a focus on joy.

three Professional Development Days for faculty to

Prioritizing Professional Development (PD)

experiences.

commitment to PD runs deep. We walk the talk. We

collaborate with their peers and build out classroom

Head of School Michele Williams likes to say, “Our create the time for faculty and staff to engage in

professional development and provide two times what

What’s up in the HUB? A comfy couch, extra seating, and a large table to

gather around are at the center of the HUB, home to

many of our peer schools allocate towards PD.”

Renita LiVolsi, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,

Utilizing an internal Burke’s PD website, faculty and

and Innovation. These two admin team members

professional development opportunities, connect with

innovate on the K-8 curriculum and interdisciplinary

about innovative classroom practices and instructional

lens. It is appropriately named as it is often a hub

guest speakers, consultants, and in-house presentations.

teachers, staff, and others on campus who stop

or workshops, apply for a summer grant to work

the day’s events to the execution of an innovative

Idea Lab to further develop an idea for the coming year.

and Belonging, and Fran Yang, Director of Curriculum

staff are able to seek and apply for on-and off-campus

intentionally share an office to collaborate and

others about what PD they’re engaged in, and learn

projects throughout the year with a strong DEIB

strategies. They are also able to find resources from past

of interaction and conversation between admin,

In the summer, teachers can engage in conferences

by or walk through and chat about anything from

collaboratively on a curricular project or engage in an

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When I came to Burke’s over 10 years ago, the Board was focused on building a strategy

to recruit and retain excellent educators. My response at that time was that when teachers are learning, students are going to learn more effectively.

— MICHELE WILLIAMS, HEAD OF SCHOOL

BURKE’S

MAGAZINE

A few Idea Lab examples in action are: ● Upper School Math Department: The math team met to plan a pilot for the Connected Mathematics Project’s fourth edition aspart

of a trial group. The group got early access to the updated curriculum and are working to incorporate open-ended questioning,highceiling and low-floor tasks (tasks that all students can access but that can be extended to high levels), increased differentiation,and group work. The team is looking forward to exploring some of the CMP4 investigations with students over the course of theschool year.

● Upper School Makery/Language Collaboration: A collaboration between the Upper School Makery teacher and the Spanish

department, this project is designed for eighth graders and incorporates three parts: a written biography, a podcast, and a creative

poster in the style of the Fillmore. Spanish teacher Anthony Sabedra said, “Music is one of my passions and I wanted to incorporate the presence of women in music from the Spanish-speaking world.”

● Lower School Teacher’s College Phonics: A facilitator from Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project spent the day with the K-3 teachers and those who support language arts instruction in the Lower School during an engaging full day workshop. New instructional and student materials and books were purchased for the program, and the first-grade team - along with Lower School Learning Specialist Kelly Shea - developed a fall implementation plan. Some faculty attended summer workshops on this curriculum, and some will attend the fall TC Phonics Institute to further their understanding. The phonics program will provide important scaf-

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folding for students’ reading and writing throughout the school year.

Over my career, I have seen what happens

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when teachers become inspired through transformational professional development experiences. That inspiration translates into

powerful classroom experiences that benefit students in a myriad of ways.

- Alice Moore, Associate Head of School

(Top) Faculty and staff used a beach ball toss to model using play as a vehicle for connection.

(Bottom, Left) Faculty and staff take a survey during nationally recognized antibias and antiracist educator Liz Kleinrock’s session.

(Bottom, Right) Faculty get a lesson on how to integrate Makery tools such as the laser cutter into their classroom projects.

FALL 2022

Professional Development Institute (PDI)

Opening Meetings

Summer doesn’t start for our faculty and staff when the final

Opening Meetings are the official kick-off to the new school

velopment Institute (PDI), which brings leading trainers and or-

nationally recognized antibias and antiracist educator Liz

school bell rings! Each year, faculty attend the Professional De-

ganizations to Burke’s for on-campus professional development

the week after graduation. Offerings at past PDIs have included

an Investigations Math training, an “Inclusivity by Design” work-

shop, differentiation of learning, the Burke’s EdTech summit, and a Service Learning Institute that integrated on-campus PD and service projects across the city. The time is used to collaborate

on changes, additions, or innovations they plan to pursue in the coming school year. The projects and trainings from last June’s

year for faculty and staff. This year’s sessions featured

Kleinrock as well as Trauma-Informed Teaching organized by Burke’s Lower and Upper School Counselors in conjunction with Grace Dearborn of Conscious Teaching. Time was also

spent preparing classrooms, completing mandated reporter training, and working together by division and department

to brainstorm ways to integrate Makery technology, library

resources, and expertise of the specialists into classrooms.

PDI included:

Curriculum Conversations

● DEIB Training: Jabari Lyles Consulting held faculty/staff

Faculty gather monthly under the leadership of Fran Yang, Di-

worked in breakout groups to learn how to approach gender inclusion in developmentally appropriate ways. Jabari Lyles also provided a training session in October for parents/

guardians to learn how to support students across the gender spectrum.

● U pper School Advisory Program & SEL: This year, as we focus on the Social Emotional needs of students, faculty

worked with consultants from the Institute for Social and

Emotional Learning (IFSEL) around using SEL practices to

continue to build our Upper School Advisory program. A se-

ries of parent workshops is being offered over the course of

the year to provide greater insight into what SEL looks like in Upper School as well as provide tools to use at home.

● Learning Target Development: Specialist faculty and fourth

grade teachers have been pursuing a project around learning targets and curriculum mapping under the guidance of Dr.

Heidi Hayes Jacobs. The development of the Burke’s curriculum map provides faculty and staff with an important tool of communication about the progression of skills through the years at Burke’s. The Curriculum Committee is made up of

faculty from various departments in both divisions as well as

the Academic Admin team and will oversee the work throughout the year.

rector of Curriculum and Innovation, to engage in conversa-

tions about curriculum, new project ideas, and collaborations across subject areas. Each session begins with a series of

prompts that include questions such as “what is a cross-grade or cross-disciplinary collaboration that would be exciting to

see happen?” or “what is an aspect of student life at Burke’s

that could connect to the greater community around us?” This year, faculty looked at student performance and any patterns that may have changed or been impacted by pandemic-related factors. It is an opportunity for the Lower School and

Upper School divisions to share observations and ideas. Out of these conversations great things happen.

“

Burke’s educators are dynamic

professionals, dedicated to continually

pursuing opportunities to deepen their

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training on gender inclusion, and Lower and Upper School

practice, extend their expertise, and

collaborate with others to ensure that our students are engaged in learning

experiences that encourage them to be their best authentic selves.

- Fran Yang, Director of Curriculum and Innovation