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Professional Development: AN INVESTMENT IN OUR PEOPLE
Professional Development: AN INVESTMENT IN OUR PEOPLE
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Great teachers help create great students! Research has shown that a highly effective teacher is the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement. It is vitally important that teachers have opportunities to continue to learn and grow throughout their careers. Teachers must continually expand their knowledge and skills in best educational practices to be highly effective.
Just as doctors, accountants, and attorneys are required to complete continuing education, it is critical that teachers have regular opportunities to learn together and from one another. Ongoing professional development keeps teachers up to date on new research on how children learn, emerging technology tools for classrooms, new curriculum resources, and more. The best professional development is experiential, collaborative, and connected to and derived from working with students. Surveys from families and staff collected as part of the strategic planning process identified strengthening the quality of teaching practice as one of the top priorities This year, Westview teachers have had some tremendous learning opportunities
Our early childhood and prekindergarten teachers have learned about DIR Floortime. In this issue, Ally Loewen will share what she learned about how to tailor interactions to meet a child’s unique functional developmental level.
All our kindergarten and elementary teachers have been trained in Reading by Design. This weeklong training introduced an intensive reading program that provides a systematic approach to supporting literacy. A key takeaway of the course was the importance of meeting the student where they are and early ways to recognize reading struggles and maximize reading success for students.
Middle school teachers completed a Blended Learning course offered by The University of Texas In our third year as a one-to-one campus where each middle school student is issued a Chromebook, we wanted to maximize the benefit of putting this technology in students’ hands. As part of their course, the teachers were required to develop a unit that incorporated a variety of blended learning instructional models and strategies to foster the development of student 21stcentury skills and mastery of curriculum objectives.
In addition to these formal learning opportunities, all staff regularly engage with one another in professional learning communities During these meetings, our staff have explored strategies for differentiation, flexible grouping, formative assessment, and more. Providing world-class training for our staff ensures all students are educated in a nurturing and supportive classroom environment and meet their full potential.
