Wednesday, January 25, was a regularly scheduled professional development (PD) day for teachers. For students, this means a day off of school but for our teachers, this provides time to learn new skills to implement in their classrooms, collaborate with others, and further develop their expertise.
A few examples of training conducted in January:
Elementary teachers engaged in LETRS® (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training. This program teaches the skills students need to master the fundamentals of reading instruction—phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and language.
Middle school teachers were busy scoring student writing using Feedback Studio and planning writing lessons based on student work. Feedback Studio provides teachers with commenting and grading tools that make the student feedback process faster, easier, and more consistent. They also use it to track and analyze student progress which helps with continued instruction and teaching strategies.
Art teachers met with Emily Wise of Futuremakers, a program through Arts for Learning and the Maryland State Arts Council that supports arts integration in schools. Teachers used Linkages, a set of materials that allows students to build and create challenges.
“As in any profession, these work days enable staff to refine their skills, learn new ones, and collaborate with colleagues,” Superintendent Derek L. Simmons says. “These days are essential to improving student learning.”
All PD Day photos are available on the CCPS Flickr page.