-
PPS Summer Institute helps teachers gear up for next school year now
6/18/2018The school year was over, but more than 500 K-5 teachers were hard at work preparing for the 2018-19 academic year at the PPS Summer Institute at Roosevelt High School. The two-day training gave teachers the opportunity to dig into the new language arts curriculum, and hear from teachers who are already using it. The teachers also learned how the curriculum aligns with state standards and the district’s newly adopted scope and sequence — an academic term for what will be taught and in what order.
“They’ve front-loaded us with a lot of the tools, outlines and PowerPoints and all these links that we can have at our fingertips which makes it so much easier,” said Heather Smith, a second grade teacher at Woodmere. “We get to go through and get a feel for it before the school year starts.”
This was the biggest turnout yet for the Summer Academy, organized by the Office of Teaching and Learning. Organizers say it was important to give teachers the support they need so they can be more effective educators and serve their students better.
“It shows you how hungry our teachers are for us to invest in them through professional development,” said Debbie Armendariz, Director-Elementary Curriculum & Instruction.
“They’re learning about the pedagogy (method and practice), they’re learning about the materials and scope and sequence and the standards to teach. But more than anything they’re learning from each other. The other thing they’re learning is that we care about them and want to support them.”
Principals who attended the training believe the new equity based balanced curriculum, called Units of Study in Reading and Writing, will challenge students at all literacy levels while giving them more choice around their learning. It will also challenge teachers to shift from traditional “sage on the stage” teaching to a more individualized “guide on the side” model.
“At Woodlawn we’re doing a great job of moving our kids who are struggling out of that category, but this will help us push our kids who are at grade level to do even better,” said Andrea Porter Lopez, Woodlawn Elementary Principal. “Our teachers will have a better feel for not just how the class is doing as a whole, but how individual students are doing because the learning is much more student driven.”
The curriculum was adopted in 2016, and has been rolled out at 20 schools. Next year, the remaining 40 elementary schools will be using the new materials. Teachers who are already using it worked with those who will be introducing the curriculum in the 2018-19 school year.
Although Woodmere is getting the curriculum this coming school year, Heather Smith tried out parts of it with her second graders before the school year ended. She was thrilled with the results.
“I’m so excited for the kids because even my struggling learners felt like readers,” said Smith. “They couldn’t read at a second grade level yet, but they felt successful and looked like every other kid in my classroom. They were given a choice around their learning, and I had more time to sit with them individually to goal set and guide their learning.”
-Pamela Jordan
By Month
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- June 2015