The summer months provide a time for reflection and staff development for both teachers and administrators in the Lenape district.
For teachers there are two Research for Better Teaching courses being offered this summer.
The first, Studying Skillful Teaching 1 targets all teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, and child study team members.
This course supports teachers in improving student achievement by examining beliefs about teaching and building a repertoire of instructional strategies to match students learning needs.
Teachers are able to identify the impact Professional Learning Communities have on teaching and student learning.
The second course, Investigating Obstacles to Achievement is a practical, field-tested course, which focuses on the work that teacher leaders, supervisors, and evaluators do to support and sustain high quality teaching.
This course specifically studies the knowledge base on teaching, current articles, analysis of artifacts, role-plays, and collegial consultation and feedback. This course is specifically designed for teachers who have at least one-year experience. It is the expectation that all teachers pass these courses prior to gaining tenure in the LRHSD. The administration will also be busy this summer. First, they will be attending an evaluation software workshop. This session will begin the training for administrators to use the newly created teacher evaluation software, which has been created exclusively for the LRHSD.
The same group of administrators will be working with the in-district-trainers to work through the language and expectations of the “home-grown” evaluation model that our district was given the green light to use beginning September 2013. This two-day workshop will provide time for valuable discussion amongst administrators who will be using this evaluation instrument at the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year.
Dr. Tracey Severns, chief academic officer, will be addressing the transition to the Common Core State Standards and the new assessments. Administrators will also be working this summer with Jim Kehoe, the district security and management coordinator, with Incident Command Training. This training is a standardized, on-scene, all hazards incident management approach that is structured to facilitate activities in five major functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics and administration.
