Hourly staff - you may take a maximum of 3 courses on each teacher work day or remote learning day.
Works Days for 2023-24 include the following,
September 5th, 2023 (Report to your building)
November 6th, 2023 ** (teacher work day)
January 3rd, 2024 (Report to your building)
March 18th, 2024 ** (teacher work day)
Works Days for 2023-24 include the following,
September 5th, 2023 (Report to your building)
November 6th, 2023 ** (teacher work day)
January 3rd, 2024 (Report to your building)
March 18th, 2024 ** (teacher work day)
** Please ensure you have discussed with your supervisor any plans for these days prior to taking online sessions. There may be other building requirements planned for you. **
Once you complete online courses you will submit this COMPLETION FORM for each course. On teacher work days or snow days this form must be submitted on the same date as the eligible event.
Those of you who are eligible for training stipends may access these courses at any time and submit the form. NOTE: If you are doing these courses on an eligible teacher work day or snow day, please select that date option on the form. All courses submitted will show on your Better and Better transcript for use to submit your training stipend.
Thank you.
Thank you.
*Online sessions are not available for pay on the October 12, 2023
and March 14, 2024 in person Hourly Professional Learning Days.*
*Online sessions are not available for pay on the October 12, 2023
and March 14, 2024 in person Hourly Professional Learning Days.*
Below are a variety of online training opportunities.
Each course is linked to the content. Please make sure they are applicable to your role.
Once you complete the training you will submit this COMPLETION FORM to receive credit.
All online sessions must be taken and the form submitted on the SAME eligible date.
A NEW Completion Form is linked for each work day listed above.
Once you complete the training you will submit this COMPLETION FORM to receive credit.
All online sessions must be taken and the form submitted on the SAME eligible date.
A NEW Completion Form is linked for each work day listed above.
If you are eligible for the training stipend submit the form linked above specifially for this purpose.
If you are eligible for the training stipend submit the form linked above specifially for this purpose.
Be sure you use your @mpsomaha.org email to receive credit.
Contact Leadership and Learning with questions.
mpslnl@mpsomaha.org or 402-715-8418
Pre-registration is not required (except for the Gentec Security Course), each course is linked directly to the content. Once you complete the training you will submit the COMPLETION FORM for each course you complete.
Please allow up to 7 days for your session to show complete in Better and Better.
Check your transcripts in Better & Better to view completions.
If you are missing a course you submitted via the Completion Form, email mpslnl@mpsomaha.org
Please allow up to 7 days for your session to show complete in Better and Better.
Check your transcripts in Better & Better to view completions.
If you are missing a course you submitted via the Completion Form, email mpslnl@mpsomaha.org
MPS Required Training 2023-24
Click the link below for information on completing the 2023-24 Required Training. If you have already completed your required training either online or during October Hourly Staff Development, you do not need to do this. **Remember to fill out the completion form at the end of your training.**
Gentec Security Desk (*NEW) (for select staff)
**24 HR IN ADVANCE PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED**
**24 HR IN ADVANCE PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED**
This course is designed for high school security staff and secretaries at other locations who are responsible for monitoring doors, cameras, and alarms via the Genetec Security Desk.
Pre-Registration 24 hours prior is required to allow access to be given to the course. CLICK HERE TO PRE-REGISTER
Behavior Support
In this session, para-educators will get an opportunity to learn about behavioral principles, learn prevention and defusing strategies to support behavioral needs of students. Participants will engage in opportunities to practice strategies through the lens of real world examples.
Student and staff safety is a priority in the Millard Public Schools. Staff can find themselves in difficult situations while working with students who have unpredictable and sometimes aggressive behaviors. In this course, participants will learn the basics of keeping themselves safe in a non-harmful way when a student becomes physically aggressive. We will discuss the proper body position to take and the reasons for using that position. We will also learn how to protect ourselves from both strikes and grabs and the principles for using each. Additionally, we will discuss when it might be appropriate to transport a student a short distance in the school and how to safely do so. Finally, participants will troubleshoot different scenarios that could lead to unsafe behavior and discuss how to best respond in those situations.
Hourly Behavior and De-Escalation Training (Course #35171) (see links below)
NOTE: This course is not the required training course but provides additional information.
What do you do when a student says “No!” and refuses to comply with a request? How do you respond when students demonstrate unexpected behaviors? This session will explore effective, efficient, and easy-to-implement behavior management strategies. Dive into prevention strategies, behavioral interventions, reinforcement approaches, and effective commands. You will feel confident in applying specific strategies for the purposes of positively managing individual and group behaviors that encourage and support academic, behavioral, and social learning for all students.
Links to course: Video and Processing Agenda (Print) and Kite Graphic Organizer
Building Relationships & Climate
Research shows that positive adult-student relationships are connected to higher achievement, improved behavior, and long-term success. In schools, adults who know something about each student and show care and concern are most successful. In this session, explore practical ways to increase positive interactions, learn about using restorative practices, and connect research with your role for maximum impact!
Schools are places where students go to learn and adults go to work. Historically, schools were designed to raise levels of academic achievement for each student. Now, these academic areas of reading, writing, and arithmetic are coupled with additional Rs: responsibility, respect, resilience, and relationship. In this sequel to “Connecting with Students for Hourly Staff,” examine research surrounding trauma and learn strategies that support all students in developing responsibility, respect, resilience and relationships. Participants will develop a stronger understanding of trauma-informed practices that foster resilience in others, particularly those who have experienced trauma and/or demonstrate unexpected behavior in school settings.
All good things must come to an end...or do they? In this third segment of Connecting with Students for Hourly Staff, participants will experience trauma-informed approaches to integrate into their daily work with students and other staff members. Using the CASEL framework for Social and Emotional Learning, engaged participants will draw personal connections to set goals and implement ideas for action.
What is good customer service? How can it go from good to great? What are common pitfalls when trying to deliver excellent customer service? What are best practices for dealing with difficult situations? Does attitude matter? Find out and practice answers to these and other important questions in this interactive session.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Sessions
The sessions below are approved for remote learning days. When you click the link to access the video course, you will need to add your name and your MPS email to view.
How Food Impacts Your Mood - Course #35281
How Food Impacts Your Mood - Course #35281
In this training you will:
Learn how certain adjustments to your diet can enhance mood and energy
Create a personalized list of foods that will energize you throughout the day
Apply tips to strategically build your personal energy and mood plan
Training is for managers and employees
Sweat, Smile, Repeat - Course #35282
In this training you will:
Learn how to change your attitude about exercise and ideas about healthy living
Identify the real reason people fail to stick with an exercise routine and how to avoid it
Change your thinking after learning the top 10 benefits of exercise so you never backslide
Resilience is the ability to “bounce back” and cope with life events, both negative (e.g., health problems, unemployment, and divorce) and positive (e.g., birth of a child, anniversaries, etc.). This program will help you:
Assess your current level of resiliency
Understand the traits resilient people exhibit
Learn to become more resilient
Gratitude: The Key to Surviving Toxic Times - Course #34998
Thriving in these toxic times demands more resilience than most of us ever dreamed we needed. So, how do we cultivate it? The answer is as surprising as it is simple: practice gratitude. This program dives into the hard science underlying this soft skill, revealing what it is, how it works, and the simple adjustments to thoughts and habits required to master it.
Thriving in these toxic times demands more resilience than most of us ever dreamed we needed. So, how do we cultivate it? The answer is as surprising as it is simple: practice gratitude. This program dives into the hard science underlying this soft skill, revealing what it is, how it works, and the simple adjustments to thoughts and habits required to master it.
Find Your Focus and Defeat Distractions - Course #34999
With a constant, unlimited pull at our limited attention, the way we work isn’t working anymore. If you've ever felt so distracted, interrupted, or overwhelmed that you wonder what happened to your day, you might wonder if focus is something you can learn, improve, or get more of in your busy life. Research and science say yes, you can strengthen your focus. This program will explore the research and share ideas that help train your brain for greater focus while reducing stress, burnout and work-life imbalance.
With a constant, unlimited pull at our limited attention, the way we work isn’t working anymore. If you've ever felt so distracted, interrupted, or overwhelmed that you wonder what happened to your day, you might wonder if focus is something you can learn, improve, or get more of in your busy life. Research and science say yes, you can strengthen your focus. This program will explore the research and share ideas that help train your brain for greater focus while reducing stress, burnout and work-life imbalance.
Instructional Support & Meeting Student Needs
Looking for tips and tricks when teaching small groups? This session will provide ideas for teaching phonics, sight words, comprehension, and fluency.
CLICK HERE to view handouts and information used in this course.
Also be sure you have the volume turned on so you can listen to each slide. If you don't hear audio after advancing to the next slide, click the microphone.
Productive group work is key to classroom engagement. Learn 20 instructional routines and strategies to establish effective and productive groups in the classroom.
Participants will examine true student engagement by learning about a variety of instructional strategies for use during whole group instruction. Instructional strategies that connect to the whole brain keep students engaged throughout the lesson and help them retain more information. Effective instructional strategies generate highly active and engaging classrooms, enhance classroom management and produce increased student learning outcomes. Participants will explore strategies to implement and develop plans to make the most of instructional time.
“How do you make sure that all members are doing their fair share?” This course will explore a variety of instructional strategies that engage the learner and provide collaboration among students. Participants will be asked the following reflection questions as they explore each strategy: Did everyone have to play a part? Did everyone participate equally? Which social skills would you pre-teach? How might you use this in your classroom?
Miscellaneous Personal Development
- A growing body of research shows people have the power to improve the way they address stress and reduce burnout via mindful self-care practices. Participants will learn mindful tools they can incorporate in their daily routines to decrease stress, improve overall well-being, and strengthen relationships. This interactive and engaging workshop includes activities such as inner strengths, stretching, mindful breathing, gratitude journaling, and more.
- Based around the concepts in the book Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John C. Maxwell, participants will examine ways to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your connection with them. To be successful, you need to learn how to communicate in a way that connects you with others. In this module, you will interact with principles and practices to equip you to communicate at a level that runs far deeper than words to support your role in the MPS community.
- This session will provide participants with ideas on how to increase positive relationships, productivity, good health, and longevity. Objective: Participants will demonstrate evaluation of peer interactions by discussing positive strategies for work and life.
This session will provide participants with more ideas on how to increase positive relationships, productivity, good health, and longevity.
Vector Solutions (formerly SafeSchools )
Rosters are provided to us by SafeSchools (Vector Solutions). Please allow us 7-10 days to process their reports and get them entered into Better and Better so they can be seen on your transcripts. You do not need to print the SafeSchools certificates.
Be sure to submit the COMPLETION FORM for these courses.
Special Audience Options
Library Paraprofessionals may take the following online courses (Course #35072)
- From the Nebraska Library Commission
Best New Teen Reads of 2022 (68 minutes)
Best New Children's Books of 2022 (68 minutes)
Navigating the New Nebraska Access (52 minutes)
From WebJunction (1 hour sessions; **Certificate upon completion)
Accompanying the Young Reader: Helping to Choose Appropriate Books **
Media Smart Libraries: Building Partnerships to Support Children in a Digital Age
This Program consists of three modules. Module 1 and 3 are the most appropriate. You register for each one separately.
Special Education
Technology Training
Technology Options including Google
- Email Phishing Awareness (30 minutes) - Course #35267
This course will help you understand what email phishing is, describe the risks associated with phishing, describe how you can spot and avoid phishing attacks, and provide you with some actions that you can take to protect yourself from phishing. Access this course from your ClassLink page by clicking Cybersecurity Awareness. If not shown on your dashboard you can find in the App Library
- Email Security Awareness (30 minutes) - Course #35268
This course will help you identify tactics used to compromise email security, understand why email is a target for cyber security attacks, recognize the signs of an email attack, and provide you with some actions that you can take to prevent email security compromise. Access this course from your ClassLink page by clicking Cybersecurity Awareness. If not shown on your dashboard you can find in the App Library
What systems are available for students who struggle with learning or behavior? This session will explore basic information about MPS's Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and steps taken to monitor student behavioral data on MTSS plans and Feedback cards (CICO) in Synergy.
Impress yourself and others with Canva creations. Canva is a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents, and other visual content. We will explore how to edit templates and start from a blank slate.
This course is designed with the beginner Google Slides participant in mind. However it will highlight tools that any participant may not be using. The participant will be guided step-by-step through creation of a Google Slides presentation.
This course is designed with the beginner Google Docs participant in mind. However it will highlight tools that any participant may not be using. The participant will be guided step-by-step through creation of a Google Document.
This course is designed with the beginner Google Sheets participant in mind. However it will highlight tools that any participant may not be using. The participant will be guided step-by-step through creation of a Google Sheet.
This course is designed with the beginner Google Forms participant in mind. However it will highlight tools that any participant may not be using. The participant will be guided step-by-step through creation of a Google Form.
Add-ons provide Google applications extra power and purpose. This lesson will help walk you through how to lighten your workload using AutoCrat and FormMule for mail merging and other projects. Along the way you will also learn about a few other Google Sheets tools and additional add-ons.
Additional Resources
Below are some additional resources you may find helpful. These resources are optional and cannot be used for training credit.
(use the menu on the left-hand side to search for specific tools)