February 14, 2024

This half day of professional development is entirely structured around both district/school-directed and teacher-directed professional learning and development. It is MVYPS' hope that schools will take this time to structure PD and teaming efforts that promote their school and staff informed initiatives/school improvement actions. Also, it is MVYPS' hope teachers will take advantage of the latter half of the day to engage in professional development that is collaborative, authentic and relevant to their practice, related to individual professional development plans, and enriches the learning experience of the students in their classrooms (see note below). ESPs have a normal contractual work day on this PD day.

• MVRHS- 11:00 am to 4:00 pm

  • School-led PD 11:30 to 1:30 pm

  • Teacher-directed PD 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm

• K-8 Schools- 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm

  • School-led PD 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm

  • Teacher-directed PD 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm

PLEASE NOTE: System-wide and school-sponsored PD will be offered on these days during teacher-directed time, but teachers/staff are not contractually obligated to participate in these offerings.  For example, teachers who have signed up for a stipend to engage in the co-teaching initaitive will be asked to participate in a PD that runs from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm with Dr. Claudia Rinaldi, but they are not required to participate in the later PD session that Dr. Rinadli will lead.

MVRHS Agenda [Contact Justine DeOliviera or Sara Dingledy for PDPs]

Who: All MVRHS teachers 

Time: 11:30 - 1:30 pm

See Agenda here.

Contact Justine DeOliveira with questions.

MVYPS Preschool [Contact Jen Royal for PDPs]

Who: All MVYPS Preschool teachers/admin staff

Contact Jen Royal for time and location.

West Tisbury School Agenda [Contact Donna Lowell-Bettencourt for PDPs]

Who: All WTS educators

Contact Donna Lowell-Bettencourt with questions.

• 12:30-1:30 Reading Grades 1 and 2

• 12:30-1:30 Behavior Expectations, Support and Structure (Middle School)

• 1:30-2:30  Math Curriculum K-8

• 2:30-3:30  Technology Middle School (Teacher Requested and Led)

Co-teaching with Dr. Rinaldi [2 PDPs]

Who: All teachers who have signed up for the stipend co-teaching initiative this year are required to attend the following session. However, all other co-teachers are invited to participate and can register for this session by contacting Leah Palmer. Teachers not committed to the stipend co-teaching pilot will be included based on available space.

Time: 12:30 - 2:30 pm

Purpose: Dr. Claudia Rinaldi will support teachers to learn and grow their inclusive instructional strategies that meet the needs of students who are both identified as English language learners (ELLs) and as a students with a disabilities. The focus is how these strategies integrate into a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Topics covered will includes: MTSS, progress monitoring, referrals, and IEPs through the lens of English learners.

Location: TBD

Contact Leah Palmer with questions.

Focus Area(s):

Bucket 1: A System-wide Commitment to Our Children  

• • Emphasis on teaching models

Bucket 2: A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture within Our Schools 

• • Emphasis on Strategies to Improve School Climate (i.e., Engagement through Cultural and Linguistic Competence and supportive Instructional Environments)

Biography: Dr. Claudia Rinaldi, Professor of Education, Chair of Education Lasell University 

     Professor Claudia Rinaldi focuses her work and research on the implementation of comprehensive school reform efforts using evidenced-based models including Response to Intervention, Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, and Multi-Tier System of Support. Her experience engages educators on how to improve systems and instructional practices for students with reading difficulties who may be at-risk for failure, or those who are English language learners and who may have mild and moderate disabilities.

Safety Care for Oak Bluffs Compass ESPs

Who: OBS Compass ESPs only

Time: 12:30 - 4:00 pm

Purpose: Join Sue Conlan to engage in Safety Care training essential for Compass ESPs.

Location: TBD

Contact Sue Conlan with any questions 

Focus Area(s):

Bucket 1: A System-Wide Commitment to Our Children: 

• Emphasis on Physical and Emotional Welfare of Our Students 

• Prioritize Alternative Approaches to Discipline

Bucket 2: A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture Within Our Schools 

• Emphasis on Physical and Emotional Welfare of Our Staff 

• Emphasis on Relationships and Themes of Care 

• Focus on Strategies to Improve School Climate

NOTE: Some of the options below are self-paced, virtual PD which you can access at a time convenient for you and at your own pace. 

Other sessions are live with specific times and locations. Please review each session carefully!

Everyday Speech (SEL Curriculum) [2 PDPs]

Who: Open to all MVYPS educators (k-12) and specialists

Time: Self-paced, virtual learning [2 hours total]

Purpose:  New in 2023-2024 MVYPS has purchased a full site license for MVYPS educators to access the Everyday Speech SEL Curriculum. In October 2023, on-boarding support from Everyday Speech was provided to MVYPS staff interested in previewing/using the curriculum in their classes. This opportunity is again available to interested educators who would like a license to the program, to view the pre-recorded onboarding session, and to explore the grade-level curriculum.

In order to access a site license, please contact Kim Garrison requesting an account. You can access the MVYPS Everyday Speech PD Guide here. This will help you to engage in self-directed professional development for using Everyday Speech's SEL Curriculum.

NOTE: For those individuals who completed the on-boarding PD in past PD days, or who have been collaborating as a team in using Everyday Speech, you may want to meet and discuss its use, implementation, and or collaborate on scope and sequence. Or, attend the live PD session that Kim Garrison is facilitating titled "SEL Assessment for Learning and Responding with SEL Instruction" (see below).

Location: Virtual (and in-person as self-directed)

Contact Kim Garrison with questions.

Focus Area(s):

Bucket 1: A System-wide Commitment to Our Children  

• • Emphasis on Teaching Models

  • Emphasis on Physical and Emotional Welfare of our Students

Bucket 2: A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture within Our Schools 

• • Emphasis on Relationships and Themes of Care

  • Strategies to Improve School Climate

Get Excited and Ready for the "New IEP"! [2.5 PDPs]

Who:  MVYPS Special education teachers, staff, and school administrators, or any interested teacher

Time: Self-directed/paced, live recording/webinar [2.5 hours]

Purpose: Get ready for September 2024 by getting this overview of the shift from the old to the new IEP. Everyone will be required to use this form/process starting in September. Laurel Peltier will lead you through this webinar.

Location: Video link here [Passcode: d%&KAN7%]

Agenda and resources linked here.

Contact Hope MacLeod with any questions you might have.

Focus Area(s):

Bucket 1: System-wide Commitment to Our Children 

• Emphasis on Teaching Models That Better Support All Learners 

Bucket 2: A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture Within Our Schools 

• Focus on Strategies to Improve School Climate 

Introduction to Collaborative Problem Solving [2 PDPs upon completion of the course]

Who: All MVYPS educators and staff interested in learning the foundations and theory behind Collaborative Problem Solving*. 

Time: Self-directed, self-paced virtual learning series [2 hours total]

(You do not have to complete all of this module today, however, in order to get credit towards PDPs, you do need to complete it within 8 weeks. Those folks who started the course on 1/10/24 will have until 3/6/24 to complete it. Those folks who start the course on 2/14/24 will have until 4/24/24 to complete it.)

Purpose: MVYPS has worked with Think:Kids to provide MVYPS educators and staff free access to this learning module. 

     This 2-hour, self-paced course introduces the basic principles of Collaborative Problem Solving, an innovative, trauma-informed, and evidence-based approach to understanding and helping kids and adults with behavioral challenges.  The principles of Collaborative Problem Solving® will be discussed, while outlining how the approach is uniquely suited to the needs of today's educators and students. The CPS approach aligns with CASEL's 5 core competencies, integrates with MTSS frameworks, PBIS, and restorative practices, is evidence-based, neurobiologically and trauma-informed, and child and family-centered.    

     Participants learn a more empathic and accurate understanding of what causes unmet expectations and challenging behavior and are exposed to an overview of the three key components of the approach. These courses lay the foundation for attending Essential Foundation in Collaborative Problem Solving (Level 1).

Objectives:

• Understand what really causes challenging behavior or unmet expectations in others.

• Discover the limitations of motivational approaches as a solution to unwanted behavior.

• Learn three ways to respond to unwanted behavior and the best times to use them.

• See how the approach can positively change interactions and outcomes with youth and adults.

Location: A link to the learning platform will be provided upon registration. Please register here.

Contact Hope MacLeod or Kim Garrison with questions.

Focus Area(s):

Bucket 1: A System-wide Commitment to Our Children 

• • Emphasis on teaching models

  • Emphasis on physical and emotional welfare of our students

  • Prioritize alternative approaches to discipline

Bucket 2- A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture within Our Schools 

• • Emphasis on relationships and themes of care

  • Strategies to improve school climate

*Note: This course is not for those educators who have been trained in Level 1 or Level 2 CPS Practices. This course is for those educators/staff who are curious about CPS and want to develop a foundational understanding for the practice.

Progress Monitoring for Teachers of English language learners with Dr. Rinaldi [1 PDP]

Who: Anyone who attended the earlier PD session with Dr. Rinaldi (see above)

Time: 2:30 - 3:30 pm

Purpose: Dr. Claudia Rinaldi will support teachers to developing a progress monitoring tool to support English language learners in their classrooms. Progress monitoring is an essential tool in multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and requires scientifically-driven measures to use in monitoring student progress towards achieving goals of intervention.

Location: TBD

Contact Leah Palmer to sign up and with any questions you might have.

Focus Area(s):

Bucket 1: A System-wide Commitment to Our Children 

• • Emphasis on teaching models

Bucket 2: A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture within Our Schools  

• • Emphasis on Strategies to Improve School Climate

Biography: Dr. Claudia Rinaldi,  Professor of Education, Chair of Education Lasell University 

     Professor Claudia Rinaldi focuses her work and research on the implementation of comprehensive school reform efforts using evidenced-based models including Response to Intervention, Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, and Multi-Tier System of Support. Her experience engages educators on how to improve systems and instructional practices for students with reading difficulties who may be at-risk for failure, or those who are English language learners and who may have mild and moderate disabilities.

SEL Assessment for Learning and Responding with SEL Instruction [Session was cancelled]

Who: Any MVYPS teacher, school counselor, SEL coach, or administrator of grades 4, 5, 8, or 9-12

Time: 2:30 - 4:00 pm

Purpose: Kim Garrison, All-Island Behavioral Health Coordinator, will guide teachers and administrators through the interpretation of SEL assessment data using the Fall 2023 SELIS data for students in grades 4, 5, 8, and 9-12. We will look at this data through an "Assessment for Learning" lens in order to respond using SEL instructional practices. One common curriculum that is available to all MVYPS staff, and that is easily integrated into instruction, is the Everyday Speech SEL Curriculum. We will review the Scope and Sequence for your grade, and consider what might be some valuable lessons for your classes/grade levels/schools to implement for the remainder of the year.

Materials: Participants are asked to bring a laptop. If you have either the SEL from the Start: Building Skills in K-5 or SEL Every Day: Integrating Social and Emotional Learning with Instruction in Secondary Classrooms, please bring these texts with you. If you do not have these texts, you will get them during this PD session.

Location: TBD based on number of participants.

Sign up here by Tuesday, 2/13/24 at 4:00 pm. [This session has been cancelled due to low participation, and it will be rescheduled for another time.]

Contact Kim Garrison with any questions. 

Focus Area(s):

Bucket 1: A System-Wide Commitment to Our Children 

• Emphasis on Teaching Models That Better Support All Learners

• Emphasis on Physical and Emotional Welfare of Our Students

Bucket 2: A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture Within Our Schools 

• Emphasis on Relationships and Themes of Care 

• Focus on Strategies to Improve School Climate

Bucket 3: A Commitment to a Strong School Community Approach  

• Emphasis on Increasing Family Engagement pport of Our Community 

A Very Casual History of the Martha's Vineyard Schools, 1652-2024 (with lots of photos and a few cartoons) [1 PDP]

Who: Open to all MVYPS teachers

Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm

Purpose: Come learn about and enjoy a disorganized slideshow, talk, and discussion about our quirky, centuries-old island school system, as facilitated by our very own MVRHS art teacher, Chris Baer. We will explore the history of MVYPS through cartoons and photos. An example of some important information that you might learn can be seen below.

• Among the first known recorded uses of the word “superintend” in the U.S. (in reference to a school) was in the record of a 1797 town meeting in Tisbury?

• Horace Mann personally counted 19 active schools in Edgartown in 1837?

• The teacher at the SE Chilmark school during the Civil War was an openly transgender man?

• The plan for the island's first regional high school ("Union High School") in 1924 was torpedoed by a surprise motion on the Edgartown town meeting floor? (...an act that also doomed the planned Edgartown-Chappy Bridge.)

Information that you glean from this unique and important historical overview of our school system can be used in your classroom for brain break activity starters, discussion starters, linking to local events happening during historical time periods you are studying, etc.

Location: MVRHS RM D402

Contact Chris Baer to let him know that you plan to attend, or with questions. Room location may shift based on enrollment.

Focus Area(s): 

Bucket 1: A System-Wide Commitment to Our Children 

• Emphasis on Teaching Models That Better Support All Learners

Bucket 3: A Commitment to a Strong School Community Approach 

• Explore Programs That Increase Support of Our Community