February 14, 2024

MVYPS Professional Development Day

MVYPS's System-wide Commitments

A System-Wide Commitment to Our Children 

A Commitment to Nurturing the Culture Within Our Schools 

A Commitment to a Strong School Community Approach 

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.

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.

School/District Directed PD

The following opportunities have been organized by MVYPS leaders and school leaders to provide rich, high quality PD options on this day.  

As mentioned above, this time will be dedicated to PD and teaming efforts that promote their school and staff informed initiatives/school improvement actions. 

MVRHS Agenda

Who: All MVRHS teachers 

Time: 11:30 - 1:30 pm


See Agenda here.


Contact Justine DeOliveira with questions.

MVYPS Preschool

Who: All MVYPS Preschool teachers/admin staff


Contact Jen Royal for time and location.

West Tisbury School Agenda

Who: All WTS educators


Contact Donna Lowell-Bettencourt with questions.


Co-teaching with Dr. Rinaldi

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 stipended 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  

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


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: 

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


Teacher-Choice Professional Development Opportunities

The following opportunities have been organized by MVYPS leaders and educators to provide rich, high quality PD options on this day. 

Except where noted, these options are all voluntary. These opportunities have been planned during  teacher-directed time.

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!

Communities of Practice (CoPs) at MVYPS

For 2023-2024, MVYPS will support the ongoing work of Communities of Practice as a high quality form of professional development. Through entitlement grant funds, the Superintendent is able to provided CoPs that have experienced ongoing success and support in the past with the opportunity to continue their work. In addition, a new AI CoP has be specifically developed to help support a professional position on AI in education at MVYPS that is informed by its educators specifically. CoPs are required to meet for no less than 6 hours across the school year, with times being organized by the facilitator and the CoP members. Some CoP facilitators may choose to offer meeting times during teacher-directed PD time, while others may also meet after school and during other non-contractual times.

Click the arrow to the right to expand the list of available 2023-2024 CoPs for MVYPS educators. 

If a time and location is not listed, please contact the PLC leader to inquire about a meeting on this day.

Focus Areas(s):

Many of the CoPs focus on different buckets related to MVYPS' Commitments 2023-2024. The most common buckets are as follows.

Bucket 1: A System-wide Commitment to Our Children

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

8th Grade Core CoP 

This CoP will focus on core topics of curriculum and the bridging of learning across the 8th to 9th grade transition. At times, this group may be meeting with 9th grade core teachers to collaborate.

4th Grade CoP  [2/14/24: 1:00 - 2:00 pm on Zoom, link provided via email]

This CoP supports the networking and discussion of 4th grade teams across MVYPS.

9th Grade English Language Arts (ELA) CoP 

This CoP will support the MVRHS' 9th grade ELA team in coming together to discuss changes to ELA programming at this grade level.

AI in the Classroom at MVYPS 

This CoP will focus on the evolving presence, demand, and need for AI in the classroom and in other learning spaces across MVYPS. It is the hopes that this CoP will help to inform that position of MVYPS on AI.

Desmos Math CoP [ 2/14/24: 3:30 - 5:00 pm]

This CoP will discuss and problem solve the implementation of Desmos Math into your curriculum with other educators at MVYPS.

K-8 Art CoP  [2/14/24: 2:00- 4:30 pm with Oak Bluffs via Zoom, link provided via email]

This CoP will discuss topics together related to the instructional practices of art education in the elementary/middle schools at MVYPS.

K-8 Health/Family & Consumer Science CoP [2/14/24: 1:30-2:30 pm]

This CoP will engage in ongoing topics related to instructional practices of health education at the elementary and middle school level. Special focus topics may be on the Michigan Model Curriculum and other related curricula for health education at MVYPS, as well as the new MA Comprehensive Health and PE Frameworks (2023).

K-8 Library Science CoP 

This CoP will engage in ongoing topics related to supporting library sciences at the elementary and middle school level. 

K-8 School Counselor CoP [2/14/24: 3:30 to 5pm with Jim Levine via Zoom, link provided via email]

This CoP will engage in ongoing topics related to school counseling at the elementary and middle school level. In addition to professional cooperative learning practices, this CoP will also engage in case and practice consult with Jim Levine and Associates.

K-8 Spanish CoP [2/14/24: 3:00 pm in Rm 209 @ Oak Bluffs School]

This CoP will engage in ongoing topics related to the instructional practices of Spanish language education at the elementary and middle school level. 

K-12 Performing Arts CoP

This CoP will engage in ongoing topics related to supporting the performing arts education at MVYPS, including all levels k-12. 

MVRHS Science CoP

This CoP will support the MVRHS science team in coming together to discuss instructional practice, curriculum, and student learning as relevant to high school science.

School Psychologists CoP 

This CoP will support the coming together of school psychologists at MVYPS to discuss related topics of practice in the field of school psychology pk-12.

Speech & Language Pathologist CoP

Everyday Speech (SEL Curriculum) 

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  

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

Get Excited and Ready for the "New IEP"!

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 

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

Introduction to Collaborative Problem Solving

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:


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 

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

*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

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 

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


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

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 

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

Bucket 3: A Commitment to a Strong School Community Approach  

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


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.


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.

Above: Tisbury High School, Study Hall, 1948. (...with Connie Frank, Ralph Packer, Franny Bettencourt, Jacklyn Lair, and others.)

Above: From an Edgartown School copybook at the MV Museum:

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 

Bucket 3: A Commitment to a Strong School Community Approach