Ridgewood Public Schools
Professional Development
Summer 2023-2024
Embedded Files
Welcome to the RPS Summer Professional Development program! We are thrilled to offer a wide array of interesting workshops that will enable you to explore your interests, engage with colleagues, and enhance your instructional practice. We are pleased that many of our own staff members have submitted outstanding proposals, and that their expertise can be shared through this summer program. We are also excited to bring in outside consultants who can contribute to our professional growth through a variety of relevant topics.
Your participation in a one day workshop will allow you to earn 6 hours of PD credit. Upon completion of a 6 hour course, you will be excused from attending the April 1, 2024 Professional Development Day. Please note that all sessions start at 8:30 AM and end at 3:30 PM
Great Schools Teacher Workshop with Dan Liebert
Great Schools Teacher Workshop with Dan Liebert
This work session is designed to respond to needs identified by RPS staff following the March PD Day session with Dan Liebert. In the feedback from that session, teachers advocated for: "having more time to flesh out ideas and collaborate with colleagues" and to work on "better assessments that lead to less stress for my students." This session will make your assessments the content of the professional learning. It will focus on (i) quality assessments (summative and formative) that are aligned to clear outcomes, (ii) feedback on growth, and (iii) collaboration with colleagues to improve instruction.
You will need to bring three assessments with you.
One assessment that you have had success with and would like to share.
One that you would like to get feedback on and improve. And,
One assessment that is in development that may not be fully formed yet, perhaps it is just an idea for an assessment or unit of study.
Come prepared to share and work on: formative assessments that were given to prepare the students for the assessments, instructional shifts that were made based on formative assessments, and interventions and extensions that were created based on results.
The questions we will grapple with in this session: How was instruction adjusted/modified based on the results of the assessment? How many students were proficient, exceeded proficiency, or did not reach proficiency? What were the interventions you designed for those who didn’t reach proficiency, and what extensions were created for those exceeded proficiency?
This is a 6-hour course that will be offered from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM on Tuesday, June 27 and repeat on Wednesday, June 28. Please only register for one date.
Presenter: Dan Liebert
Target Audience: MS & RHS
Location: Ed Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Limited to 25 participants
Selecting and Aligning the Teaching Strategies GOLD Goals for Assessments
In this course we will align and modify the current assessments to the recently adopted Teaching Strategies Gold Assessment. We will be diving deeper into the Teaching Strategies Gold in the Creative Curriculum to strengthen our knowledge of the developmental continuum of skills for preschool students. Participants will have the opportunity to work with grade level colleagues and specialists.
Date: Tuesday, June 27
Presenters: Amy Carrera, Kelly Letavish, Jennifer Osenbruck
Target Audience: Preschool Teachers
Location: Glen School
Student Choice in Assessment
Integrating student choice in the classroom can be a powerful force to advance student learning. This workshop will focus on the value of offering student-choice assignments and assessments. Guidance will be provided for the processes of designing, planning, creating, and implementing such projects in a diverse classroom setting.
Date: Tuesday, June 27
Presenters: Allyson Saladino and Chris Watkins
Target Audience: MS & HS Teachers
Location: GWMS, Room 304
Limited to 25 participants
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED - COURSE HAS REACHED MAX CAPACITY
Get Up and Go: Movement Strategies in the Classroom
Get Up & Go: Movement Strategies in the Classroom provides teachers with new ideas to get their students out of their seats during the class period in an efficient, fun, and safe way. Strategies include brain breaks and incorporating movement into the curriculum with discussions on challenges and successes that come along with an active classroom. Teachers will have the opportunity to revise old materials to make them active and movement based.
Date: Wednesday, June 28
Presenter: Jaime Gilfedder
Target Audience: MS & HS Teachers
Location: BFMS, Room 127
Limited to 25 participants
The "Big Potential" of Small Groups...
Across the Literacy Block
Small-group instruction is the “sweet spot” of personalized learning. In this seminar, we will discuss how to identify student assets and use these strengths to determine next-step goals that can be addressed during small-group instruction. Examples of different types of small groups (beyond guided reading and the typical strategy groups) will be examined and explained. Actionable ideas around scheduling, planning, and implementing responsive small-group instruction will be shared. Additionally, time will be provided for teachers to build (or bolster) their own teaching toolkits. Efficient, explicit, and effective small groups ARE within our reach.
Date: Monday, July 10
Presenter: Pamela Koutrakos
Location: Ed Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Target Audience: K-5 Teachers
Limited to 25 participants
Cultivating Classroom Conversation
If we want to create a classroom culture filled with thinking, we need to get students talking! Building speaking and listening repertoires helps students critically contemplate information, express their own perspectives, and better understand other viewpoints. In this seminar, we will delve into the importance of conversation and explore whole-class discussion routines and protocols. In addition, we will discuss methods for setting up and stepping back from student partnerships. Class conversation- that grows everyone’s thinking and understanding- IS within our reach.
Date: Tuesday, July 11
Presenter: Pamela Koutrakos
Location: Ed Center, 2nd floor Conference Room
Target Audience: K-5 Teachers
Limited to 25 participants
Teaching Climate Change Through the Disciplines
Sustainability and climate change are increasingly at the forefront of the minds of members in our community, including those of the students. We will work in interdisciplinary groups to devise ways to integrate climate change education into our respective subject areas. This session will demonstrate interactive activities that incorporate climate change into different classes, as well as discussing potential turn-key and ready-to-use lessons that can be used as entries into developing a meaningful and relevant climate change curriculum in all disciplines. Additional topics such as economic inequality, ethics, and climate justice may also be discussed.
Date: Tuesday, July 11
Presenters: Miles Luo and Patricia Hans
Target Audience: MS & HS Teachers
Location: RHS, Learning Commons
Limited to 30 participants
Planning for Success in a Co-Taught Class: Curricular Access and Embedded Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)
** Elementary Teaching Pairs and Elementary CST ONLY**
Participants will investigate what successful co-instructing looks like, including strategic use of Friend and Cook's co-teaching models to maximize the involvement of both adults, increase student engagement, offer opportunities for differentiation and implement specially designed instruction (SDI) in a co-taught classroom. Participants will also explore efficient ways to co-plan and design instructional activities to meet the needs of a broad spectrum of learners.
Date: Tuesday, July 11
Presenter: Michelle Lockwood
Location: Ed Center, 3rd Floor Board Room
Visualizing and Verbalizing
Lindamood Bells' "Visualizing and Verbalizing" program develops concept imagery - the ability to create an imagined or imaged gestalt from language - as a basis for comprehension and higher order thinking. The development of concept imagery improves reading and listening comprehension, memory, oral vocabulary, critical thinking, and writing.
Date: Wednesday, July 12
Presenter: Kathleen Acosta
Target Audience: K-5 Special Ed Teachers
Location: Willard
Max: 30 participants
Balanced Word Learning for Today's Learners
Seeking lively and engaging ways to amp up word study? Let’s talk about simple, time-efficient methods of rounding out the great phonics and spelling instruction that’s already in place. In this seminar, flexible routines that are curiosity-driven, collaborative, and designed to bring lasting success will be shared and tried. Explicit learning routines will be demonstrated. These adaptable ideas can be utilized in a variety of learning settings. Participants will leave ready to implement ideas that bring purpose and joy to learning about sounds, patterns, parts, and words. We can revitalize classroom word learning!
Date: Wednesday, July 12
Presenter: Pamela Koutrakos
Target Audience: K-5 Teachers
Location: Ed Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Limited to 25 participants
Unpacking Routines for Thinking -
in All Subject Areas
Inquiry and discovery are essential aspects of student-driven learning. Thinking strategies invite students to explore content, collaborate with classmates, and build critical understanding. These engaging learning experiences also enable students to grapple with complex ideas around content-related topics. In this professional learning session, different strategies for deepening thinking will be demonstrated and tried. Participants leave ready to use various thinking routines in all subjects.
Date: Thursday, July 13
Presenter: Pamela Koutrakos
Target Audience: K-5 Teachers
Location: Ed Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Limited to 25 participants
Reading Above the Fray
Let’s gather for a summer book club featuring the book, Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills by Julia B. Lindsey. Julia’s book promotes “The Science of Reading in Practice.”
Here is the blurb:
Julia B. Lindsey’s evidence-backed routines help young readers decode words efficiently so they can spend more energy on comprehending - and enjoying - what they read! You’ll find:
Need-to-know essentials of how kids learn to read.
Principles of high-quality foundational skills instruction
Teacher-approved instructional “swaps” to improve practice tomorrow.
During our time together, we will peruse and reflect on each chapter. Specifically, we will focus on how the chapters challenge our thinking, compare our practices to the suggested research-based practices, and think about what part of our instruction we can “swap” to align with these practices.
Date: Tuesday, July 25
Presenter: Julie Matthews Walsh
Target Audience: K-1 Teachers
Location: Ed Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Tech Day
Come dive into 3 tech tool sessions that will motivate, engage and enlighten. You must attend all 3 sessions.
Join Wes, Stef, and Ana for three illuminating workshops offering best practices for tech integration in your 2023-2024 classroom! Each session will provide time to learn and apply to your classes immediately. Each presenter will give you tools and novel approaches to use in your classroom to help you transform your pedagogy!"
Canva
with Wes HalterTech Tools for Student Engagement
with Stefanie GiganteDEI and Tech Integration
with Ana Anthon
Date: Tuesday, July 25
Target Audience: K-12 Teachers
Location: BFMS, Rooms 108, 110, 111
Limited to 30 participants
Planning for Success in a Co-Taught Class: Curricular Access and Embedded Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)
** Elementary Teaching Pairs and Elementary CST ONLY**
Participants will investigate what successful co-instructing looks like, including strategic use of Friend and Cook's co-teaching models to maximize the involvement of both adults, increase student engagement, offer opportunities for differentiation and implement specially designed instruction (SDI) in a co-taught classroom. Participants will also explore efficient ways to co-plan and design instructional activities to meet the needs of a broad spectrum of learners.
Date: Tuesday, August 1
Presenter: Michelle Lockwood
Location: Ed Center, 3rd Floor Board Room
Math Centers
Come join me and dive into teaching math in learning centers! We will learn about the CPA Model of Instruction, conceptual understanding, and how best to assess our students through this deep learning opportunity. We will share best practice, create powerful learning experiences, and collaborate throughout this “Make and Take” session.
Date: Wednesday, August 2
Presenter: Jeannie O'Neill
Location: Willard School, Room TBA
Target Audience: K-2
Limited to 25 Teachers
A Look Ahead the PAST
(Assessment)
Phonemic awareness is an essential component of skilled reading ans special education teachers can enhance their practices by learning this new assessment tool, the PAST Assessment by David A. Kilpatrick, Ph.d. Participants will learn how to administer this phonemic awareness assessment, interpret scores, and design phonemic awareness instruction to meet the needs of struggling readers.
Date: Tuesday, August 8
Presenter (s) Christie DeAraujo and Cassandra Amos
Location: Willard School Library
Target Audience: K-12 Special Ed Teachers
Understanding ADHD, Executive Dysfunction, and Mental Health
This workshop is intended for educators with students in Grades K-5. This series wil help attendees improve understanding of ADHD, executive functioning difficulties, and mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger, opposition) Learning how these issues present in the classroom will allow us to correctly identify and appropriately support our students. Additionally, this workshop will focus on reviewing the best strategies for managing and supporting these difficulties. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout and to discuss issues they experience in the classroom in an effort to receive tailored recommendations on how to best support student and staff.
Date: Thursday, July 20
Presenter: Vanessa LaBode-Richman, PhD
Target Audience: K-5 Teachers
Location: Ed Center, 3rd Floor Conference Room
Limited to 30 Participants
Understanding ADHD, Executive Dysfunction, and Mental Health
This workshop is intended for educators with students in Grades 6-12. This series will help attendees improve understanding of ADHD, executive functioning difficulties, and mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger, apathy, substance abuse). Learning how these issues present in the classroom will allow us to correctly identify and appropriately support our students. Additionally, this workshop will focus on reviewing the best strategies for managing and supporting these difficulties. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions throughout and to discuss issues they experience in the classroom in an effort to receive tailored recommendations on how to best support student and staff.
Date: Thursday, July 27
Presenter: Vanessa LaBode-Richman, PhD
Target Audience: 6-12 Teachers
Location: Ed Center,3rd Floor Conference Room
Limited to 30 Participants
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Rosetta Lee
Location: Ed Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with Rosetta Lee
Location: Ed Center, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Workshop One
Workshop One
What I Said and What I Meant: Cross Cultural Communication
What I Said and What I Meant: Cross Cultural Communication
Humans communicate on many levels: spoken language, tone, body language, style and personality. The fact that we have complex cultural identities and a host of differing past experiences increases the probability of cross-cultural miscommunications. This workshop presents major cross-cultural communication theories, ways that cultural values, power, privilege and differences affect the way we communicate, tools for questioning assumptions, and ways to improve cross-cultural communications skills.
Workshop Two
Workshop Two
Navigating Microaggressions: Dialogue Tools for Ouch Moments
How do you navigate microaggressions - those words and actions that offend or hurt, even though they may be unintended? Learn some of the obstacles of authentic conversations, as well as practical strategies for what to do or say when you are the target of, witness to, and agents of microaggressions.
WorkshopThree
WorkshopThree
Safe to Brave: Courageous Conversations
Talking about topics like identity, difference, and oppression can raise anxiety for many people, and yet we must have the conversation in our schools and our lives in order to be more inclusive and culturally competent. What are the fears and common pitfalls that keep us from broaching topics like race, gender, class, etc.? What are ways we might engage more authentically, respectfully, and effectively across difference? Learn to participate in truly courageous conversations.
The workshops with Rosetta Lee are being offered in four combinations of workshops as described below.
Please read the dates and times for each option carefully before registering.
Combination One - 1 Full Day
Combination One - 1 Full Day
Workshop One: Wednesday, July 26 - 8:30-11:30 AM
Workshop Two: Wednesday, July 26 - 12:30-3:30 PM
Combination Two - 2 Half Days
Combination Two - 2 Half Days
Workshop One: Wednesday, July 26 - 8:30-11:30 AM
Workshop Two: Thursday, July 27 - 8:30 - 11:30 AM
Combination Three - 2 Half Days
Combination Three - 2 Half Days
Workshop Two: Wednesday, July 26 - 12:30 - 3:30 PM
Workshop Three: Thursday, July 27 -12:30- 3:30 PM
Combination Four - 1 Full Day
Combination Four - 1 Full Day
Workshop Two: Thursday, July 27 - 8:30 - 11:30 AM
Workshop Three: Thursday, July 27 -12:30- 3:30 PM
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