Professional Development Archives - Page 3 of 3

Elementary Adaptive Art Planning and Professional Development

Elementary schools with a citywide program will offer adaptive art in the 2024-25 school year. Visual Art teachers and Occupational Therapists require summer professional development and consultation to prepare for the launch of this initiative. The summer curriculum writing and professional development will include the Bowen art teacher sharing the work documented during the pilot and the adaptations created by the Cabot visual art teacher where no adaptive art experience occurred. Liz Loya is a consultant from CAST with expertise in Universal Design for Learning and adaptive art She will assist the art teachers and OTs design approaches for implementing an adaptive art program that will meet the needs of diverse learners.

Applicant: Richard King

Schools: Elementary

Date Approved: Spring 2024

Amount: $5,650

Psychology Department Book Study

Psychologists will continue our goal of reducing bias in assessment & counseling by reading over the summer and meeting in the fall to discuss and apply learnings in order to design more inclusive comprehensive evaluation and counseling processes. Earlier this year we read Systemic Racism and Educational Measurement: Confronting Injustice in Testing, Assessment, and Beyond, and met with the author for discussion. This led to additional thoughtful departmental discussions about bias in psychological assessments, and allowed us to review our practices and to collaborate on best practices for inclusive, comprehensive assessment and counseling practices which creates more educational equity for all students. We want to continue this work.

Applicant: Jordanna L'Esperance & Toni-Marie Kelly

Schools: District Wide

Date Approved: Spring 2024

Amount: 1,000

Digital Citizenship Tech Cards and Literature

We request culturally diverse picture books to address digital citizenship/wellness & online safety. We will select 2 books/grade level & visit classes. We will create grade level digital citizenship conversation cards for teachers to use weekly. This project closely aligns with NSF's strategic goals of innovative classroom approaches and equitable education. By introducing digital citizenship concepts consistently across grade levels through discussion cards and engaging picture books, we are trying a new approach to empower teachers to confidently discuss these vital topics, contributing to the professional growth of Newton educators and the social emotional growth and digital wellness of all elementary students.

Applicant: Donna Busa

Schools: Elementary

Date Approved: Spring 2024

Amount: $4,000

Futuring: Developing the Next Strategic Plan for the Newton Public Schools

After a 4-part session to develop a Profile of a Newton Graduate, the district and stakeholder groups will work to develop a 3-5 year strategic plan for the district. The entire school community would be affected and enhanced by a new strategic plan, but we aspire to 50 community members participating in the stakenolder engagement part of strategic planning.

Applicant: Anna Nolin

Schools: District Wide

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $16,800

Professional Development and Alignment in Anti-Biased, Culturally Responsive Assessment for Psychologists

Book study of Systemic Racism and Educational Measurement Confronting Injustice in Testing, Assessment, and Beyond, by Dr. Michael Russell, culminating in meeting with the author in the spring and application of what is learned in future years. Over the course of the spring of 2024 and the 2024-25 school year, the psychologists will read Dr. Russell’s book, participate in book groups designed to apply the learning to their own work, and will discuss as a department additional measures, statements, and methods to be added or changed in order to reduce the inherent systemic and build-in bias in assessment. The department will invite Dr. Russell to join for some part of the discussion.

Applicant: Laurie Paul, Jordanna L’Esperance, Toni-Marie Kelly

Schools: District Wide

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $4,037

Social Emotional Learning & Promoting Equity

SEL implementation through teaching specific strategies and tools to facilitate equity of learning. Utilizing the different trainings I have received, I am developing new models to implement SEL. In 30 minute daily lessons, I will teach the Zones of Regulation paired with a book and a calming tool. Each student will develop an individual toolbox to identify their feelings and strategies that have been model in lessons/books. This will help maintain regulation and increase resilience. When all students persevere through academic challenges this creates equity among students.

Applicant: Jennifer Mead

Schools: Peirce

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $550

Teachers As Scholars

Teachers participate in small, 2 day seminars led by university staff in the arts, humanities, math, and science, and are thus reconnected to the world of scholarship. Participants will explore a niche area of content …

Teachers As Scholars

Applicant: Dani Johnson

Schools: NNHS

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $3,375

NPS Mental Health Summit

We held a district-wide Summit on 10/17, which was well-received. Feedback was so strong that we are looking to provide another SEL Summit in Spring 2024 based upon the significant and consistent needs of both students and staff. During a particularly tough landscape with ongoing contract negotiations and work stoppage, over 100 (that’s almost 90%) mental health professionals attended the Summit. The feedback received was they wanted to come for their own development professionally but also their own emotional health. Post-pandemic support has been very hard on our providers.

Applicant: Casey Ngo-Miller

Schools: Districtwide

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $6,000

Supporting the Development of Executive Functioning Skills

We’d like to partner with Cognitive Connections to have a school-wide PD for all educators to learn about strategies to support executive functioning skill development, including Get Ready, Do, Done (GRDD). By receiving professional development around executive functioning strategies like Get Ready Do Done (GRDD), Angier educators will be able to expand their practice and better support ALL students, in particular those with executive functioning challenges and/or language-based learning disabilities

Applicant: Orla Higgins Averill

Schools: Angier

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $1,500

Williams School and Newton South Student Affinity Space

Newton South students will work with Cierra Brown, a former Williams Student and Harvard student to run an affinity space / cultural activities for Black/African-American and Latinx students at Williams School. Led by Cierra Brown, and supervised by Monica Matrisciano and Katani Sumner, Legacy Scholars at South will go to Williams once a month and engage in cultural activities with Black/African-American and LatinX students at Williams Elementary School.

Applicant: Monica Matrisciano and Katani Sumner

Schools: Williams and South

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $2,900

Diversifying the 6th Grade Novel Study Unit

A committee of MS ELA teachers, literacy specialists, library teachers, and a member of the DEI department, will revise and update the current 6th grade novel study unit to center around a text that is engaging, culturally responsive, and rigorous. Bringing a new novel study into 6th grade classrooms reflects innovation by incorporating a text that would be more engaging and culturally responsive. Creating curriculum as a grade level is excellent, job-embedded professional development, supporting collaboration and professional learning in a meaningful context. It also promotes equity in the sense of ensuring that all 6th grade students have a common reading experience and are held to common expectations across buildings.

Applicant: Joelle Pederson

Schools: Middle School

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $7,189.20

Choose Your Own Adventure: Districtwide K-8 Literacy Professional Development Opportunities

Applicant: Deana Lew and Joelle Pedersen

Schools: K-8

Date Approved: Fall 2023

Amount: $17,726.98