Great PDS Opportunity
By:  David Larner, Prinicpal CCES 

This semester staff members at Towson PDS schools had a wonderful opportunity to take a graduate level class offered through the Towson Learning Network.  There were two classes offered, Integrating Literacy and Technology and Differentiated Instruction and Meaningful Application.  There were so many things about the courses that made taking one of them a smart choice.  The price (only $100!), the convenience (each class was offered at one of the HCPSS Towson PDS schools) and the topics were high on that list.  I enrolled in the Literacy and Technology class.  The class had about 15 students and we have all learned a great deal about new technologies and their role in teaching reading to digital natives.  The class has been appropriate for elementary, middle and high school teachers, as well as school administrators.  My hope is that this partnership will continue to offer these classes and more HCPSS teachers will have the chance to participate.

On Saturday May 1, 2010 I attended and presented at the Maryland Professional Development Conference at Morgan State University.  I, presented along with Arlene Harrison and Sharon Kramer from Central Office on the topic of the Brain Friendly Classroom to an audience of sixty.  The majority of the group were interns from around the state.  While sharing the information, we modeled some of the brain friendly strategies that help engage learners.  Two activities that particularly engaged the audience were the brain puzzle, used to discuss parts and functions of the brain, and lesson reflection Bingo, during which attendees could share a lesson they recently taught while a partner marked the brain friendly strategies used in the lesson on a Bingo card. We finished the presentation with a discussion of the implications for interns and school based staff members.  It was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to interact with interns, teachers, and mentors from around the state of Maryland.

Loyola ELED

“Procedures are the railroad tracks and content is the train”  -Rick Smith

Even the most effective instructional strategies will fail without the structures and routines that ensure a well-managed classroom.  In an effort to address this crucial area of teacher development, Bollman Bridge Elementary School contacted the Professional and Organizational Development Office about how they might collaborate to support interns, non-tenured, and tenured teachers.  The result was a well-attended and highly successful study group, which included staff from both of Loyola University’s PDS partners, Bollman Bridge and Atholton Elementary.  Participants each received Rick Smith’s book Conscious Classroom Management, around which the sessions were organized.  
Throughout five sessions, facilitated by Patty Otero and held at Bollman Bridge, interns, non-tenured, and tenured teachers explored a variety of topics around classroom management through discussion of both the text and accompanying video clips.  Session topics included creating a classroom community, classroom organization, rules and procedures, and consequences.  Between sessions participants had an opportunity to try new strategies and came to each meeting excited to celebrate successes. Teachers were anxious to problem-solve with other professionals when things may not have gone as planned.  The study group received rave reviews from participants, as stated in the comments below.

“I liked the matter of fact style of classroom management.  The book emphasized letting the consequences do the talking instead of the teacher.” –Allycia, Non-tenured Teacher

“I thought that the study group was extremely helpful, especially for new teachers. The information given was relative and easy to implement! Also hearing other ideas tossed around was really helpful!” –Corinne, First-year Teacher

 “I liked that the classroom management class offered new ideas to try.  Oftentimes we teachers use the same techniques and different ideas reach different students.  For example, I tried really connecting for 5 minutes a day with a child in my class.  Although this seems like such a simple idea, it really worked!  She demands far less attention during critical reading group time and is able to wait until a more appropriate time to ask questions.  Great technique that came from the class, simple yet effective.  Glad I took the class.  Great reminders about forgotten things to do as well as fresh ideas to try!”  –Alice, Tenured Teacher (Grade level change)

“The casual discussion format of this class was very helpful!  I enjoyed brainstorming ideas with other staff members and interns.  Thank you for providing this opportunity!  Well done!” –Tara, Tenured Teacher

    Early on in the film, Pay it Forward, social studies teacher, Eugene Simonet (as performed by Kevin Spacey) poses a provocative and empowering challenge to his students: “Think of an idea to change our world – and put it into ACTION!” Indeed, the prompt proves a captivating catalyst for all, not only triggering an unlikely chain of events on the silver screen, but also rousing a posse of pre-service elementary teachers (and me, their college professor) to respond to it as well. This past fall, as part of ELED 365: Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom, I introduced a new service learning/community-outreach project – one that promised to evolve over the course of the semester as we addressed Simonet’s challenge.
    In the spirit of paying it forward, I provided a mini-grant structure to the project, bankrolling our efforts with $50 from my own pocket for the team of soon-to-be teachers to use at their discretion, provided they develop and present informed proposals for all major decisions along the way. More of an investment than the money, of course, was the time we put toward this effort – caucusing weekly in class as we provided updates and set new goals to accomplish prior to the next class meeting. By mid-semester, the project had taken on a life of its own, providing more meaningful opportunities for constructivist learning and rich discussions of citizenship than any one of us might have imagined. In fact, the elementary PDS interns from TU/HCPSS were so enthused that they petitioned to continue the project, extending it well into the spring semester.
    Not until April 1, 2010, did we bring Simonet’s challenge to its successful conclusion – our efforts culminating in a special “April Fools” luncheon for the families of patients and hospital caregivers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. [As was evident by late October, heightened restrictions brought on by the “H1N1 crisis” would prohibit us from visiting with the patients themselves. As such, my students and I made necessary adjustments to reorient the nature of our earlier plans.] Our class developed an appreciation for the financial and emotional burdens that accompanies daily visits to and from any hospital to visit/care for a loved one. Wishing to ease these individuals’ loads, if only for the day, we capitalized upon connections at two local eateries – one a major fast-food chain, the other an independent restaurant – and were able to secure enough catering donations to provide a small, celebratory feast on-site at the hospital.

    Reservoir High School has and will continue to support new and non-tenured teachers through a cohesive and collaborative plan that focuses on their overall development as educational professionals.  The New Teacher committee, which was formed in accordance with the school improvement plan, consists of the Teacher Development Liaison (Rita Park), Coordinator of SIT workshops and staff meetings (Loretta Dospil-Farley), and the New Teacher Committee Chairperson (Matt Gresick).  This committee meets before the school year begins and plans the New Teacher Luncheon, New Teacher Meetings, Mentor/Mentee Meetings and mandatory School Improvement Team workshops for new teachers throughout the upcoming school year. Mentor teachers are all also selected for the incoming new teachers during the meeting based on content and grade level as well as the preliminary survey data completed annually by the staff.  The administration at Reservoir has consistently supported the growth of new and non-tenured teacher support programs.  Dr. Adrianne Kaufman, principal at Reservoir, attends many New Teacher functions, meetings, and celebrations as does the rest of the administration.  The dedication of the administration, committee members, and staff continue to contribute to the welcoming of new teachers and support of non-tenured teachers at Reservoir High School and continued to define it as one of the friendliest schools in the country.      

HCPSS Upcoming Dates to Know

June 24th                   

Summer Institute

Marriotts Ridge High School

August 17, 18, 19

New Teacher Orientation

Marriotts Ridge High School

Professional Development Schools Program
The Howard County Public School System
10910 Route 108, Ellicott City, MD 21042