Participants will work with grade and content level teams in these professional learning sessions to further understand the district’s focus areas.
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In Action - Paraeducator Strategies for Learning and Engagment: session objectives https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XtUZUQyUWomIZhQjWy5KFYJ2QxIpM7nPTT_lfiNcHIY/edit?tab=t.0
Equitable Classrooms and Arts Integration: By engaging with current research on equitable classrooms and arts integration, teachers will identify action steps to implement equity focused curricular methodology and best practices for relevant and meaningful high quality arts integration teaching and learning experiences, based on CREC's Right Work framework.
PE and Health: During this professional development teachers will have the opportunity to work with outside agencies related to best practices on drug education and creating safe and welcoming environments for all students.
Literacy How - Comprehension: Comprehension can’t wait for beginning readers to master decoding. Instruction that focuses on a variety of language processing abilities needs to occur concurrently with code-breaking instruction. Five big ideas shape our focus on reading comprehension instruction: text structure, background knowledge, text cohesion, inference, and the reading/writing connection. Each big idea emphasizes the development of students’ ability to understand text.
AI Updates + Collaborative Work: Continue to support teacher use of Google AI tools. - Understand new capabilities in Google NotebookLM and Gemini. - Identify age-appropriate and content-appropriate use cases for student learning. Participants will collaborate to develop integration plans for AI tools in their courses and planning.
Stronger Together: Families, Culture, and Climate in Our Magnet School Community: Objective is to examine how school culture and climate impact family trust, participation, and student outcomes. Goal is to enhance school culture and climate by fostering inclusive, respectful, and culturally responsive relationships with families.
Connecting curriculum, instruction and assessment with CREC's Portrait of a Learner: 1. Review Portrait of a Learner competencies 2. Review elements of High Quality Instruction in current instruction 3. Connecting POL and HQI to relevant best practice 4. Planning for Q3 and Q4 curriculum, instruction and assessments
Secondary Science Instructional Excellence: "During this session, our focus will be on: *Understanding the needs of our identified and non-identified students. *Improving standards-aligned assessments *Connecting Math and Science"
Secondary Social Studies Professional Learning: "The Session Objectives are: * Learn and apply specific reading strategies to support students of various abilities in their comprehension of Social Studies content. * Middle School: Analyze Smarter Balance Research IAB Data and develop questions for practice. * High School: Understand how to use the 5 E’s for Social Studies Planning and facilitate teaching opportunities with middle school students. * Participate in Teacher Showcase and Curriculum Workshops, to collaboratively share and develop model instructional practices."
Secondary Mathematics: "Session Goal: To equip teachers with the skills and collaborative structures needed to use data effectively, personalize instruction through small groups, critically evaluate the role of AI in student learning, and align curriculum implementation across subject areas. Objectives: Teachers will... 1) analyze data, 2) plan for small group instruction 3) use AI from a student's perspective 4) discuss curriculum and assessment with others that teach the same grade or subject."
K - 5 Elementary Classroom Teachers Professional Learning: "Overarching Session Goal To provide educators with dedicated, collaborative workspace to translate district priorities into actionable classroom resources, fostering data-driven instruction and instructional coherence across grade levels. Core Learning Outcomes By the end of this session, participants will have engaged in one or more of the following: 1) Analyzing classroom level data and using the data to plan using unit unpacking and small group instructional routines and procedures. 2) Collaborate with team members to eliminate instructional silos and align pacing and materials. 3) Analyzing classroom Block Assessment data to plan instruction around improving outcomes for students on the SBA assessment. 4) Review learning targets, organize and prepare materials necessary for effective instruction and to provide consistent student experiences. 5) Become more knowledgeable about current best practices in teaching in order to apply new learning to planning and instruction."
AM: CREC's Right Work - Portrait of a Learner, High Quality Instruction, Centering Learners PM: Math and Assistive Technology session rotation - A continuation of the work from the Nov. 4th professional learning where we will take a deeper look at the practical application of the POL/HQI/CL framework in our classrooms.
Work Session for Art Teachers: Teachers will continue to work on various curriculums related to the work that they have been doing in previous PDs, as well as finalizing the work for the art show.
CSTAGG Refresher and Crisis Response Management: CSTAGG Refresher for Schools, and Crisis Management Response
Library Media Specialist PD: MySchoolBucks training; Department updates; AI current practices
Linguistic Supports for ML Students: To strengthen high-quality, equitable instruction for multilingual learners by leveraging ML teachers’ expertise and collaboratively identifying effective linguistic supports that can be implemented across content areas.
Education Resource Inc-Therapies in the School 25th Annual Conference Webinar Series: Education Resource Inc-Therapies in the School 25th Annual Conference Webinar Series
Becoming familiar with the updated CT ELDS and NAEYC re-accreditation: "By the end of this professional learning session, CREC educators will be able to: 1. Describe the purpose, structure, and key shifts of the new NAEYC Accreditation System, with particular attention to its emphasis on developmentally appropriate practice, equity, continuous quality improvement and play-based learning. 2. Identify the major domains and learning progressions within the updated Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) and explain how they support play-based learning across early childhood settings. 3. Use existing Learning Experience Plan to intentionally design a play-based learning experience that reflects ELDS domains, supports child-led exploration, and aligns with NAEYC expectations for intentional teaching and responsive practice. 4. Reflect on current classroom practices and identify concrete next steps for strengthening play-based learning through planning, documentation, and continuous improvement. 5. Use existing Peek at the Week template to post weekly plans that reflects ELDS domains, supports child-led exploration, and aligns with NAEYC expectations for intentional teaching and responsive practice. 6. Determine and address environmental classroom needs that align with accreditation expectations.
Supporting Positive School Climate
AI Updates + Collaborative Work: "Continue to support teacher use of Google AI tools. Prepare teachers to guide students in using NotebookLM appropriately. - Understand new capabilities in Google NotebookLM and Gemini. - Identify age-appropriate and content-appropriate use cases for student learning. Participants will collaborate to develop integration plans for AI tools in their courses and planning."
Transition Planning for Secondary Sped. Teachers: "Strengthen teachers’ ability to design meaningful postsecondary transition plans that reflect students’ strengths, interests, and needs. Promote collaboration across schools at the same grade level to share best practices and problem-solve common challenges. Enhance school-based team coherence so transition planning is consistent, intentional, and sustainable within each building. Increase teacher confidence in leading transition conversations with students, families, and outside agencies."
SLP District Wide PD: No required pre-work. SLPs play a central role in the screening, assessment, and treatment of persons with EF deficits and are uniquely qualified to identify EF deficits among other related comorbidities. The professional roles and activities in speech-language pathology include clinical/educational services (diagnosis, assessment, planning, and treatment); prevention and education.
Grading, SPED and instructional tasks: "Prework- 1. teachers bring an assessment and rubric or task you would like to work on differentiating. 2. Bring a task that requires deeper learning or critical thinking. Goal and objectives - teachers will work together and norm around tasks that require deeper learning or critical thinking as well as work with the SPED dept. lead Ms Tatasciore to work on differentiation and how to best serve our students."