Professional Development - Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (2024)

With the recently implemented 4-day school week, the district is utilizing the working Fridays (two per month) for Professional Development, Building and PLC time. Quality teaching impacts student success. Therefore, professional development is essential to ensure that every teacher has the opportunity to receive high-quality professional development and in turn every child has the opportunity to receive quality teaching. Professional development provides teachers with the support that they need to enhance their teaching and increase student learning.

Sweetwater#1 provides a variety of professional development choices for teachers to choose. If the training is during "off-contract" times, the teachers are compensated $40 per hour to attend. Based on teacher interest survey results, we provide evening trainings as well as summer professional development opportunities. We embrace the "trainer-of-trainers" model and have many local experts who are willing to train our staff. We also bring in top national consultants to further learning.

Coming Soon: 2024-2025 Professional Development Calendar

Sweetwater#1 June 2024 Summer Academy Sessions:

District PD Calendar 2023-2024

Sweetwater#1 PD Sessions for Winter & Summer Academies:

• Beyond Textbooks
• ACT Prep
• Classroom Management
• STEAM
• Implementing Computer Science Standards
• Co-Teaching
• Don't Ever Stop-- Leadership Training for Principals
• Don't Ever Stop-- Personalized Mastery
• Digital Data Notebooks
• Creating in Canva
• Technology: Ask Me Anything
• All Things Google
• Coding for Elementary
• Wellness Workshops
• Youth Mental Health
• Sources of Strength
• Canvas Mastery Paths
• WYTOPP Authoring Tool
• PBIS
• Mental Health
• MANDT
• Sheltered Instruction
• Whole Brain Learning
• CyberSecurity
• Using Reading Horizons Effectively
• Trista Stamness: Reading (K-12) Powerful Strategies, Leveraging, Building Strong Readers,
• Jeff Wilhelm: Reading (Middle and Upper Grades)
• Reading Strategies for Elementary
• Reading Strategies for Secondary
• Heggerty
• NewsELA
• SpringBoard
• Thinking Tools
• Apple TV
• Canvas for Beginners
• Canvas for Advanced Users
• Canvas Tips & Tricks
• Engage, Manage and Monitor
• STEM
• Symbaloo
• Spanish For Educators
• Team Teaching
• LETRS
• WDE Assessment Literacy
• Write Tools
• Finding Writing Success

Summer Academies: June 2023

District PD Calendar 2022-2023

Sweetwater#1 Year Round PD Sessions:

• Implementing Computer Science Standards
• WDE Canvas PD
• Wellness Workshop
• CyberSecurity
• Dave Weber: My Inbox is Full and I Can't Get Out, I'm Not Stressed Out, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Overcoming Life's Goliath's
• Reading Strategies for Elementary
• Reading Strategies for Secondary
• Apple TV
• Canvas for Beginners
• Canvas for Advanced Users
• Canvas Tips & Tricks
• STEM
• Team Teaching
• LETRS
• WDE Assessment Literacy

Summer Academies 2022

Summer Academies are professional development offered during the summer for all teachers. Teachers can pick and choose what they would like to learn about. The trainers include cutting-edge national experts as well as local state and district professionals. Offerings are determined by the Staff Needs Assessment. All sessions are surveyed and results/feedback is shared with presenters and district staff. The teachers are compensated $40 per hour to attend. All academies include planning time so teachers can implement new skills and knowledge into their classrooms. Summer 2022 offerings include:

Below is a list of Sweetwater #1 Summer Academies. Summer Academies are professional development offered during the summer for all teachers. Teachers can pick and choose what they would like to learn about. The trainers include cutting-edge national experts as well as local state and district professionals. All sessions are surveyed and results/feedback is shared with presenters and district staff. The teachers are compensated $35 per hour to attend. All academies include planning time so teachers can implement new skills and knowledge into their classrooms. Offerings include:

• Strategies to Implement a 4-Day Week Effectively: Boulders and Butterflies
• Differentiated Instruction (Eliza Thomas)
• Spanish for Educators
• Gizmos: STEM Training
• Write Tools (Carolyn Simmons)
• Technology (Using Wacom)
• Supporting Traumatized Students
• IXL Effective Implementation
• Canvas Tips and Tricks
• Gizmos: Teaching Scientific Inquiry
• Making PBIS Come Alive
• Using Data to Drive Instruction
• Creating Emotionally Safe Classrooms
• Yoga for Students
• Yoga for Adults
• Teaching Science with the 5E Model
• Snap and Read & CoWriter
• Open Educational Resources
• Team Teaching Strategies
• Leveraging Literacy at the Secondary Level
• Canvas for Elementary Students
• Technology: SWIVL
• Advanced Canvas Topics (WDE)
• Using Visualizer
• Foundational Skills of Reading
• Apple Classroom
• Lifting the Standard within ReadyGEN
• Creating a literate environment
• Blended Learning (Weston Kieschnick)

Implementation of Curriculum and PLC Trainings

• August 12: K-6 staff received a half-day training on new Social Emotional Counseling resources that were adopted. The second half of the day focused on Professional Learning. 7-12 staff had Building PD focusing on Professional Learning.
• August 13: K-5 staff received half-day Building PD focusing on Professional Learning Communities. 6-12 staff received half-day Departmental meetings focusing on Professional Learning Communities. All staff received a half-day training on the new staff Evaluation System.
• August 14: 7-12 staff received a half-day training on new Social Emotional Counseling resources that were adopted. K-5 staff had half-day Building PD focusing on Professional Learning.
• October 16: All certified staff receives a 2 hour PD on Leveraging blended & Personalized Learning. Additional 5 hours will be completed on own time with a stipend paid upon completion of training.
• December 22: Building PD focusing on Professional Learning Communities.
• March 5: Building PD focusing on Professional Learning Communities.
• May 21: Building PD focusing on Professional Learning Communities.

PBIS Training

• September 23: PBIS Training
• October 6: PBIS Training
• October 20: PBIS Training
• November 4: PBIS Training
• November 15: PBIS Training
• December 8: PBIS Training
• January 12: PBIS Training
• January 26: PBIS Training
• February 9: PBIS Training
• 2020-2021: MANDT and STAR and Links training dates are to be determine., Additional trainings will occur based on need and requirements from the state.

Technology Trainings

• Canvas On-Demand Trainings
• Teaching Science Virtually
• Technology Rock Stars
  • SWIVL
  • Google Classrooms
  • Canvas
  • PlanBook
  • One to One Technology Support
  • Canva
  • Jamboard
  • IXL
  • Zearn

Other Trainings

• Acadience Training
  • Progress Monitoring
• SWIS Support
• EL Training
• Title I Trainings
• Primary Resource Implementation Strategies

Continuous improvement in schools is complex and challenging; it cannot be done without strong instructional leadership. The Sweetwater County School District Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Department is pleased to announce that this year, we have a team of Technology Teacher Leaders (Rockstars). This team is designed to showcase technological leaders across our district and support colleagues in virtual instructional practice. The Rockstar team has created ‘on-demand’ videos to support their colleagues with new technology, new technological practices, and instructional ideas. They will be providing a variety of Professional Development opportunities and Q & A Session throughout the year.

Technology Rock Star Webpage

Unified Classroom Training: Grading and Assessment Basics

Professional development trainings for certified staff focused on supporting learners new to both Unified Classroom and PowerTeacher Pro. Teachers were introduced on how to use PowerSchool's integrated solution for managing the classroom. Specifically, in the Grading components, becoming familiar with Unified Classroom navigation and how the solution tools provide information about student

needs and progress. Thus, allowing staff to view student information quickly and engage students in activities that extend the instructional day. Additionally, staff learned how to create categories and assignments, use grading features, such as entering grades and calculating term success, in addition, to viewing ways to improve school-home communication.

Finally, staff learned to use Unified Classroom Assessment to work with assessment items, features, and create an assignment for the assessment, proctor the assessment, and review the results.

Professional Learning Communities: Cohort II

Ongoing PLC professional development with new teacher began during the 2019-2020 school year. In the training, a new group of teachers, principals and district staff are training on the similar goals of last year (Cohort I-see below).

Professional Learning Communities: Cohort I

Update: Ongoing training will continue during the 2019-2020 school year. This will be ongoing, advanced PLC training.

In alignment with the District Strategic Plan to nurture a positive learning climate and culture, all schools are attending training and implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLC) within the district. Three training sessions will be held throughout the academic year with the first occurring on September 10-11, 2018. During this time, academic directors and coordinators, administrators and teachers learned the components of the PLC process. The architects of the PLC process, Richard DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Rebecca DuFour designed the PLC process around three big ideas and four critical questions that placed learning, collaboration and results at the forefront of education. Sweetwater School District Number One is committed to the PLC process and sustains the three big ideas.

1. A focus on learning: teachers focus on learning as the fundamental purpose of the school rather than on teaching as the fundamental purpose.
2. A collaborative culture: Teachers work together in teams interdependently to achieve a common goal or goals for which members are mutually accountable.
3. A results orientation: Team members are constantly seeking evidence of the results they desire – high levels of student learning.

Session two of the training will occur on January 14-15 and Session three will occur on May 6-7, 2018. Each training will focus on four critical questions (DuFour et al., 2016)

1. What do we want all students to know and be able to do?
2. How will we know if students learn it?
3. How will we respond when some students do not learn?
4. How will we extend the learning for students who are already proficient?

Sweetwater County School District #1 will nurture a positive learning climate and culture.

Ongoing Professional Development for 4th, 6th-12th Grade Science Teachers

During the 2019-2020 school year, we continued on with the professional development with all 6th - 12th grade science teachers and we added in training for all 4th grade teachers with the same type of training but with a focus on place-based education. The place-based encourages elementary teachers to connect science learning with the community. Training dates this year are in September, October, January and February. Consultants are available to provide feedback on lesson plans throughout the year.

Ongoing Professional Development for 6-12 Science Teachers

Scientists from theScience and Mathematics Teaching CenterUniversity ofWyomingare providing professional development for 6^th -12^th grade science teachers in SCSD#1. With the new expectations for studentlearning in the Wyoming science standards, teachers are challenged to consider different teaching strategies when addressing these standards. Using ideas from the training, science teachers are learning how to use the "Model of the Three Dimensions of Science Learning”(model link)when designing lessons around phenomena. The three dimensions areDisciplinaryCore Ideas, Cross Cutting Concepts, Scientific and Engineering Practices. This model helps guide teachers in how to use the three dimensions and how they interact during lesson development.

Phenomena and story lines were also investigated by teachers. Our teachers explored the phenomena of red sunsets using jars of water, milk, flashlight, red laser pointers and green laser pointers. The teachers documented their initial understanding by drawing a model on paper. After investigating, they had the opportunity to update their additional learnings on their models. Brainstorming foradditionalphenomena ideas andstory lines were part of thetraining. When choosing phenomenon to integrate into units, teachers should consider the criteria of relevance, the complexity and the context.

Teachers planned lessons and will be implementing the lessons in the classrooms before the next meeting date. The lessons are designed around phenomena and story lines. The teachers will bring back an artifact and classroom experiences for the next training date. Additional training dates are in December, February and March.

English Language Arts Training

Kindergarten and fifth grade teachers are meeting during the 2019-2020 school year to further training on English Language Arts.Training targets include:

• Examining the district ELA data, grade level and school data on WY-TOPP
• Identifying standards that students had met and not met in relation to WY-TOPP performance
• Sharing successes and notable practices impacting performance (Strong PLC’s, use of ReadyGEN, and alignment to curriculum maps, use of ReadyGEN assessments, use of WY-TOPP modular as pre/posttest to select strategy groups, writing in an online format, and the importance of using Hattie’s research to guide instructional practices)
• Setting goals
• Reconnecting with ReadyGEN resources and such as the Scaffolded Strategy handbook and Intervention handbook
• Planning time with their PLC to examine data and make instructional decisions

Kindergarten Trainings: September 11, November 4, February 4,

Fifth Grade Trainings: September 10, November 5, February 3,

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English Language Arts Training

Second and third grade teachers met on October 15^th and 16^th, 2018 to continue training on English Language Arts. During this time-frame teachers were reminded of the research and importance of reaching proficiency in reading by 3^rd grade. They participated in the following:

• Examining the district ELA data, grade level and school data on WY-TOPP
• Identifying standards that students had met and not met in relation to WY-TOPP performance
• Sharing successes and notable practices impacting performance (Strong PLC’s, use of ReadyGEN, and alignment to curriculum maps, use of ReadyGEN assessments, use of WY-TOPP modular as pre/posttest to select strategy groups, writing in an online format, and the importance of using Hattie’s research to guide instructional practices)
• Setting goals
• Reconnecting with ReadyGEN resources and such as the Scaffolded Strategy handbook and Intervention handbook
• Planning time with their PLC to examine data and make instructional decisions
• In addition, we celebrated the District ELA performance at 3^rd grade ranking above the state average

Continued trainings will occur:

Second Grade: January 21^st, February 19^th, and April 9^th

Third Grade: January 22^nd, February 20^th, and April 10^th