In-House Professional Development

Engaging and Motivating Students in a Virtual Learning Space (A Virtual PD)

Grades 5- 8     Jul 9, 2020                               9:00AM-11:30 AM                  $109/person

Grades K- 4     Jul 16, 2020                             9:00AM-11:30 AM                  $109/person

Knowing how to engage students within a virtual learning environment while holding them accountable for learning can be a challenge. In this session, discover interactive strategies and engaging activities designed to motivate students in exploring, thinking deeply, making choices, and demonstrating their learning. Whether teaching students on-line or on land, this workshop will help you to prepare and plan for a fantastic start to the school year.

With a focus on literacy, this session is designed for teachers, literacy coaches, ELA supervisors, reading specialists, reading interventionists, curriculum coordinators, para-professionals, special education teachers, gifted and talented teachers, and enrichment teachers.

Bringing the Outside in : Nature in the Classroom

April 30, 2020                                                 8:30AM-2PM               $149/person              

Connect with nature during this workshop that will give you insight into the powerful impact the natural world can have on your elementary students.  Explore easy and inexpensive ways to bring the outdoors into your classroom.  Also, gain insights into keeping live animals - including invertebrates - in your classroom and how to use any outdoor space to inspire your students.

Play to Learn: Incorporating Play in the Classroom

March 26, 2020                                  8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person              

Explore the types of play and how they can benefit all learners in the elementary setting. Work with your fellow teachers to identify spaces and places to play in your daily routine and leave with an action plan to make your school a joyful place to learn.

High Quality PBL in 5 Steps

March 26, 2020                                  8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person              

Turn any unit into a PBL unit in five steps! We will walk through planning and assessing a PBL unit for any topic. Come with your own topic and together we'll transform it into a Project Based Learning unit.

The ABCs of STEAMaker Education

February 27, 2020                              8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person

                                                                        Activate learning
                                                                        Build new ideas
                                                                        Create exciting and engaging lessons 

For K-5 teachers, coaches, and educational leaders

Walk out of this workshop with new ideas and strategies to engage your students in meaningful learning.

• Finding the Best Fit for Learning: Ideals and Ideas for Differentiation

January 22, 2020                                     8:30AM-2PM                              $149/person              

Explore the why and how of finding the best fit for all students. Few people would consciously put themselves in awkward and uncomfortable shoes daily simply because those shoes fit someone else’s ideals. While most people can agree that creating differentiated avenues for learning are more important than comfy shoes, the numbers for actual implementation do not always support it. Therefore, this session will briefly explore the importance of this topic, examine general means of differentiating, and then brainstorm take home strategies to be used immediately in all subject areas and grade levels.

• Break Free: Avoiding Burn-out by Changing Your Relationship with Stress

January 22, 2020                                9:00AM – 11:30AM                $109/person

This interactive workshop is designed to provide participants with effective techniques to avoid burnout by changing their mindset around stress. Participants will engage in meaningful experiences that leave them feeling equipped and empowered to deal with daily stressors in the classroom and beyond. This workshop is all about YOU!! Activities include setting intentions and creating inevitable success, mindful breathing techniques, social emotional learning (S.E.L) activities and more.    

• Building a Growth Mindset Classroom

December 13, 2019                                     8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person

Increasingly seen as essential in order for students to adapt to an increasingly changing world, instilling growth mindsets in students increases in importance. From the research and work of Dr. Carol Dweck, we will explore the topic of Mindset, why it is important for students, and how we as educators can intentionally develop positive growth mindsets in our students starting in elementary and developing through high school. Workshop participants will distinguish between fixed and growth mindsets; be familiarized with the research; analyze their own mindset in different areas, and explore ways to apply mindset principles to classroom settings.

• How well is your RTI Implementation Working for You? Learn how to Make it Right

December 13, 2019                                  8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person

                  Participants will learn:

• The purpose and framework of RTI

• The meaning and differences between the 4 Purposes of Assessment and resources for each of the 3 tiers. (Universal Screener, Progress Monitoring, Diagnostic and Summative)

• Explore assessments for the purpose of an RTI implementation framework

• How to create, conduct, and audit for a solid core instructional program in ELA

• How to identify, develop and implement tools and resources that will ensure all students are receiving the instruction they need at all tiers

• How to determine if a school is a “healthy” place for its students

• How to use data in a problem-solving process (across Tiers 1,2, & 3) to determine appropriate instruction and intervention

• How to create effective problem-solving teams who work collaboratively across the tiers

• Engage in dialogue on the assessments necessary for a fool proof RTI Framework

Participants should bring data used in their current RTI program and a laptop/tablet if possible.

• English Language Learners: Meeting the Challenge

November 6, 2019                                    8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person

In this training, we will explore effective strategies for teaching English Language Learners and discuss the top questions that teachers of ELLs have.  In addition, participants will have an opportunity to submit their top 3 questions prior to the training.

• Co Teaching – Why and How?

November 6, 2019                                    8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person

For years you have heard about co-teaching and may have even participated in it. Are you still unsure about what it is supposed to look like and how it is supposed to function?  Would you like to increase your practice or that of instructors in your charge?  Come out and learn about the various co-teaching models and how to implement them.

• Standards Based Grading

October 25, 2019                                            8:30AM–2PM                         $149/person

If your school or district is considering the transition from a traditional grading system to Standards Based or Aligned Grading, this is the workshop for you!  In this practical "how to" workshop, we will briefly cover the research behind the standards based movement, but will spend most of our time tackling many of the major questions, challenges, and benefits to a standards based reporting system.  This workshop will seek to address:
- The steps to be taken prior to making the decision to move to a Standards Based System.
- The pit falls that administrators, teachers, and parents face when moving to a Standards Based Reporting system and how to plan for them.
- A review of helpful text resources to assist administrators and teachers in understanding Standards Based Grading.
- A review of various formats districts can take for report cards and rubrics
- Providing districts guidance on "next steps" when they get back to district on how to pace out and plan to transition to Standards Based Grading. 

• Dyslexia – Defined and Understood

October 25, 2019                                          8:30AM-2PM                          $149/person              

Researchers know more than ever before about identifying and planning appropriate interventions for students with Dyslexia.  This presentation reviews the most recent Dyslexia legislation and the primary impact it has on the development of foundational reading. We will define dyslexia, discuss how it is diagnosed and provide multisensory strategies to support teachers in assisting students.

• Diversity Training

August 26, 2019                                         8:30 AM – 11:30 AM                     $109/person

The demographic makeup of our students, schools, and communities are changing. You need to ensure that you, and your entire staff, are prepared to meet the needs of today. In our ever changing globally diverse society, the need for cultural diversity training is key. We have developed this insightful, engaging, and reflective training to assist you in meeting the needs of your staff and students. It also provides “stem to stern” legal coverage to assist and enhance your current Human Resource Team’s efforts to provide a safe, secure, and positive work environment.

This training meets the Equity Training Requirements set forth in N.J.A.C. 6A:7- 1.6.