School year 2009 –2010 is drawing to a close and now is the time to plan your summer of FEA Professional Development activities. Please note that we have new curriculum strands this summer available at the regional institutes.
The PD Regional Institute curriculum is designed to build cadres of highly skilled trainers in a variety of content areas as well as expose participants to essential skills and content to succeed in this new era. The Institutes begin on June 14 with the Western Regional in Panama City and continue through August 6, 2010 with a Southern Regional in Palm Beach. There are a total of five regional institutes this summer. Courses and dates vary; click below to see course descriptions and the specific dates each course is offered.
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Acting Up in April!
Like spring flowers, professional development activities are popping up everywhere. After such a cold, dark winter, it is a joy to feel the sunshine, see new life and dig into fresh ways to grow. Despite the difficult political environment, we believe Florida’s determined educators will respond, strengthen, survive, and thrive.
This issue offers new ways of learning and teaching. The first article describes the latest FEA PD adventure – the launching of our own online PD program later this spring. Professional development, either online or face-to-face, is an ideal way to reach out to educators on professional issues. The second article highlights the United Teachers of Dade’s efforts to help members and potential members meet in-service certification requirements. UTD’s efforts have produced positive results: more and involved members, increased content and pedagogical knowledge and skill, and recognition of the union as a provider of quality professional development. The third article highlights the stepped up developments in the English Language Learners course. The ELL content is now rich, deep and designed to meet Florida’s ESOL required standards. The short articles at the bottom offer great opportunities, too. Click on the links to access information on the upcoming FEA Spring PD Conference, Meeting the Standards for Paraprofessional trainings, and the upcoming Regional Summer Institutes. We hope these articles pique your interest and cultivate ideas about your own learning.
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March On!
Brrr! February was certainly cold in Florida and many of the other 49 states. Nevertheless, we know things are heating up in your schools and worksites during the final days before FCAT. March promises to be intense and fiery.
In this edition we spotlight leadership and collegiality. The lead story features two hot leadership conferences and the association members who gave their valuable time to learn worthwhile skills to build themselves, their unions and the education profession. The second article offers concise information on Professional Learning Communities and Lesson Study Groups, two collegial structures devoted to advancing student understanding. The informational brochures are “hot off the press”. This issue also features an article on highly effective math strategies by Roger Alcock, a master Thinking Math I, II, and III trainer, recently retired from Lake County Schools. We hope you warm up to these techniques and find them useful in your Pre-K to 12th grade classrooms.
Legislative actions and education policy decisions also promise to include heated debate about the best way to use limited financial resources to advance the full well-being of the children we serve. Please reach out to your legislators through the links listed in short article at the bottom of the newsletter. When you share your enthusiasm and passion for children and public education, you will Make Our Schools a Priority and fire up lawmakers to consider the impact of their actions before they vote.
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Happy New Year to all our readers! We begin this year focused on the new challenges issued to the education community. Raise student achievement through research-based, data-driven decision making at all levels. We are being asked to be more scientific, more diagnostic in our approach to delivering instruction. Education employees including teachers, administrators, and support staff are being asked to help the United States maintain and in some instances regain its global competitive edge. The work is difficult. The budgets are tight. The gaps are narrowing, but still wide. The challenges are many, but our educational professionals are up to the task. Every time they are asked to deliver, they do so with passion, creativity and incredible energy. Despite the new rules and requirements for teachers, they always manage to keep learning fun and school meaningful for students. This month, we focus on new mandates and how FEA can help in meeting them. There is no doubt our people will succeed. Read the rest of this entry »
The gift of reading is among the most powerful gifts we can give to those we love. In a world where more and more things have to be done online, reading has become the standard exchange currency for information. Reading is essential to economic independence and personal freedom as well as the ability to learn and acquire new skills as demands change over time. This month we feature FEA Reading Trainers throughout Florida who are helping teachers spread strategies for teaching reading. Books make great gifts at any time of year, and we have included some suggestions for books that will foster the love of reading in young people this season. Anything we do to strengthen reading skills and encourage the love and habit of reading constitutes a gift that keeps on giving and grows in value over time. Read the rest of this entry »
The beautiful autumn days bring to mind a fine film entitled October Sky. Set in the late 1950′s following the October launch of Sputnik, this movie tells “the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner’s son who took up rocketry against his father’s wishes, and eventually became a NASA scientist.” Homer’s high school science teacher plays a vital role in Homer’s success.
There are a many parallels between the Space Race era and our current 21st century reality. In both time periods, technology is the driver of change, education is viewed as both problem and solution to a necessary shift in thinking and action, science and mathematics are in high demand, students have a starring role and their teachers provide critical support, and the nation’s future depends on young peoples’ creative and innovative intellect. These parallels bring us to the articles in this month’s PD Newsletter. It appears to us that science, technology and mathematics are the crest of the next big education wave. We hope you find the articles on STEM, Thinking Math and Lesson Study useful and informative as you consider your own professional development.
We also hope you will take time to kick back with a big bowl of popcorn and enjoy October Sky, a truly affirming and inspiring film. Read the rest of this entry »
What responsibilities do we have to future generations? What are the things that we as adults, caregivers and educators need to do now to pass on the best possible set of circumstances to the next generation? The education we offer our children, both its form and content, are efforts to respond to these questions.
This issue highlights two education initiatives – the NEA English Language Learner course that builds understanding across cultures and the Sustainable Development initiative that draws students into critical thinking about their future.
Right now there is international consensus among scientists, experts and leaders that Florida is experiencing environmental degradation with dangerous impacts. We think it important to include instruction that builds the global community and supports conservation of natural resources, sustainability and the preservation of our state and the one planet we all inhabit. Read the rest of this entry »
By now you are settling into the new school year. The first weeks of school are so very important. We know it takes your full attention and focus to create optimal learning opportunities for Florida’s students and provide safe, orderly and healthy environments for them.
The FEA Professional Development team is here for you. We manage a variety of outstanding PD courses designed to enhance your knowledge and skill. To make these courses more visible and accessible we are launching the FEA Professional Development calendar. The PD calendar will provide timely information about upcoming trainings by course title, location and date. View calendar Read the rest of this entry »
Florida Para’s Meet the Standard! The Polk Education Association (PEA), led by Marianne Capoziello, has helped more than 250 instructional paraprofessionals achieve the “highly qualified” requirement designated in No Child Left Behind and the recent Florida Differentiated Accountability (FLDA) legislation. FLDA has profound implications for all of Florida’s school personnel. PEA wanted to make sure their paras had multiple paths to meet the requirement. Working in conjunction with the Polk district administration, FEA and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), PEA organized classes using the Educational Research & Dissemination Meeting the Standards for Paraprofessionals (MSP) course to train and test paras on reading and math skills. To date, PEA has offered seven classes led by trainers from Pinellas, Putnam and Lake counties. Pinellas trainers include: Lynn Bartlett, Jana Maples, Wendy Paser, and Gloria Smith. Also facilitating training were Charley McClaren of FEA, Courtney Carter of Putnam and Linda Connor, Laura Sachs and Stacy Williams of Lake. This year, more than 90 paras met the high standard and learned the background knowledge necessary to be skillful instructors for Polk’s students. Read the rest of this entry »
Regional Trainings a Success! During the weeks of June 8-13 and June 15-19, locals in four regions sponsored effective and engaging face-to-face professional training. Approximately 220 educators, 50+ in each region, participated in AFT’s Educational Research & Dissemination (ER&D) courses, grant writing, and leadership skill training. Holding the trainings in conveniently located sites within geographic areas made professional development more affordable and accessible for local members.
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