Southeast Allegheny News

Approximately 700 educators spent Monday at Woodland Hills High School as they participated in a day of professional development sponsored by the Consortium for Public Education.

The event included peer-to-peer breakout sessions led by teachers and staff, including several sessions where Woodland Hills staff shared tools, programs, services, strategies and other tips they've learned as educators.

The multi-district event also featured Clairton, East Allegheny, Penn Hills, Steel Valley and Wilkinsburg School Districts.

The day featured keynote speakers, a superintendent's summit, and networking. But the bulk of the morning was devoted to two windows of breakout sessions. Educators had 48 sessions to choose from, each led by educators or community partners like WQED and the Allegheny Land Trust.

Woodland Hills staff tapped their expertise on various topics, including a session dedicated to the annual Student Summit, keys to implementing Vex Robotics in the curriculum, tips on creating restorative justice circles, and much more.

Check out the full list of sessions led by Woodland Hills staff as well as some photos from the sessions.

• Margie Rehm and Sarah King presented "Co-Teaching Dos and Don'ts and How It All Works," which showcased how teachers can team up to teach classes to provide their students with additional instruction and attention.
• A team featuring Jami Heffley, Jenah Muhammad, Marty Sharp, Leah Kelly and Allison Borts presented "Restorative Justice," which demonstrated how teachers can set up various types of restorative justice circles, some tips on implementation, and shared some of the results the team has seen by utilizing the circles in their classrooms.
• Joanne Krett shared "Writing an Effective Letter of Recommendation," which included best practices for teachers who need to write letters of recommendation for colleagues and students. Letters of recommendation are an especially critical part of the college application process, and an effective letter can be a boost for a student's admissions application or scholarship application.
• Tamika McGee and Kristine Conley presented "Implementing the Peer Coaching Model", which shared how teachers can evaluate and help their peers improve their techniques and methods in the classroom.
• Erik Meredith and Alicia Cole presented "STEAM and Maker Integration in the Classroom," which focused on how teachers can use easy to obtain materials to implement STEM concepts in their curriculum.
• Raymond Milligan and Jaison Passcuzi shared "Beekeeping and Pollination Plants," which detailed how beekeeping has a correlation to STEM concepts and can open the doors for students to grasp various concepts related to biology and zoology.
• Sue Lewis and Jessica Stover presented "Tech and the Library," which shared how they use snap circuits and bee bots to teach STEAM concepts in their library classes
• Tina Dietrich and Joyce Gratton presented "Vex GO Robotics," which detailed resources available in the Vex GO Robotics Curriculum.
• Desiree White-Price presented "Vex 123," which details the introductory Vex Robotics course materials and how teachers can implement it into math and reading classes.
• Kevin McGuire presented "Library Resources For All," which included information on the district's pioneering Library Cards For All program.
• Andrea Sisk, Alicia Scaramuzzo and Jacob Krupitzer presented "Supporting LGBTQ Youth," which offered advice and best practices on how to navigate inclusive terminology and concepts in education.
• Lisa Silverman presented "Creating Equitable Classrooms in a Divided America," which detailed the history of culture wars in education and resources available to help create equitable classrooms.
• Erin Wall and David Brown shared "Creating a Student-led Summit," which detailed how the district's annual Student Summit was formed, its growth, and what the organizers have learned from the process.
• Dan Schuller and Heather McKenna presented "PA Birds - Introduction to Birding," which offered insight into utilizing basic birding activities in order to expand how students explore science, reading, writing and even math.
• Lauren Baier and Lisa McClinchie shared "Project Based Learning," which served as a workshop for educators to explore new ideas to keep their classes engaging and collaborative for their students.
• Kellie Irwin and Danielle Zurisko presented "Grieving Children in the Classroom," which provided tips, supports and resources available for educators to address grief and loss.

Original source can be found here.