The Driving Student Success (DSS) Dashboard Cohort is designed for leaders from our partner districts using EduTech's Dashboard Service and will consist of four modules, beginning on August 16th. It is ideally timed with the restart of accountability, as one underlying theme with accountability is that there is always room for improvement. Each session will provide professional learning and scenarios to help participants to understand how to dig into dashboard data and leverage it to inform decision making and uncover areas for improvement. There will also be an opportunity to collaborate with nearby/partner districts. The first session will be held in person. At that time, the group will decide if the cohort wishes to combine participants from GV & W-FL BOCES and meet virtually or in person.

Explore the overarching leadership theory based on the four obsessions of effective leaders.

October 12, 2023: Climate and Culture. We will take time to talk about important factors that we as leaders must consider when building, transitioning and maintaining the kind of climate and culture we want, one that optimizes the learning experiences we are able to provide to our students.

November 16, 2023: The Confrontation of Self. The session will provide time for self reflection and awareness to promote the growth and change in ourselves that will allow us to be the type of leaders our staff and students deserve.

January 25, 2024: Communication. Participants will analyze their own communication strengths and weaknesses while building a framework to move forward in their work with stronger strategic communication skills that will best serve staff, students and the school community.

March 28, 2024: Initiating, Managing and Leading Change. Time will be spent exploring how the four obsessions together serve us in moving our organization forward while examining the most powerful ways in which change can be brought about in both our staff and our organization as a whole.

Lunch Included

There are five significant strategies for multiplication and division of whole numbers laying the foundation for later number types. This session is a deep dive into those strategies highlighting what they are and how they work while providing classroom-ready resources to help you teach them.

Mr. SanGiovanni is also offering two more sessions, if you are interested in other mathematical fluency professional learning, please review those Frontline descriptions.

This cohort will focus on supporting K-12 English as New Language (ENL) teachers in the Genesee Valley region. The cohort will give teachers the opportunity to engage in learning and networking with other ENL professionals around best practices in ELL education. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in learning focused on topics that will be determined by the participants and the needs of the region. Lunch is on your own.

Instructional coaching has proven to be an effective strategy for personal teacher growth, increased student achievement, and individualized professional development. In this cohort, participants will collaborate with other coaches in the region to focus on improving our practice, sharing effective coaching strategies, and having collegial dialogue regarding the implementation of the cohort model. Participants can expect to collaborate and problem-solve, as well as explore the characteristics of the most effective coaches. Coaches will discuss high-impact teaching strategies and learn how to share these strategies with colleagues.

If you are a new instructional coach and have never been to the cohort meetings, you will need to take the 9/27/2023 prerequisite session. This is a separate registration link in Frontline.

The 2024 presidential election is approaching sooner than we realize, and you might find yourself engaging in political discussion more frequently with your students and colleagues. Maybe you always were? Are you struggling with divided political mindsets in your classroom? Finding it challenging to work with parents on hot-button issues? Join School Improvement for a ten-week book study to explore and discuss Learning to Depolarize by Kent Lenci. The text describes how teachers and administrators can prepare students for the partisan political world they are set to enter upon graduation. Through extensive research and experience in the classroom, Lenci offers strategies and practices to help students collaborate and converse across social and political divides. Topics addressed by this work include the causes and consequences of political polarization in our society, why schools must address the challenge head-on, bridge-building in the classroom, media literacy and social-emotional learning as tools for depolarization, and partnering with parents across the divide. Kent Lenci will kick off our book study with a synchronous meeting on 2/28/24. He will be one of our featured speakers at Genesee Valley BOCES, in the Fall of 2024, just before the presidential election as well!

Course Launch Date: February 28, 2024

Course Close Date: May 16, 2024

Format: Online Hybrid Book Study

Location: Zoom/Google Classroom

Registration Closes On: February 21, 2024

Join School Improvement for an eight-week book study to explore and discuss the text: Closing the Writing Gap, by Alex Quigley. Participants will explore the technical and practical aspects of how children learn to write and learn how a synthesis of research can maximize instructional shifts of practice. This book study will include intervaled reading and discussion sections to address key topics including: grammar, sentence-level composition, disciplinary writing, and practical strategies.

Participants can expect to participate in a virtual book study by reading, writing, and posting on the Schoology platform. A syllabus and a copy of the book will be provided to participants prior to the book study launch date. Assignments and discussions will be posted throughout the week. In order to receive credit, participants must complete all requirements. CTLE hours will be awarded based upon online participation and completion of course tasks.

Course Launch Date: Friday, March 1, 2024

Course Close Date: Friday, April 26, 2024

Format: Online Book Study

Location: Schoology

The Ag Cohort is intended to provide professional learning for Ag educators. It is an opportunity to collaborate on important issues and topics affecting their practice. Participants will discuss best practices for advancing Ag education programs in districts through classroom instruction, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), and Future Farmers of America (FFA). The cohort will collaborate with representative members from organizations such as Future Farmers of America (FFA), Career & Technical Education (CTE), and Agri-businesses in our GV BOCES region. Tours of local Agri-businesses will be scheduled as part of the professional learning day.

Registered participants will receive updates on locations and tours throughout the school year.

Lunch is included.

During this asynchronous session, participants will be introduced to an instructional framework that shifts the cognitive load from the teacher to the students. The goal of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Framework is to provide appropriate instruction, moving students towards independence. Participants will explore guided practices, collaborative learning, and independent application.

All session materials will be sent to participants on June 1, 2024 via email. Participants will have until July 31, 2024 to complete the asynchronous session.

In this session, participants will examine research-based practices that educators should know and be able to do within classrooms. This opportunity is grounded in the article 'Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know' by Barak Rosenshine (2012). This professional-learning opportunity explores ten evidence-informed classroom practices that effective educators have employed for decades. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their instructional delivery, identify areas to make small shifts in practice, and potentially identify areas for future continuous improvement.

All session materials will be sent to participants on June 1, 2024 via email. Participants will have until July 31, 2024 to complete the asynchronous session.

Video 1: Foundations of Fluency - Number Concepts

Description: Certain skills and understandings are good (and necessary) beginnings for fluency. This session unpacks what those skills and understandings are while providing classroom-ready resources for teaching and practicing them. This session also helps pinpoint where to provide intervention when student fluency stalls.

Video 2: Foundations of Fluency -Basic Facts

Description: There is nothing basic about basic facts. Though fluency goes beyond basic facts, they do play a role in students' growth and ultimately their overall fluency. This session examines proven approaches to realizing basic fact fluency. Instructional sequences and resources will be provided. This session also helps provide ideas for intervention and reteaching in later grades.

Video 3: Foundations of Fluency - Strategies for Addition & Subtraction

Description: There are five significant strategies for addition and subtraction of whole numbers laying the foundation for work with later number types. This session is a deep dive into those strategies highlighting what they are and how they work while providing classroom-ready resources to help teach them.

Session recordings will be sent to participants on June 1, 2024 via email. Participants will have until July 31, 2024 to complete the asynchronous session.

This asynchronous 3-hour course on play-based learning equips educators to integrate more play into their teaching practices, promoting holistic development across cognitive, social, emotional, and physical domains. Participants will explore the theoretical foundations of learning through play, including the key roles it serves in childhood development. Learn strategies for creating stimulating learning environments, incorporating more playful learning into the classroom, and designing play, challenge, and STEAM-based learning activities that will benefit students at all grade levels.

All session materials will be sent to participants on June 1, 2024 via email. Participants will have until July 31, 2024 to complete the asynchronous session.

On January 10, 2024, The New York State Education Department (NYSED) kicked off a literacy initiative to release supporting literacy documents to the field of education. At this event, Nonie Lesaux (2024) presented her seven literacy briefs to two (2) administrators per New York State district. Her presentation intended to strengthen attendees' knowledge of evidence-based literacy practices in PK-12 education under the title of: The Science of Reading. Now, the briefs have been released to classroom educators to build background knowledge and develop common language and understanding as well. In this professional learning session, participants will have the opportunity to read the briefs and reflect on their significance to their practice/understanding!

All session materials will be sent to participants on June 1, 2024 via email. Participants will have until July 31, 2024 to complete the asynchronous session.

Research and evidence in education reminds teachers that they can better help students learn if they understand the processes through which student learning takes place. By applying the principles of cognitive science, teachers can help improve students' ability to manipulate knowledge and retain information over time, leading to more effective learning and better academic performance. Teaching students how to learn and effectively acquire information is as important as teaching them course content. This session will help ensure that this vital information is in the hands of those who need it the most.

All session materials will be sent to participants on June 1, 2024 via email. Participants will have until July 31, 2024 to complete the asynchronous session.