Frontline Education

1. STI - 6000 - ST@C Workshop Series - 2024-2025

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: All

Dates: 8/26/2024

ST@C workshops explore aspects of innovation in education. In each ST@C workshop, teachers gain an overview of specific technological and pedagogical tools for the classroom while establishing a professional network for more in-depth study. Scarsdale teachers can choose stand-alone ST@C workshops to use toward STI credits. One STI credit is granted when a teacher has documented 12 hours of contact time in ST@C workshops and submits to the STI office an explanation of how new ideas from ST@C impacted teaching and learning in their classroom. Teachers must register for each individual ST@C workshop online and can offer to run a ST@C course by contacting the STI office. Teachers should only register for this course credit AFTER they have registered for STI-5000 (Credit for the first 12 ST@C hours) and completed the next 12 hours of ST@C classes (hours 13-24).

2. STI - 6220 - The Mentor Support Seminar: Edgemont 2024-2025

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: Edgemont Mentors

Dates: 8/28/2024 to 6/2/2025

Over the past twenty-two years, the Mentor Program has become an integral part of the Edgemont School District. This seminar provides systematic support for teachers new to Edgemont and recognizes and rewards the knowledge and skill that experienced Mentor teachers bring to new teachers. The program is a rich opportunity for the professional development of expert teachers who are now trained to work with their new colleagues. This year the Mentors and new teachers will continue to refine and develop the program. This seminar assists the Mentor teacher in defining his/her role and its relationship to the new teacher. Mentor teachers will meet together to identify needs, discuss problems, and seek solutions. Course topics include roles and responsibilities of mentoring, teacher collaboration, and effective communication. Mentor teachers participate in creating this unique program designed specifically to meet the needs of the Edgemont staff.

3. STI - 6230 - Studying Wellness at Scarsdale High School

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: SHS Teachers

Dates: 10/9/2024

For many years, the Scarsdale High School faculty has focused on improving wellness to foster a supportive and thriving educational environment. This STI course will broaden the work of the wellness committee and help more teachers understand the myriad of challenges that can impact mental, emotional, and physical well-being at the high school. The course will give teachers the time to research, develop and implement initiatives that promote resilience, enhance academic performance, and improve overall school culture. The course will also encourage collaboration among educators to create a holistic support system for the school community.

The course will feature six core meetings in which group members will work together to forward wellness goals of the year. Updates, needs assessment, and planning will occur. Six additional small subgroup meetings will occur throughout the year. Teachers will work with specifics toward the following main goals:

--effecting a "wellness campus" at SHS (Wellness kits, signage throughout the campus, enhancing outdoor space, inter-departmental work)
--drawing attention to the importance that students feel that they matter (and finding authentic ways to make this happen)
--studying further the results of the belonging survey from last fall and devising strategies to respond to what we uncover

In addition to creating and implementing a wellness plan collectively, teachers will document and reflect on their own learning in this process and work to bring wellness to their work in the classroom.

Small group and whole group meetings will be determined by the group.

4. STI - 6400 - Envisioning the Future: Education and the Workforce in the Age of AI

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Dates: 10/18/2024 to 10/19/2024

8

**Participants MUST also enroll for Saturday at envisioningthefuture.eventbrite.com**

Envisioning the Future aims to bring together educators and business leaders to discuss the skills, abilities, and dispositions necessary for success in the AI-driving workforce.

The event will bring together the workforce spectrum--government, business, education, and the nonprofit sector to learn about each other's needs and resources, the skills employers will require as they adopt AI, and what the schools need to do now to prepare students to succeed in a dynamically evolving workforce.

New York State Regent Dr. Frances Wills will lead a conversation with New York State Commissioner of Education Betty Rosa, and New York State Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon.

Jerry Crisci, President of Chestnut Hill Media and former Director of the Center for Innovation and Director of Instructional Technology and Innovation for the Scarsdale Public Schools will lead a presentation and discussion on how AI will revolutionize instructional design and its corresponding impact on the workforce.

The conference will offer panel discussions led by experts in the following areas:

Career-Connected Learning
Civic Education
Cultural Competence in Classrooms and Hiring in the Age of AI
The Essential Role of the Arts
Critical and Creative Thinking in School and at Work
The lunch hour will also provide an opportunity to engage with State Senator Shelly Mayer of New York's 37th District, allowing participants to discuss significant legislative and policy issues.

Many panelists featured represent the Scarsdale schools and there will be a district-wide discussion of these themes as part of this STI course on Friday, October 18. We will preview scholarship relating to these changes in education and learn how our practices have evolved to address these topics.

5. STI - 6405 - Global Networking: An Introduction to Peru

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 11/7/2024 to 12/19/2024

Wait List

Lost cities and ancient legends sweep across the mountains like mist across jagged peaks. Join us for an exploration of one of the most interesting places on Earth! Imagine what it was like for Hiram Bingham to come across a lost city hidden in the peaks of the Andes! The fog and vines cleared during his expedition to reveal an architectural marvel clinging to steep mountain peaks. Why was Machu Picchu abandoned? Who built it? How did they build it? What was the Inca society like during that era? What was their history? What were their customs? This course will help prepare us for an adventure exploring Machu Picchu and Cusco. We will hear indigenous voices speaking to us across the centuries through generations of traditional art. We will learn to better understand what happened when cultures mixed, clashed, collided, coexisted, and mingled. We gain a deep appreciation for how people in a different part of the world think and live. We will learn about an enriching vibrant culture.

Participants will collaborate during six-afternoon sessions that deepen their understanding of Peru's rich and varied history and culture. In addition to discussing history and politics, they will explore music, dance, food, and cultural traditions together. Several of the sessions will be hybrid/virtual experiences and will emphasize the following themes: History, Music, Food, Art, and Current Affairs / Politics. During the last in-person session, participants will begin projects that offer an opportunity to dig deeper into a topic of interest related to Peru.

6. STI - 6368 - Crafty Mindfulness

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 12/6/2024 to 12/7/2024

For the last few years, both mindfulness and sustainability have become increasingly important in our district and our world. This course addresses both topics by encouraging teachers to dip into their creativity and create art as a mindful experience and using recycled materials to do that. During this course teachers create their own work of art at their own pace in a relaxing and supportive environment. Teachers use old dust jackets and books that have been discarded from the QRS library.

During this course, teachers will create a piece of artwork for their classroom inspired by the artwork that has been created in the Quaker Ridge Library. The act of creating and using one's imagination is a mindful activity that we all too often neglect as adults. The teacher's will use recycled materials such as the dust jackets and books that have been weeded from the QRS library. The QRS library has over 40 works of art that have been created this way and can serve as inspiration for the teacher's own projects.

The teacher will produce their work of art, which in the past has included self-portraits, decoupaged furniture, bulletin board displays, book character maps, etc. The teachers will also submit a reflection on the process of making the artwork and how the mindful and creative activities helped them understand themselves and their students better.

7. ST@C Community Skills Workshop with Narrative 4

Program: ST@C

Audience: K-12 Teachers and Administrators

Dates: 1/24/2025

Join presenters from Narrative 4 for a highly participatory demonstration of techniques to BUILD COMMUNITY.

Shoshana Perry, a Scarsdale High and Alternative School graduate and Valerie Strier, consultants for Narrative 4, will demonstrate how to establish rapport, build deep listening skills, and foster mindfulness with students and colleagues. The activities can be replicated in a variety of settings you lead: your classroom, meetings with colleagues, STI courses, and an array of extracurricular activities. Go beyond ice breakers to prepare people to work better together and build trust to tackle difficult conversations.

This is the first portion of a full weekend class led by Narrative 4. This ST@C is designed for participants who can only attend Friday evening.

8. STI - 6441 - Executive Functioning Advanced at Greenacres - Part II - Spring 2025

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-5

Dates: 2/13/2025 to 6/18/2025

Many students who forget assignments, are disorganized, can't complete long-term projects, have trouble focusing, and experience difficulty with change, often have weak executive functioning skills. These students need to be taught explicit skills to become successful in school and in life after school. This course will take the EF skills that have been taught and integrate them into their teaching and classroom management.

The executive functioning skills targeted in my curriculum include: planning, organization, time management, task initiation, working memory, metacognition, self-control, sustained attention, flexibility, and perseverance. You will work throughout the year to build an effective EF curriculum. I will give you an in-depth lesson plan to follow with all the resources you need each week. You will be amazed at how easy it is to follow the lessons and how much fun your children will have. You will see your students using these skills all year long and improving their learning. You may also see some improvements in your own EF skills. Teachers will collaborate to develop and implement strategies to build Executive Functioning within their Greenacres classrooms. Each session I will introduce the upcoming lesson and will have a presentation from lower and upper elementary teachers demonstrating how they implemented and integrated EF skills in their classroom.

At the beginning of each session, we review the previous skill and exchange feedback. Then, I introduce the next skill with an in-depth lesson plan and links to many resources. Finally, I will give you the hands-on activity to be used the following week. All the resources are digital. The teachers must commit 30-40 minutes weekly to teaching Executive Functioning.

The final project will be a summary of their lessons, photos of children's engagement, an edited weekly Lesson Plan, and the resources highlighted that work for each grade or class.

9. STI - 6406 - Dots and Points on the Map: Peru

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (All)

Dates: 2/28/2025 to 3/1/2025

Where is Peru? Where is Cusco? Where is Machu Picchu? We will locate points of interest in time and space as we explore Peru. This exploration of geography, history, and culture will help center our thinking about Peru and serve as a point of departure for projects that will evolve during the course and also during fieldwork for participants who are traveling to Machu Picchu during the summer session.

Participants will meet during a weekend course to hear guest speakers, explore maps, take a virtual tour, enjoy a Google Earth scavenger hunt, work on projects related to Peru, and develop fieldwork proposals. They will navigate points of interest, conduct research, collaborate, and offer each other feedback. They will interact with Peruvians and gain valuable insights about Peru. A central theme will be how we can connect Peru with our role in Scarsdale. That emphasis will enable participants to think about how they can make curricular connections between Peru and Scarsdale.

10. STI - 6443 - Reading and Writing Workshops and the Saturday Reunion

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-8

Dates: 2/28/2025 to 3/1/2025

8

Let's get together to join a virtual conference led by leaders in the field of literacy who will share innovative teaching methods and provide professional development for educators of ELA. Through this course, teachers will gain access to cutting-edge research and strategies to enhance literacy instruction in their classrooms.

Participants will use a specialized guide to identify a theme of study that aligns with their English Language Arts goals and best practices. On Friday afternoon, educators will develop an action plan and establish a timeline of benchmarks. On Saturday, they will attend a dynamic virtual literacy conference, where educators from around the world gather to learn from experts in the field. The fast-paced day is packed with workshops covering topics such as advanced comprehension strategies, content-area literacy, writing instruction, assessment-driven teaching, student engagement, and fostering a love for reading. Throughout the weekend, teachers will reflect on and refine their instructional practices based on their chosen areas of professional development.

11. STI - 6428- Studying Skillful Teacher 2024-25

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 Scarsdale Teachers

Dates: 3/7/2025 to 5/3/2025

8

The Studying Skillful Teaching program builds teachers' capacity - the knowledge and skills as well as the courage and conviction - to promote students' motivation, learning, and increased achievement. It is based on the belief that teaching is a process of decision-making; and that skillful teachers never stop learning through experimentation, data analysis, study, and collegial sharing about what works best for their students. This course will focus on the art of teaching -- continuously expanding one's repertoire and skillfully matching which tool or strategy best fits a given situation.

This three-weekend course will focus on building teacher skills such as communicating their belief in students' capabilities, motivating and engaging students, demonstrating cultural proficiency, planning engaging lessons, making concepts and skills accessible, and continuously assessing student understanding. It will also include a range of activities beyond interactive classroom behaviors, such as analyzing data, designing reteaching, involving families, and being a good colleague and team member. Participants will engage in discussion over case studies from other schools and will be asked to reflect on techniques used in their classrooms. The course takes place over three months and is designed to balance in-class learning and reflection with out-of-class application.

12. STI - 6445 - CPR for Professional Rescuers

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: Nurses

Dates: 3/7/2025 to 3/8/2025

This course is consistent with the Guidelines 2025 for Emergency Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. If participants wish, the use of the Automatic External Defibrillator can be taught. CPR for Professional Rescuers will be given as a new certification, nine to twelve hours, depending on the amount of time needed for completion. Recertification requires seven to nine hours, depending on participant proficiency with new skills and familiarity with CPR. CPR recertification will also be done in combination with first aid training.

13. ST@C - F&P BAS for Quaker Ridge Teacher Explorers

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/12/2025

This in-person workshop is specific for teachers of Quaker Ridge Teachers who have volunteered to explore the new F&P Benchmark Assessment System 2.0. The workshop will be held in Jessica Grandefeld's Classroom

14. ST@C - Mindfulness: Dealing with Difficult People

Program: ST@C

Audience: Educators

Dates: 3/12/2025

This ST@C is session 1 of the full course STI 6444: Mindfulness for Educators: Navigating Daily Challenges

There is always someone in our lives who tests our patience. And no matter how hard we try, we find ourselves frustrated and even angry saying to ourselves. "if only they would change..." Can we turn unpleasant interactions into pleasant ones where we feel content, patient, and appreciative...no matter what? We will use various techniques such as meditation, case studies, role play, reflection, and journaling to explore this topic.

The fee of $25 is waived for Scarsdale and Edgemont faculty and staff.

15. ST@C Digital Departure for the Almost Retired

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/12/2025

If you're a district faculty member who's ready to ride into retirement, let's take a few moments to consider what to do with your professional online content and legacy. What will you need to consider before you decide to backup, archive, or delete online files and social media posts? If you're ready to make your digital departure from Scarsdale, join us. Bring your questions and trade them in for solutions.

16. STI - 6415 - Building STEAM Skills: Knitting, Finding a Place for Craft in the Classroom

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: All

Dates: 3/12/2025 to 4/24/2025

Knitting fiber to make cloth is one of the earliest human technologies. Its development traces the advance of humankind, as we developed tools and techniques to create practical solutions and artistic expressions. While the practice has become less relevant in modern times, many are rediscovering this ancient practice. Studies show the mental health benefits of knitting and crochet. Among them are reduced stress and anxiety, as well as increased self esteem and sense of belonging. Many mathematical and science concepts can also be demonstrated through knit and crochet. Participants of all levels are welcome to join this course. Beginners will learn the basics of each craft, including materials, patterns and techniques. More advanced learners will be challenged to advance and apply their skills.

Teachers will create items out of yarn that can be used as models for teaching and learning. These items could focus on mindfulness or promote academic learning, from simple concepts such as arrays to complex ones like hyperbolic planes.

17. STI - 6444 - Mindfulness for Educators: Navigating Daily Challenges

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Dates: 3/12/2025 to 5/17/2025

Educators will develop strategies to reframe daily challenges and interactions they face in their profession. They will learn strategies to calm the mind and manage emotions so they less reactive and more responsive. Although these techniques and tools are universal, they will be presented in the school community context to help teachers connect and practice using them in their classrooms. Teachers will use various techniques like meditation, mindfulness, interactive discussions, role play, journaling, reflection, and Q and A to explore the following topics:

Session 1: Dealing with Difficult People 3/12
Session 2: The Art of Listening 3/24
Session 3: Are you tired of being tired? 4/8
Session 4: Responding vs Reacting : The Art of Communication 4/28
Session 5: Being Open to Change 5/17 at Peace Village

The final session will take place at Peace Village Learning and Retreat Center in upstate NY, where teachers will learn how to manage and cope with the change in the world around us. Building their skills in coping and accepting while taking one step at a time and one day at a time is essential in not getting overwhelmed by change. Recognizing our authentic qualities and remaining centered as we shine our light in the directions where we see peace, love and positivity. Accepting the flowing the cycles of life but working towards our dreams and wishes can only happen if we maintain our calm.

Each session will also be listed as a ST@C opportunity for those who cannot attend all 5 sessions.

18. STI - 6447 - Financial Literacy for Educators: March 2025 Cohort 52

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 3/12/2025 to 4/30/2025

This course seeks to build content knowledge and share [free] resources that can help support the mission of integrating personal finance education into the Scarsdale experience. Teachers will acquire financial literacy skills for themselves and their students through courses on the Next Gen Personal Finance platform (NGPF.org).

This course includes:
(1) 2 STI Zoom sessions:
STI Zoom #1: Wednesday, March 12th at 7pm
STI Zoom #2: Wednesday, April 30th at 7pm

(2) Live and On-Demand courses take place between March 24th - April 30th. The classes offered in this cohort are: Career, Investing, or Behavioral Economics

To get started, you will need to:
1. Register for a teacher account on NGPF.org using your school email address.
2. Enroll in a course for Cohort #52 on the NGPF site. You can find the courses by selecting Teacher PD & Community, then Certification Courses.

Please let us know if you have any questions to help you get started. We look forward to having you join us!

19. ST@C - F&P 2.0 ST@C Edgewood Exploration

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/13/2025

This in-person workshop is specific for teachers of Edgewood Elementary who have volunteered to explore the new F&P Benchmark Assessment System 2.0. The workshop will be held in Kim O'Connor's Classroom.

20. STI - 6421 - Global Networking: Focus on Southern Spain

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 3/14/2025 to 3/15/2025

Dr. Nicolas Toscano Liria, a Full Professor of Medieval Spanish Literature at St. John's University will outline salient moments of the rich history of southern Spain, with a special emphasis on the Parallel Histories of Spain and the United States. Cádiz was founded by Phoenicians in 1100 BC. They called it Gadir. The oldest archaeological remains, that have been discovered in the area, are from 800 BC. The Greeks called it Erytheia and Kotinoussa, when it was split by a canal. The city is ancient! It is the setting for several famous myths and legends. For example, the legendary Hercules completed his tenth labor in Erytheia and Plato referenced Gades when he described the location of Atlantis. In addition, Cádiz has seen mighty empires rise and fall. Romans, Visigoths, Carthaginians, Moors, and those serving Catholic Kings have roamed its streets. It is surrounded by the sea and was a doorway to the New World. In addition to delving into the city's deep history, we will prepare for the trip by exploring Cádiz using digital resources. This course is required for teachers traveling on the STI field study in the summer of 2025, but open to all.

21. ST@C - Roadside Geology Scouting

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/15/2025

We will be scouting roadside geology sites for parking access, quality of exposed geologic formations/outcrops, and correlating that with our NYS Ref Table and Geology coursework. Join us for this exploratory look at Lower Hudson Valley geology!

22. ST@C - F&P BAS 2.0 Greenacres Exploration

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/17/2025

This in-person workshop is specific for teachers of Greenacres Elementary School who have volunteered to explore the new F&P Benchmark Assessment System 2.0. The workshop will be held in the conference room.

23. ST@C - A Classroom Budget Sheet

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/17/2025

This ST@C will take place at Scarsdale Middle School in room T112. It will feature a discussion about using Google Sheets to keep a classroom budget. Features will include automating emails for quotes, helping keep track of price per project/student, monitoring price fluctuations, and easily reordering materials. A starter sheet will be shared.

24. ST@C Interschool Collaboration

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/18/2025

This time will be used for teachers to come together virtually to plan their Interschool Class partnerships. Teachers will discuss how to exchange ideas and partner students virtually to promote a collaboration among Buddy Classes that will design curriculum projects to be developed and shared publicly.

25. STI - 6448 - Multiculturalism through Film: Women Artists in Film (Spring)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 3/18/2025 to 4/22/2025

This course focuses on women artists and their work. We will explore their accomplishments in a variety of media, artistic styles, eras, and national traditions. Each session will feature a full-length movie as the starting point for discussing the role of women in shaping world culture, personal expression, gender politics, and history.

Session 1: Camille Claudel (1988)
Session 2: Frida (2002)
Session 3: Georgia O'Keeffe (2009)
Session 4: To Be Announced

All sessions will be on Zoom except the 2nd session on April 3rd.

26. STI - 6416 - College Admissions & Affordability: How to Navigate the Right College Fit and Paying For It

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 3/20/2025 to 5/8/2025

The College Application process impacts every professional in our school district. It is a process that students discuss well before they even enter high school, and is part of the fabric of our school culture. This landscape continues to change drastically.

Participants will be provided with an overview of the current College Admissions process and landscape from the perspective of Scarsdale High School Deans. We will review all aspects of the process, as well as gain insight from multiple constituencies including admissions professionals, students, and parents. Topics will include how students are evaluated, parts of the college application, letters of recommendation, sharing data, and other relevant information. There will also be an emphasis on the financial part of the process, including college costs, merit scholarships, and the perspective that colleges are ultimately a "business". The Course is geared toward any members of the district who want to gain insight for professional development or personal knowledge.

Participants will complete a reflection of the experience or a letter of recommendation on behalf of a student.

27. STI - 6424 - A Mosaic Reflection

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 3/21/2025 to 3/22/2025

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest mosaician of us all?

Join us for a creative workshop where you'll mosaic your own mirror while exploring the fascinating concept of symmetry! This hands-on experience will allow participants to understand how symmetry plays a crucial role across various disciplines, providing balance, order, and visual harmony. Throughout the session, you will research and share different types of symmetry, making this a fun and educational experience for all aspiring mosaicians. Let's discover together who will emerge as the fairest mosaician of us all!

There will be a material fee of $32 per participant to be paid to the STI with your tuition.

28. STI - 6425 - Picture Books in a Weekend

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 3/21/2025 to 3/22/2025

Picture books are a treasure trove of stories, information, and learning opportunities. In this course, teachers will spend the weekend with the Scarsdale Elementary Librarians learning about what is new in picture books. Teachers will have the opportunity to explore picture books independently by browsing new titles from all five libraries as well as learning directly from the librarians as they highlight important titles and trends from the last few years. Teachers will leave this course with new ideas and resources to use in their classroom with students based on the books that are read and presented in the course.

Teachers will log all of the books they read and brainstorm ideas for how they could integrate each book into their classrooms whether as read-alouds, for independent or group projects or to inspire some hands-on activities. Teachers will also reflect on how the class has changed their view on how to use picture books in the classroom

29. STI - 6451 - K-12 Integrated Unit Design - Intermediate - Edgemont (Spring)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 Edgemont

Dates: 3/21/2025 to 5/3/2025

This course is a work session in which teachers will create new integrated units or upgrade current units of study to fit the 21st Century classroom. The goal is to facilitate changes in the way both content and skills are being delivered to enable students to become autonomous learners. It will also allow for teacher work time where they can evaluate ways in which they can increase their own productivity by using technology for communication and collaboration. Teachers will evaluate current technology use in their classroom and explore how to incorporate technology effectively into their teaching to promote student learning and increase engagement. Teachers should have taken K-12 Integrated Unit Design prior to taking this level.

Participants will take current units of study or create new units where they will integrate different district technology. We will use our feedback protocol to create multiple iterations of their project using instructional feedback from the group. Teachers will learn new techniques from the previous course to add higher level technology and PBL projects into their units.

Participants will take current units of study or create new units with usable work samples/instructional materials. They will also create a lesson or unit plan write up.

30. ST@C - Mindfulness: The Art of Listening

Program: ST@C

Audience: Educators

Dates: 3/24/2025

This ST@C is session 2 of the full course STI 6444: Mindfulness for Educators: Navigating Daily Challenges

Being an active, attentive and present listener allows you to demonstrate our deepest forms of appreciation and respect, improve our relationships, and be more receptive to feedback. This mindfulness session will strengthen your ability to listen, not only with your ears, but also with your heart and mind. We will use various techniques such as meditation, case studies, role play, reflection, and journaling to explore this topic.

The fee of $25 is waived for Scarsdale and Edgemont faculty and staff.

31. ST@C - BAS 2.0 ST@C Heathcote Exploration

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/26/2025

This in-person workshop is specific for teachers of Edgewood Elementary who have volunteered to explore the new F&P Benchmark Assessment System 2.0. Location TBD

32. STI - 6440 - CRG Building Thinking Classrooms: Integrating Elementary Math, Science, and Technology

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: Grade K-5

Dates: 3/26/2025 to 6/5/2025

8

This course for elementary teachers develops hands-on learning experiences that integrate math, science, and technology through interdisciplinary connections. The course will align with NYS Math, Science, and Technology standards. Participants will have the opportunity to observe these lessons demonstrated in classrooms. During the offered summer Program Improvement Day, they will reflect on and revise the lessons for future use.

Aside from the 4 scheduled classes, teachers will work asynchronously with their grade-level teams.

33. ST@C - BAS 2.0 ST@C Fox Meadow Exploration

Program: ST@C

Dates: 3/27/2025

This in-person workshop is specific for teachers of Fox Meadow Elementary who have volunteered to explore the new F&P Benchmark Assessment System 2.0.

34. STI - 6417 - Financial Literacy for Educators: Investing (Spring)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 & Support Staff

Dates: 3/28/2025 to 3/29/2025

Teachers are preyed upon by financial salespeople who portray themselves as district-approved advisors. They often reach out by email and offer help in signing you up for a 403(b) plan. Unfortunately, these relationships often come at a high price; including hidden fees and lower returns. Learning about a 403(b) plan is not part of the formal teacher education and it is easy to be confused by fee schedules, long vendor lists and investment choices. This class will teach you the value of investing in a 403(b) plan and how to take control of your retirement investments, without all of the fees. You will leave the course with a low fee 403(b) and/or 457(b) plan and an understanding of how your money is invested, as well as how to manage retirement investments moving forward.

Part of your project should include a way to share some of this information with students.

35. ST@C: Innovations in Orchestra and MTSS Games

Program: ST@C

Dates: 4/2/2025

The first portion of the STI Policy Board meeting is open to all as we learn from colleagues who have led innovative practices in the district.

Jessica Elkhatib, Quaker Ridge Elementary School Music, and some of her students will perform using Innovations in Elementary Orchestra, the outcome of Jessica's STI Mini Grant.

Bevin Pagel, Edgewood Elementary School Special Education, will present highlights from Creating Games & Hands-On Activities to Differentiate Instruction and Tier 1 Intervention, an annually sold-out STI summer course she runs at Edgewood. She will demonstrate (and maybe let us play) some of the learning games teachers design and use in their classrooms from her course.

36. ST@C - Mindfulness: Are you Tired of Being Tired?

Program: ST@C

Audience: Educators

Dates: 4/8/2025

This ST@C is session 3 of the full course STI 6444: Mindfulness for Educators: Navigating Daily Challenges

After a complete night's rest, do you ever wake up still feeling tired? Or do you find yourself dragging throughout the day with limited energy? Does your tiredness affect your mood, behavior, and relationships? Are you tired of feeling tired? Perhaps it's not a physical tiredness that we are experiencing. We will use various techniques such as meditation, case studies, role play, reflection, and journaling to explore this topic.

The fee of $25 is waived for Scarsdale and Edgemont faculty and staff.

37. ST@C - Exploring Innovative Educational Models - The Dalton Model

Program: ST@C

Dates: 4/9/2025

This ST@C is session 1 of the full course STI - 6477 - Exploring Innovative Educational Models, which will research various alternative educational strategies, course designs, schools within a school, and serve as an incubator for new ideas in Scarsdale Schools. These ideas will be shared and explored within the group and potentially inspire new practices for the classroom, school, and even district consideration. In this professional discussion group, each individual or team will present a novel educational idea that will then be discussed using the tuning protocol.

In this first session, using the Scarsdale, A Sort of Utopia excerpt, we will consider what change looks like when it works and when it doesn't.

38. STI - 6477 - Exploring Innovative Educational Models

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Dates: 4/9/2025 to 6/25/2025

The Scarsdale School District has a long history of researching and implementing innovative educational models. The Alternative School, the CHOICE program, CivEd, and Senior Options are all examples of innovative practices that turned theory into practice in the areas of moral development and experiential education. Scarsdale continues to innovate through initiatives in project-based learning, competency-based education, and flexible learning spaces. This course will enable educators to further research new examples of dynamic, student-centered learning environments that enhance engagement, well-being, and academic success.

This course will research various alternative educational strategies, course designs, schools within a school, and serve as an incubator for new ideas in Scarsdale Schools. These ideas will be shared and explored within the group and potentially inspire new practices for classroom, school, and even district consideration. In this professional discussion group, each individual or team will present a novel educational idea that will then be discussed using the tuning protocol.

Two additional sessions will be determined by the group.

39. STI - 6507 - Financial Literacy for Educators: April 2025 Cohort 53

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 4/9/2025 to 6/4/2025

This course seeks to build content knowledge and share [free] resources that can help support the mission of integrating personal finance education into the Scarsdale experience. Teachers will acquire financial literacy skills for themselves and their students through courses on the Next Gen Personal Finance platform (NGPF.org).

This course includes:
(1) 2 STI Zoom sessions:
STI Zoom #1: Wednesday, April 9th at 7pm
STI Zoom #2: Wednesday, June 4th at 7pm

(2) Live and On-Demand courses take place between April 28th- May 29th.
On-demand courses this cohort: Consumer Skills, Taxes, or Paying for College
Live courses this cohort: Behavioral Economics or Cryptocurrency

To get started, you will need to:
1. Register for a teacher account on NGPF.org using your school email address.
2. Enroll in a course for Cohort #53 on the NGPF site. You can find the courses by selecting Teacher PD & Community, then Certification Courses.

Please let us know if you have any questions to help you get started. We look forward to having you join us!

40. ST@C - Build Your Own Google Sheets Rubric Tool

Program: ST@C

Dates: 4/21/2025

This ST@C will introduce a Google sheet too that will create custom rubrics for each student in a class, tally points automatically, email a PDF copy of the completed rubric to your students, and integrate with the Schoology gradebook (or the gradebook of your choice). Participants will learn how the tool works and walk away with a copy to make their own.

41. ST@C - Exploring Innovative Educational Models - Educational Innovation

Program: ST@C

Dates: 4/23/2025

This ST@C is session 2 of the full course STI - 6477 - Exploring Innovative Educational Models, which will research various alternative educational strategies, course designs, schools within a school, and serve as an incubator for new ideas in Scarsdale Schools. These ideas will be shared and explored within the group and potentially inspire new practices for the classroom, school, and even district consideration. In this professional discussion group, each individual or team will present a novel educational idea that will then be discussed using the tuning protocol.

In this second session, participants will do exploratory work in finding innovative practices and share out to bring ideas to the fore.

42. STI - 6418 - Tools with a Twist: Power Tools & Pizza (Spring)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 4/25/2025 to 4/26/2025

Students at Scarsdale Middle School participate in various hands-on activities through their quarterly related arts classes. The goal of this course is to improve teachers' knowledge and skills in woodworking and culinary arts, while providing teachers with insight into what it is like for students to engage in this experiential learning while broadening the possibilities for interdisciplinary connections.

Participants will design, build and customize a wooden pizza board and prepare fresh pizza dough and sauces. Activities and discussions will center around interdisciplinary connections, the origin of ingredients, fair trade practices, and growing practices for ingredients used, like basil and tomatoes.

STI projects should include documentation of your process with notes and reflections about your experience.

There is a $20 per person fee for this course to be paid directly to the STI with your tuition payment.

43. STI - 6419- Tenure Portfolio for Edgemont Teachers (Spring)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 4/25/2025 to 4/26/2025

This course is personally tailored to support all teachers as they begin OR continue to build their portfolios. Participants will reflect on their teaching practices and learn ways to organize their artifacts using Google Slides, Docs, or Sites. Through collaboration and reflection, participants will develop several ideas for artifacts and implement strategies to organize and present their teaching journey in a meaningful and effective way. By the end of this course, participants will have a solid understanding of Edgemont's teaching standards and a portfolio-in-progress.

Participants will have plenty of work time to organize artifacts and build their portfolios. This course is helpful for any teacher, no matter how much or little they may have worked on their portfolio. We will review the Edgemont teaching standards to gain a deeper understanding of each strand, brainstorm ideas, and inspire each other by sharing our teaching practices. We will look at exemplar portfolios as well as strategies for organizing and presenting information. Come join and get your portfolio started or finished!

Teachers will share the part of their portfolio that they worked on during the course.

44. ST@C - GA Monthly Mindful Moment

Program: ST@C

Dates: 4/28/2025

In these workshops we will explore a variety of mindful techniques to employ in the elementary classroom. We will discuss ways to create a calm, warm, and welcoming environment, and different activities and tasks that promote mindfulness with your students!

45. ST@C - Mindfulness: Responding vs. Reacting--The Art of Communication

Program: ST@C

Audience: Educators

Dates: 4/28/2025

This ST@C is session 4 of the full course STI 6444: Mindfulness for Educators: Navigating Daily Challenges

"Responding" means to thoughtfully and consciously choose your action in a situation; while "reacting" refers to an impulsive, emotional response based on external stimuli, often considered a form of losing control and being driven by your senses rather than your true self. While responding is a conscious choice to act with peace and stability, reacting is an automatic, often negative response to a trigger. We will use various techniques such as meditation, case studies, role play, reflection, and journaling to explore this topic.

The fee of $25 is waived for Scarsdale and Edgemont faculty and staff.

46. ST@C Using School AI Chatbots to Sharpen Student Inquiry Skills

Program: ST@C

Dates: 4/29/2025

School AI is a personal AI learning assistant for students and teachers. It supports individualized student learning and in the case of inquiry, it helps children develop their ability to ask targeted questions. Using the School AI chatbot, students can practice the skill of processing new information and asking follow-up questions. When this process is done repeatedly students are able to focus on practicing the skill of asking questions, thus developing their inquiry skills and digging towards a deeper understanding of a research topic. In this session, teachers will set up an inquiry space for their students and process student data from individual chatbot sessions.

47. ST@C - Planning And Preparation for Final Project (Unboxing Writing)

Program: ST@C

Dates: 4/30/2025

Let's take time to pool all of our resources for this class so that we can collaborate on our final project.

48. STI - 6422 - An Interdisciplinary Introduction to Cadiz, Spain: A Crossroads of Civilizations

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 5/2/2025 to 5/3/2025

This course will provide teachers with an interdisciplinary look at Cádiz, Spain--one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Western Europe, in preparation for a six-day field study there in July 2025. Teachers will conduct content research relating to their respective disciplines to enhance their observations when in Cádiz. As they share lesson plan ideas, teachers will receive feedback from colleagues throughout the course using a critical friends model. In addition, teachers will review cultural norms and explore language fundamentals related to planned activities and excursions to get the most out of the experience abroad.

This course will allow participants to gain specialized knowledge of Cádiz in advance so they can provide leadership and expertise to their colleagues during the field study. The course content will be tailored to the teachers enrolled. For example, music teachers could consider a project about flamenco or how the intersection of cultures in the South of Spain impacted music. A social studies teacher might explore a specific Phoenician or Roman ruin as a case study or examine the impact of different waves of immigration to the area. An environmental science teacher might explore sustainable energy sources such as wind farms in the Cádiz area, while a math teacher explores geometry in classical architecture. By researching, discussing, and framing classroom activities based on Cádiz, participants will be better prepared for the field study as well as for classroom applications when they return.

49. STI - 6453 - Get Creative with Canva

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 5/2/2025 to 5/3/2025

Join us this Spring to learn how to use Canva, the FREE, intuitive online design tool, to create engaging, visually appealing teaching materials that will capture your students' attention and enhance their learning experience. Whether you're looking to spice up your lesson plans, create interactive assignments, or design unique classroom resources, this class has got you covered!

Class Highlights:

* Introduction to Canva: Get familiar with Canva's user-friendly interface and discover the vast library of templates and design elements that make creating professional-quality designs a breeze.

* Designing with Students in Mind: Learn how to craft compelling presentations, interactive worksheets, and creative projects that cater to diverse learning styles and engage students more effectively.

* Hands-On Practice: Dive into Canva with guided activities, allowing you to apply what you've learned immediately. You'll have the opportunity to design your own teaching tools and receive feedback from other educators.

* Collaboration & Sharing: Explore Canva's collaboration features that make it easy to work with colleagues and students on projects, ensuring a more interactive and inclusive learning environment.

50. ST@C - Planning Narrative Writing- Combining Structuring Episodes and Fantasy - Part 1

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/9/2025

We will finalize Bend 1 of structuring episodes as an introduction to narrative. Then, we will incorporate fantasy/fiction writing.

51. STI - 6452 - K-12 Integrated Unit Design - Advanced - Edgemont (Spring)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 Edgemont

Dates: 5/9/2025 to 5/31/2025

This course is a work session in which teachers will create new integrated units or upgrade current units of study to fit the 21st Century classroom. The goal is to facilitate changes in the way both content and skills are being delivered to enable students to become autonomous learners. It will also allow for teacher work time where they can evaluate ways in which they can increase their own productivity by using technology for communication and collaboration. Teachers will evaluate current technology use in their classroom and explore how to incorporate technology effectively into their teaching to promote student learning and increase engagement. Teachers should have taken K-12 Integrated Unit Design prior to taking this level.

Participants will take current units of study or create new units where they will integrate different district technology. We will use our feedback protocol to create multiple iterations of their project using instructional feedback from the group. Teachers will learn new techniques from the previous course to add higher level technology and PBL projects into their units.

Participants will take current units of study or create new units with usable work samples/instructional materials. They will also create a lesson or unit plan write up.

52. STI - 6458 - Teacher Wellness: Stress Reduction and Mindfulness for the Classroom and Beyond

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 5/9/2025 to 5/10/2025

A career in teaching is fulfilling and joyful, but it can also be stressful and overwhelming. Managing stress and promoting wellness is essential for maintaining both personal well-being and professional effectiveness and joy. This course provides practical tools to help teachers reduce stress, promote wellness, and prevent burnout. Participants will explore various strategies, including breathwork, sound meditation, movement, and forest bathing, which can all help foster a healthy work-life balance.

During the first session, participants will engage in wonderings, research, and reflections on various wellness modalities, including breathwork, sound therapy, forest bathing, and movement. They'll explore how these practices and modalities can promote wellness for themselves and their students.

During session two, participants will attend an immersive wellness workshop at The Sound Retreat in Chester, CT, with wellness professional Tracey Kroll. The wellness modalities researched and discussed in session one (breathwork, sound meditation, movement, and forest bathing) will all be practiced, discussed, and reflected upon in a group setting. A nutritious lunch will be served to all participants. By the end of session two, participants will have developed a toolkit of strategies that can be immediately implemented to manage their stress, promote whole-body and mind wellbeing, and bring these tools into the classroom to promote a calm and balanced environment.

There is a fee of $125 for Saturday's work at the Sound Retreat, which should be brought with you on the day of the retreat.

53. STI - 6461 - Best Practices of Writing College Letters of Recommendations

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: 9-12 or anyone interested in learning more about this topic

Dates: 5/13/2025 to 5/29/2025

The College Application process impacts every professional in our school district. It is a process that students discuss well before they even enter high school and is part of the fabric of our school culture. This course will provide participants with an overview of the high school teacher's role in this process: writing letters of recommendation.

Taught from the perspective of a counselor and teacher, participants will review an interactive Slides presentation that fosters curiosity and dialogue. We will also hear from the perspective of college admissions professionals about how letters are read and considered in the application review. Participants will review sample letters of recommendation, provide feedback, and have the opportunity to review their letters with a reflective eye. All activities are designed to help teachers think critically about their practice and to learn strategies to best balance their time while advocating for their students.

From the college perspective, participants will learn the difference between a counselor and teacher letter, how much emphasis is placed on letters of recommendation and how it may vary by institution, what colleges look for within the content of a letter, strategies for effective letter writing, and how to manage time efficiently when asked for a letter. By understanding the importance and value, and what (or what not) to include, teachers will leave the course feeling confident about writing a supportive letter of recommendation for their students with new strategies and knowledge about this part of the process.

54. ST@C - GA Monthly Mindful Moment - Session 2

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/14/2025

In these workshops we will explore a variety of mindful techniques to employ in the elementary classroom. We will discuss ways to create a calm, warm, and welcoming environment, and different activities and tasks that promote mindfulness with your students!

55. ST@C - Planning Narrative Writing- Combining Structuring Episodes and Fantasy - Part 2

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/15/2025

Continue from part 1.

56. ST@C - Mindfulness: Being Open to Change

Program: ST@C

Audience: Educators

Dates: 5/17/2025

This ST@C is session 5 of the full course STI 6444: Mindfulness for Educators: Navigating Daily Challenges

We will learn how to manage and cope with the change in the world around us. Building our skills in coping and accepting, while taking one step at a time and one day at a time is essential to not getting overwhelmed by change. Recognizing our authentic qualities and remaining centered as we shine our light in the directions where we see peace, love and positivity. We will use various techniques such as meditation, case studies, role play, reflection, and journaling to explore this topic.

This session will take place at the Peace Village Learning and Retreat Center in Haines Falls, NY.
Carpools will be available.

There is an additional fee of $50 to visit Peace Village.

57. ST@C - Planning Narrative Writing- Combining Structuring Episodes and Fantasy - Part 3

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/20/2025

Continuation of the work we have started!

58. ST@C - ViewSonic Refresher

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/20/2025

Do you ever wonder how you could be using your View Sonic to it's full potential? In this session we will go over basic usage, more advanced tools, and helpful tricks teachers have found.

59. ST@C - Exploring Innovative Educational Models - Scarsdale Innovation Brainstorm

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/21/2025

This ST@C is session 3 of the full course STI - 6477 - Exploring Innovative Educational Models, which will research various alternative educational strategies, course designs, schools within a school, and serve as an incubator for new ideas in Scarsdale Schools. These ideas will be shared and explored within the group and potentially inspire new practices for the classroom, school, and even district consideration. In this professional discussion group, each individual or team will present a novel educational idea that will then be discussed using the tuning protocol.

In this third session, we will look at innovative practices in our system and opportunities for innovation moving forward.

60. STI - 6516 - Financial Literacy for Educators: June 2025 Cohort 54

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 5/27/2025 to 6/25/2025

This course seeks to build content knowledge and share [free] resources that can help support the mission of integrating personal finance education into the Scarsdale experience. Teachers will acquire financial literacy skills for themselves and their students through courses on the Next Gen Personal Finance platform (NGPF.org).

This course includes:
(1) 2 STI Zoom sessions:
STI Zoom #1: Tuesday, May 27th at 7pm
STI Zoom #2: Wednesday, June 25th at 7pm

(2) Live and On-Demand courses take place between June 2nd - June 20th. Live courses will meet 2x per week.
On-demand courses this cohort: Advanced Investing or Banking & Budgeting
Live courses this cohort: Consumer Skills

To get started, you will need to:
1. Register for a teacher account on NGPF.org using your school email address.
2. Enroll in a course for Cohort #54 on the NGPF site. You can find the courses by selecting Teacher PD & Community, then Certification Courses.

Please let us know if you have any questions to help you get started. We look forward to having you join us!

61. STI - 6511 - ELA Summer Institute

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 5/29/2025 to 9/15/2025

8

Ensuring that all students develop high levels of literacy requires teachers to make a concerted, coordinated effort to improve students' proficiency as readers, writers, and critical and creative thinkers. As the Scarsdale District continues to review and improve reading instruction and assessment, teachers will benefit from engaging with researchers in the field and discussing the teaching of reading and writing with their colleagues. We are offering the opportunity to attend Summer Institute experiences with well-known literacy experts in the field. This institute is perfect for educators who want to stay at the forefront of research and practice. Over four days, you'll engage with thought leaders and other experienced educators exploring the boundaries of literacy education.

Through this course, participants will combine information from researchers at literacy organizations with discussions with colleagues to tailor best practices to the needs of their students. The participants will attend the Summer Seminar, where they will have the opportunity to choose from literacy-based workshops in reading and writing while deepening their understanding of the teaching of reading and writing.

62. ST@C - NCTE Pedagogy of Play!

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/30/2025

During our time together I will discuss how to plan an NCTE proposal and gain administrative support for your professional development experience.

63. ST@C - Streamlining Structuring Episdoes Writing for the ICT classroom

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/30/2025

We will look at our current writing curriculum and modify it to better serve the needs of our ICT classes.

64. ST@C - NCTE Pedagogy of Play II!

Program: ST@C

Dates: 5/30/2025

During our time together I will discuss how to plan an NCTE proposal and gain administrative support for your professional development experience.

65. STI - 6465 - Gamify Your Classroom

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 5/30/2025 to 5/31/2025

This course will explore games that can be brought into the classroom to enhance student learning. Gamification can transform your classroom environment into a fun and engaging space, turning regular classroom activities into a game. Participants will learn different games that are suitable for their grade/class as well as create a new unique game for their students. They will also understand how incorporating games into the classroom promotes student learning and deepens understanding of the subject matter.

Participants will explore a variety of board games and card games-- both old and new-- to discover games that would work in their classrooms. Participants will also brainstorm ways in which these games can be adapted for their specific grade and/or content area. Many games, such as Taboo, Rapid Recall, and Bingo, can be adapted for classroom learning. By thinking creatively, collaborating with colleagues, and playing these games with one another, participants will discover how to use gamification elements to enhance student learning and improve engagement while still addressing goals and standards.

Teachers will create a running Google Doc highlighting the games they have learned about as well as adaptations they can make to have it suit their classroom/grade. On top of this, the culminating project will entail teachers adapting a game for their needs and creating a unique game of their choice to fit their needs.

66. STI - 6466 - Whole Foods Plant Based Nutrition for a Healthy Community

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 5/30/2025 to 5/31/2025

A whole food, plant-based lifestyle approach emphasizes the consumption of minimally processed foods, which are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, contributing to overall health and well-being. Additionally, a plant-based diet is more environmentally sustainable, reducing the carbon footprint and conserving natural resources. Led by Bob Keith and CeCe Berger, participants will explore the benefits of adopting a whole foods plant-based lifestyle and how this can lead to a healthier you, healthier students, and a healthier planet.

Friday, teachers will be presented with evidence-based research on how this lifestyle may contribute to improved cognition, immunity, and fitness levels and how it has the potential to reduce the incidence and recurrence of the most common diseases that plague us as a society. On Saturday, the participants will have a hands-on opportunity to learn about growing their own food to assist them on their journey. Saturday's agenda includes a visit to a working farm in Ridgefield, CT where participants will learn about farm-to-table cooking and the health and environmental benefits of whole foods.

67. ST@C - Heathcote F&P 2.0 Exploration Feedback

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/3/2025

This in-person session is for Heathcote teacher explorers of the new F&P 2.0 will come together to discuss their use of the F&P tool and to provide feedback and recommendations. Meeting space to be determined.

68. ST@C - Prepping Schoology & Frontline for the end of year

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/5/2025

Learn how to clean up Schoology for a great start to next year!

69. ST@C - Quaker Ridge F&P 2.0 Exploration Feedback

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/5/2025

This in-person session is for Quaker Ridge teacher explorers of the new F&P 2.0 to come together to discuss their use of the F&P tool and to provide feedback and recommendations.

70. ST@C - F and P 2.0 Follow Up

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/5/2025

F and P 2.0 Assessment Follow up

71. ST@C - ELA Professional Development Focus Group Feedback ST@C 1

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/6/2025

Join us for a focused feedback session designed specifically for elementary teachers to reflect on the ELA professional development received during the 2024-25 school year. Your insights will play a key role in shaping the direction of our professional learning for 2025-26.

This session builds on the valuable input gathered during the Spring 2024 focus groups, which helped guide this year's PD efforts. Now, we're eager to hear from you-our colleagues in the field-to ensure our future professional development is responsive, relevant, and impactful.

Your voice matters. Help us strengthen our work together.

72. ST@C - ELA Professional Development Focus Group Feedback ST@C 2

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/6/2025

Join us for a focused feedback session designed specifically for elementary teachers to reflect on the ELA professional development received during the 2024-25 school year. Your insights will play a key role in shaping the direction of our professional learning for 2025-26.

This session builds on the valuable input gathered during the Spring 2024 focus groups, which helped guide this year's PD efforts. Now, we're eager to hear from you-our colleagues in the field-to ensure our future professional development is responsive, relevant, and impactful.

Your voice matters. Help us strengthen our work together.

73. STI - 6457 - The Hidden Systems That Sustain the Modern World

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Dates: 6/6/2025 to 6/7/2025

Understanding infrastructure such as wastewater treatment, power generation, and waste management equips teachers to bring real-world relevance to their classrooms across multiple disciplines. These topics support science, social studies, and civics instruction while promoting critical thinking, sustainability, and informed citizenship. By exploring how these systems impact daily life, teachers can better engage students through place-based and project-based learning. This knowledge also empowers educators to support school-wide sustainability efforts and connect academic content to local and global challenges. Integrating environmental systems into teaching enhances cross-curricular opportunities and prepares students to navigate complex issues.

Using an inquiry-based approach, teachers will explore geology, wastewater treatment, power generation, freshwater supplies, garbage disposal, and more. Site visits to local facilities will help teachers, and by extension, their students, explore what makes our modern world tick.

74. STI - 6459 - Let's Make Anchor Charts (Spring)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 6/6/2025 to 6/7/2025

Anchor charts are a great visual resource for students to be able to refer to within a classroom. The visual resource can help a student remember a strategy or rule. It is important for teachers to be able to make anchor charts to support any units of study.

During this 2-day course, teachers will create anchor charts to be used for student reference that will support the curriculum areas being studied within the classroom. All supplies for this course (chart paper, crayons & markers) will be provided by the course coordinator. Teachers are also welcome to bring their own supplies as well.

Teachers will take a photo of each anchor chart created during the course. Teachers will create a Google Slideshow to display the photo and brief summary explaining how the anchor chart will be used in conjunction with a curriculum area. Teachers should also include a reflection slide.

75. ST@C - F&P 2.0 Exploration Feedback

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/10/2025

This in-person session is for Fox Meadow teacher explorers of the new F&P 2.0 will come together to discuss their use of the F&P tool and to provide feedback and recommendations. Meeting space: Fox Meadow Room 8

76. ST@C - F&P 2.0 Exploration Feedback - Edgewood

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/10/2025

This in-person session is for Edgewood teacher explorers of the new F&P 2.0 to come together to discuss their use of the F&P tool and to provide feedback and recommendations.

77. ST@C - Organizing Drive & Email for End of Year

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/12/2025

This class will go over some best practices on cleaning up your email and your drive for a smooth start to next year

78. ST@C - ELA Professional Development Focus Group Feedback ST@C 3

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/13/2025

Join us for a focused feedback session designed specifically for elementary teachers to reflect on the ELA professional development received during the 2024-25 school year. Your insights will play a key role in shaping the direction of our professional learning for 2025-26.

This session builds on the valuable input gathered during the Spring 2024 focus groups, which helped guide this year's PD efforts. Now, we're eager to hear from you-our colleagues in the field-to ensure our future professional development is responsive, relevant, and impactful.

Your voice matters. Help us strengthen our work together.

79. ST@C - ELA Professional Development Focus Group Feedback ST@C 4

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/13/2025

Join us for a focused feedback session designed specifically for elementary teachers to reflect on the ELA professional development received during the 2024-25 school year. Your insights will play a key role in shaping the direction of our professional learning for 2025-26.

This session builds on the valuable input gathered during the Spring 2024 focus groups, which helped guide this year's PD efforts. Now, we're eager to hear from you-our colleagues in the field-to ensure our future professional development is responsive, relevant, and impactful.

Your voice matters. Help us strengthen our work together.

80. STI - 6510 - NYC as a Resource: Historical Walking Tour of Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Spring 2025)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 6/13/2025 to 6/14/2025

New York City is a resource with unending possibilities for fieldwork experiences for teachers and their students. The "NYC as a Resource" category of STI classes allows teachers the opportunity to model experiential education, conduct research and document their learning as they would do with their students. Through these courses, teachers visit the sites and scenes of the events that have shaped the region as they deepen their understanding of and their interest in history and curate resources to share with students. Based on the course, lesson plans can be created in multiple subject areas and across the grade levels.

Participants in this course will learn about the history of one of NYC's most popular neighborhoods and will provide teachers with information pertaining to themes in Native American history, gentrification, art history, and more. Teachers will explore the history and evolution of Williamsburg, Brooklyn beginning with its purchase from the Lenape in 1638 by the Dutch West India Company and continuing to its current iteration as the hipster capital of the world.

The class will meet at Quaker Ridge on Friday and in Brooklyn on Saturday for the walking tour.

81. ST@C - Planning to Implement the 3rd Grade Science Performance Task

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/16/2025

This session is for teachers without experience administering the digital version of the Circle of Life performance task. We will look at materials and set everything up to get ready to administer.

82. ST@C - Canva

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/16/2025

During this session we will help you find ways to use Canva to make your life easier (and more fun)! We will go over the embedded tools available in Canva, how to use templates, and the new tools they have just unveiled. Come with your questions or ideas of how you would like to use it. We hope you will leave with a resource you can apply to the classroom right away!

83. ST@C - Preparing to Submit Goals and Artifacts

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/17/2025

Teachers will be provided a refresher in how to submit artifacts and prepare goals documents for the end of the year.

84. STI - 6469 - Teacher as Reader: Summer

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 6/17/2025 to 8/19/2025

Wait List

The journey of the lifelong reader is a search to gain insight and understanding by reading talking and reflecting. By transforming reading into a community event through discussion groups, teachers learn differing perspectives on the same work and gain knowledge of literature, genre and technique. The commitment to read widely and deeply is an important endeavor for teachers as they model the love of reading and the skills of reading and understanding for their students.

Participants will read assigned books and come prepared to discuss aspects of literary form such as character development, theme, plot and more. They will gain insight into point of view by listening to their colleagues' responses to each book. Participants will enhance their own reading skills and learn techniques for leading discussion groups with students. The first session will include a short text discussion. Participants will read four other books over the course of the remaining sessions.

Teachers will read four books, answer questions about the books on a google slide notebook and participate in discussions. The course will meet once in June in person and the other meetings will be held over Zoom.

85. STI - 6519 - Teacher as Reader: Summer II

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 6/17/2025 to 8/21/2025

Wait List

The journey of the lifelong reader is a search to gain insight and understanding by reading talking and reflecting. By transforming reading into a community event through discussion groups, teachers learn differing perspectives on the same work and gain knowledge of literature, genre and technique. The commitment to read widely and deeply is an important endeavor for teachers as they model the love of reading and the skills of reading and understanding for their students.

Participants will read assigned books and come prepared to discuss aspects of literary form such as character development, theme, plot and more. They will gain insight into point of view by listening to their colleagues' responses to each book. Participants will enhance their own reading skills and learn techniques for leading discussion groups with students. The first session will include a short text discussion. Participants will read four other books over the course of the remaining sessions.

Teachers will read four books, answer questions about the books on a google slide notebook and participate in discussions. The course will meet once in June in person and the other meetings will be held over Zoom.

86. ST@C - Submitting for ST@C & STI Credit

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/18/2025

This class will go over how to submit your ST@CS for STI credit

87. ST@C - FM Salon: How do we Encourage Summer Reading?

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/18/2025

The FM Salon is an informal gathering to provided a platform for teachers to connect and exchange ideas, fostering intellectual debate and disseminating new ideas. This meeting we will be discussing how to encourage students to read during the summer and over school breaks.

88. ST@C - Planning SPED Toolkits for Next Year at QR

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/18/2025

QR ICT teachers will spend time creating documents for our SPED caseload for next year. This includes IEP cheat sheets and progress monitoring templates.This time will be devoted to collaborating on ideas for templates and preparing materials needed for September.

89. ST@C - Get Your Google Drive Ready for the New School Year

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/20/2025

ICT Elementary SPED Teachers: Come join me for a session focused on organizing your Google Drive in preparation for next year. We'll set up folders and templates to help you start the year with confidence and clarity.
Zoom link: https://scarsdaleschools-org.zoom.us/j/95352052791?pwd=aUkrcGNQcWFHTzVlT3pzdldKa0lxQT09

90. STI - 6512 - Museums as Resources: The NEW Frick Collection Reopening Spring 2025

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 Educators

Dates: 6/20/2025 to 6/21/2025

Open to the public since 1935, The Frick Collection was founded by the American industrialist Henry Clay Frick who left his Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue and one of the world's foremost collections of European fine and decorative arts, for the enjoyment of the public. The Frick Collection houses an extensive array of masterworks ranging from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century and the Collection is now on display in its newly expanded historic building.

The Frick Collection, and the mansion, offer ample opportunities for integration into K-12 curricula. The class will introduce the artworks that Frick owned and review the educational programming that the Collection offers. For example, "led by staff educators, online visits invite students to look closely at and engage critically with works of art from the permanent collection. Frick educators facilitate discussions based on students' observations and curiosities, building analytical and descriptive skills that can be tailored to meet a wide range of curricular goals."

Friday's class time at SHS will include virtual museum tours, slideshow viewings of art on display, online meetings with museum educators, and class time spent designing lessons that integrate the art we are studying into our varied K-12 curricula.

Saturday morning, the group will visit the Frick Mansion and Galleries, fresh after a complete renovation.

Additional asynchronous work opportunities will be provided and will include preliminary readings of exhibition reviews and educational materials. Projects should specify which works of art will be shared in lessons with students and how they will be presented and discussed.

Admission to the museum is $30 per person.

91. ST@C: Educator's Visit to Akshardam Temple, Landmark of Hindu Philosophy, Art and Architecture

Program: ST@C

Audience: K-12 Educators

Dates: 6/21/2025

BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple is the largest Hindu temple in the United States. The site captures thousands of years of inspiring thoughts, values, architecture, and culture from South Asia.

Saturday, May 10th, there will be an educational guided tour, including explanations and the history of the intricate carvings. This is a great opportunity to learn about the South Asian culture and population in the NY metropolitan area that has contributed to the building of this religious site.

The cost of $25 includes a donation to the temple, which can be brought with you.

Carpools will be coordinated from Scarsdale to the temple at 110 N Main Street, Windsor, New Jersey.

92. STI - 6470 - Managing Emotions in Times of Stress and Uncertainty (Summer 2025)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12

Dates: 6/24/2025 to 7/29/2025

Wait List

Social and emotional skills are more important now than ever. As educators, we can find ways to better identify and manage our own emotions, which in turn, can help our students identify and manage theirs. This course will help teachers unpack how emotions can help and hinder attention, decision making, relationships, health, and performance. Teachers will explore how to recognize, understand, and accurately label emotions, manage their own emotions and help students manage theirs. Teachers will have the opportunity to describe the biases involved in identifying and managing emotions, as well as to reflect on the potential impact of your own biases on your interactions with others.Finally, teachers will be introduced to the concept of emotion co-regulation, as well as a five-step process to support students in moments of high stress.

Developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, materials for Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty & Stress will provide participants with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to understand and manage their emotions and those of their students. Presented in an asynchronous online fashion, teachers will complete the course at their own pace (over several weeks) under the direction of Dr. Elliot Cohen. The group will also meet in three synchronous 1 hour (likely zoom sessions).

93. ST@C - Inquiry at Fox Meadow

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/25/2025

We will introduce an inquiry model to the Fox Meadow faculty and reflect on its implementation for 2nd grade passion projects and 5th grade capstone research projects.

94. STI - 6471 - Positive Psychology for Educators (Summer 2025)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 6/25/2025 to 8/15/2025

Positive psychology, the scientific study of human flourishing, has much to offer educators as we consider best ways to help students attain optimal functioning. Positive education, the application of positive psychology in schools, is essential for student well-being and achievement. This course will review principles of positive psychology and will also have participants engage in experiential learning exercises to increase well-being - which will help reinforce key concepts. Specific emphasis will be given to the integration of positive psychology constructs and techniques in the classroom.

Participants will learn key constructs in positive psychology, which have direct application to student well-being and achievement. In addition to examining the work of scholars such as Martin Seligman, Angela Duckworth, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and others, participants will engage in hands-on positive psychology activities in order to gain a better understanding of key techniques that could be used with students in the classroom. During the course, participants will engage in positive psychology exercises and have the opportunity to write reflective pieces on their experiences. In-class readings will review some key articles on positive psychology and positive education. All participants will be encouraged to share their ideas and perspectives and will have choice for final project including but not limited to a well thought-out reflection or lesson-plan applying the course material.

Participants will be expected to complete approximately twenty hours of independent learning over the course of the summer via exercises, readings and viewing other resources from the instructor.

95. ST@C - Creating Cue Cards with Canva

Program: ST@C

Dates: 6/26/2025

New

Elementary ICT Teachers: Many students require adult prompting throughout the day for various reasons (ie: task initiation, solving math problems, raising hand, etc.)We would like to work on building a repertoire of various visual cue cards for students to use instead of always relying on an adult. These cards will be used in school or also at home when doing homework.

96. STI - 6473- Building STEAM Skills: Stained Glass

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 6/30/2025 to 7/3/2025

Wait List

Participants will investigate the interdisciplinary relations between art, technology, history, and math by designing their own piece of stained glass artwork. The first session will involve teachers doing readings and research on stained glass - how to make it and how it was used throughout history to convey messages and/or tell a story. Participants will then brainstorm designs they may want to create and begin mapping out their glass and colors. In the next 2 sessions, participants will cut and grind their glass to fit perfectly into their designs. They will also begin wrapping each piece carefully in copper foil so that the solder will stick. In the last session, participants will begin soldering their pieces so the glass is fused. Once this is completed, participants will clean off their glass and frame their pieces. As a result of this course, participants will have a better understanding of the history of stained glass as well as the academic and hands-on skills required to create it: measuring, cutting, grinding, and soldering.

There is a $30 materials fee that should be paid directly to the STI with your tuition payment.

97. STI - 6474 - Creating Games & Hands-On Activities to Differentiate Instruction and Tier 1 Intervention

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-5

Dates: 6/30/2025 to 7/3/2025

Wait List

Multi-Tiered System of Support(MTSS) is a framework for intervention that helps teachers identify students' academic, behavioral, and social-emotional strengths and challenges. Within this framework, teachers provide targeted support for struggling students. The use of games and hands-on activities is an effective strategy for targeting specific skills that struggling students need to master. Games provide the repetition and review often needed to learn in an enjoyable and fun way. Children are active learners; games engage them in learning and can be used as an intervention within the MTSS framework.

This course offers teachers specific targeted skills that can be used in a Tier 1 intervention. Teachers will also examine their curricular areas in their grades to develop numerous and varied games to target particular learning problems. Participants should bring reference materials for the concept and skills they would like to individualize in their intervention.

Teachers will:
1. Share personal strategies, games, and activities to differentiate instruction.
2. Complete 10-15 new games or hands-on activities for the classroom that can be used as a Tier 1 intervention following the MTSS Framework.

There is a $25 materials fee that should be paid directly to the STI with your tuition

98. STI - 6475 - One-Stop Google Express

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-12 (all)

Dates: 6/30/2025 to 7/3/2025

Do you want to expedite and streamline your Google Life? Take a ride on Google Express and focus on one or more stops. In this 1, 2, or 3 credit workshop-style STI, you will have the time and the help to work on what you want!

The main stop is the One-Stop Google Doc Lesson Library, where you will curate your lessons and curriculum in a single doc for yourself (& colleagues)!

Next is the One-Stop Google Classroom with tips to help you organize assignments and resources for your students.

The last stop is the One-Stop Google Sites, where you can learn how to create a Google Site with resources for anyone (yourself, students, and parents).

All aboard!

This course will be divided into in-person learning and independent work outside the class.

99. STI - 6476 - Responsive Classroom Intro Course (Summer 2025)

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: K-8 Scarsdale

Dates: 6/30/2025 to 7/3/2025

8

The Responsive Classroom approach provides prime evidence that social and emotional teaching strategies, when well constructed, lead to improved classroom behavior and academic growth. Students learn best when their classrooms are places where they feel safe, challenged, and joyful-places that free them to learn.

Independent research has found that the Responsive Classroom approach is associated with higher academic achievement, improved teacher-student interactions, and higher quality instruction.

In four engaging and interactive days, teachers will learn about the practices and strategies of the Responsive Classroom approach, designed to create safe and joyful learning communities where all students can thrive-while helping them develop strong social, emotional, and academic skills.

Teachers will:
--Engage in energizers and interactive learning structures that can be used with students
--Experience an Academic Choice lesson that can be adapted for any grade level
--Plan Interactive Modeling, role-play, and Guided Discovery lessons to use with students
--Map out their learning space to include elements of classroom organization
--Create detailed plans for implementation of Responsive Classroom practices

Scarsdale and Edgemont teachers pay the discounted $225 for this course.

100. STI - 5000 - ST@C Workshop Series - 2025-2026

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: All

Dates: 7/1/2025

NewStarting Today

ST@C workshops explore aspects of innovation in education. In each ST@C workshop, teachers gain an overview of specific technological and pedagogical tools for the classroom while establishing a professional network for more in-depth study. Scarsdale teachers can choose stand-alone ST@C workshops to use toward STI credits. One STI credit is granted when a teacher has documented 12 hours of contact time in ST@C workshops and submits to the STI office an explanation of how new ideas from ST@C impacted teaching and learning in their classroom. Teachers must register for each individual ST@C workshop online and can offer to run a ST@C course by contacting the STI office. Teachers should only register for this course credit AFTER they have completed 12 hours of ST@C courses.

101. STI - 6000 - ST@C Workshop Series - 2025-2026

Program: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Audience: All

Dates: 7/1/2025

NewStarting Today

ST@C workshops explore aspects of innovation in education. In each ST@C workshop, teachers gain an overview of specific technological and pedagogical tools for the classroom while establishing a professional network for more in-depth study. Scarsdale teachers can choose stand-alone ST@C workshops to use toward STI credits. One STI credit is granted when a teacher has documented 12 hours of contact time in ST@C workshops and submits to the STI office an explanation of how new ideas from ST@C impacted teaching and learning in their classroom. Teachers must register for each individual ST@C workshop online and can offer to run a ST@C course by contacting the STI office. Teachers should only register for this course credit AFTER they have registered for STI-5000 (Credit for the first 12 ST@C hours) and completed the next 12 hours of ST@C classes (hours 13-24).

Professional Development

Help Topics

Catalog: Scarsdale Teachers Institute

Search Options

Search Results (1 - 100 of 145)