Professional Development

The Professional Development Department is committed to coordinating efforts to provide daily opportunities for training and support for our SCSD Staff that would help them to maintain continuity in communication and learning for our SCSD Students & Families. The following is a summary report of that work for the past two calendar months.

The following professional learning offerings were available to staff:

• Building Professional Development

• Building Men High School Training Part I
  
• Building Men High School Training Part II
  
• Building Men MS & Elem PD Part II
  
• Content Professional Development
  
• Danielson Training for New Teachers
  
• ER&D Course - Foundations of Effective - Topic - Effective Group Management
  
• ER&D Course - Foundations of Effective - Topic - Interactive Direct Instruction
  
• ER&D Course - Instructional Strategies That Work for All Disciplines
  
• ER&D Course - Managing Student Behaviors in School Communities
  
• Impact PD Feedback Cycle: Accountable Talk 101 Grades K-2
  
• Impact PD Feedback Cycle: Accountable Talk 101 Grades 3-5
  
• NEO Professional Development
  
• NWEA - Getting Started
  
• PBL 101- Virtual
  
• PBL Culture Workshop
  
• Restorative Practices in Discipline: "We Repeat What We Don't Repair"
  
• Sharing Classroom Authority Session
  
• SyraFuse Cohort 7 - October F2F
  
• SyraFuse Cohort 7 - November F2F
  
• SyraFusion: October 12th
  
• SyraFusion November F2F
  
• Teaching Assistant Training
  
• Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools (TCIS) Training
  
• TI-Nspire Training
  

Positive Feedback Quotes

• Learned more about different CBPD and how they can fit in our classroom with an impact cycle.
• It was amazing to be in person and already start collaborating with others!
• I love getting the opportunity to continue to better myself, my education and my teaching.
• The clear explanation of the expectation for SyraFusion...
• Learning the core four in order to better allow for student ownership in my classroom.
• Padlet organization and suggestions for "tickets out" and "do now."
• Examining importance of "din" and "exit ticket" in monitoring where kids are at.
• Discussion with table group after the gallery walk; time spent with Impact Coach and having the smaller group conversation about the data dig form...
• Examining and talking about how data can be used to help us.
• Being able to talk about the chapters of the book that needed to be read.
• The conversations behind Cultivating Genius- I LOVED THIS!!
• The collaboration and time to set our goals and get help from the coaches.
• My group worked on playlists and the teachers in my group are doing a variety of types of playlists. It's been helpful to work together as we prepare to roll them out.
• I am really enjoying my work with station rotation. It has been really messy, but we are all learning so much.
• Being able to talk with other teachers about their experiences around MM.
• Exploring the 12 moves of accountable talk.
• BRIDGE TO PRACTICE!!! I feel like every PD should needs an applicable bridge to practice.

Constructive Feedback Quotes

• Having more time to focus on areas that we did not get to on our own time.
• Slow down a little bit.
• More time to explore the goal-setting portion.
• The session moved really fast. it was hard to keep up with all the things we needed to do. I need more time to complete tasks before moving on.
• More time to collaborate ideas with colleagues.
• More time with coaches for planning and student data analysis.
• One suggestion is to have more time to focus on the chapters of the text and possibly have more whole group conversation around it.
• Allow a little more time for some of the activities where possible.
• Maybe a faster pace so that we end with more actual practice? Most of us already started with an understanding of the four components even if we had never used specific parts of them.
• It would have been helpful to have some more time to discuss within our group as there wasn't enough time for everyone to share out.
• More discussion on how to get through the do now and exit ticket and the curriculum during one class period.

Each issue we will highlight the disciplinary literacy coach, content liaisons and demonstration teachers doing amazing things in a SCSD building. The featured school is:

Grant Middle School

Professional Superpower: Flexibility

Most rewarding part of the job: I get to teach first year Spanish to middle schoolers. Its most often their first exposure to the language. I find it rewarding when I hear from old students, that they continued Spanish in high school and some have even gone on to college pursuing it as a career.

Positive impact my work has on staff and students: I try everyday to be a positive person and a support for my students and colleagues.

Something special about my school community: This is my 12th year working at Grant. I feel blessed to work in a school that truly works hard and enjoys working together. We have several school outings outside of school which I think helps make Grant Middle school great.

Professional Superpower: Data and Modifications

Most rewarding part of the job: Having students light up because they are represented, appreciated, and seen for their culture and gifts is one of my favorite things as a teacher. Also, being able to help students make individual growth and progress, then helping them to recognize that they are making growth is so rewarding. As a Demo Teacher, it is rewarding to be able to share the things that I am doing in the classroom to help support and benefit other teachers and students.

Positive Impact my work has on staff and students: My work positively impacts staff and students because I am able to share strategies and resources to support others. I have worked to make videos to support other teachers in co-planning and co-teaching strategies. I have also helped colleagues to provide supports and modifications to meet the needs of low-level ENL students.

Something special about my school community: The diversity of Grant is very special. Current and Former ENL students are such a large population at Grant, which really enhances the school community as a whole.

Professional Superpower: Nurturing Environment and Engagement

Most rewarding part of the job: I love the genuine relationships that I build with my students.

Positive Impact my work has on staff and students: Staff and students know that I am always willing to help. As a demonstration teacher, I can share some of the strategies I use in my classroom and students are willing to try new things as well.

Something special about my school community: The staff loves working together and supporting each other. If someone is in need, we are quick to act.

Is there anything else you'd like to share or highlight?

I teach with two consultant teachers who provide appropriate academic and behavioral interventions and constantly support our students: Sean MacMaster and Michelle Pavone.

Most rewarding part of the job: The most rewarding part of my role is being able to work with BOTH students and staff members to help them do their best.

Positive Impact my work has on staff and students: The work that I do in my role helps support district initiatives in Social Studies and helps create positive classrooms where students can achieve their academic potential.

Something special about my school community: Our school is a place where students feel comfortable and safe.

Professional Superpower: Building relationships

Most rewarding part of the job: Create opportunities for scholars to enjoy learning about and doing math

Positive Impact my work has on staff and students: Building strong relationships with students helps them feel comfortable with learning difficult math concepts. With staff, the strong relationships built help colleagues work collaboratively to strengthen student success.

Something special about my school community: Grant is a large building with a tight knit community of staff and students who truly care about each other and want our students to succeed.

Fuse Syracuse (SyraFuse) strives to implement and scale personalized and blended learning across the Syracuse City School District by creating and training teacher leaders as change agents. The Fuse Syracuse initiative recruits a group of educators called Fuse Fellows for a 1-year fellowship. Fellows are trained on personalized learning models and best practices, blended learning tools and strategies, coached on classroom implementation, and supported to establish their own “Lighthouse Classroom” to serve as a model of personalized and blended instruction in their building and district.

Fuse Fellows are passionate, curious innovators in their schools who model a growth mindset, and are open to trying new things and taking their practice to the next level. They are natural change agents for their schools, and welcome the opportunity to advance the field through their own leadership and instructional innovation. We are now working with cohort 7 of the fellowship!

Fuse Fellows representing several cohorts attended this year's Annual NYSCATE Conference in November. NYSCATE (New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education) has a membership of over 29,000. With the Annual Conference and multiple workshops, summits and other learning services throughout the year, their mission is to foster collaboration among educators and administrators across New York State to transform education through technology.

SyraFusion is a yearlong fellowship that continues to support the vision of SyraFuse. Throughout this fellowship participants continue the path to becoming change agents within our SCSD community.

Impact Coaches, Timieka Evans and Stacey Marsh, facilitate Syrafusion's December meeting.

The Impact Team uses a Dialogical Coaching model. This model of coaching balances advocacy with inquiry to foster improvement. Both the coach and teachers are experts and learners. The dialogical coach uses both powerful questions and shares strategies within the Impact Cycle to help the teacher reach a personally set goal based on the classroom’s current reality. The metaphor is the coach and teacher as equal partners. This confidential partnership is entirely focused on making it easier for teachers to meet the needs of their students.

"The holiday season is a great time to allow students to share and teach others about special celebrations and sacred days in their culture. Students can discuss and explore common themes and universal concepts such as the importance of family and friendship. Use the time to implement accountable talk strategies! This is a meaningful way to enhance the classroom community and foster appreciation and understanding for other cultures."

Laurie Collins

"I think the students should be offered opportunities to collaborate to design the holiday activities and celebrations that best represent who they are as a community! The room should be rich with information in the form of books, displays, etc. that represent the students, their home communities, and cultures. Families should be invited to participate and share their identities and cultural traditions. It is very important that we don't continue "holiday traditions" that we have always practiced just because it is what we have always done. Our students and their families should be the drivers!! "

Laurie LeFever

"Some students may not celebrate any holidays due to religious beliefs, and this should also be considered. Teachers can provide meaningful experiences by organizing events and celebrations that do not have a holiday focus. Alternative ideas may include things like a Winter Festival or a Family Feast."

Amber McKay

“I think it's actually a year-long effort since holidays like Christmas and Hanukah are Judeo-Christian holidays. Many of our students celebrate holidays that are not even mentioned all year. Students don't get time off to prepare for or celebrate them like those of us who celebrate Christmas do. Imagine getting 0 days off for Christmas (if you celebrate it). Maybe teachers and students could work together to create a living calendar for the whole year that includes holidays everyone celebrates like Eid and Ramadan. Then decide how to recognize them as they occur. “

Diana Perez

2022-2023 Professional Development Issue #1

Director of Professional Development
Syracuse City School District

Email: mtezuka@scsd.us
Website: http://www.syracusecityschools.com/districtpage.cfm?pageid=585
Location: 1005 West Fayette Street, Syracuse, New York 13204, USA
Phone: (315) 435-6358
Twitter: @SCSDPL

Impact Coaches Timieka Evans and Stacey Marsh facilitate SyraFusion's December Face2Face meeting.