Fall 2023 Newsletter

I trust everyone has had a chance to relax, catch their breath, and connect with family and friends over the summer months. We probably cannot say our lives slowed down in June and July (I know mine did not!), but I hope there was a chance to reflect, remember, and renew your commitment to education. As an educator, parent, or student, the school year ahead is full of wonderful opportunities to learn and build relationships that create positive change in ourselves and the world. As we begin another academic year, I am remembering the words of Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Here at the David C. Anchin Center, we continue our commitment to the mission of working with K-12 teachers toward restructuring schools in ways that improve the quality of education and enhance the school’s ability to attract and retain able teachers. We are driven by the belief that every child should have an excellent teacher and a high-quality educational experience. Every adult in a child’s life is responsible for creating rich educational experiences; however, in the classroom, teachers drive the opportunities for students to shine using their unique set of talents and strengths. The best teachers utilize ongoing professional development to stay ahead of the knowledge curve and develop the teaching skills needed to prepare students for future success.

The David C. Anchin Center offers a variety of teacher experiences and workshops that enhance the teaching profession. Teaching is demanding but rewarding, making it a worthy profession for anyone with the heart to inspire the next generation of students. Please connect with us as you consider your ongoing professional development and have a wonderful school year.

Sincerely,

David Scanga, Ed.D.

Director and Endowed Chair of Education Innovation

• Summer Professional Learning Highlights
• Introducing Jessica Beagle, Assistant Director for Professional Learning
• SCATT Updates
• Tutor-A-Bull Program Information
• Gulf Coast Partnership Updates
• Fall Professional Learning Preview
• What We're Reading and Watching

The Anchin Center's annual Advanced Placement Summer Institute (APSI) is the third largest in the world, with participants joining us from 32 states and 13 different countries, including Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Kuwait, Mexico, Myanmar, Panama, South Korea, and Turkey. This summer, we welcomed approximately 650 Advanced Placement (AP) teachers to campus for three consecutive weeks of collaborative professional learning.

APSI is a College Board endorsed program that provides professional development to AP teachers. Through the Advanced Placement™ program, College Board provides a way for high school students to earn free college credits while taking high school courses. Taking Advanced Placement courses exposes students to college level coursework and begins preparing them to think more critically.

The AP Summer Institute provides teachers the opportunity to learn how to teach their course from College Board-approved consultants. These consultants are experts in their subject areas and work with College Board as AP readers, graders, and table leaders. Not only is this an opportunity to learn directly from College Board experts, but also from other instructors from all over the world. This 4-day intensive training offers a unique learning experience for teachers who are interested in expanding their knowledge of AP course content, structure, and methodology. In addition, the workshops afford teachers the opportunity to interact with colleagues and to discuss issues and concerns surrounding the AP courses they will teach.

Be sure to check out the Anchin Center's Instagram page for additional pictures and videos from this summer's institute.

With 47 different course offerings planned for next summer's program, the Anchin Center's AP Summer Institute continues to grow. Information for 2024 APSI will be coming soon.

This summer the Anchin Center partnered with the USF College of Education and the Director of Clinical Education, Dr. Jennifer Jacobs, to offer Clinical Educator Training. 57 teachers from partner school districts completed the training and are now certified to host USF candidates and final interns in their classrooms.

The Clinical Educator Training (CET) course is designed to provide both school-based and university-based teacher educators with skills needed to instruct and supervise teacher candidates completing initial teacher preparation programs. The course meets the Florida Department of Education's state mandates for CET and addresses the following required skills:

• Applying the research around mindset to work with developing educators
• Conducting content planning conferences
• Being expert observers and diagnosticians of teaching and learning
• Providing evidence-based, non-evaluative feedback

In addition, the CET course at USF addresses the collaborative triad of support between the university, school site, and the candidate. It provides guidance to address mentee struggles and challenges as well.

We welcomed another cohort of teachers in our online, asynchronous science of reading course this summer. This course is designed for classroom teachers to explore developmental models of reading with a focus on phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, comprehension, and foundational, inclusive literacy practices. Through the exploration of these topics, teachers considered implications for explicit, systematic literacy instruction and multisensory literacy interventions for children with decoding difficulties, dyslexia, and broader reading challenges.

The goal of this course is to provide a platform for practicing teachers to explore flexible and skillful use of developmentally appropriate instructional strategies for planning inclusive, responsive, and culturally relevant instruction for all students.

The Science of Reading professional development course satisfies the Florida Department of Education’s 40-hour learning hours requirement in reading instruction. Florida statute 6A-4.0051 requires 40 hours of professional learning “in the use of explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to reading instruction, developing phonemic awareness, and implementing multisensory intervention strategies” for recertification of teachers renewing various teaching certifications (e.g., elementary education, primary education, middle grades, education, English education, reading, and others).

Registration is now open for our fall offering of Understanding the Science of Reading! The course dates are September 11 - October 20th. View the flyer and registration information below.

The Anchin Center is excited to welcome Jessica Beagle as our new Assistant Director for Professional Learning! Ms. Beagle brings over 18 years of experience in public education to the Anchin Center. She holds a degree in elementary education and has worked as an elementary school teacher, a middle school mathematics teacher, department chair, and most recently as an instructional coach supporting multiple content areas across grade levels.

As an instructional coach, Ms. Beagle was responsible for developing and delivering professional learning opportunities for teachers, facilitating professional learning communities and planning teams, and analyzing and interpreting data for the school leadership team. In addition to her teaching and coaching roles, Ms. Beagle has worked as a facilitator and reviewer for EdReports.org, particularly in reviewing mathematics curriculum materials.

Ms. Beagle works to support professional learning, the Suncoast Area Teacher Training Program (SCATT) and Tutor A Bull in the Anchin Center. You can connect with Ms. Beagle at jbeagle@usf.edu.

The Anchin Center is excited to once again be the home for the SunCoast Area Teacher Training Leadership Program (SCATT) in the USF College of Education. SCATT is designed to provide aspiring educators with opportunities outside of their coursework to develop the skills and leadership traits needed to become a highly-effective teacher.

We are looking forward to working closely with our 2023-2024 SCATT Officers: Trayana Small, President; Brandy Robinson, Vice-President; and Cora Roberts, Treasurer. We are making plans to expand our membership as well as provide relevant and engaging professional learning and community service opportunities to our members. SCATT will be a place where aspiring educators come together monthly to learn, grow, and collaborate.

If you are a USF student and interested in joining SCATT, we would love to have you. Please contact Jessica Beagle at jbeagle@usf.edu.

The Anchin Center is pleased to support the USF College of Education's Tutor-A-Bull program. Tutor-A-Bull brings together College of Education undergraduate students and local middle school students at partner schools. Tutor-A-Bull provides a paid opportunity for USF students to provide academic support and enrichment opportunities in Tampa Bay area middle schools while making connections to both students and staff.

If you are a College of Education student and would like more information or to be considered for a tutoring position, please contact Jessica Beagle at jbeagle@usf.edu.

The Gulf Coast Partnership Program (GCP) is starting its 12th yearlong cohort by assisting partnership districts with the training and education of their Level II Principal Certification candidates. We have a total of 566 people who have successfully finished the program.

The purpose of the GCP is to "prepare the very best first-year principals by exploring and tapping into strengths, enhancing relationships, and developing stronger systems and subsystems that enable you and your schools to achieve the excellent results you seek."

The GCP is focusing on developing excellence in the following five leadership areas.

1. Vision, Core Beliefs, and Purpose
2. Major Systems and Subsystems
3. Deep understanding of student learning and achievement
4. Developing Relationships
5. Recognize and use the school's as well as individual strengths

We address each area of the Appreciative Organizing in Education framework.

1. Core Purpose and Values
2. Relational Leadership
3. Positivity
4. Strengths
5. Generative Communication
6. Capacity Building
7. Internal and External Accountability
8. Whole System Coherence

This year the 12th cohort will have a hybrid setting with important face-to-face and online activities to create a well-rounded experience. Each year updates are made to the program to address the most current needs. Each member completes focused activities and a final yearlong project.

The GCP thanks the David C. Anchin Center and its district partners, Polk, Hernando, Manatee, Hendry, Okeechobee, and the Heartland Consortium, for their continued support.

Keep up to date with Anchin Center professional learning events by subscribing to our distribution list and following us on social media @USFAnchin. Information about events are shared on a rolling basis as events are finalized. If you have questions about professional learning opportunities at the Anchin Center or are interested in partnering with us, please email Dr. Rachel Hatten.

• How Generative AI Can Support Research-Based Math Instruction: Teachers can use artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT to generate rich math tasks and differentiate instruction.
• The Steps Some States Are Taking to Redefine Student Success:

  How state education leaders can modernize the K-12 Education system to put student learning at the center.

• The State of the Teacher Workforce: A State-by-State Analysis of the Factors Influencing Teacher Shortages, Supply, Demand, and Equity
• This chapter by LPI Senior Fellow A. Lin Goodwin in ”Quality Teachers and Quality Teacher Education: International Perspectives from a Changing World” focuses on how to reimagine teaching & learning to support, nurture, & sustain the teaching profession.
  

The mission of the David C. Anchin Center for the Advancement of Teaching is to collaborate with teachers, school leaders, districts, and other educators to improve the quality of education for students and to transform the teaching profession to attract, retain, and develop quality educators. We achieve this mission through partnerships with schools, the broader educational community, business and industry, and the community at large.

Email: AnchinCenter@usf.edu
Website: usf.edu/education/anchin
Location: 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-974-5959
Facebook: facebook.com/USFAnchin
Twitter: @USFAnchin