UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center
August 2022
Welcome to the 2022-2023 School Year!
Thank you to all that joined us for summer professional learning! Although we have provided both face-to-face and virtual options, we have enjoyed "seeing" you in any format! We are always honored to learn and grow with you.
In addition to the sessions that are open to all educators in our region, we offer targeted professional learning opportunities designed for individual schools or districts. Administrators, please contact the center directly via e-mail (hgmorgan@ua.edu) or via the following link to request targeted support.
Continue to review our social media pages on Facebook (@uainservice) and Twitter (@UofARIC) for ongoing announcements. As a reminder, you may find any of our newsletters at: http://inservice.ua.edu/newsletter.
We wish you all a blessed 2022-2023 school year!
Happy learning!
Dr. Holly Morgan
Director, UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center
August 2022 Professional Learning Opportunities and Updates
August 1: 12th Annual Tech Meet Tuscaloosa
August 2-4: PowerSchool Back to School Series
Click on the flyer to open and view all session dates. Sessions are still available on August 2, 3, and 4. Register via the following PowerSchool course #284253.
Registration Deadline: August 15! Alabama Best Practices Center: Powerful Conversations Network (PCN) West and Key Leaders Network (KLN) West
The UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center will host the following two networks from the Alabama Best Practices Center:
- Powerful Conversations Network (PCN)
- Text: Questions for Formative Feedback: Meaningful Dialogue to Improve Learning by Jackie Walsh
- Teacher teams will explore how to deepen the use of student questioning and providing descriptive feedback. Examples from the text include Alabama schools!
- Key Leaders Network (KLN)
- Text: High Reliability Schools by Robert Marzano and colleagues
- This year, KLN will continue to connect leaders to strategies that strengthen district and school cultures as they address the challenges caused by the pandemic.
We hope that you can join us! For more information regarding registration, please contact Holly Morgan at hgmorgan@ua.edu or Tami Barron at tbarron@ua.edu. Registration deadline is August 15.
ALSDE PowerSchool Opportunities: August 8-19
Register Now for August Cohort! Are You Interested in Pursuing National Board Certification? Our UA/UWA Support Cohort is Ready to Assist You!
For the fall semester, all informational sessions will be offered virtually. In the spring semester, candidates will be assigned NBCT mentors who will support them face-to-face and/or virtually in their NBCT journey.
Click here to be added to the UA/UWA NB email distribution list in order to receive ongoing updates regarding NBCT support.
August 18: Kick-off Session for UA/UWA NBCT Support with Special Guest, Bobbie Faulkner
Register today via PowerSchool section #435558! This session will be presented virtually; a Zoom link will be added to the notes section of the PowerSchool listing and shared with you via e-mail two days prior to the session.
August 24: The Impact of Attachment Issues and Trauma in the Classroom
August 24, 2022
3:00-5:00 pm
Virtual Session via Zoom
Register via PowerSchool section #440048 in order to receive the Zoom link
August 25: NBCT Maintenance of Certification-NBCT Renewal Support
Register in PowerSchool via section #435624.
A Zoom link will be added to the notes section of the PowerSchool listing and will be shared with you via e-mail approximately two days prior to the session.
Beginning August 31! Regional Marzano Workshops Offered Through ALSDE
Join us for the following regional Marzano workshops that are being offered through the Alabama State Department of Education at no charge to teachers and administrators in our state! The full listing of sessions and opportunities may be viewed via this linked flyer. Each workshop is a two-day commitment; all three workshops will be offered at the Paul W. Bryant Conference Center (see listing below):
- Leadership and School Improvement: High Reliability Schools in Alabama
- Effective Teaching in Every Classroom: The New Art and Science of Teaching in Alabama
- Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum: Proficiency Scales in Alabama Schools
All workshops will be facilitated by Marzano associates and are provided free-of-charge to Alabama educators. Books will also be provided to attendees.
Register via the information found in the flyer or via the section numbers listed below. Don't delay--register your school and district teams today!
- Leadership and School Improvement: High Reliability Schools in Alabama
- October 25-26: PowerSchool Section #432473 OR
- February 27-28: PowerSchool Section #432475
- Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum: Proficiency Scales in Alabama Schools
- August 31-September 1: PowerSchool Section #432483 OR
- February 2-3: PowerSchool Section #432485
- Effective Teaching in Every Classroom: The New Art & Science of Teaching in Alabama
- October 3-4: PowerSchool Section #432477 OR
- January 24-25: PowerSchool Section #432479
~Fall 2022 LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES~
Alabama's Teacher Observation Tool: Training for Administrators (Region 4: UA/UWA)
Date: September 7, 2022
Register via PowerSchool section #437933
If you are a new administrator or were unable to attend training last year, be sure to mark this opportunity on your calendar!
Title: Alabama’s Teacher Observation Tool: An Overview for Administrators
Course Description: Alabama Achieves, the strategic plan of the Alabama State Department of Education, specifically focuses on providing students with highly effective teachers. The ALSDE has partnered with Cognia in creating a teacher observation tool that provides educators with specific areas of strengths/growth and aligns with the Alabama Core Teaching Standards. The instrument also assists educators in developing professional development plans and choosing informed professional learning experiences. In this session administrators will be able to
Understand the Teacher Observation Tool
Utilize the Teacher Observation Tool for classroom observation
Calibrate scores on the Teacher Observation Tool
Time: 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center, 260 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa.
Dyslexia Awareness Training
Experience Dyslexia is designed to increase awareness of the difficulties and frustrations that people with dyslexia, as well as those with the characteristics of dyslexia, encounter daily. We hope this experience will provide insight into working more effectively with these students.
Register via PowerSchool Section #441500 (AM session) or #441501 (PM session)
Tools 4 Reading: Beginning Sound Wall Professional Learning
September 14:
- University Hall, University of Alabama, 270 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa
- Register via PowerSchool section #436961
September 28:
- Bell Conference Center, University of West Alabama, Foust Drive, Livingston
- Register via PowerSchool section #436958
Math Course of Study Training (Elementary and Secondary)
- K-5: September 14 from 8:00-11:00 am---PowerSchool Registration Link
- 6-12: September 22 from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm--PowerSchool Registration Link
Location: UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center, Room 1044, 260 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa
Please contact Lisa Fitzgerald at lgfitzgerald@ua.edu to register for either session.
UA/UWA Inservice Center Fall Governing Board Meeting
Tuesday, Sep 20, 2022, 03:30 PM
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UA/UWA RIC: Regional Secondary Coaching Community
Feel free to contact Dr. Holly Morgan at hgmorgan@ua.edu with any questions.
AMSTI/ARI: Region 4 Quarterly Principal Meetings
Region 4 Administrators:
Join AMSTI and ARI for the following quarterly principal meetings on October 6, December 8, February 9, and March 23. These sessions are for building administrators of K-5 schools. This information was referenced in a SDE memo (page 5).
The sessions will be held in Capital Hall on The University of Alabama campus. Please complete the following registration form in order to receive your parking pass.
Sessions begin at 8:30 and end at 3:30. You should plan to attend all day in order to participate in both the AMSTI and ARI session.
Please reach out to your AMSTI Director Sara McGee smcgee@ua.edu or your ARI contact Tiffany Davis tiffany.davis@ALSDE.edu if you would like additional information.
UA/UWA Region 4 Curriculum Directors' PLC
- September 29, 2022
- 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
- Location: UA/UWA Regional Inservice Center, 260 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
- This year, we will host 3 meetings with the curriculum directors/professional learning directors who serve as direct liaisons to the Inservice Center.
- Each of these regional meetings, beginning with September 30, will occur 2-3 weeks after the ALSDE's Curriculum and Instruction meetings. The purpose of this timing is so that we may discuss specific updates, data, and requests for support based upon the information shared at the ALSDE meetings. We will share ideas and network to share best practices within our region.
October 13-14: Rise to the Challenge Fall 2022 Dyslexia Conference
Register for Alabama’s 2022 Fall Dyslexia Conference Today!
When: October 13 and October 14, 2022
Where: St. James United Methodist Church, 9045 Vaughn Road, Montgomery, AL 36117
Join us for two days of learning, sharing, and fellowship. We are excited to have nationally recognized literacy expert Nancy Mather; national dyslexia leader, Josh Clark who is the Chair of IDA’s Board of Directors; and a variety of Alabama literacy experts joining us as we share ideas and best practices to support students with dyslexia.
Register via the following link.
Save-the-Date: West Alabama Regional School Counselors' Conference
Calling all school counselors in the UA/UWA Region! Join us on February 17, 2023 for the 3rd Annual West Alabama Regional School Counselors' Conference! The event will be held at the Paul W. Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa from 8:30-2:30. PowerSchool registration coming in our September/October newsletter!
~OPPORTUNITIES FROM OUR REGIONAL INITIATIVES~
AMSTI
AMSTI has been busy providing professional learning to teachers in our region this summer for math and science. Additionally, AMSTI is partnering with ARI to host regional principal meetings to support implementation of the Alabama Numeracy Act. For more information, please view the flyer posted above in this newsletter.
Please contact Sara McGee (smcgee@ua.edu) if you need other professional learning needs.
Alabama Science in Motion
ASIM Biology Training and Support (Lisa Clark, lclark@ua.edu)
- ASIM Chemistry Training and Support (Brooks Moss, moss020@ua.edu)
- ASIM Physics Training and Support (Julie Covin, jcovin@ua.edu)
Contact our specialists today to request on-site instructional support as you return to school! We are here for you!
Deliveries
Our van driver, Mr. John Pointon, is happy to deliver labs to your school this year if you are one of our trained teachers. Look for an e-mail from your ASIM specialist regarding materials.
Training
If you are a new teacher needing ASIM training, please reach out to us directly via email, phone, and/or text.
Lab Safety
You may use the Flinn Safety Contract (also available in Spanish) or a personal/district plan. Try paperless! Use your LMS platform and ask students and parents to sign digitally.
K-12 Science Foundational Training
September 16, 2022
UA Science Foundational Training (K-12)
Lloyd Hall on The University of Alabama campus
Rooms 133 and 233
8:30-3:30 with an hour for lunch
Alabama Reading Initiative
ARI Quick Links to Support the ALA Implementation
- Use the following link for a current list of links: Quick Links to Support the Alabama Literacy Act Implementation
Register today for the next LETRS cohort!
Go to the new Alabama LETRS Webpage. If you look to the right hand side there is a peach button for those interested in registering for this amazing opportunity that the ALSDE is providing to public education teachers. Priority is reserved for those involved in full time K-3 foundational literacy. That includes central office staff, building administrators, local reading specialists, K-3 literacy teachers, special education teachers, interventionists, and university personnel just to name a few.
Technology in Motion with Dr. Robert Mayben
Join Dr. Mayben for his technology sessions this fall! You may find all of his posted opportunities at www.uatim.org/opportunities.
Contact Dr. Robert Mayben at rmayben@ua.edu to support your school or district's technology professional learning needs.
~ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS~
University of Alabama Online
Invest in yourself with a top-ranked education master's, specialist or doctoral degree earned through The University of Alabama Online. Getting an advanced degree may even qualify you for a pay raise! We offer over 25 education programs in online and hybrid formats, including Educational Psychology, Elementary and Secondary Education, School Counseling, Special Education, Higher Education Administration and more. Take the next step in your career at online.ua.edu/education.
UWA Online
Start Your Journey Today At UWA!
Choose from more than 70 degree and certification programs at the University of West Alabama Online.
Learn how an online program can give you the convenience and flexibility you need. Scholarships available at: https://online.uwa.edu/tuition/scholarships-partnerships/teacher-connect/
Project Alabama PEACE
Project Alabama PEACE is recruiting 15 Alabama elementary schools who would like direct, sustained training and coaching across all three tiers of PBIS/MTSS for social, emotional, behavioral needs. Please contact Sara McDaniel at scmcdaniel@ua.edu for more information.
Empowering Educators Conference
Empowering Educators Conference
The aim of this conference is to provide teachers and future educators with information and a platform to discuss strategies on how to improve the educational outcomes for communities that have been traditionally underserved. The conference will be held at Autherine Lucy Hall on the University of Alabama campus August 13, 2022, from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm with free parking and lunch provided. Our Keynote Speaker for the event is Mr. Reggie White - Alabama Teacher of the Year 2022.
Registration is required.
http://empoweringeducatorsconf.ua.edu/
Summer Learning Series
For more information, visit https://www.yourpdsherpas.org/summer-learning-series
UA/UWA Regional Inservice Education Center
Mrs. Tami Barron, Accounting Specialist
Ms. Angela Lewis, Office Associate for In-Service Center and AMSTI
Mrs. Banks Gordy, UWA Coordinator
Email: hgmorgan@ua.edu
Website: www.inservice.ua.edu
Location: 260 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
Phone: 205-348-3319
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uainservice/
Twitter: @UofARIC