During this time of the holiday season and preparation for the new year, I want to say thank you to each of our schools and district offices. Thank you for all that you do for the students in our region! The In-Service Center is honored to serve you and blessed to be a part of your community.

This month's newsletter includes both December and January updates. As a reminder, you may find any of our newsletters at: http://inservice.ua.edu/newsletter. We have also linked a calendar on the bottom of the homepage of our website at http://inservice.ua.edu. Continue to check out our social media pages on Facebook (@uainservice) and Twitter (@UofARIC). If you need additional information or would like to discuss specific plans for support for your school or district, I am happy to assist you at 205-348-6951 or via e-mail at hgmorgan@ua.edu.

Happy learning!

Dr. Holly Morgan

Director, UA/UWA Regional In-Service Center

• Thanks to an increase from the ALSDE in our National Board Candidate Support funding, a new National Board cohort began in November in the southern part of our region.
• Our next sessions will be on Monday, December 16 at 4:00 pm and Monday, January 13, 2020 at the Marengo County Board of Education.
• To view the schedule for the 2019-2020 southern cohort, visit http://inservice.ua.edu/announcements.

• Our next candidate support sessions will be on Thursday, December 12 beginning at 5:00 pm and Thursday, January 16, 2020.
• To view the 2019-2020 support schedule, visit http://inservice.ua.edu/announcements
  
• For more information, please contact Dr. Holly Morgan at hgmorgan@ua.edu

• Five engaging Online Professional Development Modules have been created from Dual Language Learner experts around the nation. Pre-K teachers are invited to participate in the third cohort of IMPACT-PD Online PD Module.
• Participants will develop an expertise in working with DLLs and their families, receive STI-PD credit (50 hours), receive a $300 stipend and may be eligible to receive UAB course credit. The informational flyer may be found at http://inservice.ua.edu/announcements.
• Please complete the application through this link by Friday, December 20th: https://uab.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3qN15er9tzM4eG1
  

If you have any questions, contact Julie Paul at jipaul7@uab.edu or (205)-996-1060.

Invitation from AAMU/UAH Regional In-Service Center:

You are invited to join Co-Author Ann Mausbach of Leading Student Centered Coaching for a day of learning on January 23. This professional learning session is open to administrators and instructional coaches (plan to come as a team). Please complete a registration form for each attendee (form can be found at inservice.ua.edu/announcements). Space is limited. There is no cost to attend this event. Please contact Dr. Tammy L. Alexander at tammy.alexander@aamu.edu or 256 372-5239 if you have any questions.

• As a reminder, dates for spring 2020 PowerSchool training were sent to local districts this fall. Please refer to the September 12 memo from Dr. Mackey for more information regarding the team structure (including number of people).
• The following dates are for Region 4 UA/UWA:

1. SIS/UC Gradebook Session 1 (Tuscaloosa): March 9-13
2. SIS/UC Gradebook Session 2 (Demopolis): April 13-17
3. SP Programs (Tuscaloosa): March 9-11
4. SIS Ent. Reporting Session 1 (Tuscaloosa): May 11-14
5. SIS Ent. Reporting Session 2 (Demopolis): June 8-11
6. UC Class Pages ( 1/2 Day Training in Tuscaloosa): July 9
7. Analytics (1/2 Day Training in Tuscaloosa): September 1

• Please contact Dr. Robert Mayben or Dr. Holly Morgan if we can assist you with any PowerSchool Professional Learning platform support.
• For ongoing updates, please visit the PowerSchool link on the ALSDE website at https://www.alsde.edu/dept/data/Pages/powerschool-all.aspx.

• Teens in grades 7-12 can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for a chance to win scholarships and have their work exhibited and published.
• The submission portal is open from September 12, 2019-December 12, 2019.
• For more information, visit http://inservice.ua.edu/announcements

• December 10, 2019
• 3:30-5:00 pm, UA/UWA Regional In-Service Center
• Final meeting and project presentations for this online PLU opportunity--look for more PLU opportunities in spring/summer 2020!

Please see the information below regarding summer professional learning opportunities from the Alabama History Institutes:

• The Alabama History Institutes is an immersive professional development experience for teachers of all grades and subjects. Using cross disciplinary approaches, their goal is to improve historical literacy and civic awareness and engagement through hands on interaction with historical materials. The Alabama Department of Archives and History sponsors locations all across the state that engage educators in their local resources by bringing in experts, taking field trips, and exploring the community around them. This program was begun under the auspices of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, and in three years, they have trained about 1,200 teachers from all 138 school districts in the state.
• This year, we are hosting 8 elementary (grades 3-6), 1 middle (grades 7-9), and 3 secondary (grades 10-12) 3-day workshops in various locations across the state throughout the month of June 2020. You will find more about the offerings, including a way to register, at this link: http://bit.ly/AHISummer2020. Those selected to attend will receive a stipend as well as professional development hours, not to mention the numerous resources that they’ll be able to take back to their classrooms and the new connections they will make.
• Each workshop is conducted by a pair of excellent educators who teach in the area the workshop will be held—perhaps even teachers you already know. One participant told us: “I cannot say enough about how much this workshop taught me and the ideas it gave me for getting my students interested in and excited about Alabama’s history…It is so important to spread the word so more teachers can benefit by attending!”
• Registration will remain open until January 17, 2020. Now is a good time to get registered so that any potential participant will be able to get his or her preferred location.

• January 8, Birmingham, AL
• January 14, Montgomery, AL
• For more information, visit https://www.alsde.edu/sec/isvcs/Pages/currinstmtgs-all.aspx

• The UA/UWA Regional In-Service Center has partnered with the Tuscaloosa City Schools to offer this 2-day institute on September 3, 2019 and January 10, 2020. Sessions will be held in Tuscaloosa Career & Technology Academy Event Hall, 2800 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Tuscaloosa.
• The January 10, 2020 session will begin at 8:30 am.
• Participants: Please remember to bring artifacts of your work in Quality Questioning since our September 3 session.

The Alabama Junior Academy of Science competition is rapidly approaching. The UA/UWA regional competition will be held on January 13, 2020. This competition provides a scholarship opportunity for your students. Please visit http://inservice.ua.edu/announcements for more information.

• January 17, 2020
• 11:00 am-2:00 pm
• Each of these regional meetings, beginning with October 15, 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 items, updates, data, and requests for support based upon the information shared at the ALSDE meetings.
  
• In addition, we will study a professional text together as a part of this PLC.

Calling all counselors in the UA/UWA Region!

We are excited to announce that we will host a West Alabama Regional School Counselors' Conference on Monday, June 22, 2020 at the UA/UWA Regional In-Service Center (260 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401). Please look for more information to come soon, including a request for conference presentations. This will be a free event to support the school counselors within our region.

If you are a school counselor in our region, please complete the following survey by Tuesday, February 4: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=zzvKRStxUE66ywQ1mVYaSCHH3lM8PDxGpOfst8FurOtUMTJLWjVYVUNUSUxKMURTRjE4NFRIUEZZNS4u

We will use the survey results to plan sessions based upon your identified needs.

The following literacy conference is being sponsored by the South Alabama Regional In-Service Center. Registration is open to all In-Service Centers throughout the state. The conference will be at the USA Gulf Shores Campus in March 2020. The cost of the two day conference is $175.00 per person. A few of the keynote speakers include Natalie Wexler, author of the Knowledge Gap, and Nancy Young, creator of the Ladder of Reading.

A flyer with more information and the link for registration can be found at http://inservice.ua.edu/announcements. There is also a special link for booking hotel rooms: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1573059981792&key=GRP&app=resvlink

• ASIM Biology Training: December 4th -It is Day 8 of ASIM Bio year 1 training which involves the following labs that also have a heavy environmental science concentration: Watershed Pilot Lab, S8AquaEcosystems, S4GlobalCarbon, S10EcologicalSuccession

• For more information regarding biology training and support, contact specialist Lisa Clark at lclark@ua.edu
• ASIM Chemistry: Chemistry training on February 20--For more information regarding chemistry training and support, contact specialist Brooks Moss at moss020@ua.edu.
• ASIM Physics:

1. University of Alabama Physics Contest: January 31

2. ASIM Physical Science Training: February 4
3. Alabama Section of American Association of Physics Teachers Conference: February 8 in Montgomery.
4. ASIM Physics training: February 27

• For more information regarding physics training and support, contact specialist Julie Covin at jcovin@ua.edu.

Professional Learning Groups for 2019-2020

Applications are now closed for the elementary and secondary Professional Learning Groups for 2019-2020. If you would like more information about the Alabama Technology in Motion program, you can visit the UATiM site at www.uatim.org or the ALSDE site at atim.us. Please contact Dr. Robert Mayben at rmayben@ua.edu for more information and specific requests.

Spring 2020 ACLD PLU – There will be a new PLU offered in the spring. Look for more information on this learning opportunity coming soon.

• Math training K-12
• Science training K-8
• For more information, contact Sara McGee, AMSTI Director at smcgee@ua.edu

Dr. Holly Morgan, Director

Mrs. Tami Barron, Administrative Assistant

Ms. Angela Lewis, Office Associate

Email: uauwainservice@gmail.com
Website: www.inservice.ua.edu
Location: 260 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
Phone: 205-348-3319
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uainservice/
Twitter: @UofARIC