HPS Professional Development Corner

Welcome back HPS educators! The following professional development newsletter highlights some of this year's PD offerings. We are grateful to the educators and administrators who collaborated to produce the attached 2024-2025 Professional Development Catalog and multi-year 2023-2025 Professional Development Plan.

The attached 2024-2025 Professional Development Catalog is a living document that will continue to evolve over the course of the year. To register for any of the professional development offerings listed in the 2024-2025 PD Catalog, please use the link to the HPS SMART PD Portal. If you need assistance with your SMART PD username or password, please contact Kaitlin Scott at Central Office for assistance: kscott@hinghamschools.org.

The 2024-2025 Early Release Calendar was designed using feedback from last year's professional development survey. At the elementary level, our primary focus will be best practices in elementary literacy instruction in support of the Into Reading adoption, with some additional offerings related to inclusive practices. These same themes will be highlighted during our monthly elementary curriculum meetings. At the secondary level, we will continue to focus on universally designed curriculum, with additional offerings related to inclusive and innovative practices, such as the UDL and Ed Tech Symposium. This year's early release day workshops will also include a full calendar of offerings designed specifically for paraeducators, with offerings in topics such as executive function, supporting student writing, and inclusive practices.

Many thanks to Hingham Education Foundation for their generous funding of the Inclusive Practice Fellows summer workshop, focused on UDL. The session was led by Inclusive Practice Coach, Emily Patt of the SEEM Collaborative, and focused on making connections between implementing UDL and creating more equitable classrooms. Her slides can be found at the attached link. Stay tuned for additional offerings in UDL and Inclusive Practices across the district this year.

Additional thanks to Hingham Education Foundation for their generosity in funding the Gr. 6-12 Tech Integration Fellows summer workshop, which focused on integration of Viewsonic Boards (hosted by HHS teacher Sarah Jacobson) and the use of AI in the classroom (hosted by technology specialist Greg Kuloweic). A link to Sarah's Viewsonic Google Classroom resources can be found using join code ih4k3so and the AI slides can be found at the attached link. Stay tuned for additional offerings in Ed Tech, including the UDL and Ed Tech Symposium and additional Viewsonic offerings.

Many thanks to our all-star HPS Mentoring Coordinators, Jen Driscoll and Hilary Cicerone, and their team of building-based mentoring liaisons for their work in coordinating an incredibly rich professional development series for new staff. In addition to planning New Teacher Orientation, the team members will also coordinate full day in services and after school meetings to support new educators throughout the year. We are grateful as well to our experienced mentors who will check in weekly with new teachers to provide timely support.

Interested in chatting about new ideas and best practices with colleagues? Check out the proposed PLCs and book studies featured in the 2023-2024 PD Catalog on titles including Disability Visibility, Grading for Equity, Achievement Culture and UDL Now!

Interested in leading a book study or PLC? Please use the attached form to submit your proposal to Katie Roberts.

HPS will continue our long-standing partnership with PD provider Primary Source. Primary Source educates global citizens by working with teachers to foster students’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions for thoughtful and engaged citizenship. HPS has access to 18 seats in the Primary Source school year seminar series, courses and book studies and has access to 5 seats apiece in the summer courses and online module Building Blocks for Global Citizenship. Check out the 2023-2024 course catalogue and e-mail Kaitlin Scott to secure a spot in these offerings. Please note that HHS English Teacher Kara Roth will be hosting one of the Primary Source offerings, a 4-part global lit book group titled Family Stories, Family Secrets. Check it out!

Interested in learning more about mindfulness and how this practice can support social and emotional wellness of educators and students? Check out the Mindfulness Practices

for Educators offering listed under the K-12 Health & Wellness section of the PD catalog. To join the fall session, please register in the SMART PD portal.

Foundations for Inclusive Practice is a free, 15 PDP, self-paced course that highlights evidence based practices to support students with disabilities.and students of diverse learning styles. Through compelling video case studies and exploration of national and Massachusetts statistics and research findings, you will make connections to your own context by exploring school/district data on students with disabilities. The 15 PDPs are applicable to licensure renewal requirements related to Special Education and diverse learning styles. For more information and to register, explore the following link: https://moodle.madese.edc.org/. Once you have completed the course, please forward the DESE issued certificate to Katie Roberts to document the PDPs in SMART PD.

Massachusetts Partnership for Youth trainings focus on mental and behavioral health, social and emotional learning, trauma-sensitive classrooms and building a school culture that supports anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion. As part of a member district, HPS educators have access to MPY courses, webinars, and in-person conferences.

Please register for an account using your Hingham e-mail address using our district-specific link. If you previously had an MPY account, please re-register using the Hingham link:

https://massachusettspartnershipsforyouth.com/dashboard/?invite=08ee09445259926f9edb1ce50f987c72

Interested in expanding your toolbox to best support English Language Learners? Join the free, 15 PDP, self-paced professional development offering, Strategies for Making Content Accessible for English Learners. Using the book Unlocking English Learners′ Potential as a framework, participants will complete asynchronous Google Classroom modules then apply evidence-based strategies and practices. The 15 PDPs are applicable to licensure renewal requirements related to Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) and English as a Second Language (ESL). Please register in the SMART PD portal, then use click the attached Google Classroom link or use join code 4wesuyk. Please note that this PD offering does NOT fulfill requirements for the full SEI Endorsement, which can only be attained through an approved course. For more information on full SEI Endorsement course offerings, please consult the PD catalog.

The district is exploring offering a full SEI Endorsement course for interested HPS educators in Spring of 2024. In order to plan for anticipated course enrollment, please complete the attached Google survey to indicate your interest in participating in the potential district offering. Interested in pursuing an SEI endorsement course this fall? Check out some of the regional offerings (e.g.--French River Collaborative) listed in the PD Catalog.

Just a reminder that all graduate courses intended for reimbursement and/or salary advancement must be approved by the building principal and Assistant Superintendent prior to registration. (NOTE: Per the contract, even if you are not seeking reimbursement, courses must be approved prior to enrollment in order to be eligible for lane changes.) Once course requirements are complete, please forward the reimbursement form with proof of payment and university-issued transcript to Kaitlin Scott c/o Central Office.

Are you eligible for re-licensure this year? Have questions about the process? Katie Roberts will be offering a licensure help desk on Monday, October 16th at 3:30 via Zoom. We will cover general questions about re-licensure and review topics such as how to "bundle" PDPs to fulfill requirements in content, pedagogy, or special education. Please register via the attached form to receive the Zoom link.

Did you know that over the course of the past year, the state of Massachusetts has instituted a number of new scholarship programs to attract and retain highly qualified and diverse educators? Check out the attached scholarship opportunities for more details.

Calling all educators! Interested in joining the HPS Professional Development Committee, Equity Task Force, or Technology Committee? Please sign up using the attached Google Form or e-mail Katie Roberts at kroberts@hinghamschools.org.

Kathryn (Katie) Roberts

Assistant Superintendent

Hingham Public Schools

Email: kroberts@hinghamschools.org
Website: https://hinghamschools.org/
Location: 220 Central Street, Hingham, MA, USA
Phone: 781-741-1500