Registration Closes September 6: Youth Mental Health First Aid Training
To register, please use the following link in PowerSchool. Space is limited! If you teach within the UA/UWA In-Service Center region, your registration fee will be paid for this opportunity.
Youth Mental Health First Aid is designed to teach parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including ADHD), and eating disorders. The facilitator, Daniel Cohen, PhD, is an assistant professor of school psychology at UA and is an expert in the provision of mental health supports in school settings. The training includes a self-paced module and a synchronous day-long remote training session.
PLUACLD840 PowerSchool Applications for Administrators (PSPL Section #414731)
PLUACLD840 PowerSchool Applications for Administrators (PSPL Section #414731)
This PLU will meet after school on 4 consecutive Wednesdays in September starting on 9/8. The focus will be on administrative tasks in the PowerSchool SIS with practice on topics such as attendance, student searching, reports, and gradebook management.
Registration Link: https://alsde.truenorthlogic.com/ia/empari/learning2/registration/presentRegistrationDetails/414731
Alabama Technology in Motion New Teacher Mentor Program
Alabama Technology in Motion is now accepting registration for Cohort 4 of the New Teacher Technology Mentor Program. This newly revised course will be a blended format of content that will assist new teachers (first or second year) in the LEAs. The course will cover several months and include topics such as digital citizenship, communication, classroom management, innovative teaching ideas, and effective student engagement. Participants will learn about technology tools to support each of these topics. There will be three synchronous meetings in Zoom, and the course modules and tasks will be housed in Schoology. This course will be offered by ATIM Specialists in Regional Inservice Centers. Participants must be a certified first or second year teacher that has not already participated. Participants can earn up to 12 CEUs for completing this course. We look forward to meeting the new members of Cohort 4 and teaching them some new strategies and tools. (This is completely voluntary and space is limited.) To sign up, register in PSPL course #271169 and look for section #414106 with Cohort 4 by the Sept. 7 deadline. After your new teacher(s) have signed up please have them complete this brief Google Form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeavt7r6Y3xVNM_XdtIOIC80WHSp7R4u3zs9wqg9WCSdqTWBQ/viewform
ALSDE Curriculum & Instruction Meetings
- September 15: Birmingham
- September 21: Montgomery
- September 22: Mobile
- Meeting Format: Whole Group Session – 9:00 – 12:00; Specified Breakout Sessions from 1:00 - 4:30
- Meeting Logistics: Specific locations, agenda topics, parking information, afternoon breakout session titles and target audiences, and other logistical information will be sent to LEAs through Dr. Mackey’s Midweek Matters and the OSL Updates email blast from Dr. Davis.
- ALSDE Contacts: For additional questions and/or clarifications, contact Susan Zana at susan.zana@alsde.edu or Cristin Dillard at cdillard@alsde.edu in Instructional Services.
Operation Success: The Role of the Mental Health Service Coordinator Training
Operation Success: The Role of the Mental Health Service Coordinator Training
- Overview: All LEAs awarded the funds for the MHSC are required to attend and additional social workers or MHSC that an LEA has hired in addition to the MHSC grant or non-grant funded LEAs who use ESSER funds to hire MHSC or social workers may also attend.
- Dates & Location: September 21-22, 2021, at Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; 9:00 – 4:00 each day
- Registration Information: Required to attend and must be done in PowerSchool PL via the following link; Capacity is 300 and will be based on PowerSchool registration for the event.
- Contacts: Dr. Kay Warfield kaw@alsde.edu or Ms. Shenitra Dees Shenitra.dees@alsde.edu in Prevention and Support Services for additional information
ATiM Google Level 1 Academy
ALSDE & ATIM in partnership with Google is pleased to launch a special Google Level 1 Academy for Alabama Educators. We are in the process of organizing the Google L1 Academy for the 21-22 school year. Do you know a classroom teacher interested in joining this STATE-WIDE initiative to become Google Level 1 Certified? The deadline to apply is September 22, 2021, and there is no exam cost for teachers who wish to participate.
Registration/Application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc21XWw4G3IELFkDUzzQudi4dWdvmV82yicCDWZOuyNlerFWA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Here are few details about the academy. You can also find more information in the attached flyer.
As a Google Level 1 Certified Educator, teachers will hone their Google skills and transform their classrooms using Google tools. Learn to use Google Workspace for Education products to make your classroom more efficient and improve student outcomes. As a member of the Google Certified Educator Level 1 Academy, teachers will stand out as dedicated to the craft. Teachers will also grow their skills to help transform their classrooms through technology.
Participants should plan to devote between 14 and 20 hours in support of earning the Google Level 1 Certification Credential, this includes synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities. This program is much more than test prep, so prepare to engage with a friEd Learning Guide and content developed by Google Education Partner, friEdTechnology, “because everything is better fried!”
TIps for Teaching Arabic Students in the Mainstream Classroom
Time: 2:00-3:00 pm
Format: Virtual Session via Zoom
Facilitator: Rebecca Padin, ALSDE EL Regional Specialist
Purpose: This session will build teachers' awareness and understanding of Arabic-speaking students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Participants will receive various evidence-based strategies to help Arabic-speaking students learn academic content in English and achieve success in the mainstream.
UA/UWA Region 4 Curriculum Directors' PLC
- September 24, 2021
- 10:00 am-11:30 am
- Virtual meeting via Zoom
- This year, we will host 3 meetings with the curriculum directors/professional learning directors who serve as direct liaisons to the In-Service Center.
- Each of these regional meetings, beginning with September 24, 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.
Inaugural Alabama-Georgia Middle Level Conference: September 24-25
The first ever virtual joint Alabama-Georgia Middle Level Education Conference is based on the fifth edition of AMLE's position paper, The Successful Middle School: This We Believe. The conference will support middle level educators at all stages of their career who want to learn more about how to support the attributes and characteristics that define successful middle schools, teachers, and students.
The conference features educators and school leaders from across Alabama and Georgia. We are also proud to host author and leader Robert Jackson as our keynote speaker along with other incredible featured speakers.
We will kick off the weekend Friday night (September 24) with a tailgate social hosted by Dru Tomlin, and rally together to tackle middle level education on Saturday (September 25) during our half-day conference.
If you are an educator in Region 4 who would like to attend, please e-mail Banks Gordy at bgordy@uwa.edu. The In-Service Center is offering scholarships to pay registration for middle school educators within our region.
PLUACLD732 Last Chance PLU (PSPL Section #414725)
PLUACLD732 Last Chance PLU (PSPL Section #414725)
This is your last chance to earn this PLU (from Dr. Mayben) before it expires in January 2022. PLUACLD732 also known as the TPACK PLU focuses on how technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) work together to create effective teaching and learning environments. There will be three after school Zoom meetings, and all other work will be completed online by participants between the virtual meetings.
Registration Link: https://alsde.truenorthlogic.com/ia/empari/learning2/registration/presentRegistrationDetails/414725
Coffee and Conversation: Making Math Learning Richer by Increasing the Rigor
Join Kari Jurgenson on Tuesday, September 28 for this afterschool virtual session from 3:00-4:30 pm! Middle and high school math teachers will learn more about increasing the rigor of mathematical tasks in daily instruction.
Register in PowerSchool via the following link. Zoom information is included in the "notes" section of the listing.
PowerSchool Performance Matter Analytics: September 28
PERFORMANCE MATTERS ANALYTICS | September 28, 2021
- Audience: Two to Three attendees per LEA (25 seats per session)
- Duration: 3 hours (Participants can attend either the 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM session or 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM session.) Please bring a laptop with the Chrome Browser installed and arrive 15 minutes early to ensure connection to the network.
- Location: UA In-Service Center, 260 Kilgore Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
- Agenda: Learn how to use PowerSchool Performance Matters to analyze and compare student data for making data-driven instructional decisions. Practice creating customized reports to compare multiple measures of student performance as well as to compare district-wide performance on assessments. Discover the power of filters to disaggregate student data to view results by school, teacher, or class.
- Featured reports include: My Dashboard, Student Details, Baseball Card, and Scoreboard.
- Registration: SDE PowerSchool Performance Matters Analytics | Course No: 265757
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.
September 30, 2021: NBCT Component 4
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.
PowerSchool for Administrators PLU
The Alabama Technology in Motion program at the UA-UWA In-Service Center is offering a face to face PowerSchool for Administrators PLU in Demopolis this semester. The sessions will meet from 3:45 PM to 5:15 PM in the STEM Lab at Demopolis Middle School. The dates are September 30, October 14, October 19, and October 29. The focus will be on administrative tasks in the PowerSchool SIS with practice on topics such as attendance, student searching, reports, and gradebook management. To earn the PLU, participants must attend each session and complete online tasks in a Schoology Course. This PLU is open to all administrators and teachers with administrative certification in the region. Please consider sharing this opportunity with the educators in your school or district. I have attached a flyer to assist with this task, and the registration link is below. Thanks!
Registration Link: https://alsde.truenorthlogic.com/ia/empari/learning2/registration/presentRegistrationDetails/416343
Region 4: ELA Course of Study Documents
- Spiral bound hard copies have been delivered to each school/central office in Region 4.
- The ELA teacher's name was affixed via a label to the front of each document.
- Copies were printed based upon last year's educational directory. You have the option of downloading additional copies at https://www.alabamaachieves.org/content-areas-specialty/english-language-arts/.
- Contact Dr. Holly Morgan at hgmorgan@ua.edu with any questions.
ARI Region 4 Lunch and Learn Sessions
ARI Lunch and Learns for Administrators- As outlined in the Alabama Literacy Act (ALA), the ARI local and regional literacy specialists must be clear and intentional in working with the school administrators to create a strategic plan for coaching that includes coaching and mentoring teachers daily (p.10). This strategic plan for coaching will assist in a seamless transition to the 2021 Alabama Course of Study: English Language Arts (ELA COS). Each Lunch and Learn will include time to explore a specific area of foundational reading from our 2021 ELA COS and support administrators in ensuring all educators in our buildings have a clear understanding of how the science of reading is explicitly incorporated to enable K-3 students to master grade-level content.
Lunch & Learn 1
September 30, 2021
Lunch & Learn 2
December 2, 2021
Lunch & Learn 3
January 27, 2022
Lunch & Learn 4
March 10, 2022
Lunch & Learn 5
- April 28, 2022
All sessions will be held via Zoom from 10:00-11:00 am. Register in PowerSchool via the following link to receive the Zoom links.
You may also review ARI updates via their ARI Literacy Leadership | Smore Newsletters.
Kagan Cooperative Learning
Region 4, we are excited to host an upcoming Kagan Cooperative Learning Workshop. This opportunity will be held at the Bell Conference Center on the University of West Alabama campus on October 6 – October 7, 2021 from 8:30 a.m.- 3:45 p.m. Materials for all participants will include the following: Cooperative Learning Book, Cooperative Learning Course Workbooks, Action Plans, and Software (Mixed Pair Share). We would love for you to send a team!
Workshop Highlights include:
- Pump up the fun, friendships, and liking for learning and each other with classbuilding and teambuilding
- Experience why group work simply doesn’t work for everyone, andwhy Kagan Structures do
- Save valuable time and energy with easy-to-use structures that make lesson planning a snap
- Keep students on task and effectively manage disruptions with engaging structures
- Master the different types of pairs and teams, how to form them, and when to use them
- Provide students the will to work together and the skills to do so successfully
- Take away hot management tips that will make managing your cooperative class a snap
- Fully understand and implement basic principles that spell success for your students
- Create an environment where all students are accountable for complete engagement, every day
SERC 2021 Robotics Conference
Birmingham Holocaust Education Center: Teacher Workshop
Teaching with Stories-Romania
Thursday, October 14, 2021
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Virtual Session via Zoom
To register, or for more information, visit www.bhecinfo.org.
October 15: Rise to the Challenge Dyslexia Conference
When
Friday, October 15, 2021 from 7:45 AM to 4:15 PM CDT
Where
St. James Church9045 Vaughn Rd.
Montgomery, AL 36117
- Register now via this link
- Keynote speakers: Natalie Wexler and Linda Farrell
- For more information, view the following site!
October 16: Alabama Conference on Grading and Assessment for Learning (ACGAL)
Registration and session proposals are now open at www.acgal.org
Note the following important information:
- The conference will be a hybrid event this year with both in-person and virtual options
- Masks and social distancing are required for the event (in-person)
- All sessions will be streamed live AND recorded for participants to access after the conference ends. We will share access information directly with registrants.
If you are an educator in Region 4 who would like to attend, please contact Tami Barron at tbarron@ua.edu regarding scholarship availability.
PLUACLD911: Dare to Lead (UA-UWA Regional Inservice Center)
The Dare To Lead™ program is based on the research of Dr. Brene' Brown and is a culmination of a seven year study of courage and leadership. Our district and school leaders will learn how to BRAVE trust. If school leaders are to be brave and courageous they will make mistakes and, in some cases, fail. We will learn how to rise. The Dare To Lead™ program will provide participants the skill sets to create brave and courageous cultures. This will be a virtual PD led by Dr. Kelly Horner, Founder of Horner Education Consulting Group. This session has been approved as an ACLD-PLU as well.
There are EIGHT key learning outcomes for the Dare To Lead™ program.
• Recognize vulnerability as the emotion we feel during times of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.
• Explain why courage requires vulnerability.
• Establish a clearer link between what I learned and behaviors I want to change.
• Recognize the critical role that self-awareness plays in daring leadership.
• Give examples to support how armor – not fear – is the greatest obstacle to daring leadership.
• Identify the four skill sets that make up courage: rumbling with vulnerability, living into our values, BRAVING trust, and learning to rise.
• Recognizing vulnerability is the birthplace of many of the behaviors that define daring leadership, including creativity, accountability, and difficulty conversations.
• Give examples of why daring leadership requires showing up for hard conversations and rumbles, including giving and receiving feedback
The virtual training will take place on 10/20/2021; 10/27/2021; 11/3/2021; 11/10/2021; 11/17/2021; 12/1/2021; and 12/8/2021 from 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Participants will also be provided with a copy of the text, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts and will receive 1 ACLD-PLU upon completion.
PLUACLD926 Digital Citizenship Best Practices that Just Make Sense (PSPL Section #414760)
PLUACLD926 focuses on supporting educational leadership as they educate their staff members and students in the appropriate, safe, ethical, and legal use of technology. There will be three after school Zoom meetings (Nov 3, Nov 18, and Dec 1), and all other work will be completed online by participants between the virtual meetings. Registration Link: https://alsde.truenorthlogic.com/ia/empari/learning2/registration/presentRegistrationDetails/414760
Alabama's Teacher Observation Tool: UA/UWA Region 4 Training for Administrators
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.
Region 4 Dates: November 9 or 10 (Choose one full day to attend; two sessions are open each day)
Region 4 Location: Bryant Conference Center, 240 Paul W. Bryant Dr., Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
Click on the direct links below in order to register via PowerSchool for the following opportunities in Region 4:
AMSTI
AMSTI has been busy providing professional learning to teachers in our region for math and science. We were excited to hold our first coaching academy to support building-based math coaches. We look forward to working with this great group of educators in our coaching communities this year.
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
We are happy to be able to deliver labs to your school this year if you are one of our trained teachers. The process will look a little different this year than it has in the past. Mr. John Pointon will be our new delivery driver this year. Please be on the lookout to welcome him to your school.
Training
If you are a new teacher needing ASIM training, please reach out to us directly via email, phone, and/or text.
Lab Safety
We are unable to provide printed safety contracts, but you will be required to have one on file for your students. 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.
Mark your calendars for the "Scientist for a Day" event in November 2021!
Alabama Technology in Motion with Dr. Robert Mayben
Contact Dr. Robert Mayben at rmayben@ua.edu to support your school or district's technology professional learning needs. He will be working with many districts in our region during the first two weeks of August. PLU opportunities and other training opportunities are posted in this newsletter above!
University of Alabama Online
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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/
UA/UWA Regional In-Service Education Center
Mrs. Tami Barron, Administrative Assistant
Ms. Angela Lewis, Office Associate for In-Service Center and AMSTI
Mrs. Banks Gordy, UWA Assistant
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