Past Offerings
Foundations of Effective Teaching I: Organizing the Classroom Environment for Teaching and Learning was offered as a 30-hour course with the first session in August 2003, completing the course in December. The same schedule was used in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Our Foundations team presented a two-hour session for new teachers and their mentors in August 2003 and 2004. The content included Beginning of the Year Classroom Management (Room Arrangement, Rules, Procedures, and Hierarchy of Consequences).
Reading Comprehension: taught a 30-hour course from late October 2003 through March 2004, every other week.. In the fall of 2004, 2005 and spring 2007 the team taught the course in weekly sessions.
Reciprocal Teaching is a research-based comprehension technique done with small group of students working with content area text. It is part of the larger Reading Comprehension course, but can be taught as a single strategy.
Reciprocal teaching mini-courses have been offered jointly with the district in spring 2003 over two-sessions for a total of 5 hours. There was another offering in August 2003 with a follow-up in October. Spring participants were invited to attend the follow-up
Thinking Math: was offered as a 15 hour/1 credit class starting in March 2005. In Spring 2006 a 45-hour course was taught for Thinking Math I, II, and III. In Spring 2007 Thinking Math II was taught as a 30 hour course
Managing Anti-Social Behavior: was offered weekly for the first time in fall 2005 for 30 hours. It was taught in spring 2007 also.
Instructional Strategies that Work was first taught in summer 2009
Home School Connection - scheduled to start offering in Summer 2013.
Grants
For our first courses support was received from a grant from The Reaching Heights Foundation for the cost of course manuals.
In 2003 and 2004 The DiGeronimo Family Foundation gave us a grant that paid for the food for the sessions. In 2007 the family foundation provided money for the LCD projector we use in our courses along with other materials.
In the spring of 2005 the Gund Foundation gave us funds to pay for our instructor fees for Thinking Math I, the course manuals for Thinking Math I and for part of the instructor fees for Managing Anti-Social Behavior.
Trainers
In 2002 union president Tom Schmida recruited four executive board members to become the first instructors for our local initiative. The group met and planned during that school year called together by Local Site Coordinator Ari Klein. Ari Klein and Tina Reynolds became trained in Foundations and Jen Bennett and Beth Rae took on Reading Comprehension over the summer at the national summer institute. These pairs presented first in fall 2003.
In spring 2003 two teachers, Rick Gulick and Leslie Ferguson, were selected to be trained nationally from our local. in Thinking Math I. They attended national training and presented their first course in spring 2005.
In spring 2004 two teachers, MaryAnn Brennan and Beth Grasser, were selected to be trained nationally from our local. in Managing Anti-Social Behavior. This team presented their first course in fall 2005.
In the summer 2005 the Thinking Math team went back for training. Stephanie Myers took Thinking Math II and Rick Gulick took Thinking Math III.
In 2004 one of the original participants in the Foundations class, Nancy McDonald transitioned into being co-instructor with Tina Reynolds. This pair went on to be trained in Instructional Strategies over the 2007 summer.
In 2006 Jen Bennett became the local site coordinator (in addition to her election to Second Vice-President) when Ari Klein was elected to First Vice-President.
In 2008 our Foundations team of Tina Reynolds and Nancy MacDonald was trained in Instructional Strategies that Work.
In 2008 Marc Baker started teaching Managing Anti-Social Behavior with Mary Ann Brennan.
In 2009 Beth Rae became a co-site coordinator with Jen Bennett.
In 2009 Aimee Banas joined our ER&D staff after national training. She teaches Thinking Math with Rick Gulick
In summer 2011 Beth Rae took over the site coordinator position.
In Spring 2012 Joshephine Shelton-Townes and Patti Smith were selected from a fantastic group of instructor candidates to go to summer training. The course they will be training for is "The Home-School Connection." Our hope is to offer this course starting in Summer 2013.