RESERVE – St. John the Baptist Parish Public School District employees will gather Jan. 6 for a districtwide professional development day.
The professional development day is a collaborative effort between St. John’s district administration and the NEA Foundation Institute for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, a national effort to address challenges facing public education, which St. John was selected for earlier this year.
Part of the effort is aimed at developing more ways to target professional development to individual needs. To identify those needs, the district asked educators to participate in a survey to determine in what areas they would most like help. The 250 responses led to sessions being created addressing topics such as assessment, the Common Core State Standards, Compass, technology and student writing. Employees then registered for the sessions they felt would be most beneficial to them.
“What I love about
it is that it is a targeted professional development,” Superintendent Kevin George said.
“It’s based on the needs our employees expressed.”
The professional development day will not be limited to teachers but will truly be districtwide, with bus drivers, custodians, professional and clerical staff participating as well.
Sessions will be led by district personnel, classroom teachers and representatives from the Louisiana Department of Education Networks 3 and 4.
The professional development day will begin at 8 a.m. at New Wine Christian Fellowship with a keynote address by Chelonnda Seroyer, an award-winning teacher and educational consultant who assists teachers in customizing highly effective classroom management plans.
Following the main session, breakout sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at New Wine Christian Fellowship and the East St. John High School Freshman Success Academy building.