Staff Development Homepage

Tuition Assistance Applications are in school offices.  Forms must be completed and approved prior to the first class meeting.  Submit forms to Charlene Andrews, Staff Development Coordinator, at the School Administrative Offices.

Deadline extended to earn Star Points in the summer!!

Plan your Professional Development Academy sessions now! Applications for proposals are in schools.  Earn star points and a stipend for your efforts. Complete the proposal and return to Beth Garrett at the SAO by May 9, 2008.

Free Teacher Workshop Series at Nauticus!!

Get great classroom ideas to use next school year and earn star points!  These informative summer workshops will provide great new ways to incorporate hands-on activities that convey specific concepts.  Plenty of free materials available!! Sessions on Project Learning Tree, Watersheds, Weather, Senses, Global Positioning Systems(GPS) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) will be held throughout the summer.  Times vary for each session.  Contact Jennifer Kodlitsch at Nauticus for additional information at jennifer.tabor@norfolk.gov or (757)664-1044. 

Join the Nauticus Teacher Advisory Group  

Get neat ideas for your classroom and lots of free materials as you join teachers from around the community who are already directly involved with the development and presentation of numerous Nauticus projects.  Contact Jennifer Kodolitsch at jennifer.tabor@norfolk.gov or 757-664-1044. The Nauticus Teacher Advisory Group will meet Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.-Noon on the following dates:

June 21, 2008         August 16, 2008             October 11, 2008

December 6, 2008    February 7, 2009            April 4, 2009

New Resources for the Virginia Reading Assessment

The National Evaluation Systems has posted the Virginia Reading Assessment Faculty Resources on the Web site, http://www.va.nesinc.com/.  The resources are designed to assist educator preparation faculty and others in understanding test content, helping candidates prepare to take the Virginia Reading Assessment, and interpreting and analyzing candidate test results. Specific resources may be accessed on the following Web site: http://www.va.nesinc.com/VRA_faculty_resources.asp.

Interested in a Master's in Education?  Join the Old Dominion University College of Education information session on Wednesday, May 20, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. at King's Fork Middle School.  Contact Martha Maurno, ODU Southside Director at 757-923-3365 or mmaurno@gmail.com if you would like to attend.

Praxis II Mathematics Workshop at Regent University

Regent University is offering math Praxis Ii Preparation courses to assist provisionally licensed mathematics teachers in passing the Praxis II.  The course will be held on May 13, 20, 27, 2008 and June 3 and 10, 2008 from 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. at Regent University.  Tuition is $175.00  There will be a session for middle school and a session for high school.  Access www.regent.edu/courses for registration information.

Professional Development Opportunities

Earn recertification and star points this summer. The Educators' Ethnohistory Institute  sponsored by The Isle of Wight County Museum Foundation, Inc. will be held July 14-24, 2008 at Paul D. Camp Community College.  Indian cultures will be surveyed, with Europen and African cultural information integrated up to the 1820's.  Area educators will have the opportunity to discover relevant local and state wide venues and resources, enhance their knowledge of history and format this knowledge into their respective disciplines (including lesson plans and Standard of Learning correlations). The institute is no cost to the participants.  Enrollment is open to 20 educators in Western Tidewater.  Teachers in K-12 in all disciplines, school administrative and media support staff may enroll.  Stipends for full tuition (3-credit hours) are available.  Classes will be held at the Franklin campus of Paul D. Camp Community College.  For additional information, email fhancock@pc.vccs.edu.

The Martison Center for Mathematics and Scince at Regent University is offering the following summer courses:

Middle School Science Inquiry Institute-June 23-26, 2008

K-5 Elementary Science Inquiry Institute-July 7-10, 2008

Reading in the Mathematics Classroom-July 11, 25, 2008 and August 15, 2008

Learner-centered Mathematics Classroom for K-5 Teachers

Children's Literature in K-2 Science

Register before June 7, 2008 at http://regent.edu/acad/schedu/mathand sciencecenter/workshops. Flyers are in schools with additional information.

Join Ron Nash and Associates for Managing the Modern Classroom:  Creating a Dynamic and Effective Learning Environment on July 8-July 10, 2008 at the Hilton Garden Inn Town Center in Virginia Beach.  This powerful two and a half-day workshop will show you how to greatly reduce discipline problems, model the effective use of  music to enhance learning, emphasize the importance of room arrangement, and more. Participants will receive new editions of The Active Classroom by Ron Nash and Tools for Teaching by Dr. Fred Jones.  Registration fee of $249 includes the two books, complete handouts, a continental breakfast for three days and lunch for Tuesday and Wednesday.  For additional information and registration, access www.RonNashandAssociates.com.or contact Ron Nash at 757-567-6999.Registration is limited so act now!!

Spend a week this summer refreshing your classroom literacy instruction!  Join with teachers around the region to explore, learn and modify best practices in K-12 literacy instructional skills.  Enroll in the Summer Literacy Institute for Teachers scheduled for July 7-11, 2008. Dr. Harriette Arrington of Paul D. Camp Community College is the facilitator. The Institute is open to all teachers grades K-12.  Registration is $185, which includes daily breakfast, lunch, snack and materials.   Session hours are 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. at the Bethlehem Ruritan Club.  Participants are eligible for "clock-hour" recertification points and may enroll in EDU 295 through Paul D. Camp Community College for graduate credit.  Enrollment in this course is an additional fee.  For more information, visit www.LibraLiteracy.com.

The Virginia Department of Education will host two one-day professional development opportunities, Elementary Mathematics Number and Number Sense Module Training on July 23 and 24, 2008 at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, Roanoke, Virginia.  Teachers who work with students in mathematics, kindergarten through grade five are invited to attend on either day.  The goal of this one-day training will be to assist teachers in developing students'understanding of numbers at a conceptual level which lays the foundation for computation and estimation skills.  Training begins at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude at 3:30 p.m.  Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.  Lunch will be provided.  Registration is free.  For additional information, access http://www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/mathemodules/ beginning May 5, 2008.  The deadline for registration is June 6, 2008.

The Virginia Health and Physical Activity Institute wil take place July 21-24, 2008 at James Madison University. A variety of concurrent sessions will be offered that will focus on nutrition, technology, fitness, dance, curriculum resources, standards-based assessment and differentiated instruction for special needs students. Special events for Sunday, July 20, 2008 are Bicycle Education Certification Course, Heart Saver CPR in Schools Class, CDC Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool Workshop and National Archery in Schools Program Instructor Course. Virginia Commonwealth University will offer a three-credit health and physical education graduate course and James Madison University will offer a three-credit Technology in Health and Physical Education course.  Registration information for the institute and additional information about the special events is available online at http://www.jmu.edu/kinesiology/hpainstitute. Contact Charlene Andrews at charleneandrews@spsk12.net if you would like to attend.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is offering a summer teacher institute at the Rawls Museum in Courtland, VA  The fee is $20 for two days and $10 for one day.  Registration deadline is June 2, 2008.  Contact Dr. Lynn Cross for registration information.The institute qualifies for Star and Recertification points.

The Spring 2008 Professional Development Academy Booklet  is posted below and is in schools.  Register now on line or by submitting the registration form in the back of the booklet to Beth Garrett in the Human Resources Department.

Professional Development Academy Spring 2008 Booklet

Registration Form for 2008 Professional Development Academy

Professional Growth Opportunities through Courses for K-12 Personnel

George Washington University-www.nearyou.gwu.edu.

George Washington University Information sessions for Graduate Degree Programs in Educational Administration. Call 757-249-3522.

Hampton University, James Madison University, Longwood University and the University of Virginia offer online Master's degree program for Speech Languge Pathology.  Access http://www.dlve-slp.org for additional information.

Teacher Education Institute-www.TeacherEducation.com

University of Virginia-www.uvahamptonroadscenter.info

Virginia's PBS TeacherLine-www.pbs.org/teacherline

WHRO-www.whro.org/classroom

Professional Growth Items of Interest

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT STAR POINTS -Revised

Professional Development Plan-Revised 2007

Application for Professional Development Activity

Attention Special Education Teachers

Regent University and Norfolk State University are offering Highly Qualified Courses in Algebra, Earth Science, English/Space Science, Geometry, Life Science and Social Studies.  Contact Terri Taylor, Coordinator of Professional Development at ttaylor@regent.edu or 757-226-4096 for registration information.

Courses for Licensure

Suffolk Public Schools has partnered with Virginia Wesleyan College in the "Take Five Initiative."  Virginia Wesleyan College will pay 1/2  of the tuition of a course and Suffolk Public Schools will reimburse the teacher/student $250.  Courses will be held on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan College.  Contact Charlene Andrews at 925-6758 or charleneandrews@spsk12.net for additional details. 

Suffolk Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer and encourages diversity within its workforce (Reference Chapter 7, 7-3.1,7-3.2).  Violations of these policies should be reported to the Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services at 757-925-6761.