D200 Educators Prepare for Excellence Over Summer

Summer. Sandy beaches. Ice cream. Lazy days spent at the pool. While many of our District 200 students were enjoying these iconic summer moments, their teachers were busy readying themselves for the 2015 – 2016 school year. Indeed, many of our educators did enjoy extra time with family and friends, but most were seeking out new ways to reach and teach students at all instructional levels. Read on to discover how your District 200 educators worked hard to spark in your children a renewed passion to excel this year.

• 10% of WWEA members taught summer school courses
• 17% of WWEA members coached athletics and/or activities; many offering opportunities for District 200 students of all ages to benefit from the expertise of these Coaches and Sponsors
• 23% of WWEA members attended the District-led “Schoogle Days” in June
• 29% of WWEA members met and worked with their District 200 committee(s)
• 31% of WWEA members attended the District-led “Week of Learning” in August
• 32% of WWEA members enrolled in and completed self-funded graduate courses
• 47% of WWEA members collaborated with colleagues in their professional learning community
• 92% of WWEA members actively sought out learning and enrichment opportunities leading to the development of more effective and innovative lesson plans for the 2015 – 2016 school year

While these statistics reveal a strong commitment on the part of our teaching staff to hone their skills this summer, what is most impressive are the unique experiences our WWEA members engaged in to ensure your students are receiving the high quality education our community has come to expect from District 200. How, exactly, did teachers enhance instruction this summer? Check out the quotes below for a snapshot of the diverse ways our educators were upping their instructional game this summer:

• “I completed a fundamentals training course to become a Google Certified Educator which allowed me to, then, began their advanced training modules.”
• “I drafted National Curriculum Standards for Sociology to present to the American Sociological Association who, ultimately, voted unanimously to publish them in their entirety.”
• “I read 25 new children’s novels and 110 nonfiction titles in preparation for fall book-talks with students and literary coaching for teaching staff.”
• “I worked with team members to develop programming and data collection for our students with severe autism.”
• “I volunteered at Emerson’s free summer lending library. Every Wednesday, students had the opportunity to swap and borrow books at no cost to them or their families.”
• “I wanted to be sure that Reading Specialists, EL Teachers, and Resource Case Managers all had access to the Kindergarten curriculum. To facilitate this, I created a year-long lesson plan outline to serve as both a resource and a guide for the team of professionals working to serve our little ones.”
• “I spent 2 weeks in Germany taking a class that brought participants from all over the world together to refine their written and oral communication in German – for two weeks we communicated solely in German, the language I teach.”
• “I scheduled visits at a variety of local and out-of-state colleges and universities. In my role as a Counselor, this will enable me to help students to more efficiently navigate the college selection process.”
• “I vacationed in the Canadian Rockies where I hiked with a small group led by a Geologist from the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation to this UNESCO World Heritage site. There, I had the opportunity to hold 500 million year old fossils! This will enrich students’ experience in my Advanced Biology course.”

Our teachers possess a passion to excel. Thankfully, summer offers us the opportunity to refine our practice so that during the school year we can focus on challenging your students to do the same. Looking forward to an outstanding new year!