This year, the IMESD was invited to document the Professional Development Summit, held at Pendleton High School on October 11th. Anticipation filled the auditorium as the keynote speaker addressed a room full of educators ready for a day of professional learning.
Keynote speaker, Morgane Michael, provided an energizing start to the day, reminding educators of the importance of taking care of themselves first in order to be the best mentors they can be for students. Michael addressed feelings of burnout in education, and strategies to help mitigate and combat them.
Following the keynote address, professional learning sessions were offered in the following focus areas: Wellness, Content-Specific, Administrator Support, Literacy Support, SEL + Behavioral Health Management, Instructional Strategies + Classroom Management, and Special Education Support. Educators created customized schedules ahead of the event by choosing 4 sessions to attend. Just over 100 session options were provided.
Emily Williams, Regional Educator Network Data Specialist, shared that there were two overarching goals for the day. 1) Educators will leave the event feeling renewed and energized for the important work they do with students, and 2) Educators will leave the summit equipped with new strategies and tools to implement in their buildings. Williams further reports that since there would be so many types of educators attending, it was especially important that she try to secure relevant and valuable programming for all types of school professionals.
By that measurement, the day was indeed a success. See what participants had to say:
“I’m here because I want to learn about different avenues for the librarian position. I was very excited that they had librarian things. The first thing was SORA; I know Central [Middle School] is rocking it, and I have no idea why they are rocking it, so, hopefully, I’ll find out!”
Susan White, Milton-Freewater School District
“This is my first year teaching; Any information can be relevant at any given point, so I am trying to soak stuff up. I attended an IEP-Centered session this morning. I have a pretty heavy IEP class, so finding different ways to meet them where they are at has been testing my skills. Being able to further that has been very beneficial.”
Carson Greenwell, La Grande School District
Thank you all for another amazing Professional Development Summit, from participants to presenters. See you next year!
Recap Video: