District Training & Professional Development

In the 2020-21 school year, we’ve continued our focus on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

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• August 2020 – Equity in Education presentation at the opening of the new school year 
• October and November 2020 – Implicit Bias Part I and Part II – a two-part training series on implicit bias and disproportionality 
• January and February 2021 – Inaugural PASD Equity Mini-Conference – workshops included: 
» An Introduction to Understanding White Supremacy  
» Community Resources  
» Cultivating Inclusive Communities: How to be an LGBTQ+ Ally  
» Culturally Responsive Teaching: Improving Education  
» Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Focus Group  
» Empathy: The Foundation of Restorative Practices  
» Evaluating Your Curriculum for Equity (An Introduction)  
» Navigating Home & School Relationships amidst the Global Pandemic 
» Structural Racism as a Cause of Poverty in America  
» The Power of Relationships 
• Ongoing – Anti-racists Chat Series – bi-monthly chat sessions focused on articles, podcasts, and videos 
• Ongoing – DEI Drop-in Hours – open office hours to discuss and reflect on questions/issues/topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Bridges Out of Poverty Trainings (starting in 2019) 
• Restorative Practices training for select staff in 2019-20; additional training planned for implementation in 21-22 school year 
• PLC’s specifically focused on equity: Social/Emotional Learning; Understanding Restorative Practices; Community Engagement; Race, Culture, and Class, Advanced Topics in Race, Culture, Class; Instructional Strategies for Differentiation with Teaching Learning Succeeding; Differentiation in Math with Dr. Paul Riccomini; Working with English Learners; (starting in 2018) 

Prior years have included trainings on the following topics: 

• Power of Perspective—Teaching with Primary Sources to Engage English Language Learners 
• Presentation by Matt Kay, author of Not Light But Fire; every faculty member received a copy of the book and there was additional professional development using this book as focus 
• Trauma-Informed Classroom  
• Implicit Bias and Cultural Competence multi-workshop series 
• Teaching in Culturally Responsive Schools 
• Leadership for Culturally Responsive Schools 
• Maintaining Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in the Classroom 
• Nurturing Our Students Resilience: It Begins with Beliefs 
• Creating Democratic Schools: Cultivating Youth Voice 
• Facing Fear: The Challenge of Culturally Competent School Counseling 
• Transformative School Voices for Equity 
• Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools 
• Presentations on Resources and Materials for Students who are Struggling 
• Project Libertad trainings for staff on Immigration Rights and other issues for immigrant families 
• Imbed concept of equity in all professional development and District culture—virtual learning, differentiated learning, etc.  
• Job-embedded professional learning with instructional coaches, including building strong relationships, supporting inclusion, valuing diversity, maintaining high expectations for all students 
• Equity Leadership Learning Sessions with School and District Administrators – monthly learning sessions that focus on how to be culturally proficient leaders 
• Summer Book Clubs for Administrators  
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