What Occurs During An In-Service Day

While North Schuylkill's students were enjoying an extended weekend their teachers were hard at work during two-days of in-service training held on October 12th and 13th. Among the professional development activities provided our staff were:

Teachers in kindergarten through second grade attended a 2-day workshop taught by noted author and educator Dr. Eileen Feldgus. Dr. Feldgus pioneered a child literacy program known as KidWriting. This program focuses primarily on teaching phonics in the context of writing. Many studies, including the Children's Literacy Initiative Project, show that early writing is important to the development of reading skills and that the Kid Writing approach in particular is highly effective.

Math and Science teachers in grades 4-12 continued their work on core curriculum mapping. Special Education teachers received training in development of standards-based IEP’s and identifying which students will be best served by taking the modified PSSA exams. Art, Music, and Physical Education teachers, along with our guidance counselors, participated in cross-district meetings and activities organized by the IU 29. They met with like-teachers in other districts and had an opportunity to share ideas about how they run their respective programs in their districts. Teachers in grades 3-5 received training on the delivery and implementation of the district’s new Reading series, Reading Street and My Sidewalks.

Dr. Dona Bauman of the University of Scranton presented a workshop on inclusionary classroom practices. Inclusion calls for special education and regular education students to receive instruction in the same classroom, at the same time. They are taught collaboratively, by a regular ed and special education teacher. Dr. Bauman guided the teachers in grades 6-12 through various activities which helped answer three key questions: Do we value all children equally? What do we mean by inclusion? Are there some children for whom inclusion is inappropriate?

So now you have some idea of what takes place during an in-service day. As you can see, the teachers are hard at work, working to refine their skills for the benefit of our students.