Upcoming Events
For more Professional Development Opportunities, visit www.southdakotapd.com
Workshops address struggling readers, writers
Special Education Programs and Sopris West Educational Services will host three workshops for teachers this summer. There is no registration fee for these trainings, and one set of materials will be purchased for each registered school district.
Step Up to Writing Program Training
Closing the Achievement Gap for Students Struggling to Become Proficient Writers
Dates: June 16-17
Location: Ramkota RiverCentre, Pierre
Limit: 75 participants
Presenter: Kim Marcum
For Elementary Special Education Staff
Closing the Achievement Gap for Struggling Elementary Readers
Dates: July 14-15
Location: Cedar Shore Resort, Chamberlain
Limit: 200 participants
Presenters: Frank Smith and Gail Adams
For Middle School and High School Special Education Staff
Closing the Achievement Gap for Struggling Secondary Readers
Dates: Aug. 8-10
Location: Ramkota RiverCentre, Pierre
Limit: 200 participants
Presenters: Joanne Allain and Frank Smith
To register for any of the sessions, call the department’s Special Education Programs at (605) 773-3678. Travel, meal and lodging stipends are the responsibility of the individual. View Website >>
Writing to Win© workshop takes place this summer
The department’s Office of Career and Technical Education is sponsoring the first of three yearly sessions on the Writing to Win© system. Year one focuses on “Journal Writing for Critical Thinking.” Writing to Win© is designed to help teachers in all content areas improve students’ writing skills.
Writing to Win© I will be held June 27-29 at Mitchell Technical Institute. Dr. Warren Combs, developer of the Writing to Win© system, will lead the training.
Participants will learn the keys to teaching effective short writing. Schools should send teams of three people, including grades 7–12 classroom teachers and/or administrators. Team members will return to their school districts and implement the concepts learned. They also serve as writing coaches for other teachers. Follow-up sessions will be conducted throughout the year.
What outcomes can participants expect? Research shows that students do 30 percent better on tests of knowledge in courses that implement a student self-check system like the one taught at the workshop. The following demonstrates the impact of the Writing to Win© model at two schools: When middle school students completed two short writing assignments a week in every class, their pass rate on a state writing test increased from 66 percent to 91 percent in a single year. The pass rate at a high school moved from 74 percent to 98 percent in three years.
Participants are asked to bring the following resources to the workshop:
- copy of the district/school’s writing curriculum;
- sample teacher’s textbook for one grade level in math, science and/or social studies;
- laptop computer; and
- curriculum maps, if available.
Register online at www.southdakotapd.com by June 10. Registration is limited to 25 schools and 75 participants. College credit and renewal credit are available.
For information, contact Marsha Kucker, state director of High Schools That Work/Making Middle Grades Work. Call (605) 367-7680 or mkucker@edec.org.
Summer Institute to focus on new 3-Rs
Rigor, relevance and relationships – the new 3-Rs – will be the focus of a workshop July 18-20 at the Ramkota RiverCentre in Pierre. The professional development opportunity is sponsored by the department’s Office of Career and Technical Education.
Participants will receive free curriculum materials, including “The Rigor and Relevance Handbook” and “Instructional Strategies: How to Teach for Rigor and Relevance.” They also will be allowed access to electronic versions of the following:
- Academic Excellence Through Career and Technical Education Resource Kit with Gold Seal Lessons (CD distribution, additional duplication allowed);
- Reading Strategies for Career-Technical Education and Career Academies Resource Kit (CD distribution, additional duplication allowed);
- Instructional Strategies Resource Kit; and
- Planning Rigorous and Relevant Instruction Resource Kit (CD distribution, additional duplication allowed, includes 25 copies, one for each school/district at in-service) .
Trainers from Dr. Willard Daggett’s International Center for Leadership in Education will conduct the training. It will focus on the Rigor/Relevance Framework and how to use it to plan instruction, design assessment and develop curriculum. Participants will learn and practice techniques to ensure that teaching and learning are driven to higher levels of cognitive skill development and to more in-depth real-world skill applications. Participants also will learn how the third R – relationships – contributes to students’ academic success.
Cost of the workshop is $75. Expenses for registration, travel, lodging and meals are allowable Perkins costs for approved career and technical education programs.
A block of hotel rooms is reserved at the following hotels:
- Kelly Inn, Pierre, $49/single occupancy, $55/double occupancy, (605) 224-4140
- Days Inn, Pierre, $50/single occupancy, $55/double occupancy, (605) 224-0411
- Governor’s Inn, Pierre, $50/single occupancy, $55/double occupancy, (605) 224-4200
- Comfort Inn, Pierre, $60/single occupancy, $75/double occupancy, (605) 224-0377
- Holiday Inn Express, Ft. Pierre, $64.50/single occupancy, $64.50 double occupancy, (605) 223-9045
Rooms are blocked under OCTE Summer Institute Workshop and will be held until June 24 at 6 p.m. CDT. Rooms are for July 18 and 19 only. If additional dates are needed, participants must check on availability when making reservations. Participants must make their own room reservations.
Registration deadline is July 1. The workshop is limited to 100 educators. Participants may receive one unit of graduate credit through Northern State University or one CEU. Cost for graduate credit will be approximately $60. There is no charge for CEUs.
Online registration is available at www.southdakotapd.com. Participants may register on-site as well.
For more information, contact Gloria Smith-Rockhold
at the Department of Education, (605) 773-4747 gloria.smith-rockhold@state.sd.us
Youth internships subject of July workshop
Educators interested in providing meaningful internships for high-school students should plan to attend a workshop July 21-22 at the Ramkota RiverCentre in Pierre. Colleen Keffeler, school-to-careers coordinator at Brown High School in Sturgis, will lead this informative session.
Hosted by the department’s Office of Career and Technical Education, the two-day workshop will provide school site facilitators with the knowledge and tools to:
- develop work-site experiences with local businesses;
- develop coursework necessary to prepare students for an internship;
- successfully place students and coordinate evaluation;
- develop internship opportunities for special-needs students; and
- assist with providing for legal safeguards and school liability protection.
The workshop is fully paid for by the Office of Career and Technical Education. Only 50 spots are available (one representative per school), so sign up now! Lodging, meals and mileage are the responsibility of the participating school. College credit is available through Northern State University.
To register, contact Faith Ellis at the Department of Education, (605) 773-7030. faith.ellis@state.sd.us
Crosswalk workshop to align CTE with new content standards
A workshop scheduled for Aug. 8 will crosswalk career and technical education (CTE) program standards with the most recent state content standards in reading, communication arts, mathematics and science.
The workshop will be held 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings (room 344 of the SNF Building). It will be conducted by Charlotte Mohling, a family and consumer sciences teacher from Wessington Springs, and staff from the Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education.
By April 2006, course syllabi for all CTE programs must be revised to reflect the new academic standards in reading, communication arts, mathematics and science.
Teachers new to career and technical education should plan to attend. Other teachers are welcome to begin work on revising the present crosswalks. Participants should bring a laptop computer, curriculum, program standards, course syllabi, and other references.
The workshop is free. Graduate credit and renewal credit from the Department of Education will be available as part of the South Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education Conference to be held Aug. 9-11 in Brookings.
For more information on the crosswalk workshop, contact Gloria Smith-Rockhold
at the Department of Education, (605) 773-4747. gloria.smith-rockhold@state.sd.us
Daggett to address SDACTE conference
Dr. Willard Daggett, president of the International Center for Leadership in Education, will present the keynote address at the South Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education (SDACTE) conference in August. Daggett’s presentation takes place Aug. 9, 1 p.m., in the Performing Arts Center at South Dakota State University.
Daggett is recognized worldwide for his ability to move education systems towards more rigorous and relevant skills and knowledge for allstudents. He has assisted a number of states and hundreds of school districts with their school improvement initiatives. A former classroom teacher and school administrator in New York state, Daggett spearheaded restructuring initiatives to focus the state’s education system on the skills and knowledge students need in a technological, information-based society.
Daggett is the creator of the Application Model, a practical planning and instructional tool for determining the relevance of curriculum and assessment to real-world situations. The Application Model is part of the Rigor/Relevance Framework, which has become a cornerstone of many school reform efforts throughout the United States.
His keynote address and subsequent workshop topics will include “ Rigor and Relevance,” “Successful Schools – What Makes Them Work” and “Preparing Students for Our Changing World.”
Daggett’s presentations are sponsored by the Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education and the South Dakota Association for Career and Technical Education.
The general public may attend by purchasing tickets for $10 the day of the event.
For additional information, contact Robert Bell, executive director, South Dakota Association of Career and Technical Education, (605) 692-6056. bellr@brookings.net
Fall conference for school food-service workers set
South Dakota school food-service workers are invited to attend the 34th annual Conference & Industry Seminar, Aug. 2-5, in Aberdeen. The event will be held at the Ramkota. It is hosted by the South Dakota School Food Service Association and the Department of Education’s Child and Adult Nutrition Services
(CANS).
Conference highlights include pre-conference training classes on topics such as Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) and ServSafe; a vendor showcase featuring the latest foods and equipment for schools; and educational sessions on 20+ topics.
To access the registration form, go to the CANS website and click on the “Fall Conference at Aberdeen” link under “Training & Technical Assistance.” |
