TEACHER FEATURE: SD band directors march in Rose Bowl Parade Two South Dakota band directors participated in the Band Directors Marching Band in an unprecedented entry in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses® Rose Parade on Jan. 1. Brock Persson is the Todd County School District band director. Ron Stary has retired from full-time teaching, having led bands in Brookings, S.D., and Montevideo, Minn., and now teaches part-time in Watertown. The Watertown Public Opinion [https://www.thepublicopinion.com/story/entertainment/2022/01/11/rose-parade-brings-mentorship-love-music-watertown/9136557002/] recently covered his participation in the Rose Parade. The Band Directors Marching Band was made up of more than 200 individuals from 50 states and Mexico. The Showmanship Award-winning parade entry’s theme was, “America’s Band Directors: We teach music. We teach life” and made parade history as the first Rose Parade entry consisting of both a float and a marching band together. It was also the parade’s first known marching band in which all members were band directors.
Since much of band directors’ work focuses on preparing students for concerts and recitals, Persson said it was energizing to join colleagues in picking up their own instruments and playing his sousaphone. “This project reconfirmed my belief that music changes lives,” Stary said. “It makes us better humans, better thinkers, better contributors to society, and has provided me with a great career and life for my family.” Stary said a mother of a former student recently told him that her son had called from graduate school during a difficult time to tell her, ‘Thank you for making me stick with band.’ The young man could see how the discipline and perseverance made him more successful at grad school, where he is pursuing an advanced degree in engineering. The band performed several pieces of music for the Rose Parade and other area performances, including the Band Fest at Pasadena Community College. These included a special arrangement of Meredith Willson’s “Seventy-Six Trombones” by Lisa Galvin called “Salute to America’s Music Makers,” “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa, “Strike Up the Band” by George Gershwin, and “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Louis Prima. The float featured flower tributes and memorials to participating directors’ mentors and directors who have passed away. The directors participated in service projects, including a book drive, and got to meet distinguished band directors Alfred Watkins and James Swearingen. “The experience also gives us a larger support system nationwide,” Persson said. “We now know new people to talk to for literature advice, equipment advice, and about the overall wellbeing of individuals.” Persson enjoyed seeing new landscapes, with seemingly endless miles of twisting highways, large buildings, landmarks including Warner Bros., Walt Disney Animation Studios, Santa Monica Boulevard, and cities like Ventura and Pasadena. Band members were selected by a committee of the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation. The foundation is based in Pickerington, Ohio, and was the sponsoring organization behind the project. The foundation was created to recognize and carry on the work of the late Mike Sewell, who dedicated his life to the school and community music programs in Pickerington and the Central Ohio area for more than 38 years. More information about the event can be found on the Saluting America's Band Directors website [https://banddirectorsalute.org/]. 
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“You hear of Hall of Fame coaches and athletes, you have All Star games for sports; you don't usually find an All Star ensemble of musicians from all 50 states and Mexico,” Persson said. “To quote a fellow band director, John Cisetti, ‘the band makes me strong.’ I was proud to represent my students, my community, Todd County School District, and the state of South Dakota.”
Teachers and school counselors go above and beyond
Twelve South Dakota teachers and school counselors earned or renewed national certifications in 2021, demonstrating advanced knowledge and skill in their professions.
Teachers achieve National Board Certification through a rigorous, performance-based, peer-reviewed assessment of a teacher's pedagogical (teaching) skills and content knowledge. The certification process takes one to three years to complete. While licensing standards set the basic requirements to teach in a state, National Board Certified teachers demonstrate advanced teaching knowledge, skills, and practices similar to the certifications earned by experts in law and medicine. South Dakota’s 2021 recipients of National Board Certification include:
- Brittany Condon, Generalist/Middle Childhood, Rapid City Area Schools
- Krista McCorkle, Generalist/Early Childhood, Aberdeen School District
- Jennifer Burnette, Mathematics/Early Adolescence, McLaughlin School District
- Chelsey Coverdale, Mathematics/Early Adolescence, Harrisburg School District
- Carla Diede, Mathematics/Early Adolescence, Harrisburg School District
- Beth Keeney (principal), Exceptional Needs Specialist/Early Childhood through Young Adulthood, Rapid City Area Schools
- Crystal McMachen, Mathematics/Early Adolescence, Rapid City Area Schools
- Ann Noyes, Mathematics/Early Adolescence, Pierre School District
- Joann Stephens, English Language Arts/Early Adolescence, Belle Fourche School District
- Andi Ward, Literacy: Reading-Language Arts/Early and Middle Childhood, Watertown School District
- Sherri Horan, Rapid City Area Schools
- Allison Weideman, Harrisburg School District
To learn more about these certifications and stipend and reimbursement opportunities, visit https://doe.sd.gov/nationalboard/ or call the South Dakota Department of Education at 605-773-3134.
South Dakota K-12 educators are invited to register for Session 1 of a new webinar series focused on helping educators provide career exploration and work-based learning opportunities to learners of all ages. The webinar series will run from January-May and include panelists from education and business and industry sharing best practices, resources, and tips for creating effective and innovative work-based learning programs.
Session 1: Jan. 28, 4:30 p.m. CT
- The WBL Continuum: Introduction to work-based learning and the WBL Spring 2022 Webinar Series
- Register [https://state-sd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EN5-shUGQXC5VyH9Ghal8Q]
- Community Connections: Partnering with community organizations and business
- Career Awareness and Exploration: WBL prep in the elementary and middle grades
- Creating Effective and Innovative WBL Programs: School best practices and program sharing
- Department of Labor WBL Programs: Career Launch and registered apprenticeships
- South Dakota Week of Work: Let’s Get to Work!
- Creating Effective and Innovative WBL Programs: School best practices and program sharing
- High School Credit and Careers: Foundational and Capstone Courses and WBL
The Department of Education’s Rethinking Educational Models (REM) grant focuses in large part on competency-based instruction, as well as best practices for online learning. Individual educators and school teams have opportunities to grow professionally in these areas with free/sponsored programming. Visit the REM webpage [https://doe.sd.gov/grants/rem.aspx] to learn more.
- Quality Matters© – Grant funds pursuit of a Quality Matters© Teaching Online Certificate, which helps teachers develop mastery in an online environment.
- Professional learning on competency-based instruction – Teachers can earn nine FREE graduate credits, with coursework aimed at increasing capacity in competency-based, knowledge-rich, and whole child instructional approaches. Coursework created by South Dakota educators and administrators.
- REM Colloquium – Opportunity for 15 school leadership teams to join a cohort starting this summer. The colloquium will explore and pilot competency-based education, knowledge-rich curriculum, and whole child approaches to instruction to support a continuum of learning.
On display now in the Hogen Gallery: “South Dakota’s Wardrobe: Selected Pieces from the Collection”
Make the Cultural Heritage Center part of your class legislative visit
Bringing students to Pierre this winter to observe the state legislature? Discover hands-on history at the Cultural Heritage Center, home of the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society, located northeast of the State Capitol at 900 Governors Drive.
With a museum visit, students can gain insight into the state history that informs the legislature’s work. The South Dakota Experience galleries tell the story of the state from American Indian life before the arrival of Europeans in the 1700s through the end of the 20th Century.
On display now in the Hogen Gallery is “South Dakota’s Wardrobe: Selected Pieces from the Collection.” This exhibit of clothing from the 1800s to the 2000s features a famous pheasant dress (pictured) made by an Aberdeen woman in 1939.
Go upstairs to the Observation Gallery for a spectacular view of the State Capitol Complex and city of Pierre. The current exhibit in that gallery, “Where the Wild Things Grow in South Dakota,” tells how native plants have been used for food, medicinal, and religious purposes.
Visitors can see (and in some cases, even touch) artifacts from our state’s past. To schedule a free tour, guided or self-guided, contact Jeff Mammenga at Jeff.Mammenga@state.sd.us or 605-773-6000. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CT, Monday-Saturday and 1-4:30 p.m. CT on Sundays. For more information, visit the museum’s website [http://www.history.sd.gov/museum]. There is now free admission for South Dakota adults, so you are also encouraged to bring your families in for a visit!
The 2021 Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings (OSEU) Needs Assessment survey was designed and administered to support the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations Office of Indian Education and DOE to identify the current level of implementation of the OSEUs and the critical needs of educators implementing the OSEUs across South Dakota. Results will help the state provide focused support to improve statewide implementation.
Read more at https://doe.sd.gov/pressroom/educationonline/2022/01/documents/OSEUS-Results-2021.pdf.
Join partners in suicide prevention to celebrate Bright Spots, successful and impactful work going on right here in South Dakota. This virtual learning collaborative takes place monthly. The January-April schedule is now available. A brief presentation from a partner in South Dakota is followed by discussion and networking. Register via the links on this flyer [https://sdsuicideprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Suicide_Bright_Spot_Learning_Collaborative.pdf]. CEUs are available.
- With help from partners, the South Dakota Department of Health has developed the SD Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Resources rack card. Schools can order free copies [https://apps.sd.gov/ph18publications/secure/PubOrder.aspx] (click on the Mental Health tab) to share with students, parents, and other community members.
- The University of South Dakota’s Center for Disabilities and the Department of Health have developed a four-part suicide prevention video series for parents [https://doh.sd.gov/family/Youth/Suicide.aspx]. Tova Hartle, elementary school counselor in the West Central School District, contributed to this series.
The South Dakota Association of School Resource Officers is seeking nominations for the 2022 School Officer of the Year Achievement Award. The officer chosen for this award should display professionalism, dedication, and commitment to their respective school or district. Nominations [https://doe.sd.gov/pressroom/zebra/22/01/documents/SOYA-22.doc] must be postmarked by March 11. Nominees will be announced at the association’s annual business meeting.
CPR is not a graduation requirement; however, all districts need to incorporate into district curriculum the skills necessary to perform hands-only CPR and awareness in the use of an AED (automated external defibrillator). The South Dakota Department of Education must annually make school districts aware of available resources for use in providing this instruction, which can be found on the department’s CPR Resources for Schools webpage [https://doe.sd.gov/cpr/].
Stakeholders from various state and nonprofit agencies and health/physical education teachers have compiled these resources and contacts for districts to access when implementing CPR training.
A certified teacher is not required to be an authorized CPR or AED instructor to oversee this instruction. However, any CPR course that results in the students earning a completion card must be taught by an authorized CPR or AED instructor.
The Department of Education is also required to annually collect and report to the South Dakota Legislature information regarding how CPR is being taught in schools. This information is gathered annually via an electronic survey. Read this year’s survey results [https://doe.sd.gov/cpr/documents/FinalReport-21.pdf] on the DOE website.
Any questions concerning the CPR/AED requirements can be directed to Teresa.Berndt@state.sd.us.
The Physics Department at South Dakota State University invites students to Physics Bowl XLVIII. A face-to-face team competition is planned in the morning, with a virtual individual competition in the afternoon. For each competition, winners are eligible for SDSU scholarships. Learn more on SDSU’s Physics Bowl webpage [https://www.sdstate.edu/physics/f2f-and-virtual-physics-bowl-xlviii-saturday-march-26-2022].
Upcoming Events Except where otherwise noted, details on the following events are available at GoSignMeUp [http://southdakota.gosignmeup.com/].
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EL Teacher Monthly Check-in Meetings
South Dakota Technology Education Association State Conference
Board of Education Standards
South Dakota State Library Textual Literacy Course
201 Ways to Involve Parents book study
Social and Emotional Learning Environments book study
SD STEM Ed Conference
Applying Ambitious Science Teaching
Applying Student Sense-Making in Science
How to Submit a Report Idea or Enhancement to SD-STARS
Title Programs Bimonthly Zoominars
South Dakota Special Education Conference
South Dakota State Library Copyright Matters webinar
TIE Conference
ExCITE! 2022 (formerly School Library Boot Camp) |