Here's What's Brewing This Week

Oct 5 - PD Newsletter

Posted by · October 04, 2020 5:25 PM

Tech Tool Tuesdays (every Tuesday at 5-6:30pm)

Please join the WTU Professional Development Instructors for Tech Tool Tuesdays. As we prepare for both the known and unknown of 2020-2021, get ahead of the curve with these workshops that explore best practices in online learning. Click here to explore the weekly topics and to register. You can join for one or multiple sessions.

To view last week’s PD Newsletter, click here.

AFT Needs Your Help.

The AFT is collecting instructional videos for teachers to help them improve their distance learning experience for themselves and their students, and we need your help.

What: Have you recorded yourself doing a lesson, watched a tutorial on how to use a specific online tool or platform that you think was particularly helpful? Is there one you wish you could watch? We need any and all help to launch this new Community on Share My Lesson(SML).

Why: We are hearing from our members that they need short instructional videos to help them see how new tools are actually being used by colleagues in the field on different platforms to teach various subjects and grade levels. For example: Show us how you conduct a morning meeting using Zoom or how you taught a lesson using Jamboard or send us a think-a-loud or tips you think would be helpful for your fellow educators during this challenging time.

Where: Here is the link to the Google Form for submitting videos/ideas: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V4qknA9Tsdm45VZZe-jPIPUQ6a83WqyNzULUDfxKwpY/edit

This will be an ongoing project, just like collecting lessons on SML, so please spread the word and ask your colleagues to jump in and help create this new exciting set of resources to help enhance you and your colleagues’ teaching. We can’t do it without you!

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Oct 1 - PD Newsletter

Posted by · October 04, 2020 5:20 PM

Professional Development News Letter

October 1, 2020

It is our absolute pleasure and honor to announce this year's esteemed group of WTU Teacher Leaders, facilitated by Rachel Thomas and Sarah Elwell.

Andreiss Bluitt, Eastern HS
Rebecca Bradshaw-Smith, Wilson HS
Dawn Brodus-Yougha, Anne Beers ES
Kristen Bryant, Ketcham ES
Brian Crumb, Sr., Payne ES
Kristian Ellingsen, Columbia Heights EC
LeeTosha Henry, H.D. Woodson HS & Coolidge HS
Ashley Kearney, Ron Brown College Preparatory HS
Nantambu Kohlbatz, McKinley Technology HS
Modestine Montgomery, River Terrace EC
Dominique Moore, Johnson MS
Gabriel Morden-Snipper, Bard Early College HS
Kip Plaisted, Stuart-Hobson MS
Carleather Ponder, Roosevelt HS
Shannon Robichaud, School Without Walls @ Francis-Stevens
Jessica Salute, Stanton ES
Donald Thompson, Jr., Anacostia HS

SAVE THE DATE: WTU Teacher Leaders Research Symposium will be May 15, 2021!!! At this event, our teacher leaders will share their action research and policy recommendations.

Updates - September 28, 2020

Posted by · September 27, 2020 11:42 AM

Don't Let Certification Sneak Up On You!

For those who received an extension until March 2021 to recertify, the deadline will be here before you know it. The WTU is here to support you as you pursue recertification and/or an education promotion. Register now for quality, research-based, peer-to-peer professional development with the Washington Teachers' Union.

When you recertify, please bear in mind that it may take 10-12 weeks to process so please make sure you submit materials for certification at least 3 months prior to your license expiration date.

OSSE Educator Credentialing & Certification: https://osse.dc.gov/ed-credentials

Tech Tool Tuesdays (every Tuesday at 5-6:30pm)

Please join the WTU Professional Development Instructors for Tech Tool Tuesdays. As we prepare for both the known and unknown of 2020-2021, get ahead of the curve with these workshops that explore best practices in online learning. Click here to explore the weekly topics and to register. You can join for one or multiple sessions.

Sign up for the following Professional Development classes that are starting this week:

Financial Literacy Fridays, 10/2-10/30, 4pm-6pm (2 PLU's per session + 2 PLU's for supplemental work) FREE
Managing Behavior in School Communities, Thursdays, 4:30-6:30 (must register for FULL COURSE=45 PLU's) $150 registration fee
Reading Comprehension Instruction, Saturdays, 10am-2pm (must register for FULL COURSE=45 PLU's) $150 registration fee
Strategies for Student Success, Section 1, September 29 and October 1, 4pm-7pm (4 PLU's per session) FREE
Strategies for Student Success, Section 2, begins TODAY September 28, 4pm-7pm (4 PLU's per session) FREE
Tuesday Technology Tool, Tuesdays, 5-6:30pm (2 PLU's per session) FREE

Center for Inspired Teaching: The Impact of Trauma on Mental Health”

Center for Inspired Teaching is excited to invite you to the next Speak Truth seminar! The topic of discussion on October 1st will be, "The Impact of Trauma on Mental Health," a relevant topic especially during the pandemic and the imposition of social distancing measures. This seminar's discussion will be on the topic of mental health and mental disorder of people in general, but especially frontline workers, through the lens of trauma.

Due to the health crisis, Speak Truth has gone online and is using Zoom Video Conferencing. For safety reasons, we will not be sending out the actual Zoom meeting link until the day of the session, so keep your eyes and ears peeled in your inbox/texts for that! In the meantime please spread the word to your students and any high school students that would be interested in our upcoming discussion.

Date: Thursday, October 1st
Time: 6:00 -7:30 pm EST
Link to register:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/170RsqHCyiA5IqZrsDj7cFqj9DELFFDtKzFJH9p9qzj4/edit?ts=5f69490b&gxids=7628

WTU Teacher Leaders

It is our absolute pleasure and honor to announce this year's esteemed group of WTU Teacher Leaders, facilitated by Rachel Thomas and Sarah Elwell.

Andreiss Bluitt, Eastern HS
Rebecca Bradshaw-Smith, Wilson HS
Dawn Brodus-Yougha, Anne Beers ES
Kristen Bryant, Ketcham ES
Brian Crumb, Sr., Payne ES
Kristian Ellingsen, Columbia Heights EC
LeeTosha Henry, H.D. Woodson HS & Coolidge HS
Ashley Kearney, Ron Brown College Preparatory HS
Nantambu Kohlbatz, McKinley Technology HS
Modestine Montgomery, River Terrace EC
Dominique Moore, Johnson MS
Gabriel Morden-Snipper, Bard Early College HS
Kip Plaisted, Stuart-Hobson MS
Carleather Ponder, Roosevelt HS
Shannon Robichaud, School Without Walls @ Francis-Stevens
Jessica Salute, Stanton ES
Donald Thompson, Jr., Anacostia HS

SAVE THE DATE: WTU Teacher Leaders Research Symposium will be May 15, 2021!!! At this event, our teacher leaders will share their action research and policy recommendations.

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May 21 Updates

Posted by · September 21, 2020 6:00 AM

The WTU's Fall 2020 Professional Development Courses are Open for Registration.

All Fall 2020 Courses will be offered on-line.

Click here to see our Fall Line-Up and Register.

These are the WTU Professional Development courses that begin this month:

FREE PRAXIS I Math ClassONLY FIVE SPACES LEFT!
Hispanic Culture & Spanish Language I (graduate credit available through Trinity University)
Restoring from the Inside Out: Building Capacity for Wellness\
FREE Meeting Writing Expectations, Grades K-5
Advanced Integration of Computer Technology(graduate credit available through Trinity University) ONLY TWO SPACES LEFT!
Managing Behavior in School Communities(graduate credit available through Trinity University)
Foundations: Organizing the Classroom for Teaching & Learning (graduate credit available through Trinity University)
FREE Strategies for Student Success Section 1and Section 2 (different topics in each series)

Don't Let Certification Sneak Up On You!

For those who received an extension until March 2021 to recertify, the deadline will be here before you know it. The WTU is here to support you as you pursue recertification and/or an education promotion. Register now for quality, research-based, peer-to-peer professional development with the Washington Teachers' Union.

When you recertify, please bear in mind that it may take 10-12 weeks to process so please make sure you submit materials for certification at least 3 months prior to your license expiration date.

OSSE Educator Credentialing & Certification: https://osse.dc.gov/ed-credentials

Tech Tool Tuesdays (every Tuesday at 5-6:30pm)

Please join the WTU Professional Development Instructors for Tech Tool Tuesdays. As we prepare for both the known and unknown of 2020-2021, get ahead of the curve with these workshops that explore best practices in online learning. Click here to explore the weekly topics and to register. You can join for one or multiple sessions.

Lessons on TV

The Washington Teachers' Union is pleased to announce that we will be continuing to provide Lessons on TV during the fall semester to help support students and families during this difficult time. Through our partnership with Fox 5, the WTU will air 30-minute lessons each weekday on Fox Plus, WDCA. We hope you'll volunteer to teach a lesson. Please click here to sign-up to receive additional information.

This fall, we plan to offer courses on a number of timely issues. In the coming weeks, we hope to emphasize lessons around Civic Engagement and Voting, Digital Citizenship and a number of other topics. Of course, we're open to your suggestions as well. Again, please click here to express interest in learning more and teaching a lesson. Please contact Sarah Elwell at [email protected] if you have any questions.

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