So what do the teachers learn anyway?

Two weeks with a PD day.  So I'm guessing that a few of you are wondering what the teachers are doing during that time.  First of all, I am thankful to be working with a staff that is committed to professional learning not just on PD days.  Many of our teachers use weeks in the summer to take courses and workshops.  Outside of PD days, our bi-weekly staff meetings often have a PD component, and specific events throughout the year push our PD along....  From the past and coming weeks, a little update:

Last Wednesday, we assembled as an entire NACE staff after school from 4pm to 8pm to do two things:  

a) Learn more about how to use the results of our new standardized testing (MAP - Measures of Academic Performance tests - www.nwea.org).  With the expertise of Justin Cook, the Director of Learning at the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools, we dug deep into what is possible with our test results, and most importantly, how they foster a culture of growth and progress with our students and our classes.  

b) After dinner served by and shared with the NACE board, we continued work that was begun in August on developing a code of character and habits of a Christian School student to specifically define and teach in years to come.  We began with the reality that our parent survey of last year pointed to the need to teach and expect a 'lived Christian life' in our students rather than just head knowledge.  We also know from research that character is the other side of the academic coin.... good character brings about good learning.  Expect to hear more about this as we follow this project through this spring and into the fall.

This past Friday, we joined 120 other educators from area Christian Schools to learn more about responsive classroom techniques and how we can better develop relationships and encourage positive learning cultures in our classrooms.  Our teachers walked away with specific and immediate things they intend to introduce in their classrooms this week to start that journey.

And this Friday?  It's report card writing time.  A lot of learning has happened since our last report card, so it's time to get that concisely down on paper to communicate to students/parents and set goals for the remainder of the year.

Teaching at NACE is not an easy task.  We demand a lot of one another and there is always room to learn and grow and improve.  Together, we're committed to refining our craft of Christian Teaching so that the students at NACE receive the best education we can deliver!