Professional Development Resources

MPE is pleased to provide the following professional development resources to support its members’ professional growth for the benefit of themselves and their students, as research has proven that superior professional development is vital to elevated school performance.  MPE is not endorsing any provider or opportunity listed here; rather, the information is provided as a tool for MPE members in their endeavors. 

Training in the following areas is designed for administrators and/or school leadership teams:


  • Instructional Coaching
  • Instructional Leadership
  • Leadership for Excellence in Literacy
  • Students with Disabilities

 

Teachers, as well as administrators, may attend training in the following:

  • Art From Around the World
  • Lexia Reading, RTI, and Assessment without Testing
  • Make Mine Mississippi
  • Mattie T Consent Decree Compliance Issues
  • Mentoring the New Teacher
  • Play Therapy:  Themes and Coding in Play Therapy

Each provider’s website is listed so that MPE members may contact individual providers for additional information or to register for these opportunities. These professional development resources will be updated monthly, so please check back for the most recent information.

Resources for Administrators

 

Instructional Coaching

The University of Mississippi’s Institute for Education and Workforce’s Instructional Coaching Institute is a 3-day program designed to help principals and school leaders learn to coach faculty members to embed standards-based education into the systems and practices of their schools.  The first day of the Institute explores how to become an effective instructional coach and introduces a six-step process adopted by the National Institute for School Leadership.  The following two days, participants learn how to analyze instruction in the classroom and apply the coaching techniques to individual and group settings. (662.791.8150 or 662.915.2707; enrollment is limited to 25 principals and administrators)

 

 

Instructional Leadership

 

JBHM Education Group’s Institute for Instructional Leaders equips school leaders with the tools they need to serve as instructional leaders.  This three-day interactive Institute provides intensive training on the basics of each area of need.  During the Institute, participants will learn to:

    • Interpret assessment data related to state and federal accountability
    • Use data to drive instructional practice
    • Understand special education issues and implications
    • Conduct classroom observations with a focus on student learning
    • Provide constructive feedback to teachers
    • Utilize all resources effectively

    (www.jbhm-edgroup.com; $7,500 per district with 20 participants required; regional institutes are presented with individual registration available)

 

 

Leadership for Excellence in Literacy

The Leadership for Excellence in Literacy Institute is designed to help principals and school leaders to be effective instructional leaders and recognize the key elements of best practice in the field of literacy.  As instructional leaders, principals must understand the essentials of teaching literacy, learn to recognize best practices including an understanding of their own reading delivery system, and assess the quality of instruction.  Each participant will be engaged in learning about the latest research on literacy approaches for young children with application to struggling readers in middle and high schools. Districts are asked to send teams of 4 or more staff members.  (North Mississippi Education Consortium; www.nmec.net; free for NMEC members and non-members; 20.0 SEMIs, 2.0 CEUs)

 

  • September 13, 2010     Cleveland (Day 1 of 3)
  • September 14, 2010     Cleveland (Day 2 of 3)
  • September 23, 2010     Cleveland (Day 3 of 3)
     

 

 

Students with Disabilities

 

The University of Mississippi’s Institute for Education and Workforce’s Students with Disabilities Institute is a two-day program designed to prepare principals for exercising leadership in mobilizing staff to address the learning needs of students with disabilities, and in designing and managing continuous professional development systems for all staff in the school around supporting all students, including those with disabilities.  The program is not a course on Special Education law and regulations. The program is divided into five main topics:

 

  • Designing assessments for progress monitoring
  • Developing sound instructional goals
  • School wide behavioral interventions
  • Instructional and assessment accommodations
  • Organizing the school to support and sustain high quality learning experiences for students with disabilities

(For additional information, call 662.791.8150 or 662.915.2707)

 

Resources for Administrators and Teachers

 

Art from Around the World

The purpose of this workshop is to enlighten elementary teachers with ways to incorporate art in their curriculum from around the world.  Participants will be engaged in hands-on activities that will assist them in connecting art with the subjects in a fun-filled way for the students in their class.  The content will be presented to the group in an informal setting using visual aids.  Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions, develop lessons for integrating art with other subjects, and leave with an assortment of ways to teach art from around the world (without actually being artistic yourself)!  Please wear old comfortable clothing because you will get a little messy.  (East MS Center for Education Development; www.emced.org; free for EMCED members, $100 for non-members; 1.0 CEUs)

  • October 20, 2010           Meridian (Day 1 of 2)
  • November 3, 2010         Meridian (Day 2 of 2)

 

 

Lexia Reading, RTI, and Assessment without Testing

The five components of reading instruction identified by the National Reading Panel have become part of our basic vocabulary.  At this one-day training event,  Bob McCabe will provide insight on how these skill areas relate to students’ reading acquisition, highlighting specific methods and activities within Lexia Reading that promote the development of these essential skills. McCabe will review Lexia’s extensive research, demonstrating how it informs the development of Lexia Reading. Response to Intervention (RTI) as an educational model using data to make instructional decisions will be discussed and investigated.  In order to help all students read competently at grade level, it is critical that the instruction and interventions provided to the children are effective. Participants will gain knowledge in the common themes of RTI and effective instruction and interventions observed in schools, as well as what is known from research.   A group of Lexia Reading users will share the benefit of their experiences using software to provide differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students.  Lunch and refreshments will be served at this event.  (Gulf Coast Education Initiative Consortium; www.gceic.org; free; 5.0 SEMIs, .6 CEUs)

  • September 9, 2010       Gulfport

 

 

Make Mine Mississippi (Grades 4-12)

So many famous writers, actors, artists, and singers are from WRITE/RIGHT here in Mississippi! If you teach any subject that includes a study of our great state, plan to attend this hands-on, fun workshop to investigate unique and creative ways to teach writing, history, language arts, math, science through the arts while learning about our state. Differentiated instruction--for sure! (East MS Center for Education Development; www.emced.org; free for EMCED members, $100 for non-members; .5 CEUs)

  • October 12, 2010    Meridian

 

 

Mattie T Consent Decree Compliance Issues

This one-day interactive session offers special education directors the opportunity to review Mattie T compliance issues. Participants will discuss and share information on topics related to SLD, EMD, PBIS/Behavior, and RTI. The workshop is designed to assist the Southern Region districts, who when monitored were found to be out of compliance with the Mattie T Consent Decree, in their efforts to achieve Mattie T goals. This training was developed by Ms. Nancy Pickering and Ms. Ramona Langston and designed to help educators in specified school districts become compliant.  (Gulf Coast Education Initiative Consortium; www.gceic.org; $25 for GCEIC members and non-members; 5.0 SEMIs, .6 CEUs)

  • September 14, 2010     Petal
 

 

Mentoring the New Teacher

This is a one-day training session for Mentor teachers to prepare them to successfully assist beginning teachers during their first year. The mentors will reflect on what keeps beginning teachers from having a good first year, learn to observe (evaluate) lessons taught by beginning teachers, and learn the needs of beginning teachers from the mentors and other school staff members. (North Mississippi Education Consortium; www.nmec.net; free for NMEC members and non-members; .6 CEUs)

  • September 13, 2010     Tupelo

 

 

 

Play Therapy:  Themes and Coding in Play Therapy

Using the play themes of Helen Benedict along with a coding system for affect, sensation and disclosures a consistent method for assessing the play of children will be presented.  This workshop provides the participants an opportunity to learn how to use the themes in research, and how to explain themes to others such as parents, school personnel, and lawyers.  Participants will learn how to code themes by practice through video presentations.   Objectives:  Participants will learn Benedict's Themes in Play Therapy; how to code themes; the meaning of themes; and how to explain the meaning of themes to others.  (North Mississippi Education Consortium; www.nmec.net; free for NMEC members and non-members; CEUs not available)

  • October 23, 2010           Oxford

Additional Resources

 

Mississippi Public Broadcasting offers PBS TeacherLine, the premier provider of online professional development for educators. PBS TeacherLine offers more than 130 graduate level facilitated, online courses for teachers that span the entire curriculum: Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Instructional Technology, Instructional Strategies, and Science. PBS TeacherLine is committed to helping educators acquire the skills they need to become—and stay—the highly qualified teachers needed to prepare students for a successful future. For more information, contact Nancy Pearson at Nancy.Pearson@mpbonline.org or 601-432-6254.

 

Mississippi e-Learning for Educators is a partnership between Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Mississippi Department of Education which uses an online delivery model to provide effective professional development, leading to gains in educators’ content knowledge, improvements in teaching practices and increased student achievement.  Participants learn and share best practices and instructional resources through interactive communities.  For additional information, please visit www.mde.k12.ms.us/elearn/index.html or contact Jill Boteler at Jill.Boteler@mpbonline.org or 601-432-6203.

 

The Southern-Regional Educational Service Agency offers online professional development classes for K-12 educators.  CEUs are offered.  To view a listing of upcoming workshops, please visit www.s-resa.org.  For additional information, please contact Dr. Mary Walters at 601-266-6777.