Professional & Community Development

Goal Statement:

To expand, enhance and ensure teachers’ competency and confidence with the integration of technology in the classroom, as well as to support families and their need to understand the increasingly digital world in which we live.

Rationale:

We live in a culture in which technological developments can sometimes outpace our ability to assess whether they actually contribute to the quality of our lives or not. The School for Children will continue to offer opportunities to faculty to become aware of, and familiar with, new tools and possibilities in learning related technologies outside the school, as we encourage teachers to innovate. In addition, we will continue to share both that awareness and the things that teachers and students do with these tools, in ways that enable us to reflect on and assess their effects on our students and their audiences, both in terms of content learning, and on the relationships between and among people. We recognize also that it is our responsibility to help educate families about the changing nature of technology use, both in and out of school.

Implementation Strategies:

• Survey faculty to identify where current professional development needs exist, and develop a plan to meet those needs.
• Draw on faculty and community expertise to institute an annual series of technology related professional development workshops (SFC Digital Wave) for the education of School for Children faculty.
• Ensure that new technologies are adopted in a strategic fashion, with requisite professional development for faculty members.
• Provide opportunities for faculty to share and showcase the ways they have creatively used technology in their classrooms, and support collegial collaboration and innovation.
• Explore ways to provide learning opportunities for parents and care-givers regarding digital citizenship, online safety, security, and privacy.
• Pursue partnerships with other schools to expand teacher knowledge.
• Continue to promote the safe and responsible use of technology within the community through discussions, workshops, and presentations.