School year kicks off with state-wide professional development

Every Leona Group school is committed to creating educational opportunities that reach beyond the traditional, providing unique possibilities to all students - regardless of the obstacles they face along the way. Part of this commitment involves strategic, focused and innovative professional development for Leona team members.

In Ohio, "We're Educating Tomorrow's Stars Today." The state-wide professional development event focused on raising standards and achievement in education. The academic mission of all Leona Ohio schools was clearly identified and a detailed framework for success and action plan was shared among the schools.

Dr. Tom Reed, self-proclaimed geek and executive director of the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio Center for Achievement and Leadership Services, delivered the keynote address, which was followed by four breakout sessions facilitated by Dr. Reed's group:

• Strategies for Differentiating Classroom Instruction
• Using Rubrics to Monitor Student Progress
• Essentials of Response to Intervention (RTI)
• Effective Strategies for Math Instruction

To round out the day, Regional Vice President Laura Kuhlenbeck hosted the first-annual Leona Academy Awards. And the Oscar goes to...

• Achieve Career Preparatory Academy, teachers Mary Ellen Bolger and Molly Badovick
• Cincinnati Leadership Academy, teacher Gina Baumgartner
• CM Grant Academy, teacher Gynger Forbess
• Eagle Academy, teachers Lauren Brown and Michelle Dunberger
• Lake Erie Academy, teachers Jennifer Tunison, Gloria Sturdivant, Annette Hannibal and Theressa McClendon
• Northpointe Academy, teacher Noah Campbell
• George A. Phillips Academy, teacher Taria Blanchard
• South Scioto Academy, teacher Courtney Watters
• Toledo Preparatory Academy, teacher Josh Rosinski
• Wildwood Environmental Academy, teachers Rachel Barkholz, Diane Lauer, Nicole Dunwald and Adrienne Navarre

In Arizona, the state-wide professional development initiative focused on engaging students in academic language. The event was facilitated by Dr. Kinsella, who had began collaborating with the Leona Group at the Arizona ELL/Curriculum Coach Retreat in June 2010. Her work has focused on bolstering academic language and engagement among all of our students. 

This practical workshop gave all participants a clear process and set of tools for accelerating oral language development that ultimately supports academic discussion, reading, writing and learner engagement in all content areas.  By increasing their vocabulary, students ultimately improve their reading comprehension skills.  Through the use of academic vocabulary notebooks, targeted vocabulary banks, sentence frames and verbal response frames, students will now have multiple opportunities to work with words that extend beyond their current vocabulary levels.

All participants walked away from the day with a tool box of instant strategies that can be used across the curriculum with all students.  Dr. Kinsella   also equipped the team of leaders and curriculum coaches with specific "look fors" that reinforce the engagement of all students. With administrators, coaches and all teachers on the same page, Arizona is raising the bar for "all students, all the time!"