Back to School Conferences: Two Venues and a Virtual

As the Instructional Leader of a campus or district, you may be looking for planned professional development for August. You can choose to send your faculty to these sessions in person - or check out the virtual - "Flipped" professional development options available below:

In Person Back to School Conference

Region 7 Back to School Conference will be hosted by Brownsboro ISD and Rusk ISD on August 19 and 21 respectively. Sessions will include New Teacher PDAS, CPI Refresher, various content sessions, and multiple technology offerings. Register today by clicking these links:

RUSK ISD: REGISTRATION

BROWNSBORO ISD: REGISTRATION

Virtual Back to School Conference

Looking for online professional development prior to school starting? Topics include Vocabulary Games, Accommodations, Introduction to the SmartBoard and much, much more! Each interactive course will provide you with one hour of CPE credit. Register today for Region 7 ESC’s Virtual Back to School Conference. Courses will be available for completion August 11-25. 

To see the complete list of available courses or to register via live links CLICK HERE.

For questions or more info, contact Lisa Mullins, lmullins@esc7.net

Moving Forward with Tech Tools in the Engaged Classroom

Updates to iTunes U App Allows Teachers to Create Content on iPads 

Apple launched its newly updated iTunes U app this week that allows teachers to create, edit and manage entire courses directly on their iPad.

Teachers already had access to the free iTunes U app, but they weren't able to create content using that tool; instead, they could only create content on a Mac or personal computer with a web-based course manager.

The new updates to iTunes U give teachers full course creation capabilities on the iPad, with the ability to directly add rich content and instructional materials from TASA on iTunes U, iWork®, iBooks® Author or any of the more than 75,000 educational apps available. In addition, students using an iPad in an iTunes U course will now be able to collaborate with their classmates and teachers.

One in Ten Children across the Nation: Impacted by Mental Illness

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, (NAMI), mental illness affects everyone. Nearly 60 million Americans experience a mental health condition every year. Regardless of race, age, religion or economic status, mental illness impacts the lives of at least one in four adults and one in 10 children across the United States.

Senate Bill 460 requires prospective teachers, counselors, principals, nurses, and all other appropriate personnel to be trained in how to:

• Recognize students at risk of committing suicide, including students who are or may be the victims of or who engage in bullying; 

• Recognize students displaying early warning signs and a possible need for early mental health or substance abuse intervention, and

• Intervene effectively with students by providing notice and referral to parent or guardian so appropriate action (such as seeking mental health or substance abuse services) may be taken.

Region 7 ESC is offering Mental Health and Education Training on August 12. 

Lockdown Protocols Are Effective - BUT Not the Only Option

According to the Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans, the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FEMA, and Department of Justice recommend training personnel so each individual knows his or her options for response. 

For more information, or to schedule Active Shooter Response training for your district, contact Adrian Knight in the Federal Programs Department at 903-988-6810.

Assessing for Learning: the Bridge Between Teaching and Learning

Are you looking for time-efficient and effective ways to assess student learning?  Dr. Sandy Snow and Dr. Karen Vance, bring fresh ideas for leaders to use during the school year.

Through highly interactive, engaging and meaningful learning design,  educators develop a working understanding of the  

Why, How and What

of checking for understanding.

August 7, 2014

This session will create meaning about the why, how, and what of checking for understanding through a highly interactive and engaging professional learning design. Campus teams will experience how assessing for learning blends engagement, collaboration, and ownership for learning. 

Your campus will leave the session with simple, time-efficient formative assessment tools that ensure student success.