Each school year, Abington School District administration organizes several days for professional development, with one day typically held each winter ahead of the President’s Day holiday. While there are no classes for students, this day serves as an opportune time for class to be in session for personnel, allowing attendees to hear from educational experts, break out into discussions with their peers, and/or practice a skill for classroom instruction. On Friday, February 14, 2020, professional development centered on cultural responsiveness and technology integration, both of which tie to the three focus areas of Abington School District’s professional development strategy, as guided by the 2019-2022 Comprehensive Plan.
Submitted every three years to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Comprehensive Plan serves as a guide for the District, steered by key stakeholders who range from administrators and teachers, to parents/guardians and community members. In addition to outlining the District’s mission, vision and shared values, the Comprehensive Plan highlights goals and focus areas for professional development. For 2019-2020, the goals include comprehensive professional development, supporting students at risk and redesigning effective instructional practice, with professional development focusing on cultural responsiveness, technology and effective instructional practices.
In connection with these focus areas, on February 14, the Abington School District team welcomed back for the third time Dr. Crystal Lucky from Villanova University and Dr. Ronald Whitaker from Cabrini University. Both of these experts have worked with District teachers and professional staff at the elementary and secondary levels over the past year on topics related to diversity, cultural proficiency, equity, and inclusionary practices.
Dr. Lucky earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s in African-American Studies at Yale University, and a bachelor of arts degree in English and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She currently serves as Associate Dean of Baccalaureate Studies and an Assistant Professor of English at Villanova University. Dr. Lucky has worked extensively with school districts and organizations as a Diversity Consultant on curriculum enhancement and multicultural community building.
Dr. Whitaker joined Cabrini in 2015, and currently serves as an Assistant Professor and the Director of District and School Relations in the School of Education. He specializes in culturally responsive pedagogy, urban education, educational programming for black males, and issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Whitaker presents his research at both national and international scholarly conferences, and also within K-12 educational settings.
These two experts began working with Abington School District in June of 2019. During their most recent sessions, Dr. Lucky engaged secondary professional staff in scenario-based discussions regarding topics of equity and diversity, while Dr. Whitaker worked with elementary professional staff to align Cultural Responsiveness with Universal Design for Learning through use of concrete examples of classroom instructional strategies for engagement of diverse learners.
The other half of the February 14 professional development day centered on technology integration training for both elementary and secondary professional staff, which also ties back to the focus areas of the Comprehensive Plan. This served as the third districtwide professional development program this school year dedicated to supporting implementation of the District’s Digital Transformation Plan. Participants selected from a variety of workshops targeted for their level of comfort and skill sets with the use of Google Classroom. In addition, guest presenter, Ms. Susan Tranchina, who is a Google Certified Trainer, facilitated a session regarding “Transforming Instruction with Digital Tools”. Ms. Tranchina is a teacher from Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and is affiliated with Kiker Learning, a national Google Education Partner that has been working with Abington School District in training staff for technology-based teaching and learning.
After each professional development day, attendees provide helpful feedback to administration, which is used to help guide future workshops and trainings, including the next one, which is, scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, 2020.