Leigh Hoskins was one of the presenters at a multi-sensory reading class offered to teachers.
Classes do not start in the Westerville City School District until August 17, but there is already a flurry of activity going on in most buildings. Custodians are cleaning schools; maintenance workers are checking the mechanics of each facility; the grounds crew is mowing acres of lawns; the Transportation Department is tweaking bus routes; Food Service is planning meals; administrators are making sure everything is in order; and secretaries are finalizing Back to School activities and schedule pick-ups for more than 15,000 students who will show up ready to learn in less than two weeks.
Many teachers, in addition to readying their rooms and reviewing the curriculum, are taking advantage of professional development opportunities. For example, from August 1-4, Kirsten Drummond and Leigh Hoskins hosted a 30-hour multi-sensory reading professional development session in the Early Learning Center. There, attendees got an in-depth understanding of multisensory reading instruction, assessment, Orton Gillingham methods, and the tools to implement this program into an existing curriculum. Concurrently, a class on Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools was being held downstairs and another on Evaluation Team Reports and Individual Education Plans was taking place in the Board Training Room.
Westerville educators have always spent time during their summer break taking classes and pursuing a variety of professional development opportunities in order to be fully prepared when pupils return in August. Teachers and staff are looking forward to greeting this year’s learners.