School News

Professional Development

Although school is not in session over the summer, you might be surprised by all the things our faculty and staff do. While the pace slows a bit for many of us, the school is alive with summer campers, and many of our teachers work as counselors. Staff members begin preparing for a new school year, and faculty take part in professional development and plan new lessons and units. 

Over the summer, faculty and staff reflect on the previous year's challenges look ahead to the next school year. Life-long learners, they delve into the latest research, explore new teaching techniques, and plan curriculum. Below are some highlights from Summer 2018.
 
The Task Force
Last January, faculty were energized by the panel discussion, Teaching and Reaching Black Boys in America, hosted at Lowell and led by Dr. Eddie Moore Jr., editor of The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys. Inspired by the vision to balance the scales for black boys in school, Lowell faculty and staff created a task force to examine each chapter of the book and explore the ways that race matters in the classroom. After a series of compelling conversations this summer, task force members teamed up to develop a professional development series for faculty and staff to share what they learned. As part of Lowell's ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the task force will conduct seven workshops for the full faculty touching on various topics within the book throughout the 2018-19 school year.
 
Pre-Primary School
Every year, Pre-Primary teachers are required to complete 21 hours of professional development. Topics teachers explored this summer ranged from promoting empathy and pro-social behaviors to STEM in early childhood education. Each teacher is free to explore topics based on their interests within early childhood education and development. Explorers Room Teacher Lisa Powell says she especially enjoyed "Math Madness," a webinar which put math in the context of children's everyday experiences. A training on inspiring creativity resonated with Discovery Room Teacher Philip Mallari.
 
Primary School Math
Led by Math Resource Teacher Jessica Tomback, Primary School teachers were trained in TERC's Investigations 3 curriculum and learned new ways to support students’ mathematical thinking and understanding. New-to-Lowell teachers attended additional training with Jessica on TERC Investigations 3 and the book Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler. In the book, Boaler builds upon Carol Dweck's work on the growth mindset to debunk the myth of needing to be a "math person" to understand math. With this intensive training, teachers across the division "had the opportunity to explore their own feelings and ideas about math and strategize ways to set up a positive, collaborative math classroom community that supports all of our students," Jessica says.
 
Early Elementary Literacy
Primary School Reading Specialist Jamie Weng worked with K-1st-grade teachers to align the Wilson Fundations literacy program with the 3rd-5th grade Just Words program and established an ongoing professional development collaboration with Partners in Learning. The Partners in Learning team will provide feedback and support for K-1st-grade teachers this year through observation, coaching, and insights gleaned from the implementation of the curriculum and student responses. This partnership is a two-year-long commitment designed to enhance teachers' use of data-driven information related to literacy assessment and teaching strategies.
 
Aligning the K–8 Spanish Curriculum to Focus on Real-World Applications
Primary School Spanish teachers Mallory Band and Lourdes Alfonso collaborated with Middle School Spanish teachers Coleman Rose and Sara Hodges to align Spanish curriculum from Kindergarten to 8th grade with the goal of preparing students for real-world applications of the language. Mallory is excited about the Primary School initiatives: "We are providing extra opportunities to get out into the community through attending plays and museums." The teachers are also forming a club for students to practice conversational Spanish and a book club to promote Spanish reading and comprehension.
 
Following Mind and Brain Research
For the second year in a row, Lowell sent a team of teachers to the Academy for Mind Brain Research in Education at the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL). Director of Middle School Kavan Yee attended with Spanish Teacher Sara Hodges, Science Teacher Becky Prochilo, Academic Coach Josh Silver, and Director of Learning Services Susan Taylor-Alonso. While there, teachers delved into current research and explored best practices for teaching. According to Kavan, the workshop affirmed many of the Middle School’s current strategies for maximizing student potential, including 40-minute class sessions and providing a flexible mid-morning break, as well as lunch and recess.
 
 
 
 
Lowell School is a private PK-8th grade school located in NW Washington, DC. Our mission is to create an inclusive community of lifelong learners in which each individual is valued and respected.