Professional Development

Over the summer, staff and faculty routinely reflect on the previous year's challenges and look ahead to the next school year. As lifelong learners, they delve into the latest research, explore new teaching techniques, and plan curriculum. The summer of 2019, unlike any other, raised the bar for teachers to meet new, unprecedented challenges presented by the global health crisis. In preparation for the 2020-21 school year, Lowell faculty attended workshops and receive training in project-based learning with PBLWorks, online learning design with Global Online Academy, and a 5-day intensive course on distance learning through the Association of Independent Maryland & DC Schools (AIMS). Some extended their online expertise and sought certifications with Google. Faculty not only adapted their existing curriculum to a virtual environment, but they also designed it to be flexible, allowing classes to pivot from in-person to remote learning quickly, while prioritizing the various learning and development needs of their students.

 

Additionally, staff and faculty reported over a dozen different summer reading selections covering a wide range of topics, including middle school child development, curriculum mapping, culturally responsive teaching, school counseling in a virtual setting, and race and gender studies. Lowell's faculty joined educators across the country this summer, investing in their craft and strengthening their dedication and passion for education. 

 

Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards (NAEYC)

Case Studies on Diversity and Social Justice Education, Paul C. Gorski and Seema G. Pothini

Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students, Zaretta L. Hammond

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, Brittney Cooper

Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel, Bernardine Evaristo

How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi

I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown

Middle School Matters, Phyllis L. Fagell

Keeping it Real With PBL, Elementary, by Jennifer R. Pieratt

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, Joy DeGruy

A Queer History of the United States for Young People, Michael Bronshi  

Rethinking Ethnic Studies

Setting the Standard for Project-Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction, John Larmer, John Mergendoller, Suzie Boss

So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, Ibram X. Kend The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where do We Go From Here, Hope Jahren

These Truths, Jill Lepore

We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding Our Racial Divide (Young Adult Adaptation of White Rage), Carol Anderson

We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom, Bettina Love

White Fragility, Robin Diangelo