Elementary Math in a Nutshell 

July 26, 2023 from 8:30 a.m.to 3:30 p.m., Great Falls Crystal Inn

Supporting all Students, Educators K – 5, Worth 6 PD Unit.

Join Eliza Thomas for a fast-paced session that will provide ideas for educators about how to determine students’ math strengths and needs and then work to meet those needs in a math classroom through a variety of strategies and supports. Look at what you’re already doing to see how you can enhance your math classroom environment to support all students mathematically. Participants will: 

● Learn how to begin the year gathering academic and social emotional information about their students, 

● Learn about the “why” of math so we can teach students the “how” of math, 

● Learn how to create structures that meet students’ needs through routines and procedures, 

● Learn about how to use structures and routines to inform instruction, 

● Learn how to engage students through games, and 

● Plan for implementation in a unique classroom and other settings.

Click here to download flyer.

Educator Wellness

August 1, 2023, Zoom, from 9 a.m. to noon

3 PD Units

Post-pandemic there has been burnout and disengagement, as well as interest in finding new ways of doing things. Add to this the constant demands on teachers and we find ourselves seeking ways to improve our lives without giving up our profession.

This workshop will help teachers figure out how to protect their work-life balance through stories and practical strategies based on the participants’ own work styles and preferences. They will also be encouraged to re-find their joy just ahead of the new school year. The tone will be light and engaging.

Our presenter will be Anna East, 2014 Montana Teacher of the Year

Click here to download the flyer.

Executive Functioning:  Skills That Make a Big Difference for Children, with Stephanie Lester

August 8, 2023 from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Havre Inn & Suites

PK-12th, 6 PD Units

Why all the talk about executive functioning? Would you like to find ways to actively support the development of appropriate social interactions? Do you wonder why some students struggle with following instructions and routines each day? If you’d like to gain insight into how executive functioning skills support all aspects of learning and social interactions, then this is the training for you. Adaptable thinking, planning, self-monitoring, self-control, working memory, time management, and organization are all executive functioning skills that can be encouraged in classroom environments. Research supports intentionally providing guidance and experiences that encourage the development of those executive functioning skills in young children to increase social awareness, self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. A variety of easy to implement strategies will be shared that focus on executive functioning skills that can be practiced and encouraged within daily routines in early childhood and elementary environments.

Click here to download the flyer.

MTSS with Hank Bohanon

August 14 & 15, 2023, Fergus County High School, 1001 Casino Creek Drive, Lewistown, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

6 PD Units each day

August 14, Day 1-Developing and Expanding MTSS Secondary Settings, grades 6-12

Support new and existing individuals and teams as they develop the sustainable systems and data practices to implement MTSS.  This session will include practical examples of team organization, implementation, and encouragement. Existing teams will solidify their approach and identify areas of improvement.

Ask before you tell - identify the pain points of your school and the problems your school wants to solve first, then match these to MTSS. As a part of this approach can cover how stages of implementation from implementation science can help them prevent false starts

Don't implement what you cannot support - build the systems you need to be successful (e.g., leadership team, action plan) before you implement. Starting with a small pilot of some part of MTSS is a great idea, but don't scale until ready, particularly in secondary schools.

Included Content:

Working smarter

Use data to develop plans and monitor implementation

Identify what makes an effective secondary school

 August 15, Day 2 Providing Effective Instruction through MTSS in Secondary Settings

This will be an active hands on day working  with tools to implement MTSS school wide, in and out of the classroom. Strategies and examples will be included to develop your own MTSS model.  Breakout times will allow teams to work on current systems and improve behavior and instructional strategies. Existing teams will have the opportunity to refine practices and share their ideas, best practices, and content with colleagues.

New teams will have examples to share with their school to develop a basic plan for implementation.

Included Content:

-Structures to facilitate learning

-Define norms

-Increase engagement

-Improve and respond to academic and behavioral performance through feedback and acknowledgement http://www.hankbohanon.net/

Hank is a professor at Loyola University of Chicago. His work focuses on supports for high school settings related to positive behavior support, response to intervention, social and emotional learning, school-based mental health, and school improvement. He is the co-author of Implementing Systematic Interventions: A Guide for Secondary Schools, published this summer by Routledge Press.

Specialty Area Special Education; Positive Behavior Support

Program Areas Teaching, Learning, and Leading in Communities and Schools

Attendees are welcome to attend one or both days, Scholarships available upon request for individuals or teams.

Hank’s book Implementing Systematic Interventions: A Guide for Secondary Schools, will be available to the first 25 people who register.  The book will be available upon check in.

A block of rooms is reserved at the Yogo Inn, ask for CSPD.

Click here to download the flyer.