Teachers Go Back to School at Summer Academy
Summer Academy was held during two weeks in July at Wade Hampton High School. Over the two-week period we had approximately 3,000 participants attending 300 courses. At least 25 percent of those who participated in Summer Academy attended five or more classes. Attendees at this year’s event included teachers, administrators, school secretaries, substitutes, and other school staff such as school counselors, media specialists, and instructional coaches.
Some of the Summer Academy sessions were in partnership with the Greenville community. Band directors attended a very informative and hands-on session on bassoons led by the Greenville Symphony and an adjunct professor at Furman University. All school band programs now have bassoons thanks to recent funding provided by the district. We also partnered with Safe Schools Upstate to bring in Buddy’s House for a session on safety for teachers.
The Special Education Department offered a number of sessions including Easy IEP training, Using Data to Design Targeted Literacy Instruction for Struggling Readers, and Unique Learning Systems. They also partnered with Stetson and Associates to provide numerous trainings on evidence based practices to promote learning for all students. These included Collaborative Teaching Strategies and Success for Struggling Students.
In an effort to support teachers who were not able to attend the Upstate Technology Conference, Summer Academy included many offerings in the area of technology. Digital Storytelling, Your 1 to 1 Classroom, Get on Board with Google Sites, Digital Portfolios, and advanced courses in ActivInspire were just some of those courses.
Summer Academy continues to be a valuable professional development opportunity for the employees of Greenville County Schools. Fifty-seven percent of those who attended consider Summer Academy essential to their teaching practice.
