Pitt-Greensburg APEX 2022-23
Professional Development
Table of Contents
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NEA/RA 2022
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PSEA House of Delegates
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Conferences
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State Conference 2022​
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TLI Conference - Building Better Educators
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Superintendent Speaks Series
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Professional Learning Communities ​
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Act 13- Danielson's Standards
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Effective Use of Data
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Structured Literacy
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Workshops ​
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Canva Mini Workshop ​
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Reading Specialist Workshop
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PEARL Workshop
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​Special Education Consortium- Toilet Training
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NEA/RA 2022
Two of our members, Brennen Marsh and Marina Lagattuta, went to Chicago, Illinois to attend the NEA AEC/RA. During this experience, our members went through professional development sessions and got the opportunity to network with Aspiring Educators from around the country. Marina and Brennen got the chance to debate critical issues that are facing the education field as we speak. They got to see how certain states help their teachers and think about ways that we could make a positive change in the education field here in Pennsylvania.
PSEA House Of Delegates
The PSEA House of Delegates took place on December 2-3, 2022 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel. Some delegates joined virtually.
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The House of Delegates is where delegates conduct the important business of PSEA, representing PSEA members in all local associations across Pennsylvania.
House of delegates- Pittsburgh
Brennen Marsh, Marinna Lagatutta, and Amber Bloom attended the Pittsburgh House of Delegates in the Southwest EA Regional Meeting. Because of their attendance and speeches, they were able to propose paid student teaching, which later passed in the full House, and will be in effect in the coming years.
Conferences
State Conference 2022
SPSEA State Conference gives educators and aspiring educators a unique opportunity to learn about occurrences in the field and information that allows them to become better educators in the near future. Occurring in Erie, PA, 13 Pitt-Greensburg SPSEA members attended the conference and one of our very own, Sophia Worner, was elected as Regional President! On top of one of our own being elected for the Regional President position, four of our members were elected to the PSEA State Executive Board. Emily Gill was elected as president-elect, Brennen Marsh as vice president, Amber Bloom as secretary, and Marina Lagattuta as PACE director.
TLI Conference -Building Better Educators
The Teacher Leadership Institute (TLI) held at Pitt-Greensburg was a huge success this year. In it's sixth year, it was bigger than ever before and included more aspiring educators -- including from high schools! -- than in prior years. The keynote address by the 2022 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Elizabeth Raff started off the conference with great energy and excitement. At the end, students in groups created pieces of a "wall" using post-it-notes, deciding which dozen pieces of learned information they would use to build themselves as better educators. During the day, a total of eight breakout sessions were offered. Details of presenters and attendees are below.
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Speakers in Attendance:
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Mrs. Elizabeth Raff 2022 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year
Keynote Speaker
Finding a Balance: Surviving Burnout
Dr. Daniel Clara Assistant to the Superintendent in Southmoreland School District
Managing Your Classroom
Interviews and Resumes
Dr. Chris Clayton Assistant Director of Education Services for the Pennsylvania State Education Association
Finding a Job and All That Stuff
Dr. Deborah Moon School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh
Presenting With: Amanda Cruce, MSW; Hyunjin Lee, MSW
Adverse Childhood Experiences (Trauma), Resilience, and Flourishing
Dr. Dayna Sikora Special Education; Supervisor, Hempfield Area School District
Special Education Workshop
Dr. Jessica Knepper Assistant Professor of Education; Co-Advisor for the Pitt-Greensburg Student PSEA
Implementing New CR-SE (Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education
Dr. Melissa Marks Professor of Education; Co-Advisor for the Pitt-Greensburg Student PSEA
Using Diverse Picture Books Impactfully K-12
At the TLI Conference, we had the honor of hosting aspiring educators from the following:
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High School Students from several local schools
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IUP Students
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St. Vincent University Students
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Slippery Rock University Students
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Penn State University Students
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University of Pittsburgh (Main Campus) Students
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Seton Hill University Students
Superintendent Speaks Series
The Superintendent Speaks Series, introduced this academic year, allows for Pitt-Greensburg aspiring educators to hear and learn from administrators about specific and important topics occurring in schools. Superintendents from local school districts are invited to our campus to speak to SPSEA students on pressing topics they experience within their districts. These workshops are detailed below.
Professional Learning Communities
Dr. Daniel Clara, Assistant to the Superintendent at Southmoreland School District, and Dr. Shannon Wagner, Superintendent of Burrell School District, came to Pitt-Greensburg on September 12, 2022, to speak to attendees on the need and practices of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).
Act 13 (Danielson)
Dr. Kim Rieffannacht, the Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education in the Hempfield Area School District, came to Pitt-Greensburg on October 10, 2022, to speak to attendees about Act 13, Danielson Standards, how new teachers are evaluated, and the related various categories and applications.
Effective use of data
Dr. Christopher Sehcheck, Superintendent of New-Kensington-Arnold School District, and Dr. Jason Boone, Assistant Superintendent of Southmoreland School District, came to Pitt-Greensburg on November 14, 2022, to speak to attendees on how to use data effectively and how to use a variety of techniques to assess student achievement.
Structured Literacy
Ms. Amy Cavalier, an Educational Consultant with the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, presented to our club about structured literacy, a new mandate from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This workshop helped us to think about how we teach reading and how children can think about what they are learning.
Workshops
Canva Mini Workshop
On September 29th, 2022, we sent out a Canva mini-workshop video explaining to our members the different ways to use Canva in their classrooms. This video also included ways that our members could use Canva for things such as their e-portfolios and creating flyers for events. Everyone who watched this video fully received a certificate.
(Our club t-shirts and sweatshirts were created using Canva).
Reading Specialist Workshop
On March 6th, 2023, Professor Julie Ankrum, Director of the Bill and Judy Scheeren Literacy Center Coordinator of Literacy MEd/Reading Specialist Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, came to our campus to give a presentation about a graduate/master's Reading Specialist certificate.
Pearl Workshop
On November 17th, 2022, we held a PEARL workshop for our members regarding self-compassion. We used the PSEA.org website to show this video and take the quiz with our members.
Special Education Consortium: Toilet Training
Pitt-Greensburg SPSEA is part of a consortium with local districts including Mt. Pleasant, Jeannette City, Southmoreland, Yough, and Southmoreland School Districts. This consortium provides special education training for practicing teachers and administrators, parents, and our students. On January 24th, 2023, we held a Special Education Training workshop regarding toilet training and the need for this skill within schools for some students. Mr. Randall Keech, Director of Intervention Fundamentals, provided this informative workshop. This was a great opportunity for our members to get an understanding of a more specific part of Special Education training.