Summer Institute Gives VVSD Educators a Head Start for New Year

Editor's note: The following is a press release from Valley View School District 365U. 

More than 350 faculty, staff and administrators gathered Tuesday at Romeoville High School for the district’s annual Summer Institute to learn about “Leading With Heart and Mind.”

Noted Northwestern University Professor Dr. Carol Lee, a widely-recognized expert on the importance of social and cultural context in the lives of publicly educated children, served as the keynote speaker before educators went to various breakout sessions to learn more about such topics as:

• Turning Aptitude into Achievement—Targeting College and Career Readiness
• Effective Instruction for ALL Learners
• Creating Higher Level Thinking and Effective Classroom Questioning
• Bridging the Multicultural Reading Gap
• Increasing Rigor in the Classroom
• Understanding Students’ Behavior and How to Support in the Classroom
• Culturally Responsive Teaching
• Overcoming the Top 10 Challenges of Parent Involvement
• On the Road to College

In addition, several sessions focused on the implementation of the new Common Core standards.

The event was planned by the VVSD Professional Development Department which is led by Director Elizabeth Martinez.