Overview

A high quality professional development opportunity will be provided for up to eight teachers from each high school or a combination of high school and feeder middle schools in Standards of Learning-related content and the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) developed by the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Institute for Effective Instruction. The content for each academy session will be developed to enrich participants’ current content background. The SIM sessions will be integrated into the content. The SIM provides teachers with content-focused instruction and research-validated instructional strategies, especially helping to integrate better opportunities for special education students.The SIM strives to help teachers make decisions about what is of greatest importance, what we can teach students to help them to learn, and how to teach them well. Building on these principles, we have developed two kinds of interventions to address the performance gap, the gap between what students are expected to do and what students are able to do.

• Teacher-focused interventions are directed at how teachers think about, adapt, and present their critical content in "learner-friendly" fashion.
• Student-focused interventions are designed to provide the skills and strategies students need to learn the content.

Who should attend

Schools should select a team of eight teachers based upon the needs of the high school. A team may be composed of a combination of regular and special education teachers responsible for instruction in English, history and social science, mathematics, and science. The team may also be composed of high school teachers and teachers from the high school’s feeder middle schools. A team distributed across content areas is highly recommended.Teachers will be able to choose from the following academies:

• 6 – 12 English
• 6 – 12 History and Social Science
• 6 – 12 Mathematics
• 6 – 12 Special Education
• 6 – 12 Science

When/Where
Monday - Friday, June 26-30, 2006, on the campus of James Madison University
8:30 am - 4:45 pm Monday - Thursday
8:00 am - 12:00 pm Friday.

Registration Form - Deadline: January 30, 2006

Included in the scholarship:

Summer Academy Credit
Participants may receive and be eligible for graduate credit for their participation in the summer academy at no cost to the participant or points toward re-certification.
Graduate Credit
Three hours of graduate credit are available to each participant. Two additional meetings during the academy (Monday 6:30-8:00 p.m. and Wednesday 5:00-6:30 p.m.), a practical instructional project, and Web-based follow-up are required. Please see draft syllabi and a statement regarding content-area credit at the academy Web site. Credit will be earned for the appropriate course by the end of the 2006 summer term.
Re-certification Points
A certificate of completion documenting the number of hours of participation will be awarded after participants have designed two lessons utilizing content and activities learned during the academy, posted these lessons on an electronic bulletin board, and reviewed three lessons designed by other participants in their academy. Follow-up requirements are necessary to meet the “High-Quality Professional Development Criteria” of the Virginia Department of Education.

Lodging/Meals
Air-conditioned, double occupancy dormitory rooms will be available for Sunday through Thursday nights. A meal plan (breakfast, lunch, and dinner Monday through Thursday and breakfast on Friday) will be provided to all participants receiving a scholarship.