More than 400 educators from the Eastern Oregon region attended a robust Professional Development Summit on Friday, October 10th, Oregon’s statewide in-service day for schools.
IMESD’s Oregon Trail Regional Educator Network (REN) plans and implements this regional event every year. Organizers invite all 21 regional REN districts to attend with the goal of providing meaningful professional learning for K-12 educators. The event was at Pendleton High School.
THEME
This year’s theme was Re-Envisioning Rigor. Emily Williams, REN Data & Programming Specialist, said all the session offerings were carefully crafted in alignment with this theme. “Our goal was to secure sessions that would support educators in exploring what it means to cultivate deep learning for every student. We want educators to walk away with practical strategies they can implement right away to strengthen engagement, critical thinking, and lasting understanding,” Williams said.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Michael McDowell, who said that rigor should be treated as a routine for students to build a habit. “Rigor is the balance between knowing things, relating things and applying things,” he said.
Aimee Gunter, Kindergarten Teacher in the Pendleton School District, said, “The keynote speaker was fabulous! I will be ordering his book!”
SESSIONS
120 session offerings
77 speakers: regional educators, higher-education partners, community & agency partners, and external contractors
Over 50 content-specific offerings
Session tracks included admin support, special education, mathematics, literacy, counselor support, classroom management & instructional strategies, educational technology, and content-specific offerings
Kirsten Wright, Counselor from Stanfield School District, enjoyed the event, saying “Excellent keynote, sessions, food, and networking time. Everything was well-organized and well-run.”
One of the session presenters also shared some positive feedback about the summit and about the Oregon Trail REN. Amit Kobrowski, K-12 Social Science Specialist from the Oregon Department of Education, said, “This was a really impressive day of professional learning. It is clear that you all take really good care of your districts and teachers.”
Attendees from nearly all of the REN’s 21 regional districts were represented at the event.
