Staff Professional Development:
Recognizing & Preventing Curriculum Violence
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, all instructional staff engaged in required professional development as part of the workday. Recognizing and Preventing Curriculum Violence professional development included: the definition of curriculum violence
“The three students were the best part of today’s professional development. Hearing about their experiences as Sun Prairie students helped bring awareness to me what I should keep doing to build connections with all of my students, but also what I need to START doing to build stronger connections and to help students feel included and safe.” —SPASD staff member
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District Book Study
In the spring of 2020, our instructional coaches recommended that a book study using Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, by Zaretta Hammond, would help move our school system forward in equity. All educators in our system have engaged in the study, discussion, and application of the concepts shared. Our educators will continue to focus on applying the “Ready for Rigor Framework,” which emphasizes awareness (of race, culture, and brain science), learning partnerships that emphasize relationships between students and educators, information processing (intentional lesson design that helps students process new information), and community of learners and learning environment (a culture that fosters connections, resolves conflicts, and creates space for student voices). These important concepts are now common knowledge for all educators in our District, and with practice will be applied in ways that strengthen learning communities and impact students in positive ways.
“We are all seeing ourselves as part of the solution and exploring instructional practices and biases to best meet the needs of our Black and Brown students. Through vulnerability, honest and difficult conversations, and building a deeper level of trust within our building, we are committing to the ongoing work of addressing racial injustices in our educational system.” —4th-grade teacher
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Sun Prairie chose Cornelius Minor to address our teachers at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year to promote our commitment to equity and our implementation of SEL this year.
Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator. He works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. His latest book, We Got This, explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices—specifically in the choice to really listen to kids. He has partnered with The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, The New York City Department of Education, The International Literacy Association, and Lesley University’s Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative.
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Sharroky Hollie was the keynote speaker at our 2019-2020 school year commencement to kickoff our schools year.
Sharroky Hollie is a national educator who provides professional development to thousands of educators in cultural responsiveness. He has authored several texts and journal articles. Most recently, he wrote Strategies for Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning (2015) which teachers in Sun Prairie have found valuable to their learning. Sharroky brings the practical implications for creating a culturally responsive culture that teachers strive for with their students. In addition to providing district-wide professional development, Dr. Hollie coached teams of teachers at the secondary level and at Westside Elementary School.
