Presented to the Rockingham County School Board November 22, 2011 by Joe Hill, Director of Math and Technology Your Day at School October 31, 2011 East Rockingham High School

Purpose To provide top-notch professional development for all licensed employees on a wide variety of topics To improve instruction To learn about new instructional technologies To provide an opportunity for educators to network with each other about best practices To inform employees about topics which affect their job To educate employees about RCPS benefits and community opportunities

History 2011 was the 5 th consecutive year RCPS has held Your Day at School  October 8, 2007: Broadway High School  October 13, 2008: Spotswood High School  October 12, 2009: Turner Ashby High School  November 2, 2010: East Rockingham High School  October 31, 2011: East Rockingham High School The 2011 YDAS featured more choices than ever for attendees to select their professional development sessions

Step 1 – Proposals Solicited In early September, proposals were solicited from all RCPS teachers and administrators, local college educators, and community organizations. Prospective presenters submitted an online proposal which was evaluated by the RCPS instructional staff to make sure the program to be presented matched the division’s goals.online proposal A special effort was made to invite presenters from James Madison University, Bridgewater College, Blue Ridge Community College, and Eastern Mennonite University. 180 presentations were received and selected for the 2011 YDAS.

Step 2 – Attendees Choose In late September the list of inservice offerings was posted online for teachers.posted online Attendees filled in an online request form, choosing six hours of inservice (most offerings were one-hour in length) plus a few alternatives in case there were schedule conflicts.online request form There was one required course for all teachers: the new Teacher Evaluation System, presented by Doug Alderfer 1,114 teachers and administrators registered and made their requests

Step 3 – Master Schedule Developed In mid-October, the RCPS student information system determined the most efficient master schedule for the day and scheduled teachers into the classes in the same way it schedules students into high school courses. Counting inservices that were offered more than once, there were 294 sessions scheduled. All available rooms at East Rockingham High School were used as well as several at River Bend Elementary School Teachers were only scheduled into courses they chose; nearly all were scheduled for a full 6-period day. Each teacher received his/her personal schedule for the day a few days prior to October 31. Presenters received class lists for each of their classes. The entire schedule can be viewed by clicking here.here

Step 4 – YDAS Held! In addition to the 294 inservices offered: Lunch was provided by the RCPS Food Service Department. Attendees could also attend the Benefits and Community Fair held in the gym during periods 2-5. REFI sponsored a coffee/donuts café during the morning. Two kiosks were available for attendees, one for and another for PowerSchool assistance.

Step 5 - Evaluations Approximately 400 attendees submitted online evaluations of each of their inservices.online evaluations Each evaluator rated each session attended and also gave an overall evaluation of YDAS. Comments will be used to continue to improve YDAS for future years. Some of their comments/suggestions are on the next two slides…

Sample Comments I still really like this format & hope it continues. It's a fun day & a good learning experience, too. I enjoyed an awesome day today. I felt everything I attended was relevant and I gained valuable info from. Thank you SO MUCH for providing this wonderful opportunity for all of us! I really appreciate all the effort that must go into planning and preparing it. I am very grateful for all the new information and for the fun classes, too. Great day! I always look forward to YDAS. I enjoy learning new things and getting back in touch with my teaching colleagues from around the county. The Benefit Fair gives an opportunity for our school system and community to work together. Thank you for putting this day together for our benefit! It was a great success! I had a good day and enjoyed connecting with other Rockingham County employees. A FANTASTIC day of inservice covering a variety of topics. Well organized with expert presenters! I love YDAS every year.....it gives us the opportunity to be students for a day, take classes of our choice that are relevant to us as individuals, and see friends from other parts of the county that we don't normally get to see. Thank you for providing this opportunity! I love YDAS!! I always come away from YDAS with a lot of "food for thought", some ready-to-use ideas, and a heightened drive and commitment to my profession.

Suggestions from participants Consider having YDAS every other year Enlist local law enforcement to assist with traffic issues Rotate YDAS to other high schools Have fewer required sessions Provide more sessions for instructional assistants Lunch was very positive for some, negative for others

YDAS is like sending 1,100 teachers and administrators to an outstanding professional development conference presented by highly skilled and knowledgeable presenters at a high-tech location for which there are no conference fees, no transportation expenses, and no lodging costs; the only expense is lunch YDAS – In Summary

Special Thanks to… East Rockingham High School administrators, teachers, custodial staff, food service staff, and office staff Gerald Lehman Michele Judd Dr. Oskar Scheikl Doug Alderfer Janet Wendleken Over 100 presenters RCPS Technology Staff 1,100 attendees