April 11 Home Communicator – There’s a sign that hangs in my office that reads, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” (African proverb). This serves as a good reminder to me of the power in working together – and how God has created us to be in community with each other. I recently had the privilege of taking part in our hiring process for some open positions at HCS. This process begins with interviewing potential candidates for those positions. Almost every single candidate asked about professional development opportunities available to them at HCS; this was a priority for them as they considered working at our school. It gave me great joy to share with them the many ways in which teachers learn and grow together here at HCS. Teachers meet as grade level teams on a weekly basis and participate in frequent professional learning communities where they discuss student needs, curriculum, and building blocks of faith. Teachers also have the opportunity to set professional goals and receive instructional coaching support related to those goals. In addition, teachers engage in professional development during early release days. At our most recent early release day, middle school teachers held important conversations about our building blocks of faith and how we can work together throughout the students’ middle school years to nurture faith. Our elementary teachers dove deep into essential standards for teaching English Language Arts, and curriculum options that support those essential standards.
The common thread in all of this work is that it is done TOGETHER. Together in collaboration with their colleagues. The logo I use on many of my professional development materials is simple, and pictured above: Learning. Growing. Together. Not only do our students get to do this every day as they learn and grow together in Christian community, but our teachers get to do the same. The best part is that through all of our collaborative work as professionals, we continually keep the main thing, the main thing: challenging minds and lives for Christ. We are thankful for our teachers and staff who can learn and grow together in this Christian community as we continue to partner together with you.
Jen Rysdam, Curriculum Director
The full Home Communicator can be found at this link: April 11 Home Communicator
