For the upcoming school year, the Professional Development & Instructional Issues’ team invites members to join us in a year of healing. Together, we’ll take the lessons of the pandemic and use them to reframe the ways in which we engage with ourselves, our colleagues, our students, and our communities.
Through a combination of PDII-hosted statewide virtual events, partnered with a return to in-person county and local workshops, we aim to provide members with a connected system of high-quality professional learning opportunities that meet current needs in the field.
We strongly recommend county affiliates collaborate with NJEA to bring the following in-person series to our members. The PDII division will also host each topic as a statewide virtual learning opportunity:
Healing Conversations
Virtual Offering: Tuesday, Nov. 15 @ 4 – 6 p.m.
In this workshop participants will discover why healing is important to their personal and professional life through self-reflection, coping skills, and professional conversation.
Exploring the Power of Collaboration between School Counselors and School Nurses
Virtual Offering: Thursday, Dec. 15@ 4:30 – 6 p.m.
Building a coalition between school counselors and nurses would create a safety net for our most complex and challenging students while benefiting the whole school community. The collaboration between school counselors and school nurses, who neither discipline nor grade students, creates safe spaces for students at school. Both are guided by the principles of confidentiality and work within the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum. Learn more about how to build these collaborative teams in your schools.
Understanding Social Emotional Learning
Virtual Offering: Tuesday, Jan. 17@ 4 – 6 p.m.
SEL provides students the opportunity to demonstrate their personal attributes, attitudes, and values through social and emotional learning. Participants will be able to define Social Emotional Learning, understand why it is important and learn how to create and implement SEL activities for their students.
Inclusive Curricula
Virtual Offering: Tuesday, Feb. 7 @ 4 – 6 p.m.
Throughout this session, participants will become familiar with New Jersey’s statutory curriculum inclusion requirements, including: Amistad, Holocaust, LGBTQ+, Persons with Disabilities, Asian American Pacific Islander, and Diversity & Inclusion mandates. Together, we will discuss and explore the purpose behind inclusive curricula as participants unpack the language behind each legislation. Participants will leave with resources and supports
for practical application within their classrooms and local contexts.