For teachers, a working vacation

By April M. Silvaggio  

SEPTEMBER 5, 2010 7:22 p.m. (0)

Another spent a week visiting farms and agribusinesses across South Carolina.

Others studied the usefulness of dental floss and duct tape in emergency band instrument repair and the beauty of butterfly gardens.

Many of Greenville County’s school teachers use their summer breaks to tackle both the district’s professional development requirements and state certificate renewal obligations.

All Greenville County teachers must participate in a minimum of 24 hours of professional development during each school year, which can include workshops, conferences, in-service training and coursework. At least 12 of those hours are offered at their own school, but more often than not completing the 24 hours requires off-campus programs as well.

In addition, teachers holding a state teaching certificate with less than a master’s degree must earn at least one three-hour graduate level course from an accredited college or university and 60 renewal points or an additional three-hour graduate course within five years to renew their certificate. Points are equal to hours of seat time in professional development training.

Teachers holding a state certificate who have a master’s degree or higher must earn 120 renewal credit points, six college credit hours or 60 renewal credit points and three college credit hours within five years to renew.

To help reach those benchmarks, the school district this year for the fifth summer offered a “one-stop-shop” for teachers, administrators, substitutes, athletic and instructional coaches, after-school program directors, school nurses, counselors, media specialists and front office staff.

Summer Academy this year hosted 600-plus teachers a day over the three week “Raise Your Game” conference, said Oby Lyles, spokesman for the district.

With more than 249 topics presented primarily by classroom teachers and other district staff, classes touched on subjects ranging from Promethean Board training to classroom strategies and beyond.

Examples of workshops included “Teaching with Documents from the National Archives,” “Food Choices that Impact Learning and Behavior,” “Ignite Creativity in the Middle School Writer,” and “Using Gizmos to Teach Math.”

Extra training took Charlotte Thornton, a sixth grade science teacher and Web master at Woodmont Middle, far beyond Summer Academy at J.L. Mann High.

Thornton was selected by Google as an attendee at the Google Teacher Academy, held in London on July 29. The Google Teacher Academy for Administrators is a free professional development experience designed to help K-12 educational leaders get the most from innovative technologies.

During the intensive, one-day event, Thorton and other participants got hands-on experience with Google’s products and technologies, and at the completion of the course are recognized as Google Certified Teachers.

“Technology is changing the world by eliminating distances amongst countries,” Thornton said. “We are now able to work collaboratively with students and teachers around the globe. We need to keep up with new, innovative tools and ideas, and then teach our students to use those tools if they are to be successful in the future workplace.”

Megan Ohler, a first grade teacher at Cherrydale Elementary, spent a week learning about the importance of family farmers and domestically produced food, fiber and fuel at the S.C. Farm Bureau 2010 Summer Ag in the Classroom Teacher Institute in Florence.

“If agriculture is to maintain its status as South Carolina’s largest business sector – providing more than 200,000 jobs and more than a $34 billion impact on South Carolina’s economy – we’ve got to help the people understand the link between their food, fiber and shelter and the farm,” said SCFB President and Sumter County farmer David Winkles. “Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom is a tool to help us accomplish that goal through our state’s teachers.”

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