Our aim as a faculty is to produce students who will be life-long learners. One way we hope to achieve this goal is by modeling what it means to be a life-long learner in our lives. As educators we strive to be the best in our profession. This means that we make concerted efforts to implement best teaching practices, design engaging classes, and achieve national curricular standards. For these reasons faculty members participate in a wide variety of professional developments. Below are a few highlights of meaningful professional developments that have enhanced the middle school team.

Sarah Kate Gessford spent a year as a National Trails Teacher with F.O.S.S. from the Lawrence Hall of Science and University of California at Berkley. Over the course of the year, Sarah Kate and her students helped to design a national curriculum.

Kate Schelbe attended the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Annual Convention and World Languages Expo. While at the convention Kate participated in a variety of sessions that covered topics from formative assessment to activities that connect teens to reading in a second language. The diversity of sessions provided Kate with the opportunity to apply specific activities directly into her instruction as well as time to think about language acquisition and theory.

Middle School faculty have also attended International Baccalaureate (IB) trainings that focus on the Middle Years Programme. These workshops discuss the IB teaching philosophy and discuss teaching strategies, and allow for networking with other IB educators.

In addition to attending professional developments, Journeys School has brought experts to our campus to benefit all faculty members. Faculty members have been trained on Restorative Practices by Kay Pranis, how gender impacts classroom culture by Michael Thompson, Ph.D., and brain development JoAnn Deak, Ph.D.. These seminars discussed the many social and emotional factors that impact classroom management and school culture.

On top of academic and social/emotional instruction, middle school faculty members have medical training including four faculty members who are Wilderness First Responders.

As part of the craft of teaching, we implement the information learned through these professional developments to enhance the instruction we provide and the positive school culture we cultivate.