The Palm Middle School certificated team participated in the first Art of Co-Teaching professional development session hosted by the MVUSD Professional Development Specialist team. During the session, teachers discussed differences between the collaborative and co-teaching models. Professional Development Specialists Mary Stafford, Joanne Katona, Antoinette Saldana, Jill Dayton and Stacey Lerma, along with Program Specialist Rosemary Nirschl, provided interactive lessons that connected to all core curriculum areas.
“We want our teams to continue to strengthen one another with intentional planning that supports the needs of all scholars,” explained Dr. Mallanie Harris, principal.
The professional development team linked lesson design and co-teaching checklists to assist teachers with an effective planning strategy. Teachers were appreciative of this opportunity coordinated by Palm’s administrative team as shared by RSP Teacher, Angela Vackar, “I liked how they started off talking about the special ed aspect of why our kids are integrated in general ed. The way they presented the four collab models was spot on.” She added “I liked how they talked about pros and cons of each and how it was important to not just pick one model but to move fluidly through the models depending on the day, the lesson, and the needs of the kids.”