Professional Development – what makes it so critical to successfully embedding a support system for children with learning differences within a school? The answer is rather simple. It provides teachers with core understandings of those learning differences and it gives educators new tools to meet children where they are on their learning continuum, and in a way that makes sense to their brain and learning profile. The S.E.A.L. Foundation’s school partners center their professional development offerings according to their schools’ needs.
Anxiety and Depression
One of the many fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic was an increase seen in anxiety and depression among students and families. Our response was to connect our Fall River partner schools and Bishop Stang High School with the company, Indieflix, and provide their film entitled, Angst, which explained anxiety and gave teachers tools to help their students. It also provided a panel immediately after the film with Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., who is the President and Medical Director of the Child Mind Institute. He answered follow-up questions, addressed concerns and further provided tools for area educators to implement. Let us know if you would like more information on this topic.
Trauma
A workshop that focused on trauma in children was presented in response to multiple factors, including the impact of opioid addiction in families, deaths due to COVID-19 and traumatic experiences within families that impact a student’s growth and progress in school. Dr. Richard Solomon, Clinical Director of Delta Consultants in Providence, RI, and a specialist in childhood trauma, provided teachers with an understanding of how trauma affects children and how a teacher can recognize and support children who have experienced it. To learn more, please contact us.
Dr. Richard Solomon
Differentiation of Instruction and Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
As area schools move toward a model of differentiated instruction and personalization, Katherine Gaudet, our Executive Director for Programming, delivered professional development on this topic and instructed teachers on ways in which they could provide for all learners in their classrooms, including how to structure their curriculum, and the process through which they could organize their day and groupings.
Katherine also developed a workshop on APD and explained how and why it impacts students’ learning and specific ways in which teachers can ensure student success if they have this processing disorder
In addition to these professional developments offered this year, educators have also received professional development in the past on ADHD and ADD, executive functioning disorder, autism, social emotional learning, neurodiversity and simulations to walk in the footsteps of a person who has learning differences. Contact us if you have an interest in any of these professional development workshops.
Katherine Gaudet
