The Aug. 14 event at Durango High School kicked off the school year for teachers and staff at the district’s 11 schools.
About 800 staff attended the opening Convocation ceremony in the morning, followed by a rotation of nearly 50 classes and five sessions from 9:45 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. Staff rotated between classrooms in the West Wing of DHS and chose from a variety of topics taught by administrators, teachers, and community partners.
“Educators are by nature lifelong learners,” said Karla Sluis, Public Information Officer for the district. “Professional development opportunities like this are a way for us to reconnect with colleagues, get excited for the upcoming year, and sharpen our skills so we can better support families and students.”
The academy focused on deepening Portrait of a Graduate skills. Each class was centered around learning one or more of the six PoG competencies: Resilient Risk-Taker, Empathetic Collaborator, Agile Thinker, Creative Problem-Solver, Confident Communicator, and Courageous Leader.
Classes included interesting and timely information for teachers, such as: working with immigrant families and Native American youth, exploring AI teaching tools, understanding dyslexia and autism, supporting students facing poverty and homelessness, and using robots to support the standards.
Dr. Karen Cheser taught a class on Cultivating Creativity in Your Classroom, with the description: “Learn about tools and strategies that can build innovative thinking in your classroom. We will engage in exercises that can ignite a creative spark and empower learners to go ‘beyond the box’ in our ever-changing world.”
Community partners shared their time and expertise with district staff at the event. Enrique Orozco-Perez of Los Companeros spoke on supporting immigrant families. Kelly von Stroh and Carrie Denman shared free classroom resources available at the Durango Public Library. Edward Box III, a Southern Ute Tribal Elder, spoke on the history of Durango-area boarding schools.
All of the sessions were designed to deepen the vision of Portrait of a Graduate – now in the third year of implementation in the district.
Chief Academic Officer Dylan Connell described one of his learning targets in his PoG course: “Participants will consider authentic ways to implement the PoG for student agency, hope, and for each student to become a co-designer of their paths to success.”
