Professional Development
As we approach the end of the school year, the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment team would like to recognize the strong work happening across our district. This spring, our focus has centered on strengthening Tier 1 instruction, deepening foundational literacy practices, and ensuring alignment across grade levels and content areas.
A key emphasis this year has been the continued development and implementation of our instructional framework, supporting consistency in environment, design, delivery, and assessment practices to enhance student learning experiences. Through professional learning opportunities such as LETRS and Aspire, staff have been building knowledge and refining instructional practices to better meet the diverse needs of our learners. In addition, ongoing collaboration with instructional coaches and administrators has supported more intentional use of data, purposeful planning, and student-centered instruction across classrooms.
Looking ahead, we are excited to continue this momentum into next year. Our professional learning half days will be intentionally designed to support continued progress in LETRS, ongoing instructional framework implementation, and building-based priorities aligned to the strategic plan. This alignment has strengthened coherence across buildings while allowing for the flexibility needed to meet unique school needs.
We will also offer opportunities for teacher leadership, including potential facilitator roles within Aspire and other professional learning structures. As always, staff voice and feedback remain central to our planning, and we are committed to providing meaningful, relevant professional growth opportunities that support both educators and students.
Please take a look at some other professional growth opportunities below.
Opportunities for educators via VMI
There are still a few spots left to join the 2026 cohort of the Master’s program which begins this July! We’re hoping you can help us spread the word by sharing this link or this flyer within your schools/districts.
We will also be offering a number of courses for professional development credit over the summer, including a few from the Master’s program. These courses will be held in the Burlington area.
July 6-10: Mathematics as a Second Language, Geometry for Teachers
July 13-17: Functions & Algebra I, Statistics I
Click here for more information about summer courses!
Courses are open to those enrolled in the VMI Master’s program as well as those interested in taking courses for professional development/recertification purposes. Many of these courses will support relicensing and endorsement efforts in elementary, middle, and secondary mathematics, as well as the Math Specialist endorsement.
Please reach out if you have any questions about our program or courses.
Summer Course
Young Adult Literature: Contemporary Texts
Summer 2026 - Dates TBD soon!
Intended audience: Teachers of Grades 7-10
Location: Online
Sarah Miller, M.Ed
Course Description: In this course, educators will read and analyze current, relevant texts for young adult readers. It will address a range of genres, including historical fiction, realistic fiction, and nonfiction books that young adults read. Participants can expect to read books in verse, graphic novels, and prose. It is important to note that the young adult texts in this course contain material that could include, but is not limited to, discussions of race, sexuality, gender, and addiction. In this course, there is an emphasis on practical applications of discussion and familiarity with current literature that could be considered 'popular.'
Fall Course
Executive Function & Reading Comprehension: Strategies for Supporting Complex Thinking in Literacy
Fall 2026 - Dates TBD (soon)
Intended audience: primary through secondary educators
Location: Online
Jim Calhoun, Ph.D.
Course Description: In this course, we will explore the intersection between executive function (EF) skills and reading comprehension. Students will examine how EF processes—including working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibition/attention, shifting cognitive set, goal-setting, and self-monitoring—impact reading and learning. The course blends theory with practical strategies for assessment and instruction, equipping participants to support struggling readers and promote strategic comprehension in all learners.