2022-2023 District PD - Welcome Back!
Section: INST20230005Summary
Commnets
Strengths:
Responses: 157"This was very pertinent and well done"
"Depth of info "
"Our staff cares about kids and colleagues both! Great start to 2022-23"
"Well organized, student centered, and fun"
"Love the book and booklet. Makes me excited for math teaching this year!"
"Great strategies and time for collaboration."
"Interaction with coworkers"
"Positive connection with peers. Great reminders of the "why"."
"Bill was wonderful! The students were Amazing!!!"
"It was a great opening day! I loved Bill's speech, so glad he is here!"
"Materials seemed good"
". ."
"It was great getting to meet colleagues and talk about the upcoming year."
"It was nice to have everyone from the district together"
"Awesome presenters"
"Great Job Mr. Bill Eagle"
"Good intro to the year. Nice to be back in person"
"Community builder"
"na"
"Appreciating the overview of the Math Identity and the opportunity to apply some of the learning in plannign with my team"
"Energy"
"I will apply a lot of what I learned to my job."
"Bill Eagle, Mike Lane, Kory Kalahar, and Diana Haglund were clear and concise in launching the strategic plan and brand, focusing on the why and the importance of the why. Sarah Wall and Andy Boyd facilitated learning around math well by breaking pieces of information into digestible chunks. "
"It was fun to interact with my peers."
"Bill Eagle and Kory! "
"Community"
"Large space, working A/C, welcoming atmosphere, the content of the meeting didn't take longer than expected, everything discussed/presented was useful, important, and/or interesting. "
"Elissa Johnston is an amazing speaker and makes listening enjoyable!"
"It was a quick overview of the district goals for this year and following school years."
"Positive presentation. Applicable information"
"creative ways to work on developing rigor in the class"
"Relevance of the topic."
"Welcome Bill Eagle! Our district is lucky to have him!!! I appreciated his opening message. "
"Content was structured and organized and revised from last year."
"Engaging, interactive, relevant."
"Collaboration "
"Organization"
"relevant "
"location was good"
"instructors prepared"
"Information was great."
"Everyone back together - great energy"
"Great staff, well prepared"
"thank YOU!"
"Loved the flow. Loved the space. Loved the posititivity"
"I loved it. It was good to see my peers after the summer."
"responsible and reliable"
"District meeting in an "
"Collaboration time"
"Enjoyed hearing from the students on the advisory board"
"Positivity! Thorough knowledge of presented information. "
"Bill Eagle's presentation"
"Opening day with everyone was nice. Seeing students play their music was also amazing!"
"It helped me focus more on the district's goals and initiatives for this yer."
"Loved the student musicians, presentation of logo, Superintendent speach and Math Academy were all great! Building PD was informative and helpful to kick off the B.O.Y."
"Great staff with knowledge of the classroom."
"I appreciated the modeling of strategies and the opportunities to discuss with peers. "
"fun"
"Loved the breakout session. Amber Birks is amazing."
"Bill Eagle's message was spot on!"
"Short and to the point with important information to share"
"Positive and engaging!"
"Splitting into groups"
"Organized well and helpful to the new school year."
"It was all great!"
"community building"
"Very well organized "
"Strategy to learn about equity and student engagement was great. I enjoyed the activity."
"Working with my peers"
"The ability to collaborate with others serving in the same function as mine."
"Superintendent Bill Eagle's opening speech was exactly what our district needed. The Math training went very well. Lots of interaction, good materials, learning, and dialogue "
"N/A"
"It's always good to be back and so fun to see everyone together. I really enjoyed the talks from Kory, Bill and Mike. Thanks for your time and effort putting this together."
"I really like the reading!"
"Organized, focused, and allowed time for processing information."
"The video of teacher questioning the student was helpful."
"Great"
"The mood was very up-beat"
"Very well prepared and engaging."
"Very well prepared and engaging."
"great presentation"
"The discussion on engagement and rigor connected to effective strategies to achieve a community of learners was helpful. I appreciated that the conversation was not about fun, but taping into problem-solving for engagement."
"Organizes"
"Very well organized!"
"informative/getting ready for the year"
"Everyone met together"
"Great to have everyone together!"
"Energetic staff from top to bottom"
"Loved the enthusiasm towards staff! Thank you."
"Elissa"
"I’ve learned new teaching strategies when working with my small groups, this class was very helpful."
"The staff at the sign in table were fabulous! They are the best!"
"The presenters were well prepared."
"good reminders for being positive"
"Knowledge of background info"
"Teaching strategies that they modeled on us"
"n/a"
"Elissa and Betsy were ROCK STARS!"
"Focused for teachers"
"Opportunities to collaborate"
"Information that will be helpful and useful throughout the school year. "
"The instructor used time appropriately for us to read an article, and discuss with others. "
"Bill's message was outstanding and inspirational."
"Love seeing student performances during opening day."
"PBIS strategies were great"
"I really enjoyed the opening day enthusiasm. The going over the big 6 and the reason why, was very important."
"The concept of Equitable instruction."
"I really liked that we got the opportunity to work on our PLC's. We had some really good conversations about the material that was presented to us. "
"The positive on wording. "
"Great time management"
"Wonderful energy and enthusiasm"
"Awesome engagement "
"Organization"
"The workshop provided good information about the math goals we are looking toward in the future but did not try to focus on all of them at this meeting."
"Coming together as a district to celebrate a new school year and get to know our new Superintendent. "
"Good evidence based practices for math were presented."
"I appreciated the energy of Bill, Kory, and other district staff as well as the ideas/resources presented in Engaging Students for Equity and Rigor and the safety review for the high school. WHS Admin did an especially great job making me smile. They modeled strategies well."
"I loved the math discussion. It was well organized and taught the material in an active and engaging way."
"N/A"
"It was a great way to get things started for the school year and I enjoyed hearing from the interim superintendent. I also thought Betsy did a fantastic job!"
"The breakout session for literacy was really good. I just wish we’d had more time to learn and work together. Fun seeing full staff at the convention center, but it was really tight quarters."
"Loved that it was short and to the point! Included valuable information!"
"Great speeches! Did not get board "
"very interactive and lots of energy"
"Loved Bill Eagle's opening. Mike did an awesome job with the Big 6 & Kory brought great energy! Diana's overview of the brand was great and honoring of process and our community. Way to go, team!"
"Greats content, good timing and lots of peer interaction"
"applicable"
"Building a positive Staff climate"
"Inclusive "
"Teaching strategies and opportunities to share with other educators were appreciated."
"great for teachers"
"Engaging and applicable!"
"Very helpful Literacy info for Intervention Support"
"Everyone was well organized and presented well. "
"The energy and expertise of the speakers "
"I liked the opportunity to meet with others in my field and get to know their experiences."
"lots of good information for classroom practices and teacher support"
"Great Course"
"Superintendent (temp) provided a good and positive beginning for the year, Breakout sessions provided opportunities for us to work with our school PLC’s to further work started earlier in the week (Math)"
"Great teaching strategies"
"finding a place with functional AC was a plus"
"Great information"
"Very Interactive"
"I liked Bill Eagle's introduction and speech. He's a very caring and genuine person. He was my principal for a few years and I really appreciated working with him. "
"I enjoyed the welcome back speech given by Bill Eagle."
"Well organized, relevant. "
"It was helpful when we practiced physical activities."
"Very well through! Time management excellent."
"Instructors were very well prepared and the speakers were all great. "
"I believe everything was very well organized. The presentation had a good flow. I think explaining how much the importance of closing the learning gap was done very clear. There was facts to back up the statements. "
"."
"It was very engaging!"
"good ideas"
"Mixing it up and talking to other district employees"
"One of the most amazing start of the year trainings I have ever experiences. The direct tie with Glad strategies and implementation of those strategies in my classroom was so helpful. The instructors did a great job showing teaching strategies and providing research based tools for us to take back to our classroom during the school year. "
"As a new employee, this was an exciting way to start the year. The energy in the room was evident and it allowed me to understand and get on board with the District's strategic goals. The swag was fun too. "
"Helpful information for new teachers."
Suggestions:
Responses: 121"None "
"Not enough chairs"
"Allow us to go something that better matches what we teach"
"Larger place to hold us. Not enough parking"
". ."
"The math training was hard to follow and was not particularly relavent at times."
"na"
"none at this time"
"Bussing staff from some of the buildings and more chairs"
"I can't think of any suggestions."
"The card sort was not an appropriate strategy for this kind of situation. This particular content did not feel appropriate for this time frame. I think the PD in the park (from last year) was more valuable meaningful. The stories and strategies felt more relevant and authentic. Additionally, the constant moving prevented us from feeling like we were in "sit and get" mode."
"There was a lot of new information in a little amount of time. Teacher stress is already high."
"Please make sure that we have a meeting in a bigger facility, it was too small for all schools."
"Music playing during discussion. Partner said he was distracted and could not concentrate fully. l love music! But, perhaps background music with no words would be better."
"none"
"Sitting shoulder to shoulder (literally) with people who aren't in my daily "bubble" was not only physically uncomfortable but also stressed me out with regard to adequate spacing for COVID prevention. Furthermore, the math breakout was, while informative, not pertinent to my daily professional responsibilities. I feel as though my time could've been better spent elsewhere."
"Lower the volume on music during discussion times."
"?"
"More Kahoots."
"None."
"The math break out session, was very challenging to understand and connect to the district roll out. It was very long and created a lot of stress during a time that could have been used more efficiently for timely needs during this time of year."
"NA"
"offer different sessions"
"separate grade levels"
"None"
"Keep it up!"
"Not enough room at convention center. Have staff gather in their buildings and do it via zoom"
"I want to clarify that this is evaluation is related to the k-12 Math training. I struggled to stay engaged and find the relevancy in the training. The positive take away was that I realized that my collegues at Washington ES are already using the strategies in their classrooms and their understanding of how to improve math learning and engagement is phenomenal."
"Please let us plan."
"Tables always work for me"
"I loved the breakouts. Maybe call out a few people to share the assignment and talk a little about."
"none"
"Special Education specialists should have been recommended to participate in the inclusion training instead of the math identity."
"Address changes in programs being used by teachers, and train them."
"Larger facility. SO many people were standing"
"BCBAs did not feel that the Math presentation was appropriate for the BCBA role. Perhaps send BCBAs to a more Behavior/SEL based presentation. "
"None"
"There were some groups that were left off of the breakout sessions. SLP's, PT's, OT's, Psychs, and other specialized Special Educators were not included. We were told to go to Math, which was a complete waste of time. We could have met as a PLC team or this could have been time directed by Special Ed Admin. It was not inclusive as the district is pushing right now and it always feels HORRIBLE to be left out of things within the district. This happens on District Directed Monday's too. This group of 30+ educators are continuously left off of things and our needs are not met. This needs to change!"
"I wish there was more practical interactions/demos of techniques."
"There needs to be more options that fit the needs for different subjects for best use of the time. K-12 all in the same training should be split up into more useful grade bands"
"Parking was a real issue. Snacks would have been nice."
"None."
"engaging"
"K-12 presenters did not have visible identifiable objectives. "
"Perhaps don't have a gigantic meeting with so many people at the beginning of the school year? It seems like a great chance for people to get sick when they have so much work to do."
"A more organized sign in where we did not need to gather en masse would have been so appreciated. I also think the strings dept would have been a nicer musical greeting. The drums are aggressive and overwhelming. SWAG bags could have been thought through differently. All of us standing missed out."
"Sign in could be more directed and service oriented"
"Some of what we did would have been helpful to have materials, maybe continue the work in buildings "
"none"
"The math training was not an effective use of time. Being with all k-12 math teachers was too much. I was confused as to what the point of the training was. I would much rather have used the time to work on the new pacing guide and CFAs for math."
"Plan out travel time for those who have multiple meetings at different locations. "
"Great information but it would have been great to talk and learn more about ways to implement engagement. "
"None"
"More seating would have been appreciated!"
"NA"
"Have the Opening Day at Wenatchee Convention Center again next year. Nice professional venue."
"N/A"
"No suggestions"
"food with the coffee"
"Instead of icebreakers not connected to content, it would have been great to use or professional culture-building time to work as a group to discuss PLC norms, expectations, and procedures. We still could have gotten to know each other by attempting to tackle a complex problem. "
"More seats"
"N/A"
"na"
"Special Educators were not well served by the trainings provided."
"RSVP to allow for adequate seating? Dont refer to the "swag bags" if so many of us didn't get them."
"Maybe split up the elementary for math inservice. Let Sarah run it instead of Andy."
"I gave the disagree marks because the audio was terrible. It kept going in and out making it hard to hear 50% of the course."
"Maybe begin with norms and growth mindset to clarify the goals of the workshop and to reduce negative feedback "
"Hopefully we’ll be back at the WHS next year"
"n/a"
"More seating as many of us had to stand. "
"Feed us!"
"None"
"none"
"Less time spent on facilitator's background, and ice breakers. "
"It would have been nice to have options for the breakout sessions rather than just be told where to go."
"The k-12 Math- was too broad of an audience. It would have been much more effective to break it apart into grade level bands. For example, the reading- focused on an example at the middle-school level. It wasn't appropriate for teachers who teach at the elementary level. I'd also recommend chunking content, and not having quite so long of a reading. "
"I felt very claustrophobic. I think round tables would have been nice."
"It would have been nice to have just a little more time with our PLC's. It felt a bit rushed. "
"Love the classes being taught in person. "
"I thought it went well"
"Not really enough time to dig into breakout session topic"
"MOre time."
"none"
"Someone asked during the math presentation what math identity was, and I think that came up because a definition was not given at the beginning, it was assumed that everyone knew what the term meant. I felt bad for that person who was asking because she was laughed at when it would have been better if the instructors had just started with the definition of math identity. I believe that was the intention of her question. "
"I felt that the time allotted for the nurse at WHS was too short and rushed. This is such important information. It didn't seem right to rush it, although I appreciate attempts to honor our time and not go over. I would include such vital information earlier in the day when brains are fresher. "
"N/A"
"I think a follow-up to our learning would have been nice."
"Would love more time to work in non grade level PLT's. "
"No suggestions… very fun and interactive "
"none"
"Reduce the items on the sign in sheet - you know our email address? Keep it as simple & minimal as possible. Print & Sign name. "
"None"
"crowded"
"Not enough time "
"None; my first welcome back and it was very welcoming "
"not great for related services"
"More “practice” standing up & “mapping” out sentences, & practice l”being the Student” in the Structured Lit Routine."
"None at this time. Short and sweet. "
"I would have liked more group activity, that was when the course was most effective."
"none"
"None"
"I liked having this at the convention center. Although a bit more costly it allowed more room for all attendees - except for parking…."
"more time"
"Maybe more PLC time in teams to plan for the year! "
"Next time, please make sure there are chairs and room enough and materials for everyone (you know how many employees will be coming). The opening day training should apply to all staff, or if it does not, those that it does not apply to should be provided appropriate training or time to meet in their PLCs. The parking at the convention center is not enough for all Wenatchee School District employees - people have to park blocks away and hope their vehicle doesn't get towed or broken into."
"Next time maybe use a bigger facility where we could all have a seat. "
"None"
"No suggestions. Wish there had been more time to review some of the resources (ex: Nuts & Bolts)."
"The range of grades and the PLC groupings were not appropriate to what is being taught. 6-8th grade cannot plan their first activity when they are not teaching the same thing. We had to choose a general activity and adapt for each grade level. Tell us beforehand to sit with our grade level building team and be clearer on the instructions."
"Give more time for physical activities."
"N/A"
"More time for teachers with less experience "
"None"
"."
"None at this time"
"more individual and group/partner "hands on" work"
"none"
"At the beginning of the school year there are so many new faces name tags would be a big help. Break out sessions horizontal grade level."
"The room was packed and there was standing room only. Also, parking was a nightmare. I am not sure what the solutions are for this unless we encourage carpooling. Maybe for the opening meeting, not having tables up to allow for more chairs?"
"Review Clock Hours process/ Review who is the contact for district questions. What are the annual clock hour requirements for new teachers."
Questions:
Responses: 64"None "
"None"
"."
"na"
"none at this time"
"I can't think of any questions."
"Can we dedicate more time to PLCs before the school year? There are time sensitive things like gradebooks, syllabi, and alignment to establish prior to the first week that we really need more dedicated time for."
"Are we receiving any PLC in Spanish for Spanish teachers. "
"none"
"?"
"N/A"
"None."
"Why not a High School representative and teach AP strategies "
"None"
"none"
"none"
"When will we receive training for the ClassLink app?"
"Why couldn't Classified (Paras) have gotten in some training too?"
"None"
"None :)"
"none. "
"N/a"
"None "
"How can we increase curiosity in hs students and engage them when they have no motivation at all? "
"None"
"NA"
"N/A"
"None"
"none"
"none"
"N/A"
"n/a"
"N/A"
"none"
"None"
"none"
"Will we be given more time to work on this specific topic? It doesn't seem like it is a 2 hour only topic."
"No questions they where answered. Great presentation!!!"
"none"
"none"
"none"
"How will notes from standards-based PLC discussions be reviewed (if at all)? Will some kind of feedback be given or data compiled and shared? In other words, will the efficacy of this work be evaluated by anyone outside of the team?"
"For the math/SPED training, why were the secondary teachers given a book for K-8?"
"N/A"
"none"
"None"
"None"
"Non"
"None at this time."
"none"
"None"
"None at this time"
"No questions"
"No questions"
"I would love for Bill Eagle be considered as our permanent superintendent. Will he be allowed to apply and will he be considered?"
"None"
"None"
"Can we practice the physical activities with small groups of 6 students?"
"N/A"
"None"
"."
"No questions at this time"
"none"
"N/A"
Comments:
Responses: 89"Thanks! "
"Going in, we had no idea what the workshop was about, why we were there and what the goals were. Once we figured it out, it was good information but very basic teaching skills (although reminders are always good) - definitely not with the money it would have cost to pull off or deliver in this way. "
"Thank you Betsy and Elissa!"
"The math class was very inspiring and I am excited for math this year!"
"None"
"The break out session I attended from 9-11 was good for me to know about but does not directly apply to my job. I had no prior knowledge about the math roll out and was confused about expectations for my specific roll. "
"Great day!"
"na"
"The presentations were really good! Easy to understand!"
"Student music is always great and the tone was celebratory and hopeful. Thanks! "
"Thanks for making it fun and knowledgeable content."
"None"
"It's great to be back in person!"
"none"
"?"
"Great job."
"None."
"Good time meeting all together "
"The Math workshop was not applicable to OT/PT/SLP staff. It would nice to reach out to staff and give them an option to create something more applicable. "
"Too much information at once, not enough breaks, some of the most important information was last on the agenda when we were absolutely spent."
"Thanks!"
"Thank you!"
"I was disappointed to see all the $ spent on colored glossy copies and facilities. The math trianing potion led by Andy Boyd was great but lacked a focus. "
"I enjoyed the event. It was a good way to get motivated and start the year."
"none"
"While the suggestions were helpful, I didn't see any that were particularly new to me. I would have liked some time to try some of them out."
"There was not enough seating for all of WSD staff during the opening segment from 8-9"
"Welcome back, Bill Eagle!"
"Thanks for a good launch to the year. "
"This was one of the best District Welcome Back days!"
"It was nice to have an all district Opening day again! Nice work. "
"Loved just having two days instead of four days for more motivational PDs that let us know what is coming up. We really do need that time to get things ready for the students instead of sitting in meetings. Appreciate it!"
"N/a"
"Thank you!"
"Very fun and informative "
"The handouts of information are useful as they give many strategies and ideas. Thank you!"
"None"
"NA"
"Thanks Jeff, Donna and Lisa!"
"Really happy to see this type of training and organization from the 8th grade ELA department. I hope we get opportunities like these more often!"
"None"
"none"
"I am excited to have Bill Eagle join our team!"
"none"
"Loved the Big 6 presentation!"
"I enjoyed the vendor fair from 7 am to 8 am that we had pre-covid."
"Glad to be part of this/our team"
"It feels really good to start the school year with this training, It make me feel motive to start teaching my small groups."
"I love seeing Bill Eagle leading our district."
"Thanks for all of the work you do. "
"n/a"
"N/A"
"good program. Need more seats"
"Odd that The District doesn’t know how many employees they have. Space was not big enough. Hundreds had to stand and many left for lack of seating."
"Thanks!"
"Thank you!"
"I appreciate the start. This is good important work. "
"Elissa Johnston and Betsy Strean did an outstanding job presenting engagement/equity. They presented to a very diverse audience and spent a great deal of time preparing for the breakout session. "
"Trainings in person are better if your a hands learner. I learn more. "
"My only comment is that the parking was tricky due to the Farmer's Market on the same day. "
"none"
"Overall there was some really great information delivered with quality materials! "
"I am grateful that the convention center was willing to have us after original plans fell through. It did feel very crowded, however. I wonder if we really need to meet in person as an entire district."
"N/A"
"well done. "
"Thanks again!"
"Overall great training!"
"None"
"Thank you Desiree!"
"I would be nice to have a place all of us had a comfortable space to listen. Thankfully the opening was only an hour. "
"looking forward to a great year."
"None"
"Nice start to the year!"
"give us more training "
"Excited to be a part of the wenatchee school district! "
"Wonderful to see everyone!"
" Most of the Welcome Back to School presentation was a waste of my time. Provision was not made for the many staff who do not teach math. The special education itinerants wanted to meet as a team during those 2 hours but were told that they must attend the math training, so we sat in the back of the auditorium while those who teach math and were provided textbooks silently read portions of the textbook and then discussed them with their table mates. We were not provided with textbooks so we could not even participate or learn anything. The district did not adequately plan for the number of people attending, although they should have known since all employees were required to attend (not enough chairs provided in either location, not even enough "swag bags", or slips to fill out for the drawing). Regarding the "re-branding" of the district and the new logo - if you have to explain the logo, it's not a good logo. What was the cost of the swag bags and the few materials inside them? Why not just say, "These are our new goals/vision" instead of spending money and time on "re-branding." The Principal's Days part of the training was useful as always, because we get to learn new procedures, meet new staff, and learn what will be expected of us for this year. "
"It was sad we couldn't do Opening Day at the WHS."
"None"
"The students will love the physical activities."
"N/A"
"None"
"Thanks for the good information."
"."
"Thank you for putting this on! It was insightful."
"thanks for all the sincere effort/work, we can tell you do care"
"It was great seeing the Mariachi again"
"Thank you for allowing me to participate in this event."
"N/A"