Conversation #7 was in-person with my good friend, Edda Carmadello. I have known Edda for years as she's worked across several Rhode Island districts. Edda works tirelessly to create a culture of continuous growth and improvement in her district. She's deeply committed to her teachers feeling valued and excited about professional learning. It was awesome to have coffee and learn more about the work Edda's been leading this year.

"As a district, we always focus on creating the best possible learning conditions for both students and teachers. One of the most high-impact initiatives we've launched is our comprehensive approach to teacher professional learning with a strong emphasis on the implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), social emotional learning (SEL), and wellness. We've adopted a few key strategies that have been working well this year.

1. Our dedicated ELA coach knows our high-quality curriculum well and engages with elementary teachers at every school by attending all grade level planning meetings for ELA, providing embedded classroom coaching, and participating in after-school PD sessions.

2. Our five annual full-day PDs offer a blend of mandatory sessions and teacher choice sessions, allowing for personalized learning experiences. We divide the day into three 90 minute sessions with opportunity for wellness breaks. There is always one session that is mandatory for every teacher to attend and runs concurrently across all five days. During the rest of the day, teachers can choose which other two professional learning sessions best meet their needs.

3. During our full PD days and whenever possible, we try to model the types of strategies with our teachers that we want to see them use in their classrooms. For example, we've greeted teachers at the door with cheerleaders before the start of school, and offered PD sessions with yoga and line dancing to emphasize the importance of physical activity and movement.

4. We have adopted the CASEL SEL standards and the Satchel Pulse screener to assess student needs and inform school-wide interventions and professional development. To further support our teachers, we've partnered with external organizations to facilitate our District and School SEL Wellness meetings. These smaller contracts with partners allow us to focus on participation rather than logistics during these meetings.

But it's not just about what we teach; it's about how we involve teachers in the process. We firmly believe that teacher buy-in comes from having a voice in planning, attending, and facilitating their own professional learning. We're building teacher leadership capacity and involving teachers in all PL planning decisions. Our vision is to create a teacher leadership program that is truly empowering and inspiring. We hope to draw inspiration from programs like the University of Rhode Island's Peer Leader Institute and Leadership Studies Program."