Professional Development
Be a lifelong learner at Belmont Day.
The professional development program for Belmont Day employees fosters excellence by committing to the continuous growth of individual faculty members and the advancement of the school’s mission. Teaching faculty study content, pedagogy, and values. Non-teaching faculty, such as those in the business office, attend conferences on new regulations and practices. In addition to collaborating with consultants on our technology infrastructure, the technology team stays up-to-date with the latest trends in educational technology through professional development experiences.
Belmont Day faculty have attended content workshops hosted by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the Leadership+Design Leadership Lab, the AISNE Health and Wellness Conference, the National AfterSchool Association, Responsive Classroom, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), among others. They have also attended seminars and workshops related to ethical values, gender equity, sustainability, service learning, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as character education. Our faculty has been significantly involved in independent school-related workshops run by NAIS and AISNE.
The school also funds opportunities for collaborative exploration and program development among BDS colleagues:
- The Inspire Summer Curriculum Development Stipend subsidizes work dedicated to new and forward-thinking programmatic design with colleagues.
- The Lenesa Leana Endowment for Innovative and Collaborative Education supports a new project, program, or learning opportunity that will have a direct impact on our students, extending their understanding of the world.
Faculty receive a complimentary subscription to the weekly Marshall Memo and have regular access to professional publications such as Independent School magazine.
Professional Development By the Numbers
90%
participated in at least one professional development experience
58
unique experiences selected by faculty to advance their learning
55%
of these experiences were attended by faculty groups
Professional development opportunities for Belmont Day faculty include:
– Participating in an AISNE accreditation team
– Analyzing assessments and standardized test scores
– Coaching by specialists in reading or mathematics
– Collaborative analysis of student work
– Conferences or workshops with consultants
– Sharing highlights of workshops and content with colleagues
– Graduate work
– Visits to colleagues’ classrooms and collegial connections across disciplines
– Leadership in professional organizations
– Mentoring associate teachers
– Portfolios
– Presentations at workshops, conferences
– Subscriptions to professional journals
– Summer curriculum development stipends
– Visiting other schools
– Professional writing
in their own words
