Professional Development Day 2023
Connecting Sustainability, Relevance & Belonging
Start with what brings you joy.
That was at the heart of Cheney Munson’s presentation to Katonah-Lewisboro Schools teachers on November 7 on the connections between sustainably, relevance and belonging.
“Cultivating joy, independence, engagement, belonging, trust and relevance creates the conditions for students to become changemakers,” said Munson, “like a gardener cultivating the conditions for growth.”
The sustainability education specialist was the keynote speaker at Katonah-Lewisboro Schools’ professional development day, set up by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Julia Drake.
Sustainability Education Specialist Cheney Munson
Educators Expand Skills and Connect Cross Schools
After Munson’s presentation, secondary teachers broke into two sessions of their own choice, including Social Studies Capstone Project for Middle School, Actively Engaging Students with Digital Breakouts, 360 Math and more.
Elementary teachers collaborated in district-wide grade time, gained Amplify Science training, leaned into literacy work with a deep dive into the structuring of early elementary classroom libraries, and shared experiences in building-wide grade time. Secondary science teachers explored New York State’s new science standards. There were also special sessions for physical education teachers, school counselors, art teachers and family and consumer science teachers.
“Cheney’s message about creating conditions for students to flourish was impactful for all areas of our curriculum, and a great way to start the day,” said Drake. “Teachers all had an opportunity to work across buildings and have conversations they otherwise wouldn’t be able to have about teaching and learning.”