Durham Public Schools PL

Presenters: Brenda Blue | brenda_blue@dpsnc.net | K-5 Teaching and learning Coach
Location: Hillside High School Room 111
Description: The goal is to equip teachers with strategies to design and deliver lessons that purposefully increase student engagement and improve learning outcomes.
Subject Area(s): Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, ELA
Topic(s): Curriculum and Instruction, Equity, Explicit Teaching, Increased Rigor, Reading‚ Writing‚ Thinking‚ Speaking‚ Listening, Beginning Teachers, Culturally Responsive Practices, Differentiation/Scaffolding, English Learner Services, Exceptional Children, MTSS, Student-Centered Learning
Targeted Instructional Grades: 1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade, 7th Grade, Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade, 6th Grade, 8th Grade
Targeted Roles: Instructional Assistants, Itinerant Teachers, Teachers

Presenters: Tamika Satchell | Tamika_Satchell@dpsnc.net | Teaching and Learning Coach
Location: Hillside High School Room 108
Description: This professional development session will focus on strengthening the I Do and We Do phases of gradual release by helping teachers plan intentional modeling, guided practice, and clear connections to the standards. We’ll focus on understanding the standards deeply, designing purposeful "I Do" models that show real thinking, and creating "We Do" tasks that actively move students toward independence. Teachers will walk away with concrete strategies to adapt team plans to fit their teaching style and their students’ needs, ensuring that what’s planned on paper powerfully impacts learning in real time.
Subject Area(s): Mathematics, ELA
Topic(s): Explicit Teaching, Standards Aligned Instruction
Targeted Instructional Grades: 1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade, Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade
Targeted Roles: Teachers

Presenters: Lakisha Bridges | lakisha_bridges@dpsnc.net | Coach; Stephanie Brock | stephanie_brock@dpsnc.net | Math Specialist
Location: Hillside High School Room 112
Description: In this seminar, we will focus on strengthening conceptual teaching and learning in the elementary mathematics classroom. Participants will explore the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) model as a powerful framework for building deep, transferable mathematical understanding. Through hands-on engagement with tools such as base ten blocks, fraction tiles, and counting collections, teachers will gain practical strategies for making abstract concepts accessible and meaningful to all learners. Join us as we bring mathematics to life through intentional, research-based practices that support student reasoning, retention, and confidence.
Subject Area(s): Mathematics
Topic(s): Curriculum and Instruction, DPS Adopted Resources, Equity, Increased Rigor, Reading‚ Writing‚ Thinking‚ Speaking‚ Listening, Culturally Responsive Practices, Standards Aligned Instruction, Student-Centered Learning
Targeted Instructional Grades: 1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade, Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade
Targeted Roles: Instructional Assistants, Instructional Coaches, Interventionists, Teachers

Presenters: Tamika Satchell | Tamika_Satchell@dpsnc.net | Teaching and Learning Coach
Location: Hillside High School Room 108
Description: This professional development session will focus on strengthening the I Do and We Do phases of gradual release by helping teachers plan intentional modeling, guided practice, and clear connections to the standards. We’ll focus on understanding the standards deeply, designing purposeful "I Do" models that show real thinking, and creating "We Do" tasks that actively move students toward independence. Teachers will walk away with concrete strategies to adapt team plans to fit their teaching style and their students’ needs, ensuring that what’s planned on paper powerfully impacts learning in real time.
Subject Area(s): Mathematics, ELA
Topic(s): Explicit Teaching, Standards Aligned Instruction
Targeted Instructional Grades: 1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade, Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade
Targeted Roles: Teachers

Presenters: Delphia Daniels | delphia_daniels@dpsnc.net | Literacy Coach; Latoya Johnson | latoya_judd@dpsnc.net | Teaching and Learning Coach
Location: Hillside High School Room 105
Description: This session gives teachers tools to increase student engagement using five of Hattie’s highest-impact strategies. We’ll focus on helping students show their thinking in visible ways—through discussion, feedback, reflection, or peer teaching. Teachers will learn what covert engagement and overt engagement look like, and why both are important in every classroom. We’ll walk through each strategy with real examples, build understanding, and give teachers space to plan lessons using what they’ve learned. Activities like the “Apply It!” planning challenges will help teachers match engagement strategies to their own content. The session also includes a reflection and exit ticket to help teachers decide what to try first and what they might still have questions about. We’ll start by sparking curiosity and making connections to what teachers already do, then build new learning in a way that’s clear and usable. Strategies are modeled, discussed, and practiced with support—and teachers will leave with next steps they can use right away. Teachers will need access to the curriculum materials (HMH, ARC, Eureka2, etc.) for planning purposes.
Subject Area(s): Mathematics, Science, Social Studies
Topic(s): Curriculum and Instruction, Effective Feedback Strategies, Explicit Teaching
Targeted Instructional Grades: 1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 5th Grade, Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, 4th Grade
Targeted Roles: Teachers