Hundreds of Teachers Use Final Week of Vacation for Professional Development

It was “back to school” a week early for nearly 400 MVUSD teachers who took advantage of professional-development opportunities Jan. 5-8, the final week of Winter Break. The full slate of training included something for teachers at every level. “We were so pleased with the turnout,” said Professional Development Director Dr. Sue Buster. “Our teachers are truly dedicated to their craft. They are always looking for ways to improve their ability to help students learn.” Many teachers also took time to learn how to improve the way they relate to their students and their colleagues by becoming more aware of “Unconscious Bias.” From an early age, we all develop biases. Some have to do with people, and cause us to treat others differently based on assumptions we make that may have little connection with reality. Here, teachers discuss how unconscious biases develop, how they manifest themselves, and how they can recognize and modify them. The eye-opening class, which was first offered to district administrators and Moreno Valley Educators Association (MVEA) site representatives at the Joint Leadership Summit in August, was funded by an NEA grant awarded to MVEA. The reviews for the week of training have been overwhelmingly positive. “Wow! This was an outstanding workshop!” wrote a teacher about one session. “This was by far the best three hours spent!”