SUMMER 2008 Courses

Print-Friendly version of this page

Career Development

Education Law for Teachers and Administrators TELE501N
Through case studies and participants' experiences, we will discuss the major legal issues that affect teaching, decision-making, and advocacy in schools. For example, what do you do when:

A Muslim student asks for classroom space to pray during the day?
A new student's ability to communicate in English is not at grade level?
The Director of Admissions has an exceptional application from an undocumented immigrant?
You have information about a child that would help your colleague work with the child; however, you were given this information in confidence?
A parent at your school demands services for her special needs child that are currently unavailable?

We will also review and clarify common myths, misconception, and recent changes on topics such as: liability, the scope and limits of freedom of speech and the press, academic freedom, dress codes for students and teachers, search and seizure, bilingual education, special education, freedom of religion, affirmative action, and the No Child Left Behind Act. This course is appropriate for teachers, principals, and administrators in public and private schools.

Cara Chambers is the Supervising Attorney for The Kathryn A. McDonald Education Advocacy Project (EAP) at The Legal Aid Society. Prior to joining EAP, Cara was an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, where she worked on commercial litigation and provided pro bono representation on a number of child welfare and special education matters. Before attending law school, Cara worked for five years as a bilingual teacher in the New York City public school system. Cara earned her law degree at Georgetown University. She also holds a Master≠s Degree in Bilingual Education from Fordham University.

July 14, 16, and 17
Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 5 - 9 pm
1 CEU $395/ 1 credit $1060
Materials fee $10
Registration Deadline 7/7

Overview of Remedial Programs for Teaching Reading and Writing (Grades K - 8 skill level) TEWS660N
This is an opportunity for educators to get a quick overview of different remedial programs many tutors have found helpful in supporting reading and writing skills. We will focus on some of the more successful approaches to supporting struggling readers and/or writers and learn which programs tend to work best with different needs. These programs are designed for (or easily modified for) use one-on-one and in small groups. Get acquainted with a variety of programs including: Visualizing and Verbalizing; Preventing Academic Failure; and Basic Writing Skills.
* This is a follow-up to the Starting Your Own Tutoring Practice.

Ginny O'Hare is the Director of Outreach at the Mary McDowell Center for Learning in Brooklyn, NY, an elementary school for children with learning disabilities. In addition, she has an extensive private tutoring practice using multi-sensory methodologies.

July 11
Friday, 9:30 am - 4 pm
.6 CEU $265 (not offered for credit)
Materials fee $5
Registration Deadline 7/3

NEW!
Special Education Itinerant Teaching: All You Need to Know to be an Effective SEIT TEWS674N
This workshop is geared towards professionals considering SEIT work and those who have been SEIT's for the past couple years. Topics to be discussed include; what is a SEIT's schedule like, the perks and downfalls of SEIT work, interacting with The Board of Education, negotiating your relationship with the classroom teacher, is SEIT right for every child, and working at home with a child versus working in a classroom setting. At the end of this workshop, Current SEITs will be better prepared for the coming school year and participants considering SEIT work will understand if this work if right for them.

Pamela Wheeler-Civita has been a SEIT with the Bank Street Home and Community Based Program for the past three years. She was a mixed-aged classroom teacher for four years prior to that, at the Bank Street Family Center. She is a traveling teacher in Manhattan, Westchester, and Putnam County.

June 30
Monday, 5 - 8 pm
.3 CEU $160 (not offered for credit)
Materials fee $10
Registration Deadline 6/23

Starting Your Own Tutoring Practice: the Nuts and Bolts of it All TEWS652N
Want to start a tutoring practice, but don't know where to begin? This workshop will address how to determine what kind of tutoring makes the most sense for you and how to market yourself and your skills. Discussions will include such topics as: what to charge, tutoring at your home vs. student home vs. school, cancellation practices, becoming a DOE provider, where to get materials, policies, and professional practices.

July 10
Thursday, 5 - 8:30 pm
.3 CEU $160 (not offered for credit)
Materials fee $5
Registration Deadline 7/3

Top of Page

NEW!
Working Effectively with Your Teaching Team (Grades Pre-School - K) TEWS672N
This workshop will explore the complex dynamics of working as a team in an early childhood classroom. Head teachers will learn techniques for building a strong, dynamic teaching team; how to be an effective mentor; how to work collaboratively; and how to delegate responsibilities. We will discuss techniques that create the successful teamwork that benefits both children and teachers.

Jean Schreiber is currently an educational consultant for schools and parents, including Ethical Cutlure Fieldston School , in Manhattan, and The Dwight Englewood School, in Englewood, NJ. She was the Director of Temple Beth El Nursery School and Parenting Center in Closter, NJ for 18 years. In addition, Ms. Schreiber has presented at NAEYC in Chicago, IL (2007) and ATIS in NYC (2007 and 2008).

July 23
Wednesday, 9:30 am - 4 pm
.6 CEU $265 (not offered for credit)
Materials fee $5
Registration Deadline 7/16

Writing Winning Grant Proposals* LEAD529N
This workshop demystifies the art of grant proposal writing by immersing the novice grant seeker in the basics. Participants will engage in exercises designed to teach them the fundamentals of writing successful grants for individuals or nonprofit organizations. We'll review research basics, discuss how to make contact with funding agencies, and examine how to design and write winning proposals. Participants will also gain hands-on experience as they develop and draft a mini-proposal during the course.

Author and arts administrator, Gary Schiro, is the Executive Director of the Hudson Opera House in Hudson, NY. Prior to that, he served as Director of the Individual Artists Program at the NYS Council on the Arts. He is the co-founder of Fertile Ground, Inc., a nonprofit arts organization.

August 4 and 5
Monday and Tuesday, 10 am - 5 pm
1 CEU $395/ 1 credit $1060
Materials fee $5
Registration Deadline 7/28

Writing Your First Children's Book TEWS598N
So you want to write a children's book! Here is a workshop to help you get started, once and for all. In this friendly, supportive environment, class discussions will focus on all aspects of good story telling and good writing, including tone of voice, clear dialogue, characters who feel real, and beautiful language. Teachers will return to their classes with a better understanding of the writing process so that they, in turn, can help each student to find pleasure in crafting a piece of writing in his or her voice.

Amy Hest is the author of more than 35 books for children of all ages, including In the Rain with Baby Duck (winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award), When Jessie Came Across the Sea (Christopher Award Winner), and Kiss Good Night (a New York Times best seller and Christopher Award Winner.) Hest's focus is on family relationships and she wants you to know that everything she writes is personal!

July 1, 8, 15, and 22
Four Tuesdays, 5 - 8 pm
No credit $460 (not offered for credit or CEU)
Registration Deadline: 6/24

Top of Page