MAHS Teachers Spend Afternoon as Students
The MASD calendar showed there was no school for students on November 5, but that didn’t necessarily mean classrooms were empty at Middletown Area High School.
Teachers were the students and in classroom seats as part of “Ed Camp,” the theme for the building's staff development day.
Ed Camp was a 'teachers teaching teachers' workshop aimed at improving classroom instruction, sharing resources, and building relationships within the high school faculty. A total of 10 MAHS teachers led Ed Camp sessions, which included higher-order thinking strategies, lesson writing, and adapting lessons for English Learners. MAHS teachers preselected their courses based on individual professional goals, and each teacher attended four sessions.
The idea for Ed Camp was developed by MAHS Principal Mr. Dave Frey, in collaboration with high school social studies teacher Mr. Josh Rytel, who is pursuing a master's degree in educational leadership.
Innovative professional growth opportunities like Ed Camp demonstrate how our teachers are committed to developing their skills and learning new techniques, ultimately leading to higher academic achievement for all MASD students.
MAHS Principal Mr. Dave Frey leads an Ed Camp course on graphic organizers and how teachers can use various types to better lessons. In the course are (left of Frey) Mr. Ryan McCain and Mr. Seth Decker, industrial arts teachers, Mr. Chris Manchon, Mr. Tyler Gilbert, and Mr. Russ Blake, special education teachers.
Mrs. Joy Oberholser, an MAHS Spanish and ESL teacher, talks with physical education teacher Mrs. Tricia Smoker, social studies teacher Mr. Kyle Coleman, and math teacher Mr. Ray Shearer about tools and methods that can be used to adapt materials for English Language Learners.
English teacher Mr. Robert Saxon's (front left) Ed Camp course was on socratic seminars and strategies for students to discuss texts. In the session were science teacher Mr. Ben Lebo (front right), social studies teacher Mr. Dale Shreiner, and special education teacher Mr. Josh Moritz.