FEA’s Professional Development and Educational Research Department is on the move. As you begin your professional development journey for the new year, you will notice a rebranding of some of the trainings that you have grown to love and new course offerings throughout the year. As a union member, you have the opportunity to engage with others to enhance your personal goals, student achievement and school climate.
Together We Rise
In April, the FEA PD department presented the Together We Rise Conference 2024. It was a day of professional learning, networking and fellowship. The conference was designed to help educators navigate the recent changes to Florida’s laws that directly impact public education. Many of the sessions like Celebrating Black History, Beyond Creating Equity, True Colors, In My Culturally Responsive Era, and the Student FEA Educator Panel were facilitated by members of FEA. More than 130 educators attended the conference and indicated they wanted more professional development opportunities on these topics.
In response, the FEA PD department will continue the work started at the conference by launching the Together We Rise Virtual Series. The series will provide online sessions focused on best practices for operating within the current political climate, strategies for fostering inclusive schools and workplaces, and monthly celebrations of diverse groups. The goals of the series are:
- To bring together educators to learn best practices and strategies for creating inclusive learning environments.
- To provide opportunities for participants to build relationships with fellow union educators.
- To expose members to organizing by utilizing professional learning to engage and recruit members locally.
During the summer the Together We Rise Design Team — made up of member volunteers — will work to develop the session topics and guest speakers for the series. The Together We Rise Virtual Series is scheduled to kick off in September, along with the FEA PD 2024-25 schedule of events.
Literacy Changes the World
FEA Professional Development and Educational Research has also been working diligently to create strong professional development trainings in literacy.
We are proud to share that we have earned approval for ‘multi-district use’ on our reading endorsement course matrix from the Florida Department of Education and Just Read Florida. The reading matrix outlines the course materials and assignments aligning to the indicators for each of the five competency courses needed to earn a reading endorsement. All our locals are welcome to use our matrix in their district approval process.
In addition to the reading endorsement matrix and courses, our team of experts in the areas of literacy and exceptional student education have worked hard to develop a strong course that covers the 40-hour Reading and the 20-hour ESE course material needed for recertification points. This course aligns to the FLDOE rule 6A-4.0051 which focuses on renewal and reinstatement of a professional certificate.
Don’t forget, to offer FEA PD courses at your local, you will need to have your trainers take our train-the-trainer courses when available. These courses provide the professional development training required to be able to offer these courses at your local. Reach out to your local president and feaprodev@floridaea.org for more information.
