This week, 150 Dallas ISD teachers will attend a professional development training at Southern Methodist University’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education.
Dallas ISD covered each teacher’s $3,000 tuition to attend the three-week-long intensive training, which is designed to help teachers based on their Teacher Excellence Initiative effectiveness rating.
The teachers in attendance at the SMU Teacher Academy will be introduced to curriculum focused on increasing classroom effectiveness and improving classroom instructional practice within cohorts based on each educator’s TEI teacher effectiveness level.
“The idea is that this is differentiated support for teachers that takes them from where they are, what they know, and what they do well, and builds on those strengths so they can see themselves growing,” said Dr. David Chard, dean of the SMU Simmons School of Education, said in June. “It gives them ample practice opportunities so they can begin to master the kind of pedagogical tools that evidence suggests are going to help them be as effective as they can be.”
Teachers participating in the SMU Teacher Academy training will receive three transferrable credit hours towards a master’s degree.
