A Note from Tara Hofherr, Kingsley's Associate Head of School

Early in my career, I was fortunate to benefit from school leaders who prioritized professional development. They instilled in me a deep appreciation for the power of regular reflection and learning to improve my practice and craft as a teacher. 

Nearly two decades later, as Kingsley’s Associate Head of School, I have the important responsibility of paying it forward to our faculty and staff, prioritizing their professional development and helping them cultivate their practice and craft as educators with regular meaningful opportunities for reflection and learning. These opportunities occur on the monthly professional development (PD) sessions built into our annual school calendar, typically on Early Release days. This schedule allows our teachers to provide learning to your children through the morning and allows us to provide them with learning through the afternoon. 

Education is a dynamic field and it is dangerous for an educational institution to become complacent and stagnant. What’s more, professional development is an important way that we retain your child’s highly qualified, exceptional educators and promote a community of belonging. Therefore, maintaining these PD Days is an essential priority for us.
 

So what are the teachers learning on Professional Development Days? 

I’m so glad you asked! Here is an overview of some of the professional learning that will occur in the 2024-25 school year: 

• All School:
  • Develop our Restorative Practices skills to proactively build positive school communities. This approach draws on a spectrum of restorative techniques and processes that connect with our SEL values to improve relationships, enhance academics, and solve problems.
  • Increase disability awareness with Aaron Golub.
  • Work with Causeways Learning to help teachers and Education Directors strengthen the parent-school partnership with the goal of increasing the amount of time everyone can spend with children. 
• Early Childhood: 
  • Ongoing study of the Science of Reading so that our teachers better understand what’s happening in a child’s brain as they learn to read, bringing together evidence of what matters and what works in literacy instruction.
  • Deepening understanding about the benefits of early intervention occupational therapy; increasing teacher tools and capacities as early childhood developmental experts.
• Elementary: 
  • Math PD in partnership with Lesley University’s Center for Mathematics Achievement as part of the ongoing enhancement of Kingsley’s math program and our teachers’ math instructional practices. 

One of the qualities I look for when hiring teachers is a commitment to lifelong learning. Maria Montessori, herself, was a lifelong learner who often adapted her groundbreaking pedagogy based on what she observed and research she conducted. She developed the Montessori Method to unlock in young children the intrinsic motivation that would lead to lifelong learning. Kingsley believes wholeheartedly that we, the adults, must model that for our children. 

We know that the more targeted, intentional, and ongoing professional development our teachers receive, the better teachers they will be, and the ultimate beneficiaries of that are your children. At the end of the day, they are the reason we do everything that we do and it is a privilege and pleasure to serve them.

I would be happy to talk with you further about professional development at Kingsley. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Be healthy. Be joyful. Be in touch. 

–Tara Hofherr, Associate Head of School