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Rockwood School District

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Professional Learning

The Office of Educational Access supports professional learning opportunities for Rockwood leaders and staff aligned to the strategic plan.

Belonging Through Dignity

Refreshers

John Krownapple and Summer Snyder led a two day refresher course for school cohorts who had previously participated in the entire six day training in a previous year.  Each cohort contained six staff members, including the building principal, teachers/counselors, and support staff. This was an opportunity to recommit to the foundational content of Dignity & Belonging work and practice new dignity connectors to bring back to staff.

Refresher Participants:

  • Secondary - 58
  • Elementary - 112
  • Central office leaders - 8

Orientations

Several one day orientations support our efforts to onboard additional staff members who will strengthen implementation efforts of Dignity & Belonging across schools and departments.  Because this work is central to the Rockwood Promise and strategic plan, it was important to expand access to the content across all departments.  At this point, leaders and representatives from these departments have participated: Teaching and Learning, Student Services,School Supervision, Communications, Finance, Technology, Transportation, Child Nutrition, Facilities, Warehouse, and Community Education. As time passes, new leaders are hired or roles shift.  A spring orientation captured recent hires who had not participated in original cohorts.  Likewise, in response to advocacy from members of the original school cohorts, more representatives from each school will participate in orientations in October of 2026.  In these sessions, participants learn how to co-create inclusive communities, build relational trust, develop shared understanding of belonging through a culture of dignity, and foster learning environments where all students and staff members thrive.

  • April school leaders: 46
  • June support staff department leaders: 25
  • October (anticipated) secondary: 75
  • October (anticipated) elementary: 75

Board of Education and Community Updates

Community support is an essential part of implementing Dignity & Belonging in the district.  The Board of Education was the first group to experience the training, followed by a community cohort and three sessions of school cohorts over the course of three years.  Each year in April, the Board of Education engages in a three hour work session with John Krownapple to deepen their understanding and learn more about implementation in schools.  Members of the community, consisting of initial community cohort members, faith-based leaders, PTO presidents, first responders, and other stakeholders, engage in a half day of content and updates.

Participants:

  • Board of Education - 10
  • Community Cohort - 25

School Site Visits

True implementation extends past training.  Rockwood supports the individualization of approaches to Dignity & Belonging within a cohesive district-wise framework.  Nineteen schools and the Early Childhood and Creative Learning Center programs participated in site coaching sessions with John Crownapple or Summer Snyder.  These two hour sessions were focused on each site’s survey data and implementation plan. Teams varied in size, but all included the building principal and other implementation leaders.

Sessions:

  • Schools - 19
  • Programs - 2
  • District Implementation - 1

Teaching with Dignity

Teaching with Dignity focuses on the practical classroom application of Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity, which centers adult culture and climate. The book follows Summer Snyder’s return to a 2nd grade classroom where she implemented Dignity & Belonging fundamentals through an integrated, student-centered approach.  An essential element of this work is the co-creation of an inclusive community of learners.  To this end, participants developed a Dignity Promise with students at each school in their culminating experience.  All schools, as well as the Center for Creative Learning and Early Childhood programs sent teams.

The curriculum team engaged with this content in three days of training tailored to their work in supporting teachers sponsored by the Department of Teaching and Learning.

Participants:

  • School & program cohorts - 91
  • Central office leaders - 8
  • Curriculum team - 14

MTSS Certification

Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is a comprehensive, whole-child-focused service delivery framework that educators use to organize, integrate, and deliver a tiered continuum of academic, behavioral, and social-emotional support to meet the needs of all students. 

The Departments of Teaching and Learning and Student Services collaborate to develop a district-wide MTSS framework in alignment with Rockwood’s mission: We do everything it takes to ensure all students realize their potential.  MTSS is a major focus in the strategic plan. The MTSS Certification through Character Strong provides high-level foundational MTSS and implementation science training.  Rockwood is committed to a consistent district-wide integrated approach that addresses the academic, behavioral, and social emotional needs of the whole child.  Investment in training was co-sponsored by the Departments of Teaching and Learning and Educational Access.

Rockwood leaders and staff engaged in a two day MTSS certification training. In March, participants included all building principals, all members of the MTSS District Leadership Team, central office leaders, special education leaders, coordinators, data analysts, and school teams of teachers, counselors, social workers, and school psychologists. In June, another round of participants attended, including schools teams of assistant principals and teachers, counselors, and social workers.  RNEA was represented in both March and June.

  • March Participants - 115
  • June Participants - 108

Restorative Practices

Assistant principals, administrative interns, and some counselors and social workers, district-wide, are scheduled to participate in professional development on restorative discipline practices.  The primary areas addressed are tier two interventions to support situations when harm has been done.  The goal is to utilize these strategies to be proactive as well as strengthen our reactive responses to support student growth.  It builds upon past learning about Restorative Practices, which delved into the "why" and the importance of T1 community building.  This training is facilitated by Kevin Curtis, co-founder of National Educators for Restorative Practices and founder of Differentiated Discipline.  This will focus on practical application of tools for T2: when harm is done. Restorative responses are utilized in addition to consequences outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.

This training is sponsored through a collaboration between the Student Services, Special Education, School Supervision, and Data Departments utilizing disproportionality funding. 

Participants (anticipated):

  • Secondary administrators - 19
  • Elementary administrators - 20
  • Counselors/social workers - 25
  • Central office leaders - 10

Professional Learning by the Numbers:

  • Dignity & Belonging - 284 participants, 150 anticipated (fall)
  • Teaching with Dignity - 113 participants
  • MTSS Certification - 223 participants
  • Restorative Practices - 75 participants anticipated (fall)