The Altmar-Parish-Williamstown (APW) Central School District will be welcoming nationally renowned author and educator Eric Jensen on Wednesday, October 19th. Jensen will be hosting a day-long interactive and hands-on program for the District’s instructional staff, paraprofessionals and administrators as well as guests from other school districts across New York State and the State University of New York at Oswego.
Jensen is the author of Teaching With Poverty In Mind, a scientific, evidence-based book that provides educators with effective strategies for engagement, learning, and achievement. Jensen’s research advocates for educators to look at learning in a different way and to incorporate brain-based strategies into their curriculum and instructional methods to help students deal with stress, reach their full learning potential and thrive.
One component of his research, for example, explores the connection between the feeling of safety and the brain’s ability to perform executive functioning skills such as attention and memory retention. Altmar Elementary School Principal Denise Penoyer summed-up this component of his research best by saying, “Developing a safe, secure classroom environment can impact learning in a positive way.”
Additional, Jensen’s research puts a substantial amount of value on the importance of educators to build a relationship with each student and his/her family members and/or support system outside of school. The ability to understanding a student’s social or emotional challenges, stressors, or health complications can foster that student’s learning and success in the classroom. This is an especially significant component because it is aligned with the newly released New York State Teaching Standards that require all teachers to fulfill a broader range of responsibilities including the ability to acquire knowledge of each student such his/her strengths and interests as well as his/her cognitive, social, and emotional levels.
In preparation for the upcoming seminar and in an effort to foster academic growth throughout the APW District, a copy of Teaching With Poverty In Mind was issued to staff members, pre-kindergarten through grade twelve. APW Instructional Specialists conducted in-service training sessions at each building and book clubs provided opportunities for staff members to collectively discuss the enrichment and evidence-based strategies suggested by Jensen to nurture student success.
For more information about the upcoming visit or the research in Teaching with Poverty In Mind, call Altmar Elementary School Principal Denise Penoyer or Instructional Specialist Jill Parker at 625-5260.
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