District outlines fall professional development; board members highlight AI training and family outreach
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Assistant Superintendent Rhonda Crom summarized August collaborative days for principals, new-teacher onboarding and district-wide professional development that included Danielson framework training, culturally responsive classrooms and AI training; board members stressed the importance of parent and community AI literacy.
The Port Angeles School District reported a multi-day professional development sequence in August that included three days for principals, two days for new teachers and districtwide sessions for classified and certificated staff focused on instructional frameworks, cultural responsiveness and artificial intelligence (AI).
Assistant Superintendent Rhonda Crom told the board that the district’s August program began with three days of professional development for principals and followed with onboarding for new teachers. Districtwide days on Aug. 25 included building-level training, a keynote presentation and breakout sessions on culturally responsive classrooms and parent-family engagement. The district also piloted AI training for certificated staff and delivered Universal Design for Learning and de-escalation training for paraeducators.
Rhonda said teachers who became certified trainer-leaders delivered the newly updated Danielson framework training in buildings; the district also provided MTSS- and family-engagement-focused sessions with an Education Service District presenter. The district arranged culturally responsive classroom training and a Lower Elwha drum-and-dance exhibition as part of the all-district welcome.
Board members and staff described AI training led by Jeff Utek as a substantive change in classroom practice. One board member quoted the presenter as saying, “if we are not teaching our children AI, we are committing educational malpractice,” and several board members and staff said the district is preparing new “AI-resistant prompts” and other strategies to use AI as an instructional tool while preserving evaluation integrity. District staff said they will expand AI training offerings to classified staff and paraeducators next year.
The district also experimented with on-campus food trucks to provide lunches and increase staff connection time during full-day sessions, and the board heard that staff responded positively to the variety of sessions. No policy changes were adopted at the meeting; staff said future training plans will be coordinated with unions and the district’s professional learning calendar.