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TEACHER FEATURE: Bennett County teacher dives into special education alternative certification When Bennett County School District teacher Sunny Pierson noticed about two years ago that her district had a need for more special education teachers, she wanted to know how she might be able to help. Now she’s pursuing the special education alternative certification option that became available through South Dakota’s 2017 overhaul of educator certification rules.  |
Candidates for 2020 State Teacher of the Year announced
We are pleased to announce South Dakota’s 2020 Regional Teachers of the Year!
- Region #1: Jean Gunderson, K-6 Title reading, Elkton Elementary School
- Region #2: Amanda Harris, fourth grade, Endeavor Elementary School (Harrisburg)
- Region #3: Dina Vander Wilt, kindergarten, L.B. Williams Elementary School (Mitchell)
- Region #4: Nicole Dallman, third grade, Mobridge-Pollock Upper Elementary School
- Region #5: Penny Shuster Louks, eighth grade English language arts, Belle Fourche Middle School
Erica Boomsma among State Teachers of the Year honored in Washington, D.C.
2019 South Dakota Teacher of the Year Erica Boomsma (second row, third from right) recently joined her fellow State Teachers of the Year for a week of events in Washington, D.C. Activities included networking, education policy discussions, sightseeing, a visit to the White House, and an evening gala event.
The South Dakota State Historical Society has named Scott Beehler of Iroquois (right, with Secretary of Education Dr. Ben Jones) the History Teacher of the Year, one of the Governor’s Awards for History. Beehler was honored April 26 in Pierre during the society’s annual history conference. Congratulations, Scott!
The Pierre School District hosted a regional History Day competition this year, and more than 30 students from Pierre went to the state competition in Brookings. Students also shared their projects at the State History Conference. Taylor Hamblin, a social studies teacher at Georgia Morse Middle School in Pierre, has written about his students’ experience in this competition.
This summer, the Department of Education is offering free trainings for K-12 math and English language arts teachers, in preparation for full implementation of new state content standards in fall 2019. These trainings will focus on unpacked standards documents that are intended to provide resources to support K-12 educators in standards implementation.
The South Dakota Department of Education will offer foundational reading training this summer for educators working with students in grades K-8. Registration is now open:
The South Dakota Department of Education will again be facilitating a cohort for teachers who register to begin the National Board Certification process during the 2019-20 cycle. Teachers will receive support and guidance from an assigned mentor, in addition to being able to network with other NBCT candidates. The new cohort will be limited to 20 participants.
SDMath/SDSci Leadership is a program to create and support a dynamic network of South Dakota math and science educators. The program selects, challenges, develops and educates South Dakota math and science educators who have demonstrated an interest in leadership skills related to math and science education.
Have you been looking for a meaningful and engaging activity to help students link their National Career Readiness Certificate scores with careers and employment? Career Launch SD has created a classroom activity you may find useful, called National Career Readiness Certificate Review.
Still time to sign up to be a mentor
The statewide mentoring program provides a first-year teacher access to a mentor teacher for a period of two years. There’s still time for new mentors to apply, and applications for new teachers are due June 15. Late hires will also have an opportunity to participate.
The South Dakota Indian Education Summit targets educators of all content areas and grade levels, as well as administrators and school board members. The goal of the summit is to provide training on best practices in the field of Indian education. Have an idea for a presentation to share with your colleagues? Proposal deadline is June 3. The 2019 summit is scheduled for Sept. 22-24 in Pierre.
A complete listing of events is available at GoSignMeUp.
Board of Education Standards
May 20, Brookings
SD Dept. of Education Annual Conference
May 29-30, Pierre
MTSS Summer Conference
June 11-12, Oacoma
CTE 101 Workshop
June 12, Sioux Falls
July 17, Aberdeen
Aug. 6-8, online
The Fundamentals of Using Data for Educators
June 13, Rapid City
June 18, Watertown
June 19, Mitchell
Foundational Reading Skills Grades 4-8 July 1-2, Fort Pierre
National Customized Learning Summit
July 16-18, Rapid City
Co-Teaching & Collaboration (for educators working with English learners)
July 22, Mitchell
July 23, Aberdeen
CTE Conference
July 28-30, Mitchell
Foundational Reading Skills Grades K-3
July 30-Aug. 1, Fort Pierre
2019 IEP Workshops
Various dates and locations statewide, summer and fall
Save the Date! Indian Education Summit
Sept. 22-24, Pierre
School Library Boot Camp
Sept. 25, Spearfish, and online
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