Over 350 TK-12 teachers in San Mateo County have signed up for a joint series of programs offered by the county to deepen their skills in online instruction.
The training, offered in three two-week sessions this summer, was launched Monday by the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) and the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD), the county said. The program aims to assist teachers who had to shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare them in the case more distance learning will be required.
Along with addressing how to teach online, the programs provide instruction on assessment and grading, keeping students engaged and communicating effectively.
“A cadre of experts from both organizations as well as other Bay Area distance learning educators will deliver the program, which is tailored specifically for TK-12 teachers,” the county said in a statement. “Several of the sessions already have waiting lists.”
Said SMCCCD Chancellor Michael Claire, “This partnership allows us to support our teachers and college faculty as they adapt to the reality of teaching online this fall.”
Last week, SMCCCD formalized plans to host almost all courses online for the fall semester. With help from $1 million in Federal CARES Act funding, the district launched its own, 25-hour professional development program to train nearly 500 of its faculty members in online education techniques this summer. Also last week, SMCOE released last week the Pandemic Recovery Framework for Schools, which addresses on-campus and distance learning as well as a hybrid of the two.
For more information on the SMCOE/SMCCCD training program, visit SMCOE’s website.
