USF Offering Free Professional Development Opportunities for Educators

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) College of Education is offering educators free professional development through the REAL Talk for Teachers webinar series. More information on REAL Talk and other upcoming education workshops and conferences at USF is available at stfrancis.edu/real/professional-learning. Building Vocabulary for Reading (strategies that work for everyone) Tuesday, March 8 | 6-7 p.m. via Zoom Facilitators: Don Casper (K-12 Educator and English Language Teacher) and Lily Mertes, Ed.D. (K-12 Educator and Reading Interventionist) Are you looking for fun and engaging ways to build academic vocabulary and reading comprehension? Join us to discover methods that work and useful strategies you can implement immediately! The Skinny on Diverse Texts Tuesday, March 22 | 6-7 p.m. via Zoom Facilitators: Estefani Gonzalez (K-12 Educator and Bilingual Education Teacher) and Amy Schroeder (USF College of Education Reading Program Coordinator) Now more than ever it is imperative that classrooms and classroom libraries reflect diversity and inclusion. Join us as we discuss the why, how and where of diverse text selection. We’ll share resources to help you feel more confident in choosing texts to enhance the classroom environment for students. Educator Update with the Will County Regional Office of Education Tuesday, April 5 | 6-7 p.m. via Zoom Facilitators: Pete Sullivan, Ed.D., (Assistant Regional Superintendent – Will County Regional Office of Education) and Ladia Zavala (Licensure Specialist – Will County Regional Office of Education) Get the latest information on licensure requirements, license renewal, endorsement requirements, and news from ISBE. Visit stfrancis.edu/real-rsvp to register online for any of the webinars. : : The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 52,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu. University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose. # # #