By Dr. Amy Crouse
Loveland Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning
Many of us who work in education greet it with high emotion – even tears; the last day of a school year is the end of a very important chapter for the both children we serve and the teachers who helped author their academic story. And, as final hugs are given – hearts can feel heavy while we watch those buses pull away. It’s the end of that chapter of our stories and we all genuinely miss the children that have become our families for the school year.
The children go home and leave our classrooms empty, but the learning continues for our teachers. This year, as part of the Loveland City School District’s ongoing Professional Learning Series – professional development designed by the department of teaching and learning and our own Loveland teachers to provide teachers, administrators and all Tiger Staff the opportunity to learn, share and create – we decided to expand our offering to include a special Summer Learning Series.
During this inaugural Summer Learning Series that took place across the district June 6 – 10, teachers and staff volunteered their personal time to build themselves professionally, engaging in learning and collaboration alongside their colleagues through morning and afternoon workshops across all content areas and grade levels. This was additionally a time for our teachers to work with resident experts to earn Continuing Education Units for licensure renewal. Dozens signed up to be a part of this new summer learning opportunity; teachers who understand how important it is to be lifelong learners – professionals who will be ready the first day of class for the 2016-17 school year to help a group of fresh faces continue to write their academic story.
To all of our dedicated Tiger Staff – I offer a sincere thank you for all you do to make Loveland the destination school district it is; to all of our parents – I wish you a wonderful summer with your students. As an educator who has had to bid farewell to their sweet faces at the end of each school year for more than 20 years – I truly understand how precious our short time is together.
In service to our Tigers,
Dr. Amy Crouse is Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning of Loveland City School District
