Letter from the Principal - February 2023

February 7, 2023

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students,

Today is designated as a Community Day at CDH.  Community Days are designed for our school community to gather for important occasions, including CASA, Mass or prayer services, speakers, diversity celebrations, conferences, flexibility for special events, etc.  They are also designed to provide professional development time for our faculty and staff.  

These days have proven to be a valuable addition to our entire learning environment.  The pandemic taught us that learning in isolation isn’t ideal for our students.  We also learned that teaching in isolation isn’t ideal for teachers or students.  Collaboration and professional development for teachers are essential to student learning and cannot be treated as “add-ons” or as an occasional workshop or meeting after school.  

This year, our professional development centers around three main components, including Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), DEI, and educational best practices. They are all interconnected, with professional learning communities at the hub of implementing our best practices and providing accountability to our commitment to DEI.  

The research on the benefits of the PLC model is extensive.  Two of the most compelling benefits are increased student achievement and more equitable learning experiences for all students. 

Our faculty PLC groups engage in this work weekly.  We utilize our Federal Title 2 Funds to contract with Mark Onuscheck from Solution Tree, who assists us in building authentic and effective PLCs.  He is on-site six times this school year and facilitates full faculty workshops, goal-setting with our Instructional Leadership Team, meetings for our PLC leaders, and PLC group coaching. This year, our focus is equitable learning through common formative assessment.  

Much of our professional development time is also dedicated to faculty/staff workshops led by DEI Director/Assistant Principal,  Kim Royston ‘06, and through our continued partnership with Dr. Anton Treuer.  Some of our work this year has included the Intercultural Development Inventory for all staff, modeling the growth mindset, data analysis, and the history of the Native American Boarding schools.  Our other workshops have included faculty training about Trauma-Informed Practices, suicide prevention, mental health, and mandated reporting.  

I am proud of the time and efforts our faculty and staff have committed to creating the best possible learning environment and experience for our students.  I appreciate their expertise and willingness to engage in this journey of professional development.   

Enjoy these longer daylight hours,

Mona Passman