that drive the leadership’s focus on comprehensive support systems. “Coming out of the pandemic, our students often need more support,” Souza explains.“In every building, we ensure our counselors, adjustment counselors, and guidance staff have the resources to help students access the strongest academic experience possible each day.” The district’s staff-first philosophy challenges conventional educational priorities. Souza employs a fitting analogy to explain the approach: “Many times, administrators would say the focus is always on students first. We totally get that, but we try to bring it back to the airplane metaphor where when you’re on an airplane, they say you need to put your mask on first before you help your child.As a Central Office Leadership Team, it is our job to make sure that our teachers are first prioritizing themselves to take care of kids.” DREAM SEMINARS AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH Professional Development in most school districts follows predictable patterns: external consultants, mandated training sessions, and one-size-fits-all workshops. Runey proudly shared Dighton-Rehoboth has disrupted this model with an internally-driven system that turns teachers into educational entrepreneurs.The district created “DREAM seminars,” an acronym for Dighton-Rehoboth Educators Aspiring for Mastery. The program operates as an internal marketplace where teachers pitch their own Professional Development ideas. “Every year we put out an RFP for proposals, and our teachers align their submissions with our district strategic plan, DRiving Toward 2030,” Runey explains. “Teachers identify which elements of the strategic plan their session supports, and our Professional Development committee—made up of paraprofessionals, teachers, and administrators —reviews the proposals to select the best fit for DREAM Seminars.” External partnerships supplement internal expertise. “We also look to the local universities. We have some close partnerships, one with Bridgewater 176 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 10
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx