Professional Development Resources
Tap into virtual training resources to expand your sustainability knowledge!
Use these training resources to maximize your certification points in the Professional Development for Sustainability action. Earn up to 20 points: 5 points for every 5 staff and/or board members who have each completed at least two hours of training.
To recommend a virtual training resource to add to this list, please send us an email: schools@sustainablejersey.com
Administration & Planning
Aspen Institute
“Equity & Agency Webinar” (1 hr) https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/equity-and-agency-webinar/
Additional Aspen Institute webinars, live and recorded: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/education-and-society-program/events/
New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association
"Racial Justice and Our Schools: A Blueprint for Action" June 12, 2020 (1 hr 47 mins) Recording and PowerPoint
"Restart and Recovery Planning: Essential First Steps" July 2, 2020 (1 hr 18 mins) Recording and PowerPoint
New Jersey School Boards Association
Live and recorded webinars that convey important information related to navigating through the COVID-19 health crisis and highlight solutions available, to help NJSBA members manage the virus’s impact on New Jersey’s educators and students. Virtual Resources Webinar Series (https://www.njsba.org/training/webinars/?category=virtual-resources)
NJSBA is hosting a series of Facebook Live events to address questions from boards, school administrators, and educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/njsba/)
Curriculum & Teaching
ClimeTime / Climate Science Learning is a Washington state initiative that provides K-12 teacher training and resources linking Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science.
Recorded webinar: “How to Support Home-Based Science Learning During School Closures”, May 18, 2020 (1 hr 29 mins) http://stemteachingtools.org/sp/HomeBasedScienceLearning
Open Educational Resources for Teacher Professional Development: http://stemteachingtools.org/pd
Edible Schoolyard Project engages students in academics, sensory learning, and culturally responsive lessons in the kitchen, garden, and cafeteria. Its "Summer Training at Home" offers four free virtual training sessions on adapting edible education to remote learning. View recordings of sessions that aired on June 30, July 14, July 28, and August 11, 2020. https://edibleschoolyard.org/training
National Association of Environmental Educators offers hour-long webinars each month on topics of key interest to environmental education professionals in formal and non-formal settings. The website presents upcoming live webinars and recordings of past webinars. https://naaee.org/eepro/learning/monthly-webinar-series
New Jersey Department of Education presents "Virtual Professional Learning" webinars from educators across the state. Topics include "Blended Learning" and "Digital Whiteboards in Remote Learning". https://www.nj.gov/education/covid19/teacherresources/virtualproflearning.shtml
Shape America / Society of Health and Physical Educators has on-demand webinars and online courses, including the free webinar, “Creating Online Learning in Health and Physical Education”. https://www.shapeamerica.org/prodev/webinars/
STEM Teaching Tools offers professional development webinars and resources to support teaching of science, technology, engineering and math. http://stemteachingtools.org/pd
Teaching Tolerance, a program that emphasizes social justice and anti-bias, provides free training and resources for K-12 educators. Professional development resources include free on-demand webinars by experienced teaching and learning specialists and from innovative educators in the Teaching Tolerance community. https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/webinars
Facilities
Healthy Green Schools & Colleges: COVID-19 Webinar Series for custodial teams on school reopening. https://www.healthygreenschools.org/events/webinars/
US Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Environments Division presented a webinar series for schools:
Let's Clean the Air: Using Ventilation Practice to Promote Healthy IAQ in Schools - July 30, 2020. Register here to view recording.
Cleaning for Health: Proactive Plans to Effectively Clean and Promote Healthy IAQ in Schools - August 6, 2020. Register here to view recording.
What Schools Need to Know: Practices and Principles for Healthy IAQ and Reducing the Spread of Viruses - August 13, 2020. Register here to view recording.
USEPA also offers on-demand webinars. “Indoor Air Quality Masterclass Series” comprises ten 1-hour technical, web-based trainings designed to provide school district staff the knowledge and tools they need to execute an Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management program. Completing all 10 hours gives you a certificate recognizing your efforts toward IAQ mastery as a member of the IAQ Master Class. The webinars present foundational information on topics including asthma triggers, HVAC systems, moisture and mold, energy efficiency, integrated pest management, cleaning and maintenance, materials selection and source control. https://www.epa.gov/iaq-schools/ondemand-training-webinars
US Green Building Council, Center for Green Schools, for a fee, offers the "Green Classroom Professional Certificate" online course to help users make healthy choices in learning spaces. The course breaks down the different aspects of building sustainability in 12 modules, several of which directly relate to reducing the risk of COVID-19. The entire course takes about 2 hours to complete; participants may enter and exit the program on their own schedule within a 365-day window. https://www.usgbc.org/articles/preparing-healthy-green-classrooms-covid-19-mind
School Gardens
USDA Food & Nutrition Service Five-Part Webinar Series
Part 1: Seeding Success: Farm to School Planning Toolkit Introductory Webinar (22 min) https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/seeding-success-webinar-1
https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/farm-school-planning-toolkit
Part 2: Seeding Success: Building Farm to School Teams (25 min) https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/building-farm-school-teams
Part 3: Seeding Success: Buying and Serving Local Food (20 min) https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/seeding-success-buying-and-serving-local-food
Part 4: Seeding Success: Integrating Farm to School in Curriculum (13 min). The panel discusses ways to merge farm to school concepts into the institutional fabric of a school. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/seeding-success-integrating-farm-school-curriculum
Part 5: Seeding Success: Let's Get Growing - School Gardens and Farms (19 min). Covers some promising ideas of incorporating school gardens and local food producers (farmers, ranchers, and fishers) in your farm to school framework. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/seeding-success-lets-get-growing-school-gardens-and-farms
Part 6: Seeding Success: Telling Your Story (23 min). Discusses various ways in which farm to school programs can successfully share the good work they are doing with key audiences in the community. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/seeding-success-telling-your-story
Social Emotional Learning
American School Counselor Association: Recorded webinars presented from March 15 to August 31, 2020 are free to everyone, including specific webinars listed below. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors/professional-development/webinar-series
"ASCA Virtual Town Hall: Racism in Schools" https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/asca-town-hall-racism-in-schools
"Cross-Cultural Counseling: Understand Bias and Practice Humility", April 13, 2020. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/cross-cultural-counseling-understand-bias-and-practice-humility
"Engage Staff on Issues of Race Through Book Study", June 23, 2020 - video and downloadable handouts. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/engage-staff-on-issues-of-race-through-book-study
"Ethical Considerations: School Counseling in a Virtual Setting (Part 1)", March 23, 2020. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/ethics-virtual-school-counseling
"Ethical Considerations: School Counseling in a Virtual Setting (Part 2)", March 27, 2020. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/ethical-considerations-school-counseling-in-a-virtual-setting-part-2
Aspen Institute's recorded webinar “How Schools Maintain Social Emotional Connections During Physical Isolation” (1 hour) https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/how-schools-ensure-social-connections-during-physical-isolation/
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL): Weekly Webinar Series. https://casel.org/weekly-webinars/