Regional Education Labs (REL) Appalachia will offer several free professional development opportunities for middle school teachers and administrators. Register today, or for further information, please contact Aimee Evan, REL Appalachia Virginia Middle School Research Alliance Lead, by email or phone at 703-655-3695.

Webinar: Building Reading Competency across the Curriculum in Middle School – August 19
Join Dr. Corinne Eisenhart for a focus on increasing academic vocabulary and understanding how text structure drives reading comprehension strategies during this 90-minute webinar. At the end of this webinar, you will be introduced to a “toolkit” of research-based literacy strategies. A follow-up will be held on October 19.

Webinar: Addressing Students Stumbling Blocks in Middle School Mathematics – August 26
Join Sarah Godlove Evans for a discussion of recommendations to improve student achievement in the domain of rational numbers, increasing knowledge of both the conceptual basis for rational numbers and research-based strategies to enhance students’ numeracy skills in rational numbers during this 90 minute webinar. A follow-up will be held on October 19.

Workshop: What Do We Do When Middle School Students Can’t Read the Text? Can’t Solve the Problem? –
October 19
This full-day workshop will focus on literacy and numeracy instruction and builds upon the webinars offered on August 19 and August 26. This interactive presentation will provide middle school teachers and administrators with a deeper understanding of the concepts and skills students need to comprehend the academic vocabulary and informational text that dominates learning in the middle school content. Location TBA.