Becoming a School
101 An Overview | Becoming a School | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | Podcasts
The first step in becoming a Community of Caring school is to sign-up for professional development from the Community of Caring National Office. Initial professional development is designed to provide the tools to establish a Community of Caring program in individual schools or school districts. Community of Caring offers a wide array of professional development opportunities for schools and communities. In the one-day or two-day "How to Become a Community of Caring" start-up professional development programs, school staff members, parents and community representatives have the opportunity to become familiar with the components of Community of Caring and determine links between the program and the school or district's needs. Once a school has implemented Community of Caring there are follow-up professional development programs that can be tailored to a school's needs and that focus specifically on one of the components, including developing student forums, integrating values in and across the curriculum, and expanding family and community involvement. Professional development is also provided to reenergize programs as needed. In addition, a yearly character education conference is available as well as technical assistance and ongoing evaluation opportunities.
Setting up a professional development program is as easy as a phone call or email. Please email Penny Keith, Professional Development/Grants Coordinator, or call her at (816) 455-4566. Schools are responsible for securing a location and audiovisual equipment for the program, arranging for food, if appropriate, and inviting participants. Ideally the program should be held in a room that accommodates round tables for discussion since the professional development is highly interactive. Community of Caring will provide all materials needed for all activities involved in the program.
On-site Professional Development
Revitalization Training