Other Content Upcoming Events

Compare and Contrast is an instructional strategy that can be used at all grade levels and in all content areas.  This is an electronic version of the training that was offered through Georgia's Critical Thinking Skills program first issued in the 1990s.  The Compare and Contrast Strategy has the rationale for using the strategy, model lessons, sample lessons, processing activities, and variations for use in different content areas.  It also includes a variety of visual organizers and took box activities to actively engage students to participate in class.  Instructions are included for Kindling, Survey, Boggle, and Give One-Get one.

The School Improvement (SI) Dashboard feature in SLDS provides an insight of different data variables reflected at a school, district and state level.  This professional development gives a brief overview of how to navigate the platform, and explores possible uses of the trend data housed in the platform as schools engage in data-driven school improvement planning. 

EdTech Trainer and Presenter, Brian Buffington walks educators through the basics of Google Drive, Docs, Slides, Sheets and Forms. This training is self-paced, using a mixture of video instruction and hands-on application. Brian gives examples and ideas that are specific to K-12 education.

There will be an out of the HGRESA area fee of $50.

This training is limited to person who will substitute in a Heart of Georgia RESA school system:  Bleckley, Dodge, Dublin City, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Wheeler, or Wilcox.  If you wish to substitute somewhere else, you must register for 210.1, Substitute Teach Training out of the HGRESA Area and pay an additional fee.

The purpose of this training program is to help participants be more successful as substitute teachers; therefore, meeting the requirement of the Georgia Board of Education (Code: GBRJ). Participants will be exposed to the rudiments of professional ethics, classroom management, instructional techniques, and some basic curriculum content. Participants will receive suggestions regarding "do's and don'ts" when substituting and activities to use when the classroom teacher's lesson plans cannot be followed.

CODE CLASS (On Demand)

An online module has been developed and will be available at all times. However, there are accountability measures embedded, so please read the instructions carefully upon registering online. You will not be issued credit for the class  until you have paid for the class. (Money orders only; No checks or credit cards)

Step 1:  Register online via the HGRESA Professional Learning page.

Step 2:  Mail money order to HGRESA, 717 Smith Street, Dublin, GA 31021  (Attention:  Substitute Teacher Training)

Step 3: Access the links that you have been provided in the instructions.

Step 4:  Start the video. listen intently, and take notes. This is an auditory process and you have the option to re-listen.

Step 5: Complete the assessment at the end.

Step 6:  Complete the HGRESA Event Feedback Form.

This training is limited to person who will NOT substitute in a Heart of Georgia RESA school system:  Bleckley, Dodge, Dublin City, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Wheeler, or Wilcox. There will be a $75 Out of Area Fee.

The purpose of this training program is to help participants be more successful as substitute teachers; therefore, meeting the requirement of the Georgia Board of Education (Code: GBRJ). Participants will be exposed to the rudiments of professional ethics, classroom management, instructional techniques, and some basic curriculum content. Participants will receive suggestions regarding "do's and don'ts" when substituting and activities to use when the classroom teacher's lesson plans cannot be followed.

CODE CLASS (On Demand)

An online module has been developed and will be available at all times. However, there are accountability measures embedded, so please read the instructions carefully upon registering online. You will not be issued credit for the class  until you have paid for the class. (Money orders only; No checks or credit cards)

Step 1:  Register online via the HGRESA Professional Learning page.

Step 2:  Mail money order to HGRESA, 717 Smith Street, Dublin, GA 31021  (Attention:  Substitute Teacher Training Out of Area)

Step 3: Access the links that you have been provided in the instructions.

Step 4:  Start the video. listen intently, and take notes. This is an auditory process and you have the option to re-listen.

Step 5: Complete the assessment at the end.

Step 6:  Complete the HGRESA Event Feedback Form.

There are seven different modules, organized by pages on this website: What is Classroom?, Setup, Assignments, Grading/Feedback, Classroom Communication, Guardian Communication, and What's New?!

There will be an out of the HGRESA area fee of $50.

Pre-Steps:

Send an email to Professional Standards Commission (Georgia PSC) and ask about the requirements for recertification.

Send the response to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

HGRESA Steps:

Step 1:  Register online for the class:

Step 2:  Send a check for $100 to HGRESA  717 Smith Street  Dublin, GA and put a note indicating payment for the course.  Out of area cost - $175.00.

Step 3:  Book is not included in the cost. Purchase the book:  Teaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly Gallagher.

Remote learning has exploded, due in part, to COVID-19.  Did you find yourself struggling to provide the quality of instruction that you use in the physical classroom?  Let’s look at ways to take remote learning to a new level.

Goals of Session:

1. Understand ways remote learning can support best practices in instruction.
2. Learn strategies for taking best practices that you use in your classroom and adapting them for remote learning.
3. Learn new strategies to enhance your current and future remote instruction.
4. Develop and action plan to apply the information in your classroom.

No one out of the Heart of Georgia RESA area is allowed to register for this course.

There will be an out of the HGRESA area fee of $50.

Those who wish to earn an E-Badge must register indicating their desire to participate. They must complete the E-Badge requirements.It is important to follow directions explicitly. Questions can be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This recorded video and resources are to help your struggling students as they integrate science as part of their curriculum.  A resource  document has choice boards with low-to-no technology options for teaching integrated lessons (K-5) in a distance format. It also provides family connections to keep students practicing skills at home.

 Supports educators with using the WIDA Writing Rubric to work effectively with multilingual learners in their writing development. 

Illustrates the benefits of designing mathematics instruction to provide multilingual students opportunities to use language to express their ideas and co-construct ideas with others.

Regardless of how you'll be teaching this year, Face to Face or Virtual, this course will give you important strategies and insight to help you make the most of any situation. This class is made available by Heart of Georgia RESA, for TSI, CSI, and Promise Schools. All other schools are welcome to use.

1. There are 7 different modules, organized by pages on this website: Student Well-Being, Building Better Relationships, Flexible Assessments, Appropriate Expectations, Live vs. Non-Live Teaching, Interactivity w/ Live Video, Tech Tools

2. Each module has a video, a note-taking PDF, and a project.

Regardless of how you'll be teaching this year, Face to Face or Virtual, this course will give you important strategies and insight to help you make the most of any situation.  This class is made available by Heart of Georgia RESA, for TSI, CSI, and Promise Schools. All other schools are welcome to use.

1. There are 7 different modules, organized by pages on this website:

• Your New Co-Teacher: The Parent/Guardian

• Live Video Conferencing Tips Part 1: Management

• Live Video Conferencing Tips Part 2: Engagement

• Live Video Conferencing Tips Part 3: Participation

• Creating PreRecorded Content for Littles PART 1: Video Creation

• Creating PreRecorded Content for Littles PART 2: Creative Assessments

• FlidGrid for Littles

2. Each module has a video, a note-taking PDF, and a project.

By registering, participants will receive a list of free, short podcasts that possibly might be used during PLC times or for independent learning. There are a variety of topics to explore by recognized authors.  Registrations will help us identify that these types of resources are needed in the HGRESA area. Information Source:  https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/online-professional-development-with-certificates/  As always, preview carefully for content, etc.

 A self-paced course for media specialists that addresses digital citizenship, school social media, digital resources, media creation, engaging virtual learners, and morning news programs.
Longer Description: Brian Buffington is serving up the freshest batch of Buff Nuggets for all of his media specialists friends! In this self-paced course, attendees will get hands-on experience with Brian’s favorite and most current tools, apps, and strategies that are loved my media specialists across the globe. This includes specific training on topics such as: digital citizenship, school social media, digital resources, media creation, engaging virtual learners, and morning news programs. The course is divided into modules, each containing a 5-10 min video with Brian, a note-taking PDF, and a project.

This is copied and pasted directly from the website: 

"This practice guide provides school educators and administrators with four evidence-based recommendations for reducing dropout rates in middle and high schools and improving high school graduation rates. Each recommendation provides specific, actionable strategies; examples of how to implement the recommended practices in schools; advice on how to overcome potential obstacles; and a description of the supporting evidence." After registering, participants will be emailed links to resources.

The Concept Attainment Strategy is an instrumental strategy used to develop content and to promote thinking through the presentation of examples and nonexamples of a concept. The strategy should be viewed as a framework that can be varied based on the content, outcomes to be measured, operations to be performed, and the needs of the students. This strategy is appropriate for all grade levels and all content areas.

The Center for Assessment has created a series of modules addressing assessment. The modules address how to use classroom assessment to identify student learning gaps, strengths, and needs for instructional purposes. Upon registration, participants will receive links to the pre-recorded materials, module materials, and additional supporting materials.

This was copied and pasted directly from the website:  "When teachers adopt standards-based learning, students take ownership of their learning and achievement soars! Come join a conversation based on a book written specifically for K–12 teachers, A Teacher's Guide to Standards-Based Learning. This resource details a sequential approach for connecting curriculum, instruction, assessment methods, and feedback through standards-based education. Jan K. Hoegh, an author of the book and facilitator of each session, promises to provide practical advice, real-world examples, and answers to frequently asked questions about this relevant topic." Book information:  Product Code: BKL044, EKL036, ISBN: 9781943360253, Page Count: 176  (https://www.marzanoresources.com/teachers-guide-standards-based-learning.html)

This is copied and pasted directly from the website:  "Coaching makes great teachers! Tom Roy’s experience and insight makes coaches great. Teachers, coaches, and educators who use coaching programs will learn the elements of the Coaching Cycle to improve instruction. Each session will focus on a specific aspect of coaching that has been shown to improve learning; sessions include Change, the Cycle of events which assure change, Methods and Techniques, School and District models that work, Peer Coaching, and Leadership. Each session begins with a short presentation followed by plenty of time for questions and comments from participants."  Product Code: BKL038, ISBN: 9781943360154, Page Count: 144 (https://www.marzanoresources.com/books-videos/coaching-significant-sustained-change-classroom.html)

Description:  Dr. Mitch McGhee will present strategies on how to deal with difficult parents.  He offers practical advice and gives various scenarios to consider.

 Mr. Mitch McGhee will present strategies on how to deal with difficult community members and the media.  The video will also include scenario applications for the participant to consider different approaches to resolve.

You may already be aware of the growing field of mindfulness.  Mindfulness is being aware of the present moment, while calmly accepting your feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations.  Mindfulness programs, which often encompass yoga, meditation and breathing techniques, are now in high demand in all over the United States. Besides stress reduction, mindfulness skills help kids improve their memory, organizational skills, reading and math scores.

Moving stress from toxic to tolerable involves increasing the number of protective relationships in children's lives and helping them learn how to regulate their nervous system, which is where mindfulness comes in.  This skill allows children to manage their internal world regardless of what comes at them externally, which is a concept that even younger children can understand.

In this course, you will gain in-depth knowledge into what mindfulness is, learn about the benefits it can offer your students, and then dig into how to actually teach these techniques.  There is no experience needed in yoga or meditation to take this course.  You can easily teach these mindfulness tools using the easy-to-follow videos and resources.

Goals & Objectives

• Articulate the benefits of mindfulness for students ages 4 and up
• Familiarize teachers and educators with the basics of breathing techniques
• Familiarize teachers and educators with the basics of short visualization (meditation) techniques
• Provide adequate tools and resources for teachers and educators to adapt mindfulness for the specific needs of their classes, making it relative to classroom content and beneficial to both teachers and their students

This course will be 5 hours of professional development.

• Video and video demonstrations
• Printable guides for implementation
• One on one instructor feedback
• Certificate of completion
• 24/7 access to course
• Lifetime availability of content

Access information will be sent in the registration email confirmation.

 This was copied and pasted directly from the youtube link:  "From Dr. Lovett:

This lecture attempts to explore some of the opportunities that accrue when practitioners and researchers enter one another’s worlds to engage in meaningful dialogue that can reshape the practices of all for the better. Since IDA was formed in the 1920s, there has been great progress in our understanding of dyslexia and reading disorders, and IDA has led many initiatives to facilitate the development of sound assessment and teaching practices. Of great importance, throughout its history, IDA has fostered an enthusiastic alliance between research and practice. Despite the progress, as teachers, clinicians, and scientists, we have many unanswered questions about dyslexia and other reading disabilities—what causes them? How early can they be predicted? Can prediction lead to prevention? How can we describe the important differences among individuals with reading disorders? What makes for effective intervention at different ages and stages of reading development or for children with different profiles of comorbidity? This presentation shares a story of my own career journey in reading-intervention research, a story that spans more than 35 years and started with a basic question articulated by a pediatric neurologist: Was it even possible to conduct rigorous research on the treatment of learning disabilities? Why was there not scientific literature to consult on effective treatment for these children? Closely working with valued colleagues and team members to create, evaluate, and refine approaches to teaching children with severe reading disabilities, we have met with both success and failure in our efforts. But we have always learned new lessons about reading disorders and been able to pose better questions at the end of each intervention study. Lessons learned from our own research findings, along with research evidence on the nature and course of reading disabilities and what a reading brain looks like, can inspire refined interventions. This body of evidence has led us to develop a set of research-based intervention programs for children, teens, and adults with reading problems. This presentation examines some of the principles underlying these programs and the lessons learned from their evaluation. I also raise emerging questions to help us consider new ways to improve interventions to facilitate the many people around the world, children, teens, and adults, still struggling to attain basic literacy skills." After registering, you will receive a link to the youtube video.

 This was copied and pasted directly from the youtube link: "Nancy Hennessy, past president of the International Dyslexia Association, is an experienced teacher, administrator and consultant. She has designed and delivered keynote addresses, workshops and training for educators nationally and internationally. Nancy co-authored Module 6 of LETRs, Digging for Meaning: Teaching Text Comprehension (2nd edition) with Louisa Moats and authored, Working with Word Meaning: Vocabulary Instruction in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Skills (4th edition). Nancy is the 2011 recipient of IDA’s Margaret Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award." The session will address comprehension. After registering, you will receive a link to the youtube video.

 This was copied and pasted directly from the youtube link:

"The diagnosis of dyslexia can be overwhelming for a family. Your child is frustrated from working so hard to read, write, and spell without reaching success. Worse yet, classmates and siblings may be exceling, which only adds to the frustration. The dyslexia diagnosis can be a relief, but what does it mean? What happens next? What does the future hold? It is important for families to have accurate information to understand the diagnosis and intervention. An informed parent is an empowered parent.

About the Presenter: Mary Yarus became a dyslexia therapist following her daughter’s diagnosis of dyslexia. After working eight years in private practice, she joined the Family Support Office at Neuhaus Education Center, later transitioning to the role of Vice President of both Family Support and the Adult Literacy program which provided services for students ranging from 18 to 80. Mary currently trains dyslexia interventionists for the Region 4 Education Service Center in Houston, Texas. As an avid reader, it is difficult to imagine a life without the ability to read a homework assignment, take a driver’s written exam, read a menu, read a simple book to your child, or so many other day-to-day activities that most of us take for granted. Mary is passionate about empowering teachers and students with knowledge about reading to enhance the lives of generations to come. " After registering, you will receive a link to the youtube video.

  This was copied and pasted directly from the youtube link:  "Historically, structured- literacy approaches have been the most effective for remediating language difficulties. The utilization of technology can make this type of instruction a multisensory process that is engaging and explicit while still maintaining the individualization and diagnostic- prescriptive aspects that are its hallmarks. In this presentation, an Orton- Gillingham Fellow and a director of technology share how they have collaborated to include technology as an instructive and assistive tool following the traditional Orton- Gillingham approach in the small classroom setting.

About the Presenters: Theresa Collins is a Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy. Currently the Tutorial Department Director and Director of Orton-Gillingham Training at The Southport School, she has been an Orton-Gillingham practitioner for over 30 years. She first developed her interest in learning differences while pursuing her B.A. in Psychology at Colgate University. She later earned her M.S. in Educational Psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. In the last several years, she has become interested in using technology to enhance multisensory teaching and embedding technology in teacher training to help trainees develop 21st century skillsets for Structured Literacy instruction. At The Southport CoLAB, she provides Orton-Gillingham training at the Classroom Educator, Associate, Certified, and Fellow-in-Training Levels. Ms. Collins has presented at various conferences, including the Annual Conference of the International Dyslexia Association, the New York and New Jersey branches of the IDA, the annual conference of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, the annual conference of the Assistive Technology Industry Association, Learning Ally’s Spotlight on Dyslexia, and The Southport CoLAB’s Summer Professional Development Series.  

Sharon Plante, an educator with over 23 years teaching experience in special education, currently serves as teacher and Chief Technology Integrator at The Southport School. As a Classroom Educator certified Orton-Gillingham tutor, she uses her training and understanding of technology to empower students with learning disabilities. Sharon is the co-author of Using Technology to Engage Students with Learning Disabilities, which highlights the incorporation of technology through the Universal Design Model to reach all learners. She has presented at International Dyslexia Association, The Dyslexia Foundation, Northeast Association of Learning Specialists, ATIA, Spotlight on Dyslexia and Pennsylvania Department of Education. Sharon is a member of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools Commission on School Growth and Collaboration. Additionally, she was awarded the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award from George Mason University College of Education and Human Development. " After registering, you will receive a link to the youtube video.

  This was copied and pasted directly from the youtube link:  "Android platforms,are effective tools to support structured literacy. This session highlights the use of assistive and instructional technologies for students who struggle with reading and writing skills. This session covers several free or low-cost computer and mobile apps, programs, and devices that can enhance a person’s ability to succeed in the classroom, on the job, or in community situations. This presentation highlights some of the best apps currently available.

About the Presenters: Elaine Cheesman, Ph.D., Certified Dyslexia Specialist, CALT, QI is Associate Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  

David Winters, Ph.D., Certified Dyslexia Therapist, Fellow (AOGPE), is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education at Eastern Michigan University. He has been a classroom teacher, tutor, diagnostician, administrator, and tutor/teacher trainer for more than 30 years and is a member of the International Dyslexia Association Orton Oaks. He currently teaches courses introducing preservice teachers to special education; in addition, he teaches courses in instructional and assistive technology, writing, and assessment in special education for preservice special educators and speech language pathologists. " After registering, you will receive a link to the youtube video.

This was copied and pasted directly from the youtube link:  "The purpose of this presentation is to provide parents with some coping strategies to help children with dyslexia and/or other learning disabilities. Strategies for coping with schools and the school system, teasing and bullying, and the lack of self-esteem in the child with dyslexia will be discussed. Ways to boost self–esteem in children will be illustrated with concrete examples. The role of fathers and/or other male figures will be outlined. The positive role of parent support groups and organizations such as IDA will be stressed.

About the Presenter: Linda S. Siegel, Ph.D., is the former Dorothy C. Lam Chair in Special Education and an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and author of the books Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities (Pacific Educational Press) and the revised edition of Not Stupid, Not Lazy: Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities, published by the International Dyslexia Association. Linda S. Siegel, Ph.D., is the author of the books Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities (Pacific Educational Press) and the revised edition of Not Stupid, Not Lazy: Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities, published by the International Dyslexia Association." After registering, you will receive a link to the youtube video.