Professional Development for Elementary Educators

Challenge Success offers high-quality professional development workshops for public and private elementary schools. Our interactive workshops are designed specifically for educators who are interested in learning practical tools for improving student well-being and engagement with learning.

Sponsored by individual schools or school districts, these workshops are delivered by highly-acclaimed Challenge Success presenters. The workshops have greatest impact when held in conjunction with Challenge Success parent education presentations. 

To schedule a workshop, e-mail us at info@challengesuccess.org.

The Well-Balanced Child: Teachers’ Role in Supporting Healthy Development Children today live in a culture that is increasingly characterized by a “more is better” and “earlier is better” mindset, both in and out of school. This fast-paced existence for kids too often places them under undue pressure and stress, often resulting in burnout, disengagement, unhealthy life patterns, or debilitating health problems. This workshop examines the current pressures students face and helps teachers reflect on healthy and effective classroom practices to reduce the pressure without sacrificing learning and achievement. In this workshop, you will: - Explore the latest research on childhood health, school engagement, and the importance of play and unstructured time - Examine how today’s high-pressure, fast-paced culture can have unintentional but damaging effects on children - Discover simple ways you can work with children and their parents to reduce performance pressure and support healthy development for effective learning

Duration:  90 minutes – 2 hours

Making Homework Work Homework is a hot topic today for educators, parents, and students. Teachers struggle to meet standards and prepare students for tests without assigning unreasonable amounts of homework. This workshop examines critical questions for educators to consider: What is the purpose of homework? How much homework is appropriate? What kinds of homework and policies are most effective?

In this workshop, you will: - Learn the latest trends and research on homework - Discuss best practices in creating effective homework assignments - Examine the tensions and concerns about homework in your school community and explore practical and effective solutions Duration: 2 - 5 hours

Teaching for Engagement: The Key to Real Learning We know that children learn better and retain more information when they are genuinely engaged in classroom lessons. This workshop uses a “backwards design” model to help teachers plan engaging units and effective assessment techniques that bring learning to life for elementary students.

In this workshop, you will: - Examine the concept of engagement and how the high-stakes culture may impede authentic learning - Learn a process to develop engaging units and assessment tools that meet state standards - Apply “engagement boosters” to existing units/lessons to maximize student motivation and learning in your classroom

Duration: 2 - 4 hours