Professional Development for 2020/2021

A network created for administrators of AMSFA’s English schools centered on educational leadership in social justice.

The Administrators Network is a collaborative effort aimed at giving its members:

• a time to reflect on, discuss, and deepen their understanding of the concepts and principles and practices of equity, inclusion and social justice in education
• an opportunity to share knowledge and practices related to leadership in equity and social justice in education

The Administrators Network meets three times a year (fall, winter, spring).

(For the 2020/2021 school year, the fall session will be offered in a virtual format and the dates and details for the winter and spring network will be determined at a later time.)

Comment amener les enfants du préscolaire en immersion française et issus de milieu défavorisé à cultiver leur curiosité par rapport à la langue? Comment faire en sorte qu’ils acquièrent le gout d’apprendre les mots et développent leur intérêt pour les livres et la lecture? Comment leur permettre de prendre la parole en toute confiance et en français? Bref, comment leur permettre de développer leurs compétences en littératie ? Toutes ces questions et plusieurs autres encore seront au cœur de cette toute nouvelle offre de développement professionnel pour les enseignantes en immersion française des deux commissions scolaires anglophones.

Au cours de cette formation, les participantes seront amenées à :

• Réfléchir à l’intervention en classe d’immersion en milieu défavorisé montréalais
• Partager leur expertise et leur pratique de l’enseignement en classe d’immersion
• Défricher de nouvelles avenues pour bonifier leur pratique

 For more information on this workshop or if you’re interested in registering click HERE or email Nancy Saltarelli  nancy.saltarelli@re-mtl.qc.ca

This book club aims at gathering a small group of interested educators to read, reflect, and engage with concepts and topics related to teaching in Montreal disadvantaged schools. By discussing a common book related to equitable teaching practices we hope to provide participants with time to explore and dialogue about topics related to education and social justice.

For more information on this workshop or if you’re interested in registering click HERE or email Nancy Saltarelli  nancy.saltarelli@re-mtl.qc.ca

W10 Universal Pedagogy

This workshop is designed to help teachers teaching in Montreal disadvantaged community schools experiment with teaching practices (such as project based learning) that take into account students’ interests, talents and prior knowledge as a means to develop every students full potential.

 Workshop Intentions

• Define and describe concepts such as disadvantaged, school engagement, equity, and universal pedagogy
• Explore practices that favour school engagement in disadvantaged school communities
• Share classroom practices that model this approach to teaching & learning

(For the 2020/2021 school year, elements of this workshop will be offered by topic, in a shorter format, to interested school teams or cycles. Topics include: Personalized Learning Through a Project-Based Approach (Passion Projects and/or Personal Projects), School Engagement, and The Importance of Student Voice.)

Schools interested in mini workshops on one or more of these topics can email :

Nancy Saltarelli : nancy.saltarelli@re-mtl.qc.ca

W11 Numeracy Development (in a Montreal Disadvantaged School)

Research shows that students need to engage in hands on learning in order to construct mathematical reasoning. For students living in Montreal disadvantaged communities, it is even more important to use students’ own thinking and experiences to make sense of mathematical concepts.

Workshop Intentions

• Distinguish characteristics of a Montreal disadvantaged school so that we can better understand our students and their families
• Examine approaches in teaching and learning numeracy and problem-solving skills that are favorable in disadvantaged community schools
• Practice and develop strategies that foster a conceptual framework where students do the sensemaking in order to deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts

(This workshop will be offered as of January 2021 to small school teams or cycles and can be tailored to specific needs and/or grades. It will be offered in-school on 2 days- dates chosen in collaboration with school teams- with a possibility of a third half day for planning.)

Schools interested can email :

Nancy Saltarelli : nancy.saltarelli@re-mtl.qc.ca

Professional Day Presentations available by request

Professional development and ongoing support from AMSFA can take on many forms, depending on the need(s) of each school or school board. Topics which can be explored and presented to school teams on professional days include:

• Maintaining High Expectations in Montreal Disadvantaged Schools
• Assessment and Evaluation in Montreal Disadvantaged Schools
• Teaching with Social Justice in Mind