3-6 RISE Day 5 - Text Level Comprehension workshop today on campus! Participants will examine factors that affect reading comprehension, review effective methods for teaching comprehension, and leave with the understanding that weakness in comprehension cannot be addressed until the weakness in the subskills of reading are identified and remediated. Thank you to Catherine Misfeldt, Casey Wade, and Lauren Cockrell!
#Comprehension #betterTOGETHER #GFESC
Hearing and Vision Training again today on the GFESC campus, led by Katelyn Chambers. This activity is to enable the learner to have the training necessary to complete mandated hearing and vision screenings.
#HearingVision #GFESC
🎉 GFESC Kickoff 2025-2026 was a tremendous success! Over 1,000 educators and staff from 10 school districts came together today to kick off the new year with purpose and passion.
We were inspired by Dr. Todd Whitaker, author of What Great Teachers Do Differently, as he reminded us what greatness in teaching truly looks like. He challenged us to be great—and see greatness in others. 💡
We laughed, we learned, and we got better—together. 💙
A huge THANK YOU to:
🏫 Alma School District for hosting us in their stunning Performing Arts Center
⚡️ AR Valley Electric Cooperative for sponsoring the day and supporting our area schools
We wrapped up the day with a resounding Hallelujah! 🎶
Here’s to a powerful start to the 2025-2026 school year! 🚀
#GFESC #GreatTeachers #BetterTogether
Gwen Couthren led an Early Childhood Updates session today on the GFESC campus. The session included:
-All early childhood updates
-Data digs
-Child Find committee meeting
-Armac training
-Mandated reporter training
-Bully training
-And file monitoring
#EarlyChildhood #GFESC #learningBETTERtogether
Today at GFESC, Katelyn Chambers led a training session for New School Nurses. This training will provide the new school nurses in our district with an overview of all school nurse duties, laws, and guidelines.
#SchoolNurses #GFESC #learningTOGETHER
Cycle 9 Workshop going on now at GFESC - reviewing the Cycle 9 process and FY25 Final Close procedures. Thank you to Regina Foster for leading this informative session!
Amber Cobb and Christian Storm held a workshop at GFESC today: Open Science Ed for Chemistry and Physical Science Integrated. In this workshop, teachers were provided an overview of the Open Science Ed instructional model, led through a sample chemistry unit launch, discovered how to access teacher materials, and unpacked teacher materials specific to chemistry and physical science integrated in Arkansas.
eSchool Medical Training today at GFESC! This training session provides school nurses with instruction on how to use the eschool medical tab. Thank you to Katelyn Chambers and Debbie Featherston!
#learningBETTERtogether #GFESC
Coding with Python and the Circuit Playground training today at GFESC! Combining the power of the Circuit Playground coding device with the visual excitement of Turtle graphics and the tangible engagement of physical computing.
#ComputerScience #GFESC
Today on campus, we have Kathleen Lancaster and Audrey Kengla here leading a workshop on Student Engagement to Increase Positive Behaviors in the Classroom. In this one day workshop, participants will enhance their strategies to engage students in a variety of classroom contexts, and they will learn about how student voice, student choice, and reinforcement can be leveraged to increase student involvement and motivation to learn.
#PositiveBehaviors #GFESC
John Wink held a two day conference in Van Buren these past two days; Mentoring ALL Teachers to Excellence! This was for educational leaders, mentoring teachers, and administrators. Based on his book, John taught participants how to help all teachers grow in both their knowledge and competence of the Hierarchy of Instructional Excellence through mentoring and leadership strategies.
#MentoringAllTeacherstoExcellence #JohnWick #GFESC
Participant are exploring Verbal and Non-Verbal Strategies for Preventing or De-escalating situations with students today at GFESC! This half-day session, led by Karen Grady, had discussions of situations teachers have dealt with, exploration of what might have been a trigger, and alternative options for working through the situation.
#learningBETTERtogether #GFESC
The Back to School Nurse Workshop was today at GFESC!! It provided school nurses with resources and up-to-date education for the upcoming school year. Topics covered included:
-RISK (Recognition of Impairment from Substances in K12)
-Anxiety in Elementary Students -Management of Sprains and Strains -Arkansas Department of Health Updates -Legislative updates and state-wide data by the best, Cheria McDonald Thank you to Katelyn Chambers and Joni Padilla for this very informative session! #SchoolNurses #GFESC
3-6 RISE Day 4:Vocabulary happening now on the GFESC campus today! This training focuses on a systematic, engaging approach aimed at developing learners' understandings of how words work and developing vocabulary knowledge through speaking, reading, and writing. Thank you again to Lauren Cockrell and Angelique Gray!
Kris Shinn has been at GFESC the past two days teaching a workshop on Everyday Behavior Tools. This training is highly informative and interactive, a must have for all educators! He made it easy for participants to relate to the material by using REAL life examples from within the classroom, home setting, and in the community! Thank you Kris!
#growingBETTERtogether #BehavioralTools #GFESC
Youth Mental Health First Aid was taught today at GFESC! This groundbreaking course from the National Council for Behavioral Health gives participants the tools to identify when someone might be struggling with a mental health or substance use problem and to connect them with appropriate support and resources.
#MentalHealth #GFESC
Today at GFESC, Karen Grady is leading a session called Reeling in the Outcast Student. In this session, participants will:
- Take an in-depth look at what our society defines as an "outcast student."
-Explore answers to issues about why a student is considered an outcast.
-How we get them to buy into the classroom culture.
-How we get them involved in the learning that is taking place.
-How we meet their educational and emotional needs in the classroom.
3-6 RISE Day 3: Morphology is going on now at GFESC! Participants will develop an understanding of how the sound, structure, and history of our language all work together to influence the pronunciation, spelling, and meaning of words. Thank you to Casey Wade, Lauren Cockrell, and Catherine Misfeldt for leading this workshop today!
#learningBETTERtogether #GFESC
Yesterday we had a wonderful workshop led by Katelyn Chambers on Special Healthcare Needs - Train the Trainer. This session provided an overview for the RN on how to implement special healthcare needs training within their district and provided information related to personal care.
#GFESC #SpecialNeeds
Elizabeth Reeves was back on campus today leading another workshop on Dyslexia. Today's workshop was about School-based Identification of Dyslexia which targeted grades 4-12. It covered legislative updates and best practices for identifying dyslexia characteristics in older students using assessment data.
#Dyslexia #GFESC #learningTOGETHER
