Great Hearts Faculty Pursued Knowledge and Adventure in San Antonio Facebook Twitter Email This Post Great Hearts Texas March 24, 2023 Great Hearts Texas recently held a San Antonio Regional In-Service Day, where students were given the day off and our faculty and staff were given educational opportunities as well as some much-needed mental health activities. According to a report by Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a teacher’s average workday is 10 hours and 40 minutes. This includes an average of 7 hours, 20 minutes of required school hours; 1 hour, 42 minutes at school, before and after school; and another 1 hour, 35 minutes working at home. This time outside of school hours is typically spent on lesson planning, returning parent emails, grading assignments, and professional development. The profession of teaching has become a difficult job to navigate in today’s climate, but the faculty at Great Hearts continue their pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty throughout the long hours and hectic schedules. “Faculty and staff had the ability to choose from a dozen robust morning session offerings that included topics like State Testing Prep, Classroom Management, and Student Services,” said Brandon Aniol, District Manager of Professional Development. “Being brought to the realization that reading is the most essential thing we can foster in our scholars. I knew it was important, but I didn’t realize just how important reading groups were,” said one attendee. “We will now be revamping our reading efforts and expectations in the classroom.” Another attendee said, ““I loved this PD day. It felt informative and leisurely. I wouldn’t change anything.” Following the morning sessions, academies and even district staff engaged in seminar over key works of poetry. In the afternoon, faculty traveled off campus to engage in fellowship together at learning and leisure activities across San Antonio. These opportunities were not only great opportunities for enrichment and personal development, but they were also great team building activities with colleagues through good conversations and bonding experiences. “It was nice to get to know my colleagues outside of work. This was a lovely treat, and I would be so grateful if we could do this again,” said one faculty member. These offerings included: The Alamo San Antonio Botanical Gardens Friedrich Wilderness Park McNay Museum of Art Institute of Texan Cultures McAllister Park San Antonio Zoo “This professional development day was amazing! In my 17 years of education, this by far was at the top,” said a pleased attendee. “Being able to attend specific training tailored to my staff needs was fantastic. The seminar portion of the morning, led to great discussions and helped me view things in a different perspective. Being able to spend quality time with co-workers outside of work and get to know each other on a more personal level was great! The venue was fantastic and seeing fellow GH staff from various campuses was a bonus!” Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.
