Mrs. McCauley’s Dramatic Summer of Professional Development

Suzanne Kilani-McCauley, or Mrs. McCauley as she is known to her drama students at Glendale Prep, spent some of her summer break at the Broadway Teachers Workshop in New York City, the home of Broadway Theatre, as part of Great Hearts commitment to professional development of our teachers.

The workshop, designed for drama teachers from across the country, offered a unique blend of inspiration, creative replenishment, methodology, and best teaching practices from The Great White Way. McCauley said she is excited to apply what she experienced to her own school’s drama program and believes it will enhance her drama classes and the work she does with the Griffin Players, Glendale Prep’s extra-curricular theatre company for students in grades 7 through 12.

This important skill building opportunity was made possible through the Summer Study Funds Program, available every year from the GreatHearts America Professional Development team, who awards teacher applicants monetary support to participate in external professional development opportunities. According to Corinne Jacobson, the Vice President of Professional Development, these opportunities range from local conferences to immersive study abroad programs.

Some of these opportunities were previously featured at https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/how-great-hearts-teachers-grew-abroad-over-the-summer/ 

“We believe that investing in the continued growth and formation of our teachers is essential to the strength of our classrooms and academies,”said Jacobson. “External professional development allows teachers to deepen their knowledge, explore new ideas, engage with experts in their fields, and bring fresh insights back to their students and colleagues. By helping to offset the cost of these experiences, the Summer Study Funds Program makes meaningful professional growth opportunities more accessible and demonstrates our commitment to investing in the formation and ongoing development of our teachers.”

McCauley said she had an amazing time at the workshop. “[My] top experiences include attendance at four Broadway shows with talk backs afterward with individuals working as actors and in technical theater on Broadway,” she shared. Those shows included: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman at the Winter Garden Theatre, The Lost Boys – A New Musical at the Palace Theatre, the Tony Award winner for Best Musical,Schmigadoon!, at the Nederlander Theatre, and Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York, a new musical comedy a the Longacre Theatre.

McCauley also enjoyed keynote addresses and breakout sessions that she said were, “tailored to drama teachers with ideas and conversationsthat up-level teacher capability almost instantly.” But the opportunity to visit The Museum of Broadway and The Drama Book Shop, that was filled with almost entirely scripts, was in her words, “A drama teacher’s dream!”

For a drama teacher like McCauley, the Broadway Teachers Workshop was a chance to step into the world she spends every day helping her students imagine. She returned to her classroom at Glendale Prep this fall with that sense of wonder renewed as she continues to inspire her students in the fine art of theatre.

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