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TEACHER CENTER
The goal of the WDMESC Teacher Center is to serve as the umbrella for three major areas of service to member school districts: staff development, curriculum development, and media services. The Teacher Center provides a place and a process whereby the Teacher Center Committee works closely with the Teacher Center Coordinator and the WDMESC Board of Directors to assure the needs of teachers and administrators of member districts are met.
The WDMESC Administrative Offices and the Computer Lab are located at 114 North Main Street in Beebe. The Professional Development Center (PDC) located at 110 East Illinois, the Career Technical Conference Room (CTE) located at 110 North Main, and The Teacher Center Conference Room located at 210 North Main provide space for teachers and administrators of member districts to attend staff development activities, work in collaborative groups on instructional materials, and the develop curriculum resources.
Located within the Administrative Offices at 114 North Main, is a VariQuest poster printer, VariQuest cutting machine, a cold laminator, and a binding machine for all educators in our region. The center is open by appointment for all educators and staff in the Wilbur D. Mills Education Service Cooperative.
The Teacher Center Coordinator has the primary responsibility for planning and carrying out the staff development programs which are identified by the Teacher Center Committee and through the Needs Assessment Survey as a priority among member districts. The Committee meets three times annually and makes recommendations for Teacher Center activities to the Teacher Center Coordinator. In addition, the Teacher Center Coordinator receives Professional Development input directly from Content Area Facilitators and building level administrators to assure that the content needs of all curricula are met.
A wide variety of workshops and seminars are provided for teachers and administrators throughout the year using the expertise of regional, state, and national consultants to train school personnel and help them develop both professionally and personally. All professional development activities are based on some form of needs assessment or state initiative and all activities are evaluated informally as well as formally.
The Teacher Center Committee has selected thirteen strands for staff development activities. These strands include:
Advocacy/Leadership
Assessment
Building a Collaborative Learning Community
Cognitive Research
Content (K-12)
Instructional Strategies
Educational Technology
Mentoring/Coaching
Principles of Learning/Developmental Stages
Supervision
Systemic Change Process
Standards, Frameworks, and Curriculum Alignment
Parental Involvement
The Teacher Center Coordinator works closely with the Education Departments of the WDMESC area colleges and universities. This collaboration benefits in-service as well as pre-service education through the sharing of human and material resources. In addition, the Teacher Center Coordinator works closely with the Arkansas Department of Education to insure that opportunities to participate in the professional development state initiatives are encouraged and available.
Member schools have chosen to combine funds and receive professional development training planned and provided by WDMESC. State and federal funds channeled directly to WDMESC are vital sources of revenue to provide needed professional development programs. WDMESC programs which provide a wide range of professional development opportunities include Career and Technical Education, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Gifted/Talented, Instructional Technology, Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Special Education and Early Childhood Special Education.
Additionally, WDMESC is ever in search of means whereby local, state and federal agencies, colleges/universities, and other organizations can cooperatively sponsor training.