Mercer County Professional Learning Conference:
On October 8, 2018, the Mercer County ESC hosted the second Annual Mercer County Professional Learning Conference at Parkway Local Schools. There were 595 PreK-12 teachers in attendance, as well as 30 outside speakers. With nearly 120 sessions offered over the course of the day, there were presentations and discussions around a variety of timely and relevant topics.
The keynote speaker was Ian Byrd of Portland, Oregon. Mr. Byrd’s keynote focused on Cultivating Creativity in All Students. We were also fortunate to have Eric Curts offering a variety of sessions related to Google Apps for Education, Barbara Shaner speaking on Legislative Updates. We were honored to have Tess Elshoff, the President of the State Board of Education, with us to give an overview of Ohio’s 5-year Strategic Plan.
One of the best features of this event was that many of the breakout sessions were led by Mercer County educators! We had over 60 teachers and administrators sharing of their instructional expertise. Attendees widely reported that the opportunity to learn from their peers was quite valuable.
The Professional Learning Conference was well-received by participants. 96.8% of attendees indicated the day met their expectations, with similar numbers saying the speakers were knowledgeable and dynamic. Eighty one percent of attendees found the keynote to be relevant and useful.
Some feedback we received from attendees:
- This was one of the best PD days I can remember. I would love to see a repeat of the exact sessions next year. I had several sessions that I wanted to see, but couldn't get to all of them.
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- I was very impressed and glad to be a part of it. Thanks so much for your hard work and providing a great PD event for the educators of Mercer County.
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- I thought the conference was organized very well. It was great to learn from my colleagues and have time at the end to collaborate.
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- I loved the variety. There were plenty of options to select topics relevant to our situation. I enjoyed the collaboration session. I was able to network and discuss class objectives with professionals in my subject area.
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Thanks to all that participated and special thanks to Parkway Local Schools for hosting. The staff was tremendously helpful and were gracious hosts. We look forward to holding this event again next year. Mark your calendars for the 3rd Annual Mercer County Professional Learning Conference - October 14, 2019.