Continuous Learning

We believe that teachers must see education differently to make change happen.

That’s why we hire the most qualified, creative and passionate team members here in the Renewal School System—and our education model’s success ensures they stay.
We know that learning opportunities are critical not just for our students, but for our teachers too. That’s why we offer our team members professional development throughout the year.

Go and Sees

Foundations make all the difference for the Renewal School System, and that stands true for our professional development opportunities, too. Just one example is the Robertson Family Foundation, which generously provided grants for our teacher-led design teams to go and visit other high-performing schools and businesses.

Our teachers and administrators have been from coast to coast—and many places in between—learning from the best and brightest in the industry. As a result, our teams bring innovative strategies back to our schools—and come up with new ideas, too!

 

Success Academy (New York)

Takeaways: guided reading, innovative classroom management strategies and experience with real-time coaching

Our team established a partnership with Success Academy because of its record of academic achievement and success as a charter system. During the Go and See visit, our teachers and school leaders learned about Success Academy’s innovative guided reading practices for elementary school students and experienced real-time coaching practices, too. As a result, we were able to bring these practices back to RSS and modify them to fit our students’ needs. Our teachers already report seeing the positive results.

Lindsay Unified School District (California)

Takeaways: competency-based education, how to incorporate business-style leadership into education successfully

How do you transform education to fit every student’s needs? That’s one of the questions our team members explored in California. There, RSS educators focused on competency-based education, which is a personalized approach to teaching that engages students, providing them voice and control in their pace of learning. We learned about how successful school districts incorporate expectations–ones beyond academics–into their graduation requirements. We’ve been able to adapt these lessons for our very own students.

Westminster (Colorado)

Takeaways: competency-based learning, incorporating fundamentals into personalized learning

Competency-based education gives students the opportunity and flexibility to accelerate their learning based on mastery of standards and concepts. Our team headed to Colorado to Westminster Schools to see this type of teaching in action! RSS teachers learned more about how to personalize learning, while focusing on the fundamentals of education that will ensure our students are successful.

The Met (Rhode Island)

Takeaways: strategies for goal setting with students, personalized teaching skills

At the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, advisors work with mentors, parents and students to build a personalized curriculum around each student’s interests, searching out professionals in the community who can help them pursue those interests in the real world. Our team learned all about this model of personalized learning and setting goals with students while visiting these schools. We are now incorporating more goal-setting practices and personalization into our curriculums.

Neocity Academy (Florida)

Takeaways: inclusive models to maximize learning for RSS students with special education needs

As one Go and See participant said, this program is about seeing what other innovators are doing, not just with products, but with processes and new teaching techniques as well. In Florida, our team visited an inclusive set of schools that focuses on raising the bar for students with special education needs. Our teachers learned about how to make education more inclusive and to help ALL students find their place in society and the workforce where they can be successful.

Stanford (California)

Takeaways: brainstorming and collaboration techniques, different kinds of classroom design

Remember those horrible chair/tiny desk combinations found in many high schools? They are a thing of the past at RSS. At Stanford, we learned more about classroom design and how redesigning a study space can make all the difference for our students. We also learned more about Stanford’s approach to collaboration, its team’s brainstorming techniques and how they incorporate both into their lesson plans.

 

Success Academy (New York)

Takeaways: guided reading, innovative classroom management strategies and experience with real-time coaching

Our team established a partnership with Success Academy because of its record of academic achievement and success as a charter system. During the Go and See visit, our teachers and school leaders learned about Success Academy’s innovative guided reading practices for elementary school students and experienced real-time coaching practices, too. As a result, we were able to bring these practices back to RSS and modify them to fit our students’ needs. Our teachers already report seeing the positive results.

Lindsay Unified School District (California)

Takeaways: competency-based education, how to incorporate business-style leadership into education successfully

How do you transform education to fit every student’s needs? That’s one of the questions our team members explored in California. There, RSS educators focused on competency-based education, which is a personalized approach to teaching that engages students, providing them voice and control in their pace of learning. We learned about how successful school districts incorporate expectations–ones beyond academics–into their graduation requirements. We’ve been able to adapt these lessons for our very own students.

Westminster (Colorado)

Takeaways: competency-based learning, incorporating fundamentals into personalized learning

Competency-based education gives students the opportunity and flexibility to accelerate their learning based on mastery of standards and concepts. Our team headed to Colorado to Westminster Schools to see this type of teaching in action! RSS teachers learned more about how to personalize learning, while focusing on the fundamentals of education that will ensure our students are successful.

The Met (Rhode Island)

Takeaways: strategies for goal setting with students, personalized teaching skills

At the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, advisors work with mentors, parents and students to build a personalized curriculum around each student’s interests, searching out professionals in the community who can help them pursue those interests in the real world. Our team learned all about this model of personalized learning and setting goals with students while visiting these schools. We are now incorporating more goal-setting practices and personalization into our curriculums.

Neocity Academy (Florida)

Takeaways: inclusive models to maximize learning for RSS students with special education needs

As one Go and See participant said, this program is about seeing what other innovators are doing, not just with products, but with processes and new teaching techniques as well. In Florida, our team visited an inclusive set of schools that focuses on raising the bar for students with special education needs. Our teachers learned about how to make education more inclusive and to help ALL students find their place in society and the workforce where they can be successful.

Stanford (California)

Takeaways: brainstorming and collaboration techniques, different kinds of classroom design

Remember those horrible chair/tiny desk combinations found in many high schools? They are a thing of the past at RSS. At Stanford, we learned more about classroom design and how redesigning a study space can make all the difference for our students. We also learned more about Stanford’s approach to collaboration, its team’s brainstorming techniques and how they incorporate both into their lesson plans.

Grow Your Own Teachers Scholarships

We believe our classified employees are the perfect candidates for teaching positions in our district. They are passionate about our students, have hands-on experience in our schools, and are active members of our community.

Custodians, bus drivers, teaching assistants, school office staff. All of these team members have already proven their dedication to our students. And some of them share a dream: becoming licensed teachers and continuing to serve Rowan-Salisbury students.

That’s why we established the Grow Your Own Teachers Scholarship Program. Through this scholarship, we encourage Rowan-Salisbury staff to further their careers by earning their teaching license—and we help them do so.

We’ve partnered with Gardner-Webb University and Western Governors University to provide two unique teacher preparation programs for adult learners with different needs. Both programs are fully online, provide mentors and have reduced the cost of their programs for students who are currently employed by Rowan-Salisbury Schools.

This year, we’ve also awarded five scholarships to help our team members learn. In return, they have committed to working in a high-needs school in our district for at least two years after graduation.

When we help our team members learn, ALL of Rowan-Salisbury wins.

New Training for Our New World

Our world isn’t the same as it was 20 years ago—or 10—or even 5. That’s why our team members are offered continual training opportunities. They receive everything from trauma and resiliency training to best support each student, to courses on positive behavioral interventions and supports. When teachers thrive, our district thrives.

RSS Innovation Academy

Learning from each other is a critical piece of the Renewal model. That’s why we applied for and won a competitive grant, which empowered us to create the RSS Innovation Academy. Through the program, we’re developing and modeling effective digital learning practices that will be shared across all North Carolina K-12 public schools. Our teachers first apply to participate in the academy. The chosen teachers are then challenged to think differently about teaching and learning.

As teacher Christina Rary describes it: We are learning strategies together, giving each other feedback and working together in such an impactful way. We have a hybrid approach where we are meeting in person, doing some things online, listening to podcasts, getting information from our director and more. It’s all about being the best teachers possible for our students.

From school visits to problem-based learning training and collaboration, teachers come together to learn from and share with one another. They can then take these lessons back to their schools, ensuring that every Rowan-Salisbury learner benefits from this novel program.

Become a part of our story

Contact Us

Rowan-Salisbury Renewal School

500 North Main Street, Salisbury, NC 28144

704.630.6019

© 2023 Rowan-Salisbury School System.