COSTA MESA NEWPORT BEACH : Educational Sessions for District Teachers
Not long after Bruce Joyce, a world-renowned educational consultant, moved to Orange County, he got a call from Bill Knight.
Knight is staff development director for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and a big fan of Joyce, who has done volumes of research and training in teaching methods.
“We have been trying for years to get into some of Bruce Joyce’s training sessions . . . but they are always full,” Knight said. Joyce “is actually internationally known and has done work in India, Hong Kong. . . . He has done a lot of research to determine what works best in classrooms.”
With the help of a $45,000 grant from the Pacific Mutual Foundation, the school district this summer will begin putting a select group of teachers through sessions with Joyce and Emily Calhoun, another prominent educator based at the University of Georgia. Participants will become trainers for other teachers in the district.
The program is designed to increase the academic achievement of students while improving the knowledge, skills and morale of teachers. Joyce and Calhoun will use study groups to provide ways to improve learning in the classroom.
“I see him as a window to the outside world,” said Knight, who is also the principal of Newport Elementary School. “We want people to know that he is not coming to fix us. . . . He will show us how we can do a better job of teaching.”
The district, with the help of the consultants, will also create parental support groups and provide parenting classes next fall.
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