LHSD hosts own training conference
PEARCY — Many Lake Hamilton School District employees are on campus this week for an uncommon opportunity afforded to them by the district.
The Hempwallace Professional Development conference allows members of the district’s faculty and staff to craft and lead training sessions for their peers.
Hempwallace provides teachers with a convenient and efficient option to meet state and district requirements for annual professional development. The conference was named after the small community adjacent to the campus.
“We started it because we had so many people going off to be trained, studying on their
own and learning how to do things,” said Kristi Anderson, director of instructional services and federal programs. “If you have experts right there on campus, why not glean from their information? We started scheduling sessions for them to present.”
Participation can vary based on sessions offered each summer. Anderson said about 250 of the more than 300 certified teachers on staff may attend at least one session.
Anderson requests proposals from faculty and staff earlier in the year for information they would like to share with their peers. The district also surveys teachers to garner an understanding of topics teachers want to learn at the conference.
“There were years when we would send people off, they would come back and there was not an opportunity for them to share what they learned,” Anderson said. “This provides that opportunity.”
Dozens of Lake Hamilton faculty and staff will lead more than 50 sessions in all six schools on campus Monday through Thursday. Sessions can last 90 minutes, three hours or a full six hours. Presenters on staff receive double credit for their professional development hours.
A committee works with Anderson to select and coordinate the conference’s topics. The committee includes Chris Mahoney, district director of technology and information services, subject coaches and specialists throughout the district.
“I think they appreciate hearing from someone they know,” Anderson said. “The benefit is whatever they are teaching them, they are right here on campus all year long if they have a question, need a review or need help, that person is right here. The support is built in.”
Hempwallace offers sessions in which attendees can have ample time with the instructor. Specialist sessions can have as few as two or three attendees.
“It is all really hands-on, because you are learning a lot of strategy and you have ample opportunity to practice that strategy,” Anderson said.
Most sessions are held in classrooms or meeting areas, such as the board room in the administration building. Anderson said seats are limited to 25-30 participants.
The conference also offers a more relaxed environment for teachers. They are able to attend sessions in more casual dress instead of the professional attire they wear at other sites.
New teachers can also use the conference as a way to get acclimated before they gather on Thursday and Friday for orientation.
“They are in those small group sessions with other teachers,” Anderson said. “They get to know some people and learn their way around campus.”
The district conceived Hempwallace more than a dozen years ago as a more efficient manner of professional development during the summer. Anderson said the district cannot afford to cover the expenses for every staff member to attend their desired training events and conferences.
Many districts rely on sending faculty and staff to the nearest education cooperative. Garland County is in the region of the Dawson Education Service Cooperative in Arkadelphia.
“It is not that we do not support the Dawson Cooperative,” Anderson said. “We do, because some of the presenters at our conference are from Dawson. They come here and present.”
Anderson said the district attempted to rename the conference several years ago. Participants stuck to calling it “Hempwallace” and it persisted.