Faculty and Staff
List of 30 members.
Julia Morgan School for Girls' faculty and staff are dedicated to the mission—to prepare the confident, capable, creative, and compassionate women of tomorrow.
Professional Development
List of 3 items.
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Differentiated Instruction Institute Presented by California Teacher Development Collaborative
Jess Dang, Associate Head of School, 8th grade advisor, Go-Girl teacherFor two days, independent school educators from all over the state, and somehow a cadre of army air traffic control officers, were immersed in the principles and practices of differentiation. We were taught by Carol Ann Tomlinson, the mother of differentiation herself, and her colleague Mike Murphy. An "aha" moment for me during the workshop was realizing how differentiated instruction is intuitive to good teaching. An educator's decision to use a differentiation strategy--such as flexible grouping, student choice, levels of challenge, ongoing assessment, just to name a few--reflects a belief in students' potential and a deep commitment to meet each student where they are. As Tomlinson describes, "Differentiation is classroom practice that looks eyeball to eyeball with the reality that kids differ, and the most effective teachers do whatever it takes to hook the whole range of kids on learning." It was truly inspiring to contemplate the many parallels between differentiated practice and how we teach and learn at JMSG. As a faculty, we have begun the exciting work of delving into Tomlinson's seminal text The Differentiated Classroom and strengthening our collective practices, and I'm looking forward to sharing the insights and tips I gained from the workshop as we progress. -
Introduction to Girls' Schools by the National Coalition of Girls' Schools
Elizabeth Scotten, 6th grade Humanities teacher, 6th grade advisorThis three-week online course helped me prepare to start my first year teaching at JMSG. One of the most valuable aspects of the course was connecting with a network of girls' school teachers and administrators from around the country. I also learned about current research and practices in girls' education, and got a deeper understanding of the history of single-sex education. I was delighted to see that the first reading we were assigned was an excerpt from Where Girls Come First: The Rise, Fall, and Surprising Revival of Girls' Schools by Ilana DeBare, a JMSG co-founder. It was exciting to see JMSG's founding story woven into the history of girls' schooling in the United States. -
Power ColLABorative training through Girls Leadership
Miranda Bucky, 6th & 7th grade Associate Math teacher, 7th grade advisorIn August, I attended a two-day training with Girls Leadership in Oakland that focused on culturally responsive practice and on developing strategies to address trauma from an asset-based approach. At the end of the workshop, every attendee left with a curriculum booklet of lesson plans compiled by the training facilitators, titled “Power ColLABorative: A culturally responsive, social-emotional learning-based curriculum designed to meet the needs of girls.”
Following the training, I have been thinking about the similarities between the roles of teacher and facilitator. Teaching is a type of facilitation: facilitators set in place a structure within which a group can generate new understandings, learning in community. This opens up space for students to be the drivers of their own learning and to shape the culture of their classrooms.
So far this year, I have used several lesson plans from the curriculum for activities in advising, centering around the themes of identity and community. In math classes, I have been adjusting the structure of my facilitation by asking more questions that do not have just one right answer, hoping to reduce the fear of getting a question wrong and to focus on conceptual understanding. This workshop left me with a lot to think about, plans and goals for ways to modify my own practice, and a resource to draw from and to share with colleagues.
