Professional Development Offerings
CMSS is a opens in a new windowMassachusetts DESE accredited PD Provider for the following content areas: Safe & Supportive Learning Environments, Arts: Performing Arts, and Special Education-General. We are happy to provide PDP Hours Certificates for MA educators for the PDs below after completion of an assessment of learning.
Adaptive Music and Neurodivergent Learners
Intro to Adaptive Music Education
**Open to the public**
Course description: This workshop is for in-service general music teachers who are looking for philosophy, language, tools, and activities to support their work with students with disabilities including autism. Music Therapist Jen Kass (MA, MT-BC) and Adaptive Music Program Director Jessica Corwin of the Community Music School of Springfield will give participants tools to bring to their classrooms for accommodation, meaningful inclusion, joyful music-making, and social connection. Topics will include anti-ableist language, neurodivergence-affirming practices, current research on autism, learning differences and corresponding teaching strategies, and the imperative of listening to neurodivergent voices. Participants will engage in a variety of sample classroom activities that can be replicated in their own classrooms.
♫ 3 days online: Saturdays January 25th, February 1st, & February 8th, 2025, 12 noon-2 pm Eastern Time. opens in a new windowRegister here.
Adaptive Music Independent Study for PDPs in Special Education through the ACCEPT Collaborative
**Open to the public – with prerequisite of completing the Introduction to Adaptive Music Education course**
Course description: This course consists primarily of independent study work to help teachers reach 10- and 15-hour PDP requirements for their license renewal while deepening their understanding of adaptive music education pedagogy and meeting the needs of students who receive Special Education services. Completion of CMSS’ Intro to Adaptive Music Education for 5 or 6 professional hours is a prerequisite; those hours can be bundled with this independent study to apply to licensure requirements.
Following a Universal Design for Learning model, participants will consider a menu of project options, pick one that suits their interests and needs, complete the project, and present their learning to classmates at a culminating online session. Possible projects include planning and reflecting on lessons for students with high support needs, reading and reflecting on a book about adaptive music education, reading/watching first person perspectives about disability in any of a variety of formats and reflecting on them, and planning curriculum for your classroom.
Participants will maintain a log of hours spent on this project. Time spent in the welcoming and concluding online meetings count toward the total hours. At the conclusion of this course, professional hours will be awarded according to each participant’s time log, and bundled with the professional hours from Intro to Adaptive Music Education to become 15 PDPs in Special Education.
♫ Two sessions on Zoom: Monday, March 3rd, 4-4:30 pm (may be completed asynchronously) and Monday, April 14th, 4-6 pm (presentation required). opens in a new windowRegister here.
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Multicultural Learning
Multicultural Learning through Creative Expression
**Open to arts educators from the greater Springfield area and select nonprofit organizations. To inquire about registering, please email Rachel Rivard at rrivard@communitymusicschool.comcreate new email.**
Creative expression is a natural part of our lives and is what keeps us alive. It is a language of many languages offering communication through various forms of expression. Multicultural learning offers a colorful buffet of the world, most importantly, the world inside the classroom. Multicultural learning through Creative Expression integrates these aspects: sparking connections, inspiring creativity, breaking down barriers, building relationships, and providing a platform of knowledge, understanding, interactions, exchange, problem solving, trust, and sense of belonging.
Led by I-SHEA, Multicultural Learning through Creative Expression is an introduction to what multicultural education is, how creative expression enhances multicultural experiences and vice versa. This first part includes a multimedia performance by the facilitator followed by a powerpoint presentation. Participants are encouraged to participate in small to whole group activities. Wear loose comfortable clothing as movement will take place. Please bring your water bottle. The session will end in a community ‘cypher’ (circle/expressive freestyle session).
♫ In-person at opens in a new windowCMSS: Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 3:00-4:30 pm – opens in a new windowRegister here.
A Deeper Dive: Multicultural Learning through Creative Expression
**Open to arts educators from the greater Springfield area and select nonprofit organizations. This session is intended for those who have already taken I-SHEA’s introductory session, “Multicultural Learning through Creative Expression”. To inquire about registering, please email Rachel Rivard at rrivard@communitymusicschool.comcreate new email.**
Creative expression is a natural part of our lives and is what keeps us alive. It is a language of many languages offering communication through various forms of expression. Multicultural learning offers a colorful buffet of the world, most importantly, the world inside the classroom. Multicultural learning through Creative Expression integrates these aspects: sparking connections, inspiring creativity, breaking down barriers, building relationships, and providing a platform of knowledge, understanding, interactions, exchange, problem solving, trust, and sense of belonging.
A Deeper Dive: Multicultural Learning through Creative Expression will dive deeply into:
- One’s own folk/cultural traditions and expressive language(s) growing up
- How various cultures and expressions can intersect in the classroom.
- How do you envision implementing multicultural learning through creative expression in your classroom this year?
The power of language and expression is deep. Let’s go there! Let’s go deep! Participants are encouraged to ask questions, have an open mind, and a willingness to be creatively vulnerable in a brave shared space. As teachers who spend many hours a week with students, you have the advantage and benefit from getting to know your students. Teachers are the tone-setters in creating a sense of community in their classrooms. This session will encourage participants to dialogue in small groups and share out to the whole group. The session will end in a community ‘cypher’ (circle/freestyle session or small group share depending on the flow of the group).
♫ In-person at opens in a new windowCMSS: Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 5:00-7:00 pm – opens in a new windowRegister here.