Professional Development

Norms create a shared understanding of expectations, which helps foster a respectful, focused, and productive learning environment. In virtual settings, they are especially critical for ensuring engagement, minimizing distractions, and maintaining professional standards.  Please note that your PD presenter may choose to add additional norms during the session.  You can find the Virtual PD Session Norms here.

Upcoming Sessions:

October 6, 2025  Reading Comprehension Instruction (.6 CEUs, In-Person Event)

October 7, 2025  Reclaiming Assessment (.6 CEUs, Virtual Event)

October 8, 2025  Differentiated Instruction (.6 CEUs, Virtual Event)

October 9, 2025  Bullying:  A Guide to Identification and Intervention (.6 CEUs, In-Person Event)

Click on the session titles above to purchase tickets.

Also available: a single, 2.6-CEU certificate for all four courses, available for $30 -- That's half the cost of purchasing the certificates individually! (Click on the red text to purchase tickets)

Coming in November:

Novemb

1.      Where are the professional developments held?           

Our current location for in-person PD sessions is the Union House, 782 North West Street in Jackson.  Some sessions are held virtually via Zoom.  PD Calendars and session announcement flyers will typically state the location.

2.      What times are the professional developments conducted?            

Generally, sessions are from 9 AM to 4 PM, with a half-hour break for lunch and 2 other small breaks during the day.  If a session has different hours, those will be clearly posted when you register.

Attendance is required for the full

We’re excited to launch the 2025–2026 Professional Development year with a calendar full of meaningful, high-impact learning opportunities designed to empower educators and elevate classroom practice.

This year, JFT is offering up to 7.8 CEUs, with additional PD sessions to be added later. Our course offerings span foundational strategies and timely interventions:

📘 Featured Courses

• Foundations of Effective Learning (Parts I, II, and III)
• Reclaiming Assessment
• Bullying: A Guide to Identification and Intervention
• Differentiating Instruction
• Reading Comprehension Instruction

🛠️ Coming Soon

• AVIRT / CPR

To sign up for these professional learning opportunities, visit our TicketLeap website.

2025 - 2026 Professional Development Course Catalog

• Bullying: A Guide to Identification and Intervention
  • This course focuses on identifying the people involved with bullying and the role of educators in the process. It also covers interventions and planning to ensure a bully-free educational environment.
• Differentiating Instruction
  • This module examines three differentiation models: Tomlinson’s tiered lessons, Conklin’s choice boards, and Sternberg’s triarchic model. It is designed for PreK-12 teachers and

Professional Development for Educators

A school system's most important asset is its teaching force. And the most important investment a school board, administrators, and parents can make in a school system is to ensure that teachers continue to learn. Continuous, high-quality professional development is essential to the nation's goal of high standards of learning for every child.

Professional development is a continuous process of individual and collective examination and improvement of practice. It should empower individual educators and communities of educators to make complex decisions; to

Dr. Ruth Bowen, a native of Canton, Mississippi, holds degrees in English, Library Science, Education Administration, and Urban Higher Education Leadership from institutions such as Tougaloo College, Clark Atlanta University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Jackson State University. She is a certified educator with experience in teaching, administration, and curriculum development. Dr. Bowen has served as a commissioned officer in Military Intelligence for the U.S. Army and in the Mississippi State Guard. A skilled grant writer, she secured funding for adult literacy and youth