Events

School Bus Driver 8-Hour Initial Course

New Bus Drivers are required to attend an 8-hour training course. Pre-register for this course with the Regional Office of Education ($10.00 fee required) at the orange REGISTRATION (GROUP) button below. You must be currently employed by a bus company or school district.

Illinois Professional School Bus Driver Training Curriculum: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/busdriver_trainmanual.pdf

Course Information:

Drivers MUST BE REGISTERED TO ATTEND. Please register in groups of 1-10 participants until the class capacity has been reached. Note: Even if you are only registering one school bus driver, please select REGISTRATION (GROUP). Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Phone-in or email registrations are no longer accepted for any school bus driver training classes held at ROE 4. Once the class size has reached capacity, no further registrations will be accepted - NO EXCEPTIONS!

This course is held in the Regional Office of Education Main Training Room, 300 Heart Blvd, Loves Park, IL 61111. (Addresses of courses held at other locations are as listed in the School Bus Driver Training Schedule). Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Classes start promptly at 6:00 p.m. LATE ARRIVALS AND WALK-INS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED. No refunds will be given for no shows or within seven (7) days of this class. 

The Fine Arts play a vital role in our students’ education and our schools. This online course will help ensure your fine arts programs and students thrive by helping you break down the Illinois Arts Standards and implement authentic and effective assessment strategies. The art and science of a balanced assessment plan will help enhance your daily practices and further support your students’ artistic expression and creative growth!

Materials presented by Jonathan Grice, director of Fine Arts at Adlai E. Stevenson High School.

This is a self-paced online course. Participants must complete ALL required coursework within 60 days to receive their PDCs. Partial PDCs will not be awarded. Enrollment registration fee is non-refundable! Participants can also elect to receive 1 graduate credit from the University of St. Francis. Note that participants will need to apply and meet the requirements through the University of St. Francis independently.

We are excited to bring a new edition of our online course, Tech Takeout, to the world of library science! Learn about educational technology applications that will help your students and staff collaborate in effective and creative ways. Participants will have access to training videos, practice samples, and additional resources for Jamboard, Dotstorming, Padlet, and Flip. Join us for this unique and fun professional learning, including a takeout bundle with two surprise gifts inside -- one courtesy of Nunzio's, Loves Park, IL!

Materials developed and presented by Holly Kelly of the Learning Technology Center of Illinois.

This is a self-paced online course. Participants must complete ALL required coursework within 60 days to receive their PDCs. Partial PDCs will not be awarded. Enrollment registration fee is non-refundable!

In this self-paced course, participants new to mindfulness will investigate and engage with its pillars, and walk away with focused mindfulness practices that will help manage stress & physical/emotional pain as well as improve attention and communication. After all, in order for us to model mindfulness for our students, we must first practice it ourselves.  This workshop is for K-12.

Presented by Casey Veitch, Professional Learning Director, ROE4+. 

This is a self-paced online course. Participants must complete ALL required coursework within 60 days to receive 7 PDCs. Partial PDCs will not be awarded. Enrollment registration fee is non-refundable!

Join us at the Area 2 SEL Hub’s 2023 Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Symposium. Discover new teaching strategies from our all-star lineup of regional and national thought leaders in the field of SEL.

National speaker and author Heidy LaFleur will set the tone for the day with her keynote, "Soaring Balloons and Heavy Shackles: Helping the Most Challenging Kids Soar". Then, participants will break out to their self-selected concurrent sessions. Each participant can choose up to four breakout sessions with topics including trauma-responsive practices, educator resiliency, well-being, culturally responsive teaching, whole-school safety, restorative practices, SEL classroom strategies, and so much more.

We've enlisted 23 recognized presenters who will offer noteworthy content in 29 workshops. These 60- to 90-minute breakouts will include vital ideas and resources to take back to your office or classroom for immediate implementation.

Please visit our EVENT WEBSITE for the full schedule, presenter information, and attendance details!

IMPORTANT: All breakout sessions are offered on a first come, first served basis. There will be no reserved seating for this event. Breakouts will be closed once room capacity has been met. 

This 2-day ONLINE academy is for educators who are seeking initial training to be legally qualified to conduct evaluations of licensed personnel. The training aligns to the Illinois School Code competencies defined by Administrative Code Part 50, Section 50.420 (a-b).

Pre-work is required for this training. Please be advised you will not be admitted to the class unless the pre-work assignment(s) is completed. 

Presenter: Shay McCorkle

The purpose of this presentation is to provide APE and PE teachers with a spectrum of developmentally appropriate activities and games for school-aged students with and without disabilities. The audience will be actively involved in a variety of physical activities to accommodate students with varying ability levels and diverse backgrounds in individual and integrated settings. In addition, this workshop will provide participants with strategies, activities, and documents that can be easily modified and implemented in the physical education curriculum. We will discuss the general characteristics of the physical education programs, rights of children and parents, individualized education plans, and more.

Presenter: Dr. Luis Columna

School Bus Driver 2-Hour Refresher Course

Bus drivers are required to take a 2-hour refresher course each year to keep their permit current. Drivers or their district/company must pre-register here with the Regional Office of Education ($10.00 fee required at time of registration).

Course Information:

Drivers MUST BE REGISTERED TO ATTEND. Please register in groups of 1-10 participants until the class capacity has been reached. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Phone-in or email registrations are no longer accepted for any bus driver training classes held at ROE 4. Once the class size has reached capacity, no further registrations will be accepted - NO EXCEPTIONS!

This course is held in the Regional Office of Education Main Training Room, 300 Heart Blvd, Loves Park, IL 61111. (Addresses of courses held at other locations are as listed in the School Bus Driver Training Schedule). Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Classes start promptly at 6:00 p.m. LATE ARRIVALS AND WALK-INS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED. No refunds will be given for no shows or within seven (7) days of this class. 

As drones continue to grow in both popularity and functionality, businesses are rapidly expanding their uses of these unmanned aerial vehicles. In turn, districts looking for new ways to prepare their students for the changing workforce economy can add drones to their curriculum and watch their students' engagement with real-world content take flight!

Come learn how in this hands-on workshop! Drone enthusiast Ben Sondgeroth will be on hand to offer an introduction to drone terminology and explore the setup and operation of a drone. As an added bonus, participants who attend this workshop will walk away with a Tello drone of their own to bring back to their classroom.

Innovative problem solvers are using 3D printing in every industry, from medicine to construction to space travel. By adding 3D printing to your curriculum, you can engage students instantly and prepare them to be the designers and makers of tomorrow's workforce.

Whether you’re thinking of buying your first printer, or you already have one that’s not being used to its full potential, this workshop will give you the foundation you need to bring 3D printing into the classroom. We’ll begin at square one of the 3D printing process and go from ideation to finished print, covering everything in between. You’ll learn how 3D printers work, how to create and prepare models for printing, how to operate your printer, and how to troubleshoot it. Participants must bring a laptop upon which they can install new software in order to fully participate!

Presented by Eric Santos, LTC

Incorporating hands-on STEM projects into your curriculum can be challenging. Let us help! Join us for hands-on STEM projects that you can bring back to your classroom. Projects include using the engineering design process to create your own towers, improving control of your airplane’s flight, incorporating Newton’s Laws into everyday activities, designing a hidden alarm, circuits and manufacturing vibrobots that you can use in your classroom.

Registration link will take you to Discovery Center Museum's registration system. You also have the option to pursue 1 graduate credit through the University of St. Francis by following the instructions on their registration.

Students learn science ideas best when they are engaged in figuring out science. The Illinois Learning Standards of Science (NGSS) emphasis science for all students, and understanding the three dimensions of teaching and learning science is the first step toward implementing these Standards. This Grade K-5 workshop is designed to provide educators an opportunity to apply that understanding to engage students in sensemaking using the three dimensions. Through an immersion in high-quality instructional materials, classroom video and reflection, participants will gain strategies including the use of scaffolds, discipline-specific questions, and teacher-moves to support students’ productive struggle in building science ideas. Additionally, educators will experience how using phenomena provides access to all students and deepen their knowledge of how the three dimensions work together to make sense of the world and solve problems.

Presented by Kristin Rademaker

In this workshop, teachers will be introduced to the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications in education. They will learn about the basics of AI, its benefits and limitations, and how AI tools can be used in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning.

Additionally, teachers will be introduced to ChatGPT3, a cutting-edge language model developed by OpenAI. They will learn how ChatGPT3 works, its capabilities and limitations, and how it can be used to generate creative and engaging educational content.

Presented by Ben Sondgeroth, LTC Illinois

Use daytime techniques to learn about the night sky. Build and use astronomy tools to study stars, and find out how we know what we know about the universe. Topics include gravity, planets, constellations, sun, star maps, moons, telescopes, designing and creating lunar landers, moon rovers and hovercrafts for space exploration.

Registration link will take you to Discovery Center Museum's registration system. You also have the option to pursue 1 graduate credit through the University of St. Francis by following the instructions on their registration.

Students learn science ideas best when they are engaged in figuring out science. The Illinois Learning Standards of Science (NGSS) emphasis science for all students and understanding the three dimensions of teaching and learning science is the first step toward implementing these Standards. This Grade 6-12 workshop is designed to provide educators an opportunity to apply that understanding to engage students in sensemaking using the three dimensions. Through an immersion in high-quality instructional materials, classroom video and reflection, participants will gain strategies including the use of scaffolds, discipline-specific questions, and teacher-moves to support students’ productive struggle in building science ideas. Additionally, educators will experience how using phenomena provides access to all students and deepen their knowledge of how the three dimensions work together to make sense of the world and solve problems.

Presented by Kristin Rademaker

School Bus Driver 2-Hour Refresher Course

Bus drivers are required to take a 2-hour refresher course each year to keep their permit current. Drivers or their district/company must pre-register here with the Regional Office of Education ($10.00 fee required at time of registration).

Course Information:

Drivers MUST BE REGISTERED TO ATTEND. Please register in groups of 1-10 participants until the class capacity has been reached. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Phone-in or email registrations are no longer accepted for any bus driver training classes held at ROE 4. Once the class size has reached capacity, no further registrations will be accepted - NO EXCEPTIONS!

This course is held in the Regional Office of Education Main Training Room, 300 Heart Blvd, Loves Park, IL 61111. (Addresses of courses held at other locations are as listed in the School Bus Driver Training Schedule). Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Classes start promptly at 6:00 p.m. LATE ARRIVALS AND WALK-INS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED. No refunds will be given for no shows or within seven (7) days of this class. 

School Bus Driver 8-Hour Initial Course

New Bus Drivers are required to attend an 8-hour training course. Pre-register for this course with the Regional Office of Education ($10.00 fee required) at the orange REGISTRATION (GROUP) button below. You must be currently employed by a bus company or school district.

Illinois Professional School Bus Driver Training Curriculum: https://www.isbe.net/Documents/busdriver_trainmanual.pdf

Course Information:

Drivers MUST BE REGISTERED TO ATTEND. Please register in groups of 1-10 participants until the class capacity has been reached. Note: Even if you are only registering one school bus driver, please select REGISTRATION (GROUP). Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Phone-in or email registrations are no longer accepted for any school bus driver training classes held at ROE 4. Once the class size has reached capacity, no further registrations will be accepted - NO EXCEPTIONS!

This course is held in the Regional Office of Education Main Training Room, 300 Heart Blvd, Loves Park, IL 61111. (Addresses of courses held at other locations are as listed in the School Bus Driver Training Schedule). Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Classes start promptly at 6:00 p.m. LATE ARRIVALS AND WALK-INS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED. No refunds will be given for no shows or within seven (7) days of this class. 

Functional Behavior Assessment/Function-based Interventions is an intensive two-day workshop with two half-day follow-up sessions. The workshop is designed to provide school-based professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to 1) conceptualize and define ongoing problems and challenging behavior, 2) select appropriate assessment strategies to evaluate the impact of the environmental factors, individual learning history, and current levels of social, communication, coping and self-management skills on challenging behavior. 

Presented by Dr. Jesse W. Johnson, Northern Illinois University.

$70 Registration fee offset courtesy of the Area 2 SEL Hub. Registration fee covers the cost of a light breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks each day of the training.

Branding is everywhere – in the products you buy and the content you consume online. Having an effective brand helps companies share their story, connect with their audience, and achieve their goals. But branding isn’t just for graphic designers and CEOs – educators can create their own personal brand to connect with their students and tell the stories of their classrooms and schools.

During this session, teachers, administrators, club advisors, and social media marketers will learn how to develop a personal brand that is authentic and engaging. We will explore basic design principles, using creative digital tools (Canva, SlidesGo, Flip), and using social media to reach students, parents, and community members. If you’ve always wanted to make more visually appealing classroom materials, or market your club to the student body using social media, or harness the power of technology to share your story with parents, this session is a great place to start. Work time will be provided with hands-on assistance from presenters with teaching backgrounds, design backgrounds, technology backgrounds, and social media experience. Please bring a laptop or Chromebook!

Presented by Ben Sondgeroth, LTC Illinois & Linda DeYounge, ROE 4