South Callaway R-II teachers may not have been in the classroom Oct. 4, but they were still imparting knowledge on others.
District administrators spent much of Wednesday night's school board meeting singing the praises of staff members, who facilitated 20 breakout sessions during the Show-Me Conference Professional Development Day, held in Eugene. Director of Curriculum and Instruction Mary Van Orden said South Callaway teachers shared the district's writing rubric developed by the staff last year.
High School Principal Heather Helsel delivered the first compliment during her report.
"I felt like South Callaway teachers really wowed our conference," Helsel said. "All the teachers were very professional, very comfortable and very confident in presenting. One comment I got from a teacher afterward was that it felt like we're two years ahead of where everyone else is."
Van Orden said she had no qualms about offering South Callaway's services to help with the collaborative professional development day.
"This is a really, really quality group of people," she said. "It was amazing to watch."
Superintendent Kevin Hillman also took a moment to acknowledge the teachers' efforts at the conference.
"On Saturday I got calls from principals and other superintendents. They were just so impressed with our staff," Hillman said. "We have teachers that are not only hard working, but who are actively looking to move forward."