PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Hutchinson Public Schools USD #308 Professional Development Plan 2008-2013

Introduction:

On-going professional development is key to improving student achievement. As educators strive to increase the academic achievement of all students, they must engage in a parallel effort to increase their own knowledge related to professional practices and their content area. In order to ensure that Hutchinson students reap the benefit of instruction provided by highly qualified teachers, district professional development efforts will continue to be focused on school improvement goals and district initiatives.

Needs Assessment Process:

All inservice, either at the individual, building, or district level, should align with the overall district goal of increasing student achievement. Buildings have established school improvement goals based on the data collected from a variety of sources that identify areas where students are not reaching high academic standards. Individual teachers must reflect on their level of professional skill and determine what areas they need to strengthen in order to help students achieve at a higher level. District-level inservice must focus on those goals identified by the Board of Education that are related to increasing student academic performance.

Documentation of a building’s staff development needs may take a variety of forms, including a survey of staff knowledge and competence related to a specific strategy. It may be an analysis of assessment data that is summarized to identify students’ academic gaps. The appraisal process for teachers may provide additional data to assist teachers and supervisors with identification of inservice needs. Whatever form the needs assessment process takes, inservice must be planned on the basis of the information obtained. The results of the district professional development survey are shared with PDC and district administrators.

Individual Professional Development Plans and a building’s Results-Based Staff Development Plan are expected to reflect those areas identified by the Needs Assessment process.

Determining Staff Development Activities:

All staff development activities proposed for Professional Development credit must relate to a building’s Results-Based Staff Development Plan or a teacher’s Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP). School Improvement Teams will have responsibility for determining building inservice activities.

Individual teachers, in conjunction with their immediate supervisor, must develop their IPDP so that it addresses content area knowledge, professional teaching standards, service to the profession, district initiatives, and/or building improvement plan. A clear relationship between the proposed activity and the teacher’s IPDP must be clear to both the immediate supervisor and the Professional Development Council in order for the PDC to approve the activity for points. Courses taken for college credit for relicensure must be approved as part of an individual’s IPDP. Relicensure now requires an IPDP, not just a college transcript. Again, everything is to be very tightly aligned to the district, building, and individual goals.

It is important to remember that inservice activity is not limited to workshops. Book discussion groups, collaborative teaching activities, observations, educational travel, materials creation…all are potential activities worthy of consideration for PDC points. However, points for identical activities will be approved for relicensure only once during a certified employee’s licensure cycle, i.e., attending Intro. to PowerPoint twice. Examples of acceptable activities would include a counselor attending the KAC Annual Conference or music teachers attending KMEA annually. Demonstrating the relationship between the individual’s IPDP and the proposed activity is required in order for the PDC to award points.

All activities attended should be entered into MyLearningPlan within the school year that they occur. Certified staff should review their learning plan record at the end of each academic year to ensure that all professional development activities have been entered.

Evaluation:

The evaluation process must be considered as on-going and integral to the total district staff development plan. Points are available at three levels, Knowledge, Application, and Impact. Guidelines for awarding points at specific levels are detailed in the section, Professional Learning Experiences: Levels and Categories. An individual’s progress toward a goal is measured by the points awarded by PDC, based on the documentation submitted. In turn, progress of a building toward its goals is measured by analysis of the points awarded to staff members, implementation of strategies identified in the school improvement plan, and analysis of student achievement data.

Communication:

It is the responsibility of the district’s PDC to communicate to staff requirements of the District Professional Development Plan. Building administrators and staff communicate the impact of inservice to the Board and community annually at board meetings. The effect of the staff development approved by the PDC is reflected in the data submitted to NCA and on federal title reports.

Resources:

Funding for professional development may require creative uses of available resources. The PDC, in conjunction with building and district administrators, will work to ensure funding for those activities targeted by school improvement plans and district goals.

Appeals Process:

In compliance with 91-1-206(d), “if a person is unable to attain approval of an individual professional development plan through a local professional development council, the person may appeal to the licensure review committee for a review of the proposed plan.”

Developing Your Individual Professional Development Plan

Step 1: Develop your goals.

With the close tie to the relicensure renewal process, goal setting has now become more specific. You may select your goals from the following types…district, building, and individual. Goals must align with school improvement strategies and professional teaching standards. Service to the profession may be included as part of the individual goals.

Sample types of goals:

1. Individual Professional Development Goals (SMART)

a. Specific (clearly stated, easy to understand, tied to student goals)
b. Measurable (How will you know you have met your goal?)
c. Attainable: (reachable within the timeframe?)
d. Results-oriented: (What will be the result of meeting the goal?)
e. Time-Bound: (How long will it take me to reach my goal?)

2. Personal Goals

a. New Degree
b. New Endorsement
c. Service to Profession (lead in-services or serve on committees)
d. New Knowledge that is not related to improving student/professional goals. (i.e. Classroom Management)

What makes a good goal?

• Does it support school improvement directly?
• Does it link to improved student achievement?
• Is it attainable?
• Is it assessable?
• Will achieving the goal result in professional growth?

EXAMPLE: District strategic focus 2.1 is “increase student learning across curriculum areas on multiple measures”.

Using this as a basis, your goal for your IPDP says: “74% of my 5th grade students will score in the ‘meets standards’ category on the state math assessment for 2008.”

Your goal is based on the strategic plan developed by the Board of Education.

Sample workshops/activities you might pick:

1. Using Hands-On Equations to teach Algebraic Concepts.
2. Developing Appropriate Questioning Strategies for Mathematics Instruction.

Write a goal of your own based on your building improvement plan, suggestions from your supervisor, or reflection of your personal learning needs.

Step 2: Enroll in MyLearningPlan.com.

Log onto the Internet and go to the following URL: mylearningplan.com. I would suggest that you bookmark this for further reference. You will see a Login button on the right side of your screen. Click on this button.

You will now see a Login Screen, asking for your User Name and Password. For now, both are your district e-mail address…ex. jonesd@usd308.com. You may change your password, but you cannot change your user name.

From this screen, you will have access to all the features of mylearningplan.com that will enable you to track your own professional development plan activities.

The column on the left-hand side lists a variety of options. Help has a tutorial which you can go through, plus offers other "quick" answers if you forget something. My Portfolio lists things which relate to your plan, your activities, your goals, and your transcript. Because this is web-based, all your information is current.

Continuing down the left-hand side, click on District Catalog under Activities. This is a catalog of only those inservice activities that are sponsored by the district. This includes school improvement activities, grade level meetings, etc. It DOES NOT include workshops offered by ESSDACK or other inservice providers. Under Forms, you will find Individual Professional Development Goals (IPDP), Activity Request, College Credit Approval, and PDC Log Form. Samples of each are provided on the next few pages.

My Info: This section relates to YOU, your goals, and your preferences. Under the new regulations, every certified individual needs to have an Individual Professional Development Plan. Your IPDP must be aligned with the district and building school improvement strategies and be developed in collaboration with your immediate supervisor.

MLP.com allows you to enter the goals developed for your IPDP. As you select activities to support your professional development, you are able to indicate which goal you are currently working on. When entering a goal, use a short phrase in the goal field, one or two words, and use the description field for a more complete explanation of your goal. Making the goal "active" means that it will show up on your learning plan. Once you have completed that goal, you can click "inactive" and enter a new one.

Once you have entered your goal(s), you have completed all the steps needed to set-up mylearningplan.com for the year. If you have questions, call Laurie Stevens (ext. 435) or Nancy Soldner (ext. 434).

Step 3: Completing the Individual Professional Development Plan form.

The Individual Professional Development Plan form is located on the left-hand side of the MLP.com screen under forms. This is the form that needs to be completed to satisfy KSDE requirements. You enter goals in two places in MLP.com. You enter your goals (may be abbreviated) in the My Info section described above as well as on the IPDP form. In order for you to be able to select a goal when you enter an Activity Request, you must have goals in the My Info section of MLP.com. Your plan should reflect what you need to learn and be able to do in order to grow professionally. Goals need to be developed in conjunction with your supervisor and should be aligned to building and district goals.

New to the IPDP form are text boxes where you can identify the types of learning you will undertake to complete your goal. While it is doubtful that you will be able to identify specific workshops, conferences, etc., please describe the general strategies you plan to use.

Plans are to be reviewed annually with your supervisor. At that time, goals may be extended if needed. If the goal has been completed, a new goal should be written. In order to request points for Service to the Profession activities, you need to have a goal written for that area.

Step 4: Requesting to go a Workshop.

MLP (mylearningplan.com) allows you to complete an on-line request to attend a professional development activity. It is not a registration and must still be approved by your building administrator. Click on Activity Request under the Forms heading. Certain fields on this form must be completed before you are allowed to submit it for approval. The program will tell you if you have failed to complete a required field.

If the workshop (other than ESSDACK) you want to attend has a registration form that must be sent in, you need to complete it and give it to your principal. Your principal will send it to the proper office to complete the registration. The PDC Secretary will register you for ESSDACK workshops as in the past. Please DO NOT call in your own registration.

Category Pull-down: The state now requires that you earn points in one of three areas…content standards, professional education standards, or service to the profession. You need to select one of these three areas.

Provider Pull-down: You are required to indicate who is providing the inservice you want to attend. Included in this pull-down are most of the colleges and universities that provide inservice in this area. ESSDACK is listed here as a provider as is the district. If you cannot find a match for this inservice, click on the line that says "not on list" and then type the vendor's name in the field below.

Payment Source Pull-down: This is also a required field. Having discussed this request with your principal prior to completing the form, you should have an idea where the costs will be charged. If you want PDC to pay for it, select "Paid by PDC". If there is not a cost for the activity, put in 0. A set amount of money is allocated annually for each staff member’s use for professional development. Inquire about the amount from your building administrator.

Goals and Objectives: You must select at least one objective under one of the goals listed. When you have entered your personal goals from your IPDP, they will show up on the activity and college course request form as well as the district ones. Again, this is required.

You must click the Relicensure box under Purpose. If this activity is eligible for salary movement, click the Salary Movement box as well.

After completing all the necessary fields, click on the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the page. If you have forgotten to complete a required field, the program will notify you at this point.

Step 5: Approval for a College Course.

For relicensure purposes, college courses should fall into one of the following categories: professional teaching standards, content area of your endorsement(s), or a new endorsement. The district does not accept undergraduate courses for salary movement, but some undergraduate courses may be appropriate for relicensure. They are limited to technology, Spanish language, or undergraduate courses required for a new endorsement, i.e., special education, if they are part of an approved plan with a college of education.

The new Inservice Regulations require that all college coursework be approved through PDC.

The College Credit Approval form follows the same format as the Activity Request form. You must include the course number and institution.

Step 6: Claiming Your Points.

There are two ways you can claim your PDC points in MLP.com.

1. If you have attended a building inservice, your principal can confirm that you attended the workshop. Once this is done, your knowledge points are automatically moved into the "completed" category.

2. Once you have attended an outside workshop, such as ESSDACK, or a district activity such as grade level meetings, you will have to go into your learning plan and mark the activity "Complete". This will bring up a screen that asks you to comment on what you learned as a result of attending the workshop. You will have 60 days in which to claim your knowledge points. If you do not claim your points, they will disappear into cyberspace…never to be retrieved!

Once you have claimed your knowledge points and a certain time period has elapsed, you will be able to claim your Application level points. There are requirements for claiming application level points that are addressed in the district inservice plan.

Additional information related to PDC requirements is on the district website. Go to “Staff Resources” and then click on “Professional Development.”

Again, if you have questions concerning this process, don't hesitate to call.

Step 7: How Professional Development Points Are Awarded.

A. College Courses related to assignment
Each 1 Semester College Hour             20 points

B. Out of District Inservices
Workshops, seminars, clinics,

Conventions, conferences, lectures     1 point per clock hour

C. Local Inservices                                   1 point per clock hour

D. Committee Points                                1 point per clock hour

E. Professional Activities or Presentations. Advanced approval of supervisor required.

1. Observation of programs related to
The educational setting                            1 point per clock hour

2. Visits to other schools                          1 point per clock hour

3. Presentations See                                 Section H Below

4. Publication of professional articles in
Professional journal or other recognized
Publication                                                    See Section I Below

F. Mentoring/Supervising New Teachers/Student Teachers

1. Mentoring a New Teacher:
Mentoring a new teacher, either new to the district or new to the profession, falls under the category of Service to the Profession and you are entitled to receive points for your efforts.

  A. Use the PDC Log Form in MyLearningPlan.com to record the time you spend mentoring the individual. You need to record actual time that you spend rather than filling out an Activity Request Form and estimating a total number of points.

  B. Each time you meet, you need to complete a Log Form.

  C. When you decide that the mentoring process is finished, you may submit the log forms to the PDC for credit.

2. Supervising Student Teachers:
Having a student teacher in your classroom is also an activity worthy of receiving points for your efforts. The process for receiving points for supervising a student teacher is the same as mentoring a teacher new to the district or profession.

  A. Use the PDC Log Form in MyLearningPlan.com to track the time you actually converse with the student teacher, providing feedback and support. Do not include observation.
  B. Each time you meet with the student teacher, complete a Log Form.
  C. When the supervision period ends, you may submit the log forms to the PDC for credit.

  G. Independent Study – Maximum 75 points within 5 years. Advance approval of supervisor is required. Oral or written feedback required. Points for similar activities will be approved only once during a certified employee’s licensure cycle.

1. Independent study in content area or pedagogy.
2. Independent project/research. (i.e. Scientific research related to curriculum or professional reading)
3. Grant writing.

NOTE: Points for independent study and independent projects/internet research will be awarded based upon a product (presentation, report, etc.) as pre-approved by the administrator.

  H. Workshop Presenter – Advanced approval of supervisor is required.
Two hours initial preparation work for each hour presentation. (i.e. 1 point per hour of presentation; 2 points per hour of presentation for preparation).

  I. Publication of professional articles in professional journal or other recognized publication. Maximum 75 points within 5 years. Based on length of publication. (i.e. 1 point per 250 words of publication).

  J. Use of academic trips for PDC Points/Movement.
Teachers who chaperone student trips or engage in educational travel related to teaching assignment outside of school time/days will be allowed up to 8 PDC points per day at the Knowledge Level. Meal functions can be counted if a speaker/program is presented during the meal. Travel time to the destination is not counted. Only one educational trip may be used during a five-year licensure period for salary movement.

All academic trips must be approved by PDC and the Board of Education for movement purposes prior to taking them. These trips may be used for movement only when Application evidence has been submitted and PDC has approved the request.

Application evidence may consist of, but not limited to, the following types of documentation:

• Lesson plans illustrating use of content learned on the trip
• Student work, projects, illustrating use of content in lesson plans
• PowerPoints, visuals, i.e., photographs, videos, etc. that teachers have constructed to present content to students
• Use of Blackboard to create content based on trip for student use
• Must have the Principal/Designee Verification Form for Application Level Points included with evidence submitted

Impact level points are not available for points earned through travel. While information gained through travel experiences can be applied in the teaching of content, travel does not affect professional practice or student learning over an extended period of time.

  K. Professional Reading – You may earn PDC points by doing professional reading on your own time. 1. Professional Books – Maximum of 5 points per book. 2. Professional Journals – Maximum of 5 points per journal with 1 point per hour read granted up to 5. Step 8: PDC Application Level Request Procedures.

Requests for Application Level Points should follow the procedures outlined below. Application Points may be requested when a teacher can demonstrate that he/she has used the learning obtained from an inservice, workshop, etc., over time.

When Application Points are being requested for Salary Movement, evidence will be required. The less than 12 points exemption does not apply.

1. Requests for Application Level Points that are for less than 12 points will be automatically approved by PDC without additional evidence. The Application Level Request form in MLP.com will serve as the supporting documentation.

2. All Application Level Requests that result in 12 or more points must be accompanied by documentation that meets one or more of the following criteria:

  a. Evidence of multiple applications of learning from a workshop or inservice is submitted to PDC. This may include lesson plans, samples of student work, multiple assessments, and a reflective statement describing how the new information has affected student learning. Digital cameras are a good method for recording student work, use of KK/QK tools, etc. Taking multiple pictures of the use of a strategy is a good form of documentation.

  b. Pre and post samples of student work over a period of time. More than one student’s work should be submitted. Examples: 6-Trait- related application requests should include papers that include the scoring rubric, demonstrating progress over time.

  c. Examination of portfolios, videotapes, etc., demonstrating using of strategy, information gained from professional development activities.   d. Direct observation by a building administrator or designee of the requester’s use of the strategy, information, etc., over an extended period of time.

3. Regardless of the type of documentation being submitted, a building administrator or designee must sign off on the Application Level Verification Request Form indicating that use of the strategies, etc., has been observed over time.

This evidence will be reviewed by a rotating sub-committee of PDC members who will make a recommendation to the entire PDC.