PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

USD308 Professional Development Plan Executive Summary 2003-2007

How is the in-service program aligned with the mission, academic focus and school improvement plan?

Individual Focus: Individual priorities are identified from the professional teaching standards and reflective assessment of skills needed to improve student learning.
Building Focus: Each building will develop inservice priorities based on its school improvement plan. Buildings will develop school improvement targets based on examination of state assessment results, ABACUS, Compass, and other selected student performance data.
District Focus: District priorities are derived from the goals established by the Board of Education.  These priorities reflect the academic mission of the school district and are tied to the need to increase student academic achievement. 

Who decides what the focus for staff development will be?
Individual Focus: The individual licensed professional and his/her designated supervisor determine focus. This focus will be developed collaboratively and is based on reflection and supervisor suggestions.
Building Focus: Building staff, administration, parents, site councils, and accreditation team recommendations.
District Focus: The local Board of Education. It is anticipated that the BOE will make its decisions in collaboration with the Superintendent of Schools.

How is the focus of staff development determined at each level?
Individual Focus: Individuals identify needs based on analysis of repertoire of current teaching strategies, professional teaching standards, and licensure renewal requirements.
Building Focus: Student achievement data is studied as part of the school improvement process.  Monitoring occurs to ensure that the gap in achievement across groups is being reduced and that movement toward the expected academic standard is occuring.
District Focus: District needs are identified based on examination of school improvement plans, input from staff, administrators, and community, and BOE goals.

How are goals written to meet a results-based focus?
Individual Focus: Goals must align with school improvement strategies, professional teaching standards and reflect knowledge, application, and impact levels of implementation. Service to the profession may be included as part of the individual goals.
Building Focus: Building goals reflect analysis of student achievement data as reflected in the school improvement plan. Professional skills needed to improve student learning are identified and the results are measured by knowledge, application, and impact documentation.
District Focus: District goals reflect the expected standards of student achievement at all academic levels. The Board of Education may identify additional goals which relate to areas other than academic achievement.

What activities/actions are present at each level to accomplish professional development priorites?
Individual Focus: Level 1: Knowledge
Ex. Workshops, conferences, study groups, observations, reading professional books and/or journals, visitations to other schools, on-line courses.      
Building Focus:  Level 2 : Application  
Ex. Peer coaching w/ feedback discussions, direct observation by administrator or colleague, team meetings, study group action plans, video tapes, student projects, lesson plans, and any other artifacts approved by immediate supervisor
District Focus:  Level 3: Impact
Ex: Analysis of student data which provides evidence of improved student achievement over time, demonstrations or presentations for peers, action research projects, serving as a peer coach and other evidence as agreed upon by supervisor and educator.

How are measures of the impact of professional development priorities at each level determined? (Evaluation process)
Individual Focus: An individual's progress toward the goals established in an PDP is based on the point level validated by the PDC based on documentation submitted.
Building Focus: Progress toward building goals is measured by points awarded staff, analysis of staff implementation of identified strategies in school improvement plan, and any other artifacts approved by direct supervisor.
District Focus:  The impact of staff development priorities at the district level is measured by analysis of student achievement data as related to district academic standards.  

How are inservice points assigned?
There are no limits to the number of points that may be awarded at any level.

• Level 1 : One hour of inservice equals one point.

• Level 2: 2 x Knowledge points.

• Level 3: 3 x Knowledge points.

Service to the Profession points are awarded only at the Knowledge level.

Who reports what staff development results to whom, when, and in what manner?
Individual Focus: 1. Individual staff members share their documentation, artifacts, etc. with their direct supervisor who then forwards signed documentation to PDC. Staff may submit evidence directly to the PDC for approval of points.
Building Focus: 2. PDC meets monthly to approve points and updates to PDPs if needed.
District Focus: 3. The PDC chair reports results of professional development activites to the BOE on an annual basis. School Improvement teams include the results of professional development activities in their annual QPA reports to KSDE.

How has PDC representation been chosen.
Individual Focus: The composition of PDC is outlined in both the Negotiated Agreement and Council By-Laws.  
Building Focus: All representatives are elected by the groups served, teachers and administrators. There are five teachers and four administrators on the current council.

When was the plan adopted by the district Board of Education?
9-Jun-03