Teacher Quality and Professional Development

1. Teacher Quality and Professional Development Region VII Schoolwide Institute Creating a Culture of Achievement May 11, 2004

2. What we want to accomplish… • To create an understanding of how Kansas defines Highly Qualified Teachers • To share Kansas’ professional development model • To expand the conversation around the qualities and components of high quality professional development for the 21st century

3. Our Learning Today • Plan for this session • Reflection • Inquiry • Dialogue

4. No Child Left Behind and Teacher Quality • Federal level - NCLB defines what it means to be a highly qualified teacher • State level - States can add to this minimum requirement • Local level – District leaders, principals, and teachers decide what makes a highly effective teacher, in addition to highly qualified

5. Subject Matter is important: “Good teachers…need to know— deeply—the subject they teach… You can’t teach what you don’t know well.” -Sandra Feldman, President of the American Federation of Teachers

6. Teacher Quality Teacher quality is the single most important factor in determining the success of children in school, more than race, poverty, or any other outside influence.

7. Effect of Home and School Support Snow, Catherine. (1991). Unfulfilled Expectations. Percentage of Children Who Achieve Success With Varying Levels of Home and Classroom Support High Home SupportLow Home Support High Classroom Support 100% 100% Mixed Classroom Support 100% 25% Low Classroom Support 60% 0%

8. Good Teaching Matters.Sanders, W. & Rivers. J. (1996). A bad teacher for one year hurts. A bad teacher for two years puts students in jeopardy. Study shows that fifty elementary students who had three years of teachers evaluated as “ineffective” score 54% to 60% lower in achievement. Effects carried forward for two years. Effect is cumulative and residual. It affects the future of the students. November 1996, University of Tennessee, Value-Added Research and Assessment Center.

9. How Kansas made “Highly Qualified Teacher” decisions: • Consulted with Kansas Master teachers and National Board teachers • Determined we did not want veteran teachers to have to take a test. • Development of a rubric to determine content knowledge based on their assignment • USDE came out and provided input • Rubric underwent several stages of revisions • Determined the process and how the rubric would be used

10. Challenges • Gathering the Data • Teacher’s Fears

12. Highly Qualified Process • Teachers received licenses after 1982 • KSBE approved individual programs • Based on standards and had a connection to national standards • Certified Personnel Review Committee • Nationally Board Certified Teachers • All other teachers had to complete the Kansas Content Area Rubric

13. The Rubric: How it works It was applied only to those who received their license prior to 1982. • Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education • Hold a valid standard Kansas teaching certificate • Plus one of the following: • Hold National Board Certification in the content area of the teaching assignment • Achieve 100 points on the “Kansas Content Area Rubric”

14. Kansas Content Area Rubric Teachers targeted from the Certified Personnel Report must complete the rubric. • Years of experience • College level coursework • Activities related to the Content Area • Service to the Content Area • Awards, Presentations, Publications in the Content Area

15. Kansas Highly Qualified Teacher Data • 34,000 Kansas Teachers • 7,000 rubrics distributed • 6,500 estimated as HQT using the rubric • 500 teachers not HQ needing plans

17. Highly Qualified Plans • Provisionals • Coursework • Follow-up Assignment Check

18. Highly Qualified Coursework • Online courses through various institutions • Summer classes at IHE • KSDE sponsored Academies in major content areas located throughout the state

19. Kansas Professional Development Program A Comprehensive Guide to Quality Professional Development Creating a Culture of Achievement

20. School Results-Based Staff Development Plan Individual Professional Development Plan District Professional Development Plan

21. A Foundation for Planning Quality Staff Development Leadership Strategies Needs Standards Goals

22. Standards 1. National Staff Development Council’s revised Standards for Staff Development 2. Kansas Professional Education Standards

23. Leadership • The Kansas Legislature • The State Board of Education • Individual Schools • Local Professional Development Council • Licensed Professionals

24. Needs Assessment 1. Gauge where the school/district is in relation to each of the standards. 2. Don’t speculate, use “specific evidence” that have been directly observed or documented. 3. Once the rubric is completed, consider what needs to be done to move to the next level.

25. Needs Assessment Student Performance Data Student Targets or Goals based on State Curriculum Standards Actual Student Performance Identified Student Learning Gaps Actual Staff Skills Identified Staff Development Needs Staff Skills Needed to close Student Learning Gaps

26. Goals Improved student/staff/teacher learning identified and written using SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable Results-oriented and, Time-bound

27. SMART GOAL: At High Hill Elementary School our students will perform at or above the proficient level on the Kansas Mathematics Assessment at all grade levels in which the assessment is given. At Fairfax Middle School 70% of our students will perform at or above the proficient level on the Kansas State Reading Assessment at all grade levels in which the assessment is given by spring 2005.

28. Specific There will be significant improvement in all students’ (grades K-3) reading comprehension performance Measurable on the Kansas State Reading Assessment, the ITBS Reading Assessment K-3, and the District CRT Reading Assessment K-3. Attainable This goal is possible in the time and percentage indicated.. Results-Oriented 70% of our students will perform at or above proficient level on the Kansas State Reading Assessment at all grade levels in which the assessment in given. Time-Bound By Spring 2005 Goals Student Learning SMART GOALSJan O’Neil of Quality Leadership by Design

29. Specific Teachers will consistently use cues, questioning, predicting and summarizing, and graphic organizers as instructional tools to facilitate students’ learning. Measurable This use will be verified through peer observation and written feedback at least 2 times during each nine-week period of the school year. Attainable Reaching this goal is possible in the time indicated. Results-Oriented Teachers use cues and questioning to provide students with a preview of what they are going to experience through reading or being read a particular text.Teachers use Predicting and Summarizing to facilitate students linking text to meaning.Teachers use graphic organizers for the purpose of facilitating students’ understanding. Time-Bound Beginning the week of Sept. 3 and throughout ’04-05. Goals Staff Development SMART GoalsJan O’Neil of Leadership by Design

30. Professional Development Strategies Strategies • Tools of support used by professional development councils to support staff in reaching the identified staff development goals.

31. Observation Curriculum Planning Study Groups Visiting other schools School Improvement Committee Work Journaling about teaching practices E- learning Coaching others Strategies Staff Development Focused on Student Learning See reg. 91-1-216

32. Post-It Activity Collaborate with those around you and create model chart of your current staff development system. • What staff development activities have we traditionally done in our schools? • Are there activities indicated on the chart that we haven’t considered as staff development? Why? • Do we think of staff development as a system within our school/district?

33. Professional Ed Standards Content Service to Profession Knowledge Application Impact

34. School Results-Based Staff Development Plan District Professional Development Plan Individual Professional Development Plan

36. Traditional Approaches “For many years, professional development was thought of only in terms of formal education activities, such as courses or workshops. Several times a year, school administrators would release students for a half or full day so faculty could attend professional development programs that may or may not be relevant to teachers' professional development needs.” - Brian Sullivan

37. Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place – Craig Jerald • Scattershot Curriculum, Unequal Expectations • The pass down • Some do and some don’t • Delivery vs. Content • Good teaching • Dallas Story (test scores and attitude) • Never worked in another system

39. Beyond the Rock and the Hard Place – Craig Jerald • Districts and schools Must Take the Lead • Develop a Common Curriculum • Learn from Student Assessment Data • Create a Culture of problem Solving

40. Make a connection!

41. A Plea for Strong Practice • NCLB’s Design Flaws • Overinvestment in testing, under-investment in capacity building • Ungrounded theories of improvement • Weak knowledge about how to turn around failing schools • Perverse incentive for quality and performance • Policymaking by remote control • Richard Elmore

42. A Plea for Strong Practice • Who Inherits NCLB’s Problems? • Superintendents • Principals • Teachers • Eventually students and parents • Richard Elmore

44. A Plea for Strong Practice • What Can Educators Do? • Internal accountability precedes external accountability • Improvement is a developmental process that proceeds in stages; it is not a linear process • Leadership is a cultural practice • Powerful leadership is distributed because the work of instructional improvement is distributed • Knowledge is not necessarily where you think it is • The task of developing powerful theories of school improvement is urgent

45. Make a Connection!

47. Traditional Approaches • 12 percent of the teachers report that professional development activities helped improve classroom teaching “a lot” • 80 percent report that these activities helped only “moderately” or “somewhat” (NCES, 1999). • typically lack connection to the challenges teachers face in their classrooms • usually provide only short-term results

48. Scenario Building Purposeful One size fits all & Purposeful Purposeful & Customized Organizational II I Delivery Delivery One size fits all Customized III IV Organizational Random & One size fits all Customized & Random Random

49. Scenario Building Delivery System III Random & One size fits all

50. Scenario Building Purposeful & Customized I