Ewing Public Schools Local Professional Development Plan (LPDC)

1. Ewing Public SchoolsLocal Professional Development Plan (LPDC) Board of Education Meeting September 27, 2010 Dr. Danita Ishibashi

2. Communication Timeline • A PowerPoint presentation of the salient points was crafted by the LDPC and shared with the SPDC. (Spring 2010) • The LPDC plan is posted under the Office of Curriculum and Instruction website on a Professional Development page. (Summer 2010) • Final approval from the Mercer County Professional Development Board was received June 2010. • The SPDC will use the PowerPoint to share the LPDC plan and add slides linking their SPDC to the LPDC. All presentations will include a list of SPDC and/or LPDC members for staff to contact regarding professional development questions or thoughts. • During September 2010 faculty meetings, each building will view the LPDC PowerPoint with an update of summer and future offerings. All professional development offerings will be posted on the Professional Development website.

3. LPDC Members • Mike Tucker, ETEA President • Ellen Davila, EHS Media Specialist • Nicole Mulry, Parkway G&T teacher • Barbara Brower, FMS Principal • Joan Zuckerman, Antheil Elementary Principal • Dave Hauserman, District Special Education Supervisor • Don Whalers, District Math Supervisor • Danita Ishibashi, Assistant Superintendent

4. Why is the professional development committee process different this year? • The State Board of Education recently adopted new regulations that provide for school-level planning for teacher professional development so that new and promising job-embedded professional development practices, including professional learning communities, can take seed and grow with in schools. ( p. 7 Planning documents: 2010-2011 Professional Development District Plans)

5. Changes in Professional Development Plans • The new regulations, firmly grounded in the National Staff Development Standards for Professional Development, call for school-level planning committees which focus on opportunities for learning teams within schools by grade level and content area. ( p. 7 Planning documents: 2010-2011 Professional Development District Plans)

6. Continued… The National Staff Development Council (NSDC), believes we must reinvent the culture in schools to support schools as learning organizations. ( p. 7 Planning documents: 2010-2011 Professional Development District Plans)

7. NSDC philosophy Time for teachers to learn together utilizing structured dialogue to: • Develop a deeper understanding of the Core Standards • Create shared curricula, units, lessons and assessments • Examine data on student progress for diagnostic purposes • Determine learning strategies to facilitate future learning ( p. 7 Planning documents: 2010-2011 Professional Development District Plans)

8. NSDC Definition - Key Points Professional development: Is a comprehensive, substantiated, intensive approach to improvement focused on raising student achievement Fosters collective responsibility Occurs several times a week Involves a continuous cycle of improvement Provides job-embedded coaching Assesses the effectiveness of implementation Is supported by external assistance

9. How does this new process work? School Professional Development Committees (SPDC) The district has: 5 SPDC – 1 per building • Each building assembled a School Professional Development Committee that was responsible for developing and submitting a School Professional Development Plan • School Professional Development Plan supports the needs demonstrated in the needs assessment and a review of current assessment data.

10. What is a SPDC? SPDC = School Professional Development Committee (SPDC) • Consist of 3 teachers and the Principal and/or designee. • Submit individual SPDC plan to the Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC)

11. What is a LPDC? Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) • Comprise of teachers, administrators, supervisors and central office personnel • Reviews the 5 SPDC plan and drafted a district or Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) plan. • Supports the commonalities expressed in the 5 SPDC plans • Ensures that all teachers are provided quality and relevant learning opportunities • Submit SPDC and LPDC plan to the County (CPDC)

12. County LPDC view What were salient points from the County (CPDC)? • The plan is a “living document.” • The goal is for buildings/district to strive to implement PLC’s, which may require a shift in school/district culture. • The importance and necessity of data • The need to increase parental involvement

13. What does this new process look like? • Teacher teams working with their principals make use of research, web-based resources and outside experts to aid their work when needed

14. Continued… Other key professional learning activities such as: • Coaching • Peer observation and mentoring • Support the work of learning teams • Reinforce new practices in the classroom

15. When people begin to act, people begin to hope. When people begin to gain hope, they begin to behave differently. When people behave differently, they experience success. When people experience success, their attitudes change. When a person’s attitude changes, it affects other people. This is the essence of reculturing schools into Professional Learning Communities. DuFour, Dufour, Eaker and Many. Learning by Doing, 2006

16. A Paradigm Shift What distinguishes plans that produce the results we seek and those that get filed when the development work is complete? Our experience has taught us that the process begins withambitious goal setting that leads to new ways of thinking. Hirsh and Killion, The Learning Educator, 2007

17. Planning for compliance Or Planning for meaningful and actionable implementation

18. TEAM LEARNING: Professional Development Standards Professional development that improves the learning of all students…….

19. Professional Development Needs Assessment • Each building has conducted a needs assessment survey to determine the professional development needs and priorities for their building. The following represent common K-12 professional development themes:

20. Professional Development focus 2010-2011 • Math focused (new curriculum implementations K-9) • Instructional strategies (differentiated instruction, K-12) • Instructional strategies to meet the needs of special education students Data analysis (K-12) • Connecting data to instructional strategies (DRA 2, NJASK, HSPA, SDA, Terra Nova, mid-term, benchmark testing) • Integrating technology into instruction across all content areas • Classroom management • Language Arts Literacy focused (writing-K-12, reading non-fiction text) • Department/content specific focus: Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Health and Physical Education, Technology, Art, Music, Special Education/CST, Guidance, Custodial, and Nurses. • Multicultural Diversity • Achievement Gap

21. 2010-2011 Professional Development Structures Proposed Professional learning experiences provided through: • partnerships with local universities and colleges • in-district experts • graduate level courses • Book/article studies, • Job embedded structures (faculty, grade level, department, team and PLC meetings). • Expanded workshops and visitation/consultation • online learning, (expanded opportunities)

22. Sampling of Summer 2010 Professional Development Math • Using Online and Computer Software Resources in the Mathematics Classroom • Instructional strategies for Mathematics (K-12) • Engaging Home Support of Mathematics (K-12) Language Arts Literacy • Teaching Grammar Within the Writing Workshop (6-12) • Connecting data to instructional strategies - DRA 2 (K-5) Instructional Strategies • Co-teaching as an instructional strategy (K-12) • Classroom management strategies to support special education students (K-12) Technology • Web pages for teachers and administrators (K-12) • Podcasting for the classroom (K-12) • Genesis Grade book training (6-12) • Integrating technology into the classroom (K-12) • Multicultural Diversity

23. Sampling of September 2, 2010 District Professional Development Day • K-3 Balanced Literacy with the National Writing Project • Grade 4-5 Math implementation training with the Math Coach and Professors from Rider University • Curriculum Writing in Social Studies, Health/PE, Science, Business • 6-12 Hero’s Organ Donation training Health/PE • K-12 Integrating Technology in the classroom for ESL, World Language • 6-12 LAL staff Linguistics workshop professor from College of New Jersey • 6-12 Discrete Math Part II I& RS training – Coordinators and Administrators • Diversity workshop • K-12 Art - Mix What with Clay? • Music workshop • K-12 Special Education personnel Easy IEP training

24. Sampling of 2010After School Workshops • Math focused (new curriculum implementations K-9) • Instructional strategies for Mathematics (K-12) • Connecting data to instructional strategies (DRA 2) • Integrating technology into instruction across all content areas • Language Arts Literacy focused (writing-K-12, reading non-fiction text) • Web pages for teachers and administrators • Multicultural Diversity • Data analysis through Excel • Classroom management through Responsive Classroom

25. Timeline for Planning 25

26. Time to work!