Coherent and Effective Professional

DevelopmentBrooke Ustazewski

ADMPS 240412/8/12

Niceville School District

Westmoreland County: Area is characterized by urban, semi-rural/rural development including residential, commercial, and industrial.

District employs 306 teachers allowing a student:teacher ratio of 17:1

District resides in 7 buildings: 4 elementary schools, 5/6 building, middle school and high school

School has met Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) goals each year. However, high school is presently in school improvement phase.

Niceville School district has a 97% graduation (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2012)

Basic Information

Niceville School DistrictBasic Information: Race/Ethnicity

Race/Ethnicity Percentage

White (Non-Hispanic) 96.7%Asian 1.0%Black (Non-Hispanic) 1.0%Hispanic .3%Multi-racial .5%

• The district has 5,233 students currently enrolled.

(Pennsylvania State Data Center, 2012)

The district has 5,233 students currently enrolled.According to Pennsylvania State Data Center

(2012)10.2% of student have qualified for special education services.

Niceville School DistrictBasic Information: Special Education

Special Education Enrollment by Disability

Percentage

Autism 9.0%Emotional Disturbance 6.9%Intellectual Disability 6.6%Other Health Impairments 10.7%Specific Learning Disability 37.3%Speech or Language Impairment 24.4%

Literacy: All elementary classrooms are utilizing the Harcourt Trophies Reading Series

Materials include: Themed reading books for each grade level, leveled guided reading books, consumable English language arts books, and consumable spelling books.

Niceville School DistrictCurriculum Materials

Math: All elementary classrooms are utilizing the Pearson School Envision Math Curriculum Series

Materials include: Math textbooks and consumable math books.

Teacher and student needs: undefined Professional Development Focus: Formative Assessment The district hired a researcher and author of formative

assessment books to educate and train staff members. The researcher has been given full rights to plan the trainings.

Trainings are structured around the six formative assessment element (Moss & Brookhart, 2009):

1. Shared learning targets and criteria for success2. Feedback that feeds forward3. Student goal setting4. Student self-assessment5. Strategic teacher questioning6. Student engagement in asking effective questions

Niceville School DistrictCurrent Professional Development Plan

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3Staff involved All administration

and some teachers chosen by administration

Building cadres: Building principal, head teacher and another educator chosen by principal

Building cadres and all staff members

Training sessions

Monthly 2 hour lectured trainings

Monthly 2 hour lectured trainings

Cadre: monthly 1.5 hr. lectured trainings All staff: monthly 30 min. trainings

Person(s) training

Researcher Researcher Cadre: ResearcherAll Staff: Cadre

Topics 6 elements of formative assessment

6 elements of formative assessment

First element of formative assessment

Place of trainings

Admin. Building Admin. Building Cadre: admin. Building All staff: Their assigned buildings

Niceville School DistrictCurrent Professional Development Plan

Positives:All school leaders support implementation

and shares district’s long-term goals.The district possesses the resources to

provide trainings and outside support.Each year has a different focus within

formative assessment.

Current Professional Development PlanNiceville School District

District Challenges:1. Researcher has full jurisdiction to plan content and

how information is presented. 2. No specific strategies are provided to progress

implementation.3. Trainings lacked reflection of practice or classroom

evidence. 4. There are no clear coaching roles or a determined

person who assists teachers to implement into daily practice.

5. Cadres are training all staff members. • Cadres are unclear about formative assessment and

lack the tools to provide practical strategies to effectively implement into the classroom.

Niceville School DistrictCurrent Professional Development Plan

Recommendation 1: The district needs to devise a coherent and effective professional development plan based on teachers’ needs.The district needs to dictate to the researcher the topics to be

covered to best fit the districts needs. Clarity of those needs should be communicated.

Niceville School DistrictRecommendations/Modification

Recommendation 2: Training sessions should include simulations of learning using formative assessment.

Teachers acting as learners during training sessions will have a better perspective for how students learn, practice and complete tasks connected to formative assessment.

Provide opportunities to reflect on those experiences and other related experiences within their own classrooms.

Niceville School DistrictRecommendations/Modification

Recommendation 3: Trainings should be rooted in content.Actual curriculum materials and content should

be utilized within trainings to help teachers understand how to implement into daily practice.

Recommendation 4: Definitive roles should be communicated and supportive of implementation.Coaching roles would assist implementation.

Cadres could act as coaches to facilitate implementation.

Stein, M.K., Smith M.S., Henningsen, M.A. & Silver, E.A. (2009). Implementing standards-based mathematics instruction: A casebook for professional development.

National Center for Educational Statistics. (2012). School district snapshot report (2005-2009): Common core of data. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved from: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/acs09/esdr/overview.aspx?state=42&dist=4202010

Norwin School District. (2012). Norwin School Distsrict Web Pages. Retreived from: http://www.norwinsd.org/site/default.aspx?PageID=1

Norwin School District. (2008-2014). Strategic plan summary 2008-2014. Retrieved from: www.norwinsd.org/.../filedownload.ashx?...

Pennslyvania Department of Education. (2012). Academic achievement report 2011-2012. Retrieved from: http://paayp.emetric.net/District/SchoolList/c65/107656502

Pensylvania State Data Center. (2012). Special Education Data Report. Pensylvania State University.

William, R. P., Barry, J. F., Yamaguchi, R., & Lawrence, P. G. (2007). What makes professional development effective? strategies that foster curriculum implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 921-958. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/200446006?accountid=14709

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