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Professional Development
Background Information
The ongoing growth and development of all district staff is key to improved teaching and learning, and so our districtʼs focus on professional development (PD) is continual. The Grand Island Public Schools has developed a growing reputation for high quality adult learning and growth opportunities. Our professional development is designed to help educators rethink the teaching and learning processes, support and sustain districtwide and school improvement efforts, and maximize studentsʼ learning opportunities and achievement.
The district provides a wide variety of learning experiences for all certified staff in skill development; implementation of specific instructional resources; and implementation of “best practice” curricular, instructional, and assessment strategies. The development of teacher and administrative leaders is also a priority, as exemplified by our two-year mentor teacher program, curriculum and assessment design work, school improvement process, and supervision and coaching efforts.
Professional Development Standards
The national professional development standards provide direction for designing professional development experiences that ensure educators will acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. To be effective, professional development must be results-driven, standards-based, and job-embedded. The National Staff Development Council's revised Standards for Staff Development reflect what NSDC and the broader staff development community have learned. The current standards were guided by three questions:
• What are all students expected to know and be able to do?
• What must teachers know and do in order to ensure student success?
• Where must professional development focus to meet both goals?
Professional Development Activities
GIPS teaching and learning staff continually reflect on these three questions when planning professional development opportunities for our staff. The district provides multiple types of professional development experiences in order to best meet a variety of adult learning styles and needs. Several days are set aside each year for the combination of required districtwide PD and school improvement process (SIP) activities. These days are dedicated to professional learning focused on research-based best practices in teaching and learning. Teachers set personal learning and implementation goals following each district-wide professional development opportunity, and the work continues throughout the school year through collaboration with colleagues and school-level work aligned with the school improvement plans.
Most staff members participate in many additional learning activities throughout a school year, which include, but are not limited to the following:
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Nationally renowned education experts coming to GIPS over the past several years include Jay McTighe, Allison Zmuda, Ken OʼConnor, Bruce Wellman, Tim Razinsky, Janet Allen, Steven Layne, and Vicki Spandel, and Rick Wormeli.
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Administrative and teacher leaders have attended workshop and national conference experiences outside the district in order to share the most recent best practices with colleagues and make personal connections with educational experts.
- The two-year mentor program for all new teachers with 0-2 years prior experience provides job embedded professional development as less experienced novices are mentored by mast teachers
- Leadership training opportunities are provided, designed to expand the capacity of teacher and administrator leaders.
- Instructional coaches (literacy, math, and science), learning facilitators, and principals providing growth-evoking feedback to enhance instructional and assessment practices.
- Required workshops and book studies during the school year for new K-12 language arts teachers provide new teachers with the balanced literacy philosophical foundation and information about best practices in literacy teaching and learning.
- Summer graduate courses are offered to build capacity regarding district professional development initiatives (e.g., Backward Design, Formative Assessment Process).
- Book studies and learning teams organized at the school level, with resources provided by the district, support each schoolʼs school improvement plan implementation.
- Professional development is offered each summer to the district K-12 Curriculum and Assessment teams to support research-based best practices in teaching and learning.
- Focused training is provided to teachers when new instructional resource are adopted.
It is the policy of the Grand Island Public Schools not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, handicap, religion, or marital status in its educational programs, activities or employment policies as required by Title VI, Title IX, &Section 504.EOE/AA.