MRVED Common Professional Development Proposal Montevideo Public Schools Flexible Learning Year Application:

Vision To improve student achievement through increasing teacher effectiveness.

Purposes Improve instructional quality. Increase cost effectiveness.

Goal In each of the next three school years, we will provide high quality professional development opportunities for all MRVED educators.

Impact of this Program 30 administrators 600 teachers 225 paraprofessionals 6652 students Nine MRVED member districts: Benson, Dawson-Boyd, Lac qui Parle Valley, Lakeview, Minneota (new in 2016), Montevideo, Ortonville, Renville County West, and Yellow Medicine East. Ivanhoe, paired with Minneota, will also be a part of the proposal.

Teacher Effectiveness Dr. Bill Sanders and colleagues reported the following: “... the results of this study well document that the most important factor affecting student learning is the teacher...The immediate and clear implication of this finding is that seemingly more can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single factor.”

Common Professional Development Days  Three common days during each school year that will focus on research-based, high impact instructional strategies.  One floating day during districts’ workshop days.  One Best Practices day each year for four content area leaders per district. (K-3, 4-6, 7-8, and HS).  Facilitate professional development opportunities for preschool/head start/ECFE teachers.  Paraprofessional Workshop each fall prior to start of all districts.  Six principal and ten superintendent meetings.

Tentative Common Dates School Year Paraprofessional Conference: August 17, 2016 October 19, 2016 MELT Conference: January 16, 2017 April 13, School Year Paraprofessional Conference: August 16, 2017 October 18, 2017 MELT Conference: January 15, 2018 March 29, 2018

Tentative Common Dates School Year Paraprofessional Conference: August 15, 2018 October 17, 2018 MELT Conference: January 21, 2019 April 18, 2019

PLCs Provide training and resources to assist in the development and evaluation of effective PLCs. Create cross-district geographical PLC pods for teachers who do not have access to like content area teachers within their districts. Use DuFours’ Four Questions to guide consortium and district work.

Mentoring Provide training for new mentors. Assist districts with developing mentor handbooks. Facilitate opportunities for cross-district mentoring of teachers who do not have access to like content area teachers within their districts.

Instructional Coaching Pilot an instructional coaching model in at least 2 districts. Share training and coaches. Expand as justified.

Evaluation The following indicators will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of our program: Reduction in the size of the academic achievement gap. Student performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments. High school graduation rates. Career and college readiness using the measures determined by the MDE. These indicators align with the World’s Best Workforce Goals and Integration and Achievement Goals.

Staggered Start Dates Allows more districts to access the MRVED staff for professional development and technical assistance. o At the beginning of the year. o At quarter and semester breaks. This is a more efficient and effective way of meeting district needs during times when there is a higher demand for MRVED staff services.

Funding All districts will commit additional funding to allow for shared high quality presenters. $5/student will generate $32,500. This equates to $6,625 for the Montevideo School District.

Start Dates Meet Local District Needs Regular Start: September 6, 2016 (Ortonville and Yellow Medicine East) One Week Early Start: August 29, 2016 (Benson, Dawson-Boyd, Lac qui Parle Valley, Montevideo and Renville County West*) Two Week Early Start: August 22, 2016 (Minneota-Ivanhoe and Lakeview) *RCW will start 1 week early in year 1 and 2 weeks early in years 2 and 3. Montevideo will discuss the possibility of a 2 week early start in year 2 and/or 3.

What are we agreeing to do? Adopt the common calendar days as outlined in this presentation. Participate in the professional development opportunities outline in this presentation. Pay $5/student for additional professional development opportunities. If starting early, hold three public meetings as required by law.

Timeline October & December: Public meetings held (if your district is proposing an early start). December: Final board Approval of MCPD proposal December 28, 2015: Send to MDE for Approval February 18, 2016: Response due from MDE