Coherent and Effective Professional Development Brooke Ustazewski ADMPS /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 District Basic Information: Race/Ethnicity Race/EthnicityPercentage White (Non-Hispanic)96.7% Asian1.0% 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 District Basic Information: Special Education Special Education Enrollment by DisabilityPercentage Autism9.0% Emotional Disturbance6.9% Intellectual Disability6.6% Other Health Impairments10.7% Specific Learning Disability37.3% Speech or Language Impairment24.4%

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 District Curriculum 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 success 2.Feedback that feeds forward 3.Student goal setting 4.Student self-assessment 5.Strategic teacher questioning 6.Student engagement in asking effective questions Niceville School District Current Professional Development Plan

Year 1Year 2Year 3 Staff 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 Cadre: monthly 1.5 hr. lectured trainings All staff: monthly 30 min. trainings Person(s) training Researcher Cadre: Researcher All Staff: Cadre Topics 6 elements of formative assessment First element of formative assessment Place of trainings Admin. Building Cadre: admin. Building All staff: Their assigned buildings Niceville School District Current 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 Plan Niceville 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 District Current 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 District Recommendations/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 District Recommendations/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 ( ): Common core of data. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved from: 10 Norwin School District. (2012). Norwin School Distsrict Web Pages. Retreived from: Norwin School District. ( ). Strategic plan summary Retrieved from: Pennslyvania Department of Education. (2012). Academic achievement report Retrieved from: 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), Retrieved from References: