Professional Development Strategies
to Maximize Instructional Time
Human Resources Committee
February 3, 2005
Instructional Services
The Professional Development Advisory Committee
represented by members of UTLA and AALA,
with Central and Local District staff is:
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Constructing a district-wide professional development
inventory
Making a distinction between “professional
development” and “training” and the alignment of
District Goals and Initiatives
Investigating the cohesiveness, relevance,
effectiveness, and redundancy of professional
development
Instructional Services
A Clear Mandate:
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Find new ways of providing high quality
professional development
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Improve professional development practices
and focus on activities that will directly
improve teaching and learning
Instructional Services
Results:
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Re-think past practices
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Review current research about effective
professional development
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Focus on practice-based professional learning
bringing professional development as close to
the classroom as possible
Instructional Services
Focus areas for improvement:
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Improve the quality of professional
development
Significantly reduce the reliance on
substitute release time as a strategy for
providing time
Critically analyze how time is used
Instructional Services
Beginning steps and guiding principles:
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Clearly defining professional development
activities as optional or mandatory
Careful review of all professional
development activities including formal and
informal evaluations, review of best practices,
and an analysis of the “value added”
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Elementary Reading:
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Redefining Reading First site-based professional
development resources and their use
Changing coach institutes to Saturdays and
afternoons
Cooperating with AALA to provide Reading First
administrator professional development sessions
from 4-8 PM with over 90% attendance
Offering weekend Governor’s Reading Institutes
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Full-Day Kindergarten:
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Implementing optional Saturday professional
development sessions developed in
cooperation with the UTLA Kindergarten
Committee
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Elementary Mathematics:
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Offering AB466 funded mathematics
professional development only during offtrack / vacation times (Spring ‘05)
Offering all other professional development
only during off-track / vacation times and on
Saturdays
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Arts Education:
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Offering local district administrator meetings and
classroom teacher professional developments after school
Identifying clearly that secondary professional
development in middle and high school for dance, music,
theatre, and visual arts teachers is an optional/open
invitational program
Creating a comprehensive series of salary point classes on
Saturdays to substitute for weekday pullout
Establishing a comprehensive, newly launched interactive
website for ARTS Education that creates a virtual
workshop area
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Language Acquisition:
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Scheduling upcoming ELD Institutes for
teachers during off-track time
Offering ELD Institute training for principals
in the evenings and on Saturdays
Providing ongoing High Point professional
development opportunities for teachers with
the option to attend while on or off-track or on
Saturdays
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Secondary Mathematics:
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Offering all professional development
during off-track, vacation time and
Saturdays
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Secondary Literacy:
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Making content collaborative work sessions
invitational and voluntary
Providing multiple options for mandated
professional development
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Academic English Mastery Program:
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Implementing the Grade Level Student Achievement Team (GSAT)
professional development model after the school day
Implementing AEMP Grade Level Collaboratives (GLCs) at all
AEMP school sites
Providing 5-day Summer Instructional Institutes for teachers during
off track time
Conducting an annual Weekend Professional Development
Conference
Conducting School Site Demonstration Lessons at all grade level
spans
Designed a professional development “Certification Strand” for
teachers at Saturday Academies
Offering school site learning collaboratives after school
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Science
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Offering professional development on
Saturdays and during off-track time for teachers
Implementation of online classes through the
District’s UPDATE program with online
registration through the Learning Zone
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Physical Education
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Offering optional Saturday district-wide, K-12
physical education professional development
sessions developed in cooperation with the P.E.
advisory board
Physical education technology training during
intersession and the summer break
Instructional Services
Action Steps - Instructional Media Services:
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Scheduling Textbook Evaluation Committee
meetings in the evening
The Beginning