North Smithfield Professional Development Mission Statement:
The mission of North Smithfield Teacher Professional Development is to empower faculty through relevant learning experiences to enhance the quality of standards based instruction in order to improve student achievement. North Smithfield Schools is committed to providing resources and programs that actively engage teachers in continuous professional growth strengthening pedagogical content knowledge through comprehensive, research-based, job-embedded learning experiences.
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North Smithfield Professional Development Plan:
The primary goal of North Smithfield professional development programming is to enhance the quality of teaching and leadership in order to improve student achievement. Local and Title II funded activities support our system and structures of professional development. In order to target the needs of the school district, a comprehensive needs assessment is conducted to determine goals, develop programs and allocate resources. Throughout the school year all teachers in the district participate in multiple surveys providing feedback about professional development sessions and offerings as well as identifying preferences/recommendations for future professional development activities. These responses are compiled and reviewed by the Professional Development Advisory Committee.The Professional Development Advisory Committee plays an important role in identifying the district needs. The Professional Development Advisory Committee (PDAC) is a volunteer team of K-12 stakeholders that meets quarterly to help develop and refine the district’s professional development. The team has worked over the years to revamp the system and structure of professional development which has received positive feedback. Each Spring, the PDAC reviews teacher survey responses, district goals (Strategic Plan) and student achievement data. The PDAC then developes initiatives that align with district goals and feedback creating another survey that the PDAC takes to finally identify goals and initiatives for the next school year.
Priority areas identified included: Community of Practice- Observing lessons and Sharing Strategies, Professional Learning Communities, Teacher Leader Opportunities, Achievement Gap Analysis, High Impact Teaching Strategies and New Teacher Mentor Program. Professional learning activities were developed based on the breadth of information compiled meeting the prioritized needs that will have the greatest impact on student learning.
All activities are aligned to the North Smithfield Strategic Plan:
Goal #1 All students will achieve high standards, annual growth, and graduate college-and career-ready as independent, creative, and contributing members of society.
Strategies:
The mission of North Smithfield Teacher Professional Development is to empower faculty through relevant learning experiences to enhance the quality of standards based instruction in order to improve student achievement. North Smithfield Schools is committed to providing resources and programs that actively engage teachers in continuous professional growth strengthening pedagogical content knowledge through comprehensive, research-based, job-embedded learning experiences.
..............................................................................................................................
North Smithfield Professional Development Plan:
The primary goal of North Smithfield professional development programming is to enhance the quality of teaching and leadership in order to improve student achievement. Local and Title II funded activities support our system and structures of professional development. In order to target the needs of the school district, a comprehensive needs assessment is conducted to determine goals, develop programs and allocate resources. Throughout the school year all teachers in the district participate in multiple surveys providing feedback about professional development sessions and offerings as well as identifying preferences/recommendations for future professional development activities. These responses are compiled and reviewed by the Professional Development Advisory Committee.The Professional Development Advisory Committee plays an important role in identifying the district needs. The Professional Development Advisory Committee (PDAC) is a volunteer team of K-12 stakeholders that meets quarterly to help develop and refine the district’s professional development. The team has worked over the years to revamp the system and structure of professional development which has received positive feedback. Each Spring, the PDAC reviews teacher survey responses, district goals (Strategic Plan) and student achievement data. The PDAC then developes initiatives that align with district goals and feedback creating another survey that the PDAC takes to finally identify goals and initiatives for the next school year.
Priority areas identified included: Community of Practice- Observing lessons and Sharing Strategies, Professional Learning Communities, Teacher Leader Opportunities, Achievement Gap Analysis, High Impact Teaching Strategies and New Teacher Mentor Program. Professional learning activities were developed based on the breadth of information compiled meeting the prioritized needs that will have the greatest impact on student learning.
All activities are aligned to the North Smithfield Strategic Plan:
Goal #1 All students will achieve high standards, annual growth, and graduate college-and career-ready as independent, creative, and contributing members of society.
Strategies:
- Align all curricula to State and National Standards to ensure clear expectations for what students should know and be able to do.
- Adopt high quality instructional materials to support curricular alignment to State and National Standards.High-quality instructional materials are those materials that are designed to help build a teacher’s content knowledge, provide guidance to inform lesson planning, and offer structures to support collaboration with other teachers.
- Employ research-based instructional best practices:
- Integrate technology systems which support anytime, anywhere access to curriculum, learning resources, communication, and collaboration.
- Align student assessments to State and National Standards and curricula. Analyze and use the assessment data to monitor student progress and inform instruction.
- Provide coordinated intervention with strategic supports that are responsive to individual student need (“multi-tiered system of supports”) based on data.