WORCESTER EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP

Partnership Board’s Sub-Committee on Professional Development and Culture

• Concept Plan
• Introduction
• Goals and Outcomes
• Supporting and Developing Ideas
• View Worcester Public Schools Family Involvement Plan PK-12

CONCEPT PLAN:

Charge

Develop a conceptual and strategic plan to:

1. Increase the capacity of schools and the district to provide the high quality teaching and learning necessary to meet the central reform goal of high achievement for all students;
2. Promote the development of a professional learning community and culture dedicated to enhancing student learning and teaching practice;
3. Enhance teaching as a valued and dynamic profession.

Sub-Committee Members

Introduction

This plan is guided by the belief that the development of a professional culture focused on student learning and teaching practice is essential to the success of education reform. The plan also takes the position that “high impact” professional development—in which both teacher understanding and practice are affected—is continuous, classroom and school-based, focused on student learning, and embedded in a school climate with a strong and shared sense of purpose, high standards and respectful support.

The establishment of a strong professional culture will require:

1. Regular and reliable time to share, discuss, model, assess, inquire into and research teaching and learning so that the practice of habitually and systematically thinking about teaching and learning becomes an inherent feature of professional life;
2. Inclusive participation: While teachers are central players in the professional learning community, principals, district staff, school committee members, community leaders, students, university representatives, parents, and students themselves, as co-participants and stakeholders in the reform effort, should periodically review and help define goals, and support and participate in activities relevant to all;
3. On-site support in the form of coaches, facilitators and team leaders prepared to lead professional dialogue, to promote collaboration and the development of best practice, and to model productive inquiry into student learning.
4. Opportunity for growth, so that teachers at different stages of professional development can aspire to and be prepared to fill the leadership roles necessary to sustain the professional learning community and culture.

The Sub-Committee anticipates that at the end of the five-year implementation process, Worcester schools will have a culture that recognizes and emphasizes the professional status of teachers. The components of this transformation will include: a sustained and comprehensive program of professional development for veteran teachers, a mentoring process for novice teachers that teaches and inspires, and a commitment to collaboration between and among teachers, administrators, and district staff that builds and supports the work of all. A collaborative environment that enables schools to make full use of community resources in professional development activities will be a hallmark of this professional culture.

Toward that end, the Sub-Committee has identified three main goals and the anticipated outcomes that will emerge from meeting those goals. Further, the Sub-Committee has specified those strategies that are critical toward attainment of the goals. Some strategies may specifically relate to one of the goals; others to all three, but all of the strategies combine through their interrelationships to substantially enhance the district’s professional culture.

Goals and Outcomes

The first goal: The district will support the development of school-based professional cultures and learning communities rooted in professional values of inquiry, reflection, collaboration, and a commitment to best practice.

Focusing on Improving Teaching and Learning

• The professional culture is based on the professional values of inquiry, reflection, collaboration, and a commitment to best practices.
• Professional development practices are school- and classroom-based.
• All professional development practices include: introduction and instruction; implementation; assessment and evaluation
• There is district-level work on instructional improvement by means of focus meetings, discussions, and workshops.
• Collaborative inquiry into student work is a standard part of school assessment practice.
• Teacher-led study groups in schools focus on a single topic or teacher practice in order to build continuity, sustainability and a whole-school approach to professional development.
• Teachers are trained in and encouraged to use media and other technologies both for instruction and for professional development.
• Teachers are encouraged to be researchers of their own classrooms and this process is institutionalized across the district.

• Teachers regularly visit each other’s classrooms by means of processes such as “rounds.” Collaboration among teachers on pedagogy and curriculum is an accepted part of school and district culture. Teachers share and develop teaching practice together and inquire into students’ learning together.
• Teachers work in an atmosphere of collegiality, not isolated in their own classrooms. Teaching is seen as a team endeavor.
• Partnerships with institutions of higher education make it possible to personalize professional development for both teachers and administrators.
• A system is in place for WPS teachers and administrators to share their expertise with colleagues through grand rounds, peer coaching, and internet exchanges.

The second goal: The district will project a well-defined trajectory of career growth and opportunity for teachers, beginning with local teacher preparation and hiring, and then progressing through beginning teacher support and mentoring, continuing professional development and leadership opportunity, and then retirement.

• Teachers have an opportunity to qualify and serve in defined roles such as peer coaches, beginning teacher mentors, academic team leaders, curriculum or literacy coaches, and professional development school coordinator for teacher education programs
• Teachers have opportunities and support for achieving National Board Teacher Certification
• Teachers new to the profession as well as those new to the district participate in a comprehensive induction program with mentoring and targeted professional development activities.
• The school professional learning community supports and sustains individual teacher growth
• Professional growth opportunities are encouraged and supported, such as subscriptions to educational journals, curriculum libraries, attendance at professional conferences, and action research.

The third goal: The district will develop leadership to nurture the growth of small, effective learning communities and innovative strategies that offer students the opportunities, challenges and supports that each needs to achieve at a high level.

• The district will support the growth of School Committee members and central administrators as guides in a learning organization that seeks to balance central direction, cross-school learning, and individual school support with self-direction and innovation within small learning communities.
• The district will support the growth of principals as facilitators in the development of small learning communities;
• Leadership will enhance and sustain the important components of a successful professional culture: a unified sense of mission; well-defined curriculum goals; a commitment to collaboration, inquiry and best practice; teacher excellence, growth, and leadership; and collaborations with parents and with community partners
• The district will support the growth of teachers as mentors, curriculum coaches, academic team leaders and co-decision-makers within small learning communities.
• The leadership of the district small schools network will meet regularly to share and define common issues and discuss strategies for developing effective learning environments and instructional and coaching practices

Supporting and Developing Leadership

• Programs are in place to encourage high school students to contemplate a career in teaching and for instructional assistants to obtain teacher certification.
• District support of teachers in obtaining National Board Certification by means of support and guidance is a system priority. This encouragement expands and reinforces the district’s recognition of and support for teaching excellence and expertise.
• Teachers and administrators are creators and proponents of development activities that they believe relevant and suitable to their professional needs.
• Active and productive systems are in place for recruiting and retaining new teachers with an emphasis on as broad a range of diversity as possible.
• There is a well-developed system for supporting the growth of principals as instructional leaders.

Strategies for Implementation

• For mentoring: monetary compensation and released time; instruction and workshops in mentoring; teacher-led study groups in schools; broadening roles to include coaching and team-leading.
• For collegiality: peer visitation, including practices such as “rounds”; embedding common planning times into the school day; more opportunities for team-teaching and interdisciplinary teaching. “Teach teachers to be teachers of teachers.”
• For collaborations: a consortium of Worcester teacher preparation programs to engage in joint discussions around professional development and to present similar programs of development; work with community agencies to develop ways to better recruit and support teachers; provide instruction and guidance for teachers and administrators in relations with parents.
• For research: encourage the practice of teachers as researchers of their own classrooms, and include this in the evaluation of teachers; provide sustained workshops and focus groups on best practices; make collaborative inquiry into student work a standard part of school assessment practice. Maintain reliable databases of student work in relation to state frameworks and national standards.
• For growth: make professional development activities both sustained and long-term; solicit teacher and administrator recommendations for professional development activities; emphasize professional development participation in teacher evaluation; support and guide teachers through the National Board Certification process and develop rewards in terms of compensation and mentoring roles for teachers who complete this process; provide programs in instructional leadership for administrators; encourage close collaborations between and among teachers and central office personnel.
• For institutionalizing best practices: use flexible scheduling, team-teaching, interdisciplinary conversations and teaching, cross-level (vertical teaming) discussions, and 7-12 curriculum planning. Develop a system of joint planning for professional development, involving individual teachers and administrators, central office personnel, EAW personnel, and higher education partners.

For recruiting and retaining new teachers: a comprehensive induction program with sustained mentoring and professional development workshops. Participation by community agencies in recruiting new teachers and welcoming and supporting new hires.