Professional Development

What you need to know about changes in state requirements for professional development

SB 458 gives the commissioner significant authority to determine the professional development plans for schools

The use of Continuing Education Units will be discontinued although many of the requirements tracked by the current CEU system will be retained

Shift from workshop, whole group, seat time orientation to individual, personalized, and job-embedded models

An Act Concerning Educational Reform, Sections 7,38, 39

The Commissioner will establish a professional development program in reading instruction for teachers.

This will support teachers who will need to take a reading instruction exam

Exact focus will be tied to student performance on reading assessments

Training will be job-embedded and local Focus will be on model classroom practices

and scientifically-based research that will be expected to be observed

Section 7: PD in reading

Districts must offer 18 hours to certified employees at no cost

Designed to foster collective responsibility for student performance (data teams, professional learning communities, book or lesson study)

In-house expertise as much as possible Individually, in groups, job-embedded Focused on best practice High priority to reading, literacy & numeracy,

cultural awareness

Section 39: a new design

Administrators need to complete 15 hours in teacher evaluation training every 5 years

All elementary endorsements need to complete 15 hours in reading, reading readiness, and reading assessment every 5 years

All elementary, middle, and secondary endorsements need 15 hours of technology training (or pass a competency test) every 5 years

Content specific training in subjects that they teach

Training on the teacher evaluation model

Section 39: other mandated PD content

No more extensions for educators who were unemployed

Professional certificate holders do not need to attest that they have completed 90 hours for each five year period

Orientation towards customized, job-specific, job-embedded training rather than seat time in workshop formats

Elimination of coding process and minimum length of training session

State can audit districts, not individuals

The change?