SDCO Fall Newsletter
No. 1, November,
2004
Looking Forward…With
a New Newsletter Look…Patty Canupp, SDCO President
Hope everyone’s new school year is off to a good start
with good teaching and learning well underway. Our readers will notice a new
look and new approach to the SDCO newsletter. In an effort to take advantage
of what technology offers us and perhaps even save readers a little time…beginning
with this edition, the newsletter will better access email, internet and website
capabilities. Instead of the traditional 6-8 page publication, you’ll receive
a one-page overview of newsletter contents…brief blurbs that will allow you
to scan the articles quickly and then choose an electronic “link” to the completion
of the article or to related information. Each overview (“grabber” we hope) will have at
its conclusion a link to the completion of the article or to an additional
resource. Those reading a hard copy are invited to access the SDCO website
for the extended information.
In reality, our newsletter
will contain more info and even longer articles. However, practically speaking
you’ll be presented with a one-page document highlighting topics that you
may choose, or not choose, to pursue. Our hope is to keep you informed in
a more targeted and time efficient manner. Welcome to your SDCO newsletter.
To Patty’s complete article.
SDCO’s Academy
for Professional Development Leadership…You’re Invited Too!
Your Staff Development Council
of Ohio strongly adheres to the NSDC Standards for Professional Development.
Effective professional development is results-driven, job-embedded, content
rich, whole school focused, systemically supported, and standards-based. With
this in mind,
To Linda’s comments. A copy of the Academy
brochure can be found at www.sdcohio.org
.
Try This at Your Next Professional Development Session…Larry Pfrogner, Newsletter Editor
Looking for some new ideas
to add to your professional development presentation skills or bag of tricks?
SDCO invites you to submit one of your tried and true techniques to
be published in a future newsletter. Perhaps it’s been an outstanding ice-breaker
for you, or an activity that creates a clearer understanding, maybe even just
a fun diversion. Submit your ideas to our newsletter editor and if they are
selected to be published you’ll receive, compliments of
To Larry’s article and the mailing address for
your suggestions.
NSDC Resources – A True Treasure
Chest!...Teresa Dempsey, SDCO President-Elect
In being asked to provide a “regular” column for the
SDCO newsletter, I pondered, “What would
40 Hours of FREE
Professional Development
The Intel Teach to the Future
program is not a sales or marketing program. It’s a program to improve the
effective utilization of technology in classroom teaching, with Intel providing
all training and curriculum materials FREE of charge. Read on for a brief
overview of content and contact information.
For further details on Intel’s program.
SDCO Showcase Article
Our thanks and appreciation
is extended to the Executive and Associate Directors, Dr. Rosemary Herpel
and Dr. Helen Williams, of the Cleveland Initiative for Education for their
approval to share the report Effective School Leadership -- Adopting a Systemic Approach with
you.
As we reflect upon the state
of public education in our nation, we often feel assaulted by criticism from
many groups who keep repeating that public schools, especially in large urban
districts, fail to successfully educate our students. However, research suggests
that many school districts across the country are developing and implementing
successful instructional approaches to improve our schools and increase student
achievement. Nowhere is this more evident than the efforts to develop effective
school leaders who hone their skills and increase their expertise to positively
impact student learning.
Our report, Effective School Leadership – Adopting a Systemic
Approach, highlights several of these districts and their cutting edge
practices. The report is not all-inclusive, for there are many school systems
and programs that reflect high quality leadership development efforts, which
are not referenced. However, we believe that those districts and programs
selected offer a snapshot of what school systems and their collaborative partners
accomplish to develop leaders that drive the educational process in their
schools.
In this first installment
of the report, read on for a general overview of the study with a special
focus on “Linking Research to Best Practices.” In
the remaining SDCO newsletters for 2004/2005 we’ll provide follow-up chapters
on:
- District Focus -- Building the Strategic Foundation
- Principal Leadership -- Implementing a Comprehensive
Program
- Teacher Leadership -- Structuring New Roles
- System Framework -- Charting the Course
To Chapter 1 of this report.
Need More Information
on the Staff Development Council of
-
Who are the board members?
-
How can I get a membership brochure?
-
What professional development opportunities
are available?
For these and more, visit our website at www.sdcohio.org
.
Looking Forward…With
a New Newsletter Look…Patty Canupp, SDCO President
Hope everyone’s new school year is off to a good start
with good teaching and learning well underway.
Serving on the Staff Development Council of Ohio’s board over the last
several years has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Being chosen President for 2004-05 is an exciting
challenge and a rewarding opportunity to work with a tremendous group of educators
dedicated to improving the teaching and learning in all of
Our readers will notice a
new look and new approach to the SDCO newsletter. In an effort to combine
the best of all worlds and perhaps even save readers a little time…beginning
with this edition, the newsletter will begin taking advantage of email, internet
and website capabilities. Instead of the traditional 6-8 page publication,
you’ll receive a one-page overview of newsletter contents…brief blurbs that
will allow you to scan the contents quickly and then choose an electronic
“link” to the completion of the article or to related information. Each overview (grabber we hope) will have at
its conclusion a link to the completion of the article or to an additional
resource. Those reading a hard copy are invited to access the SDCO website
for the extended information
In reality, our newsletter
will contain more info and even longer articles. However, practically speaking
you’ll be presented with a one-page document highlighting topics that you
may choose, or not choose, to pursue. Our hope is to keep you informed in
a more targeted and time efficient manner. Welcome to your SDCO newsletter
We have added several new
board members this year, expanding our skills and background from across the
state. Through the leadership of our
Past President, Michaelene Meyer, SDCO has increased its visibility and influence
in the state through several initiatives, one being the
On
Joellen Killon will return
For more information on our
upcoming events you can now visit us on the web! For the latest information on the Staff Development
Council of Ohio’s professional learning opportunities, check out our website
at: www.sdcohio.org. Please let us know how we might make this site
more useful in your work. Your input
is needed to help us grow and improve.
Yes, SDCO is definitely looking
forward… We are supporting the National
Staff Development Council’s (NSDC) goal of “high quality professional learning
for all teachers in all schools as a part of their daily work by 2007”.
The goal of our
Your Staff Development Council
of Ohio strongly adheres to the NSDC Standards for Professional Development.
Effective professional development is results-driven, job-embedded, content
rich, whole school focused, systemically supported, and standards-based. With
this in mind,
SDCO’s
Academy for Professional Development Leadership…You’re Invited Too!
The challenge as a staff development director
is to ensure that both teachers and administrators are engaged in results-driven
professional learning that directly impacts student achievement.
In a time when funding sources are limited, it becomes increasingly
important to address these needs through ongoing, job-embedded learning.
As a district resource person, it is important that my professional
needs are also strengthened so that I can continue to support the staff with
learning models aligned to current research and best practices. Therefore,
the opportunities outlined in the Staff Development Council of Ohio’s Academy
for Professional Leadership peaked my interest. It was offered close to home,
and the cost for eight days of professional development was quite reasonable. Most importantly, the framework, topics, and
processes appeared to be what I needed to continue to make sound decisions
regarding professional development practices for my district.
I’ve participated in four
of the eight sessions thus far, and have already begun to implement several
of the research-based learning models into practice.
Not only have I benefited from the foundational knowledge and professional
development structures that have been shared, but I have also gained considerably
from the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across the state sharing
the same challenges as I.
To demonstrate how useful
and enjoyable the training has been for me, I would like to share just a few
examples of how I have made applications in my district.
·
Workshops on “NSDC Standards and Structures
that Support Teacher Learning and Student Achievement”- The
Hilliard City School District Professional Development Planning Committee
(PDPC) carefully studied the NSDC Standards, as well as the literature of
other leaders in the field, to write a district-wide professional development
plan. Included in our plan are a purpose, vision,
assumptions, and a set of both long and short terms goals to guide professional
learning. Our purpose, for example,
clarifies why professional development exists in our organization and the
vital role it plays. According to the
PDPC plan, it is “The purpose of professional development in the
As
a team, we used the resources from this workshop to continue our study. We examined student data and staff learning
needs to develop our goals. As the
“Actions to be Taken” were written our plan, we ensured that they were aligned
to best practices, job embedded, and whole school focused.
·
Workshop on “Whole Faculty Study Groups”-
Michaelene Meyer was most helpful
in assisting me with the use of this text and the accompanying structure so
that it could be applied in a setting other than “whole faculty”.
One of my roles is to plan and implement the professional development
for the Academic Support Team (AST) within our district. The AST is composed
of elementary Literacy Coaches, Title, Intervention, and Reading Recovery
teachers. Members of these groups from each of the thirteen elementary schools
meet once a month to share information, exchange ideas, and strengthen practice.
In addition to offering professional development to the entire group,
I was seeking to provide a framework for supporting their learning in a way
that would be unique to their job responsibilities.
After attending the
session in September, I asked Michaelene to help me to adapt the whole faculty
study material for use with my particular group. She suggested that the teachers first divide
into job specific groups and then bring student data from each of their thirteen
schools to the next meeting. When they
met again, they examined data about Title students, for example, across the
district, not just in their individual schools now. Using this data, they
stated district-wide student needs, categorized and prioritized those needs,
selected a topic area and developed an essential question for study. The NSDC
Standards were used as a framework to develop their action plans.
As of the last meeting, which was held on February 25th,
each group is well on its way to implementing the plan and thinking about
how their work can be evaluated.
·
Workshop on “Examining Student Work”- Several
tuning protocols were shared during this session as we worked collaboratively
to examine lesson design and student work.
The PDPC, along with the Hilliard Curriculum Committee, used these
models as a resource to develop our own protocol, one that fits our focus
on “quality work”. Staff at
·
Workshop on “Assessing Impact:
Evaluating Staff Development”- Even though this workshop will not be
offered until May, our PDPC group is already reading the text for a book talk. We are in the process of creating a “theory
of change” and a model for the evaluation of staff development. I am certain that our work with Joellen Killion
in May will be quite helpful in meeting the challenges associated with this
design.
I want to thank Michaelene
Meyer for her hard work in designing the framework of the Academy and availing
these intensive learning experiences to us.
She and her team of staff developers are to be commended for the commitment
to high quality training and for their assistance in helping us to strengthen
our practice. I look forward to continuing
the journey with SDCO into next year. Hopefully, there will be opportunities such
as this to engage in rich professional development with the other administrators
across
e-mail- Linda_Romano@fclass.hilliard.k12.oh.us
Try This at Your Next Professional
Development Session…Larry Pfrogner,
Newsletter Editor
Looking for some new ideas
to add to your professional development presentation skills or bag of tricks? SDCO invites you to submit one of your tried
and true techniques to be published in a future newsletter. Perhaps it’s been
an outstanding ice-breaker for you, or an activity that creates a clearer
understanding, maybe even just a fun diversion. Submit your ideas to our newsletter
editor and if they are selected to be published you’ll receive, compliments
of
Mail
your suggestions to:
Larry
Pfrogner, Director of Professional Development Services
Or
email to lpfrog@ashland.edu .
Read
on for this month’s suggestion by Larry Pfrogner on helping your audience
better appreciate who it is that really needs professional development.
An annual Gallup Poll published
in Phi Delta Kappan has a reoccurring question that asks people to
“grade” their schools. The pattern of responses has been consistent for years.
Those polled grade their community schools higher than schools that are in
other locals. Just this year 26% gave public schools in the
Do you think this also might
be related to professional development? Do some educators think that others
need professional development more than them? For years I’ve used the following
survey at the beginning of professional development.
Distribute the scale below
to everyone in attendance.
+-------------------------+------------------------+------------------------+-------------------------+
Ineffective Weak Average Good Inspirational
& Reactive & Proactive
Ask participants to respond
anonymously to the following questions.
- In comparison to ALL the other teachers that you’ve
had and worked with, place an “M” where you believe your classroom management
skills fall.
- In comparison to ALL the other teachers that you’ve
had and worked with, place an “I” where you believe your instructional skills
fall.
When all are finished, have
the surveys collected and tabulated on an overhead by some neutral observer.
Feel comfortable that without even looking at them, when posted, the vast
majority, IF NOT ALL IN ATTENDANCE, will rate themselves above average.
I always smile at this point
and say how lucky I am to never have a group who needs much assistance. I’ve
saved the overheads from past sessions and quickly post each to prove that
my audiences are the best audiences of anyone in professional development.
Fortunately for me, like the responses in the annual
Typically this generates an
audience of smiles…and one with a greater insight that everyone can’t be above
average. No further preaching needed at this point. I simply go on working
with my above average participants.
I have done professional development
in front of thousands of teachers. I have yet to find a below average group…and
rarely are there anonymously, self-rated, below average educators.
NSDC Resources – A True Treasure Chest!...Teresa Dempsey, SDCO President-Elect
In being asked to provide a “regular” column for the
SDCO newsletter, I pondered, “What would
Of course, I use it for my
own work in professional development – if you ever want to configure your
professional development I.Q. – www.nsdc.org/library/basics/profdevIQ.cfm
is the place to go! I have found that
most educators cannot believe there is a professional organization, let alone
a dedicated internet site, that revolves around the idea of professional development.
Once folks start exploring NSDC and its available resources, they start
to realize just how complex professional development is and emerge with a
newfound appreciation for quality of design standards and especially the importance
of the person coordinating these efforts – not an easy task!
On the NSDC home site you’ll
find three main sections – “NSDC Standards”; “Staff Development Library” and;
“Connect with NSDC”. Each one of these
sections then offers a smorgasbord of subtopics to explore. In addition, you will also find electronic copies
of the monthly mailed newsletters, Tools
for Schools and Results as well
as articles from the JSD. You can find these on-line articles by going
to sub-topics of your choice, like “Change” or “Learning Communities”. Going to your selected link topic will take
you to a fairly comprehensive bibliography of related article links from JSD and other periodicals. This is where I had my graduate students go
to find “Revisioning professional development: What learner-center professional development
looks like (www.nsdc.org/library/policy/npeat213.pdf),
a collaborative between NSDC and the National Partnership for Excellence and
Accountability in Teaching. It is an
outstanding, reader-friendly report designed for use by principals and teachers
as well as school board members and policy makers that describes the challenges
and characteristics of effective professional development.
Also, new this year from NSDC
Executive Director Dennis Sparks, is Transformational Professional Learning,
a monthly e-newsletter designed to influence what educational leaders think,
say, and do to improve teaching and learning.
Go to www.nsdc.org/library/publications/transformational/index.cfm and make sure you start with the September edition
link – “How to Use this E-newsletter”. Along
with an overview, it will guide you on strategies to examine assumptions,
deepen understandings and future action thinking. Then, check out each month’s focus for topics
like “Dialogue” or “Principal as Staff Development Leader”.
With relative ease, I could
take-over the entire SDCO newsletter relating the astounding treasure of resources
you will find on the NSDC website. There
are gobs of great resource treasure there. Don’t take my word for it - if you have not
been to the NSDC website – go there – immediately! www.nsdc.org
40 Hours of FREE Professional
Development
The Intel Teach to the Future
program is not a sales or marketing program. It’s a program to improve the
effective utilization of technology in classroom teaching, with Intel providing
all training and curriculum materials FREE of charge. Read on for a brief
overview of content and contact information.
In the
Teachers who’ve implemented
Intel teach to the Future-based plans say that the ideas and skills they learned
help them successfully integrate technology into student activities. Worldwide
reports indicate increased, in-depth understanding.
Now, more educators can benefit
from this free, proven training to leverage the world of technology and online
information for teaching – and learning. You are invited to become part of
a program that’s making a difference in the way teachers teach and students
learn. You’ll be preparing today’s students for the challenges and opportunities
they’ll be facing tomorrow – and for the rest of their lives.
The Intel Teach to the Future
program uses a train-the-trainer model. In 40 hours of free instruction, teachers
learn how to:
- Ask essential questions that promote inquiry and
encourage research (e.g., “Could an earthquake happen in my backyard? If
not, where could the nearest earthquake happen?”)
- Use computers and the Internet as research and communication
tools.
- Incorporate hands-on use of the Internet, Web page
design, and multimedia software into unit plans.
- Help students communicate their learning in creative,
individual ways.
- Align lessons with state/provincial and national
standards and cerate tools to assess student work.
Teachers leave the training
with a comprehensive unit plan they can use the very next school day – and
it becomes a template for creating other plans.
For more information on the
Intel Teach to the Future program, visit Intel’s Web site at www.intel.com/education
Our thanks and appreciation
is extended to the Executive and Associate Director, Dr. Rosemary Herpel and
Dr. Helen Williams, of the Cleveland Initiative for Education for their approval
to share the report Effective School Leadership -- Adopting a Systemic
Approach with you.
As we reflect upon the state
of public education in our nation, we often feel assaulted by criticism from
many groups who keep repeating that public schools, especially in large urban
districts, fail to successfully educate our students. However, research suggests
that many school districts across the country are developing and implementing
successful instructional approaches to improve our schools and increase student
achievement. Nowhere is this more evident than the efforts to develop effective
school leaders who hone their skills and increase their expertise to positively
impact student learning.
Our report, Effective School Leadership – Adopting a Systemic
Approach, highlights several of these districts and their cutting edge
practices. The report is not all-inclusive, for there are many school systems
and programs that reflect high quality leadership development efforts, which
are not referenced. However, we believe that those districts and programs
selected offer a snapshot of what school systems and their collaborative partners
accomplish to develop leaders that drive the educational process in their
schools.
In this first installment
of the report, read on for a general overview of the study with a special
focus on “Linking Research to Best Practices.”
In the remaining SDCO newsletters for 2004/2005 we’ll provide follow-up
chapters on:
- District Focus -- Building the Strategic Foundation
- Principal Leadership -- Implementing a Comprehensive
Program
- Teacher Leadership -- Structuring New Roles
- System Framework -- Charting the Course
For more information or for
copies of the full publication please contact Dr. Helen Williams at 216.377.4140,
hwwilliams@aol.com , or mail request
to: CIE,