WESTFIELD – The School Committee is slated to take action tonight on a professional development plan presented by Superintendent Suzanne Scallion on June 5, 2012
The committee referred the proposed plan to its Instruction & Curriculum Subcommittee which will discuss the impact of the plan tonight at 6 p.m. The regular School Committee session is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.
Scallion presented a professional development plan that substantially extends the current program, adding 30 hours over the course of the academic year to improving teaching practices through peer coaching.
Scallion requested the committee to approve the plan that would insert 10 half-days for students into the school calendar next year, all 10 on a Wednesday. Teachers would attend courses, selected in conjunction with curriculum supervisors, department heads and principal, that would be presented by other teachers within the district.
“In its design, we have maintained a primary focus on improving our instructional program while also considering the perspective of working parents and cost saving opportunities. The model that is being proposed is used widely across the state and country,” Scallion wrote in a column published Saturday, June 16, 2012 in the Westfield News. “In a survey that I did with 50 Superintendents across Massachusetts, the model was rated as highly successful. It is interesting to note that other districts in Level 3 with Westfield were all implementing or considering an early-release Professional Development Day model.”
Scallion said the plan for half-day professional development will have to be closely coordinated with parents, in particular working parents, to be palatable to the community, district and School Committee.
Scallion said at the June 5 committee meeting that she plans to work with parents and community organizations to bring programs into the schools that will enable children to participate in activities until their normal release time.
“We are proposing an early release day one Wednesday per month with students dismissed after lunch. However, we will work diligently with our many Community Partners to provide coverage for students who must remain at school until the usual dismissal time. Examples of free programs could include Foreign Language, Art, Chorus, Movie Day, Read-Ins, supervised outdoor play and more,” Scallion wrote in her column. “In addition there may be some fee-based offerings for specialty classes. We will have 2 bus runs on early release days with sign-ups ahead of time for students remaining until the usual dismissal time. When we used this model in my former district on a weekly basis, parents shared that they found the early release day to be useful in planning doctor or dentist appointments, making special family outings, visiting the library and more. We are hopeful that our generous PTO’s will join in and find ways to make use of these opportunities for special school events. Parents would receive a revised school calendar as soon as the School Committee approves it.”
Early release of students and the impact of that on working patents’ schedules is one of the issued to be discussed tonight at the subcommittee session.
Scallion said the new state curriculum standard will require a substantial investment in professional development and in updating classroom materials. Scallion said the district will initially focus on the professional development and roll out a curriculum material update over the next two to three years.
Scallion said the courses to be offered through the professional development program will be identified through a collaboration of principals, the district’s instructional team and teachers.
“This is about teachers teaching teachers,” Scallion said at the June 5 committee session. “To be effective, they need to have the opportunity to be together. This is the only way to get together to collaborate, to share best practices. Teachers will earn professional development credit needed for certification.”
Scallion said the peer professional development program has the advantage of being more cost-effective than sending a small number of teachers and staff members to programs outside the district and is also a more efficient method of sharing information.
Scallion said professional development courses will focus on seven “strands” which include district curriculum, literacy, math, 21st Century Learning, instructional practices, beginning teacher support and specialties (music, are, nurses, counselors).
