Professional Development (PD)

District Professional Development Plan 

• • • To build capacity of all teachers to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS). 

    • To build capacity for effective and engaging instructional strategies and practices through peer observations, peer coaching, and professional development. 

    • To increase the use of technology for teachers and students to increase student engagement, to track student progress, and enhance 21st century instructional strategies. 

    • To improve student reading and writing skills and performance across curriculum and grade levels through the exploration and implementation of specific writing strategies for each grade level. 

    • To build teacher capacity and instructional interventions for individualized instruction for students based on a variety of data (benchmarks, NJSLA, and overall grades in classes) during scheduled enrichment and intervention periods (early childhood/elementary schools – E/I Block, middle school – personalized learning period, and at the high school). 

    • To build teacher capacity and understanding of teaching the “whole” child through targeted and individualized instruction based on student performance data and through social-emotional learning strategies. 

Our PD Goal for You:  To provide meaningful and timely professional development to teachers to enhance their instructional strategies and impact student achievement in alignment to the professional develop plan and goals of the district.  

Forward:

Please know that, as an administrative staff, we are trying and will continue to try our very best to provide you with professional development both in and out of the district.  We have funds and will be fair and equitable when sending teachers to out-of-district workshops.

If you would like to attend out-of-district professional development, here are a list of procedures to follow to ensure you are able to get to your training.  Please know that we will do everything we can to send you to your PD training even if there are fees and registration costs involved.  We may not be able to send everyone to every workshop that they wish to attend, however, we will provide you with a reason why if that occurs.

Stuff to Keep in Mind:

Please keep in mind that the professional development opportunity must have an impact on student achievement, be aligned to the teacher, school, and district professional development goals, and benefit the district, your colleagues, and yourself as an educator.  You will also be strongly encouraged to turn-key the information gained with your colleagues via presentation, artifact sharing, lesson visit, or short summary.

In an effort to be fair and equitable to all teachers in the district, the maximum number of out-of-district events a teacher may participate in is two per school year.  Upon the completion of an out-of-district workshop, a teacher will be asked to participate in the following:

• • Complete the Post PD Report (under Select Form to Fill tab in Genesis).

  • Turn-key information to grade-level, department, or school staff.  Also, please share the resources that were presented at the workshop (i.e. handouts, notes, presentations, videos, etc.).

  • The workshop you attend could be your topic for your group's PLC and presentation!

Teacher Procedures:

If you would like to attend an out-of-district workshop or conference, please adhere to the following to ensure a smooth transition:

(Please Note:  you will need at least a month or a BOE meeting notice/approval to attend a PD opportunity):

• 1. Once you hear or read about a workshop, please reach out to your principal and instructional supervisor about attending.  You will need enough time to get all of the appropriate approvals in order to attend. There may also be a need across the district which may prompt an on-site training or workshop.

  2. Once you get approval from your principal and supervisor, complete the PD request in the Genesis Portal (this will send your request for BOE approval).

  3. Please submit request for substitute to Insight as soon as possible to ensure coverage for your day.  

  4. The PD request needs to be submitted before items are placed on the BOE agenda.  The general rule of thumb is that this needs to be completed with all teacher and principal signatures a week before the actual BOE meeting date.  A list of the due dates for BOE agenda items is listed below.  Completed portal paperwork is due by the Agenda Items Due Date* (see below).

  5. In the Genesis Portal, please make sure you attach:

     •  Your most recent Professional Development Plan (PDP) that you created in McRel.  This will need to be printed, scanned, and attached in the portal.  A suggestion would be to print, scan, and save your PDP to your desktop for easy access.

     • Attach the flyer or brochure from your training or workshop.  

     • Mileage for travel is $0.47 per mile.

  6. You will receive an email from the Genesis Portal when your workshop is BOE approved.

PLEASE NOTE:  Your workshop cannot be approved if your PDP and an artifact about the workshop are not attached.  This will cause delays.  Our goal is for you not to miss your PD opportunity!

REGISTERING AS A GROUP:  If registering together to receive a group rate, Mrs. Grace will register everyone but the teacher or administrator must complete the paper registration with all of the appropriate information so she can fax or register everyone online without any delay or misinformation.  Please send the paper registration form to Mrs. Grace as soon as possible.

Once your completed request is in the Genesis Portal:

Please register yourself for the training or workshop.  Please let your principal or instructional supervisor know of any cancellation dates or fees that are associated with your training just to be sure.  

• • • If the company or college requires a PO number, the PO cannot be issued until your PD is approved by the BOE.  In this case, you will have to wait to register with the company or college.  

    • You will receive an automated response from the Genesis Portal once your request was BOE approved (usually the day after the BOE meeting).  Once approved, Joanne completes the PO for your workshop.

    • Please contact Joanne Grace grace.j@deptfordschools.org for the PO number after your PD was approved by the BOE.  Do not contact Joanne if your PD has not been approved by the BOE yet.  She will not have a PO number to give to you.