6- Professional Development
Click the linked image above to get a copy of our indicators within our Evidence tool Collection tool!
Professional learning can help educators develop the mindsets, attitudes, and skills to identify and effectively implement culturally responsive practices that encourage positive student-adult interactions, promote healing-centered and equitable learning environments, and facilitate academic, social, and emotional learning. High-quality professional learning is sustained over time with opportunities for reflection, feedback, and support.
Professional Learning Video.mp4
Required Evidence for Certification
All staff participated in new learning related to the CPS School Climate Standards.
The school followed up on the application of learning with staff (e.g., through ongoing workshops, reflection forms, grade level meetings, observations).
The ongoing professional learning aligns to your school's plans for continous improvement related to the CPS School Climate Standards and/or your continuous improvement plan for SEL.
Planning Guide
Sample Milestones
a) Team(s) collaborate with school staff to create a Professional Learning Plan to address the continous improvement goals from the School Climate Standards.
b) Identify avenues to provide SEL PD to all staff and communicate attendance expectations.
c) Provide opportunities for reflection on learning and implementation during grade level or staff meetings, possibly using an implementation survey, peer observation protocol, or reflection tool.
d) Collect agendas, presentation decks, and sign in sheets from each professional development and follow up session in the Google folder.
Suggested Resources
Tool: Creating a Professional Learning Plan (a)
Tool: Planning for Professional Learning Opportunities Consider all of the different avenues for staff to learn, practice, and reflect on implementation, and create a continuous learning plan.(b)
Tool: Planning Professional Learning for Evidence-Based Programs & completed example to develop a professional learning plan to support implementation of the evidence-based SEL program you have adopted (c)
Planning Guide
Agendas from professional development days, schedules of topics discussed in team meetings, or year-long calendars of professional development topics are strong evidence for this indicator, but it must be clear to the reviewer that the professional development is SEL-related. For example, a presentation called “Teaching SEL through Project-Based Learning” is clearly SEL-related, but a presentation called “MTSS in the Classroom” is not. Both may be SEL-focused presentations, but the second title would need more detail. Include evidence such as agendas, slides, or handouts so that the reviewer is certain that the content of the session is substantially SEL-related.