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Professional Development
The Summit Conference:
Staff development in the state
took center stage, Monday, October 29, when almost 100 representatives from
over 25 districts met at the KASB offices in Topeka. The staff development
“summit” was co-sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE),
the Kansas Learning First Alliance (KLFA), and the Kansas Staff Developmet
Council (KSDC). Entitled “Making the Connection Between Staff Development
and Student Learning,” the conference brought together teams of teachers,
curriculum specialists, and administrators from districts who had identified
themselves as ones where staff development was an integral and visible part
of teaching and learning.
Dennis Sparks, Executive Director, National Staff Development Council (NSDC),
delivered the General Session presentation, “Taking Personal Responsibility
for Professional Development That Improves Student Learning.” His remarks
set the tone for the day as they encouraged the participants to recognize
that without a strong commitment to learning, both at the summit and upon
their return to their district, the kinds of changes necessary to raise
instruction to where it needs to be won’t happen. He noted they were all
leaders, and “leaders matter a lot.” He pointed out three key functions of
leaders: they make clear purpose and methods, build consensus and generate
commitment.
The remainder of the conference was devoted to work groups. Part of the
day was spent by each district assessing their own professional development
status by using a rubric rooted in twelve standards developed by the NSDC.
The standards were divided into three areas, context, process and content.
Indicators, or benchmarks, for context included Learning Communities,
Leadership, and Resources. Process benchmarks included Data-driven,
Evaluation, Researched-based, Design, Learning and Collaboration. Content
benchmarks included Equity, Quality Teaching, and Family Involvement.
After working as a district team, the participants were divided into
groups based on the size of the certified staff they represented. They
shared the results of their self-assessment and gained insight into what
similar sized districts were doing. Most of the districts gave themselves
good scores on most of the standards. Several districts, though, recognized
their efforts in staff development were not focused enough to affect student
achievement significantly.
Commissioner Andy Tompkins characterized the summit as a “first step in
identifying quality professional development models already in use in
Kansas.” He also noted the summit will assist in “the development of a tool
that can be used to help all schools and districts in developing systems
that foster quality professional development resulting in improved student
performance.”
Work on the project will continue at the KSDE/KSDE Spring Conference and
through next summer. |
