ERIC Number: EJ758305
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
Shaping the Workday: District Brings Professional Learning into the Classroom
Sever, Kathryn; Bowgren, Linda
Journal of Staff Development, v28 n2 p20-23 Spr 2007
New York's Maine-Endwell Central School District has faced a decreasing budget, even as its needs have increased. As opportunities for paid summer or after-hours professional development work evaporated, the district needed to support teachers' professional learning within the workday. Giving teachers time within regular work hours, however, led to a dilemma: How could the district balance staff learning with the need to keep teachers in their classrooms with their students? District leaders believe in the power of job-embedded staff development. The time dilemma gave them the opportunity to put that belief into practice. Over the last several years, the district has used conference days, early-release days, and what have been dubbed "roll-throughs" to give teachers time to learn collaboratively. Maine-Endwell teachers have discovered the power of collaboration and reflection. They feel energized with the immediacy of bringing new ideas from staff development directly to the classroom. Looking at how the district was using its staff time led Maine-Endwell administrators to new ways of using time to help teachers continue their professional learning.
Descriptors: Working Hours, Professional Development, Teacher Improvement, School Districts, Reflective Teaching, Teacher Collaboration, Budgets
National Staff Development Council. 5995 Fairfield Road Suite #4, Oxford, OH 45056. Tel: 513-523-6029; Fax: 513-523-0638; e-mail: NSDCoffice@nsdc.org; Web site: http://www.nsdc.org/news/jsd/index.cfm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A