Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 1

Professional Learning Current Reality and GSAPS

Sarah Miller

PL & Tech Innovation

Kennesaw State University

Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 2

Vision

The vision at Brantley County Middle School includes several components, but overall is

to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s world. The first component is “to present

postsecondary training and career opportunities to our students and have them choose a career

pathway and learn preliminary skills needed from content courses prior to leaving for the high

school.” The second and third are to prepare students with both the hard and soft skills required

for success in life beyond graduation. Lastly, the fourth component of the vision is to uphold

“high expectation for teaching and learning to meet the criteria above”. According the school’s

website, this vision is in accordance with the College and Career Ready Performance Index

(Brantley County Middle School, 2015).

To achieve this vision, the district board members asked that administrators encourage

teachers to increase the rigor, relevance, and relationships within their classrooms. In addition,

teachers are required to make curriculum decisions based on data and research-based practices.

Technology does not have a clear place in the vision or School Improvement Plan, however, the

principal, Dr. Angela Haney, says that the vision for technology is two-fold: to prepare students

for future careers and to provide technology and training for teachers to support the students.

Teachers at BCMS use technology on a regular basis, but are not integrating technology as a

student-centered element of their classrooms. Overall, teachers are seemingly willing to tailor

their technology use to be more student-centered, but they lack the training and coaching

support. The technology skill levels within BCMS vary significantly, which is common among

public schools. Most teachers use basic skills to facilitate their teaching and occasionally

integrate technology that will personalize learning. While this personalized learning is an

overarching goal, teachers do not posses the skills to fully implement this on a regular basis. Dr.
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 3

Haney is supportive of fully integrating technology, Web 2.0 tools, and hardware and software

that support student-centered learning. To help achieve a student-centered learning environment,

along with attempting to bridge the gap between school and home, Dr. Haney has appointed two

teacher leaders. One teacher leader, an 8th grade ELA teacher, is tasked with supporting all ELA

teachers in their attempt to revamp their curriculum to be more rigorous, relevant, and student-

centered. The second teacher leader, a 7th grade science teacher, is tasked with supporting all

technology use for classroom and for website building/maintenance.

Needs Assessment

BCMS uses data to drive most decisions and professional learning is no different.

According to the FY16 School Improvement Plan, BCMS used the following to gather

information which drives the professional learning goals: Student Learning Data (benchmarks,

trend SGP data, GMA data, CCRPI growth data, and universal screeners with Scholastic Reading

and Math Inventories); Demographic Data (subgroup information, gap information, at-risk RTI

data factors, local demographic chances, SES changes, migrant and homeless population

increases); Perception Data (Title 1 Parent Survey, TKES & LKES Surveys, Student Health

Surveys, School Climate results); Process (RTI/REP/SpEd Tier Procedures, Parent Involvement

and Compact processes of improvement, PBIS DOE program Pilot Year Process [SWIS and

Educator Handbook data], Reading/Lexile Level Improvement process, Math Quantile

improvement process, STEM process)” (Brantley County Middle School wide Improvement

Plan, 2015). During the summer, all teachers met with the teacher-leader Data Specialist to

analyze their GMA data and its correlation to grades and benchmark scores. This data specialist

assisted teachers in goals for instruction and feedback on benchmarks- teachers collaboratively

create the grade-level benchmarks. Also, teachers will meet with our data specialist once per
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 4

nine-weeks for data-driven guidance. Most teachers are willing to accept suggestions given by

our data specialist and are also willing to have meetings. However, some teachers have to be

reminded multiple times to attend these meetings because they must be scheduled during

planning time. While this data-driven development is valued by both teachers and administrators,

it is still difficult for teachers to justify giving up their planning time.

Professional Learning

BCMS provides teachers with multiple professional learning opportunities each school

year. For FY15, all teachers participated in the GA DOE’s FIP Training. This mandatory training

focused on Formative Instructional Practices and was held whole-group or by grade level once

per month. Other professional learning in which BCMS participates include the Model Schools

Conference for the past few summers. BCMS was able to send two administrators and six

teachers to the Model Schools Conference in the summer of 2016. Other professional learning is

typically done by individual basis. If a teacher finds a professional learning opportunity, he/she

will likely be approved to participate as long as he/she brings back information to share with the

rest of the faculty. At BCMS, teachers do not typically host study groups, learning teams, book

studies, or workshops. It is certainly a goal, but BCMS is not quite there, yet. However, teacher

leaders are encouraged and supported in the middle school. Beginning in August, we have two

teachers who have stepped into a coaching role. The new coaching roles are part of BCMS’s

vision to bring a more personalized professional learning approach. Another new component

BMCS began in August is peer observations; teachers must now complete one peer observation

per nine-weeks. The professional learning outlined are intended to support teachers in their

learning, but not to exclude outside professional development. Teachers really can participate in

as much professional development as they want. Rarely, does a teacher request to attend a
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 5

professional learning opportunity and get turned down. A few teachers at BCMS are consistently

seeking these opportunities on their own, and have become appointed teacher-leaders within the

middle school.

In addition to outside professional learning, BCMS has picked up technology-related

professional development over the past two years. For FY16, BCMS was able to participate in

Instructional Technology Professional Development through the OK RESA. This professional

learning occurred several times per nine-weeks in a small group setting (two academic teams)

during planning. Dr. Haney described this professional learning successful because she was able

to see a positive change in the classrooms in terms of student technology use (Haney, 2016). This

year, Brantley County Middle School is able to provide teachers an on-site Instructional

Technology coach. While this new coach hosts technology professional development twice per

month to all content teachers, teachers also have the opportunity to sign up for one-on-one

technology coaching. However, she must maintain her four seventh grade life science classes, so

her schedule can be limited. Currently, the Instructional Technology Coach is hosting two small-

group technology professional learning sessions per month and coaching (either individually or

with content teams), but after October, the coach will transition to more one-on-one technology

coaching and hopefully be able to visit classrooms.

From a teacher’s perspective there is typically little follow-up from a professional

learning session, with the exception of additional requirements for the next TKES evaluation.

For example, during FY16, teachers participated in a technology professional learning

experience which explored Google Classroom. After only a couple of professional learning

experiences, all teachers were required to use Google Classroom and be observed for their TKES

evaluation using it. This is one of the reasons administration asked a teacher-leaader to step in as
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 6

Instructional Technology Coach to provide support for teachers. From a teacher’s perspective, it

was unfair for administration to expect teachers to be proficient enough in a new practice to be

formally observed for TKES after only participating in one to two professional learning

experiences in that practice. To sum up, follow-up support after professional learning is not our

strongest feature at BCMS, but it is a goal that administration is addressing (Haney, 2016).

Alignment to School Improvement Goals

Professional learning is aligned to Brantley County Middle School’s Improvement Plan

Goals. One goal is to “increase opportunities for parents to communicate with teachers”

(Brantley County Middle School Wide Improvement Plan, 2015). To reach this goal,

administration has required all teachers to maintain a webpage with an interactive calendar,

interactive resources, as well as changing the way teachers use the app, Remind. The new role of

Instructional Technology Coach is to provide support for these new requirements. It is the

coach’s responsibility to train teachers in creating websites, maintaining the websites,

creating/modifying all supporting materials, and maximizing the use of the Remind app.

Another goal outlined is a to increase professional learning in general. Teachers are

provided the on-campus technology and data coaching, as previously described, as well as

“PLC” days in which grade-level content teachers are provided substitutes in order to have a full

planning day. Over the past summer, teachers were also paid for two full planning days in which

they met with administrators, technology and data coaches, and fellow teachers to plan for their

year and address benchmarks based on data. Dr. Haney also encourages teachers to find other

schools who are exemplary in any given area and to visit them in order to bring back ideas for

BCMS to implement. BCMS administration’s openness to seeking outside resources for

Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 7

professional learning along with encouraging teacher-leaders within the school fully aligns with

their goal of increasing professional learning.

Funding and Incentives

Professional learning is funded by either SRG funds (literacy) or Title 1 funds. BCMS is

able to use SRG funds for most professional learning because it correlates with literacy

(computer-based or content-based). According to Dr. Haney, any professional development that

does not fall under the literacy category is paid for by Title 1 funding.

Incentives for professional development is simply personal growth. Currently, BCMS

does not offer any incentives for teachers who participate in professional development.

Administrators will recognize teachers who participate often and share by asking them to be

teacher-leaders, which will reflect positively on their TKES evaluations. Dr. Haney did not act as

though this was a negative; she reiterates that she expects teachers to be active in their pursuit of

professional development for personal growth. She essentially suggests that teachers should

always be searching for new strategies and be looking to learn without any external incentives

(Haney, 2016).

Diversity

Special Education teachers have the opportunity to participate in professional learning

experiences regarding students with disabilities (SWD). However, regular education inclusion

teachers do not have this opportunity; the idea is for the Special Education teacher who

participate to come back and relay the information to the inclusion teachers. From a regular

education inclusion teacher’s perspective, this does not happen effectively. The SWD population

at BCMS continues to rise and become more varied in types of disabilities. Because this
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 8

particular population is becoming so large, professional development for regular and special

education teachers should be improved.

Professional development regarding students from culturally and/or linguistically diverse

backgrounds is rarely provided. Because Brantley County is so rural and its student population

does not reflect high numbers in this area diversity, there is not much of a need for school wide

training.

Collaboration

In terms of school wide professional learning, administration at BCMS provide “PLC”

days once per nine-weeks for grade-level content teachers. Dr. Haney prefers to provide more

personalized professional development for relevancy, so there has not been a big push for school

wide development. However, all teachers are receiving technology and data coaching; this

coaching just occurs either individually or by grade-level content teams. Collaboration within

grade-level content teams is highly valued at BCMS. Most teachers frequently participate in

grade-level content team collaboration several times per month. This is mostly unscheduled and

unmonitored by administration; teachers seem to genuinely value collaboration.

The technology and data coaching happens individually, but also happens collaboratively.

These can both fall under the goal to increase professional learning in the school improvement

plan (Brantley County Middle School Wide Improvement Plan, 2015).

Evaluation

The only evaluation of professional learning occurs within the teacher’s TKES

evaluation. Currently, there is no official evaluation strictly for professional learning besides

whether or not it is in practice when administration observes the teachers. From a teacher’s

perspective, there has been a positive change in the amount of parent involvement in their child’s
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 9

progress simply from the well-developed and maintained teacher websites in combination with

use of the Remind app. The success of the websites directly relates to a push for technology

professional learning and teacher willingness to participate. From the recent technology

professional learning, teachers have taken strategies and tips learned and quickly implemented

them. While this does not address teaching practices with technology, it addresses an obstacle

BCMS has faced for several years: parental perception/involvement.

There are no official evaluations of professional development, but administration sees the

value and has begun planning for ways in which evaluation can be integrated (Haney, 2016). As

of now, there is no data to prove that professional learning is directly impacting student learning.
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 10

References

Brantley County Middle School. (2015). About Us. Retrieved September 17, 2016, from

Brantley County Middle School:

http://bcms.brantley.schooldesk.net/AboutUs/SchoolPolicies/tabid/67118/Default.aspx

Brantley County Middle School. (2015). Brantley County Middle School Wide

Improvement Plan.

Haney, D. A. (2016, September 6). Principal. (S. Miller, Interviewer)