Strategic Plan for

Professional Development
Danbury Public Schools
By:
Patricia M. Hall
 Objectives
 Gain a better understanding of the Connecticut Core
Standards (CCS).
 Provide staff with content specific knowledge, skills, and
practices needed to effectively implement CCS.
 Apply the knowledge and skills developed, analyze data in
regards to implementation, refine instructional methods, and
increase student achievement.
 Meet Danbury Public School goals to “construct and engage
viable arguments based on evidence and critique reasoning
of others,” and “make sense of problems and persevere in
solving them.”
 How do you build teacher capacity for success
with the CCS?

 Teacher buy-in
 Understanding
 Strategies to monitor and adjust
 Stages of Professional
Development
 Awareness: Shifts and understanding of the CCS.
 Application and Experimentation: individuals attempting
to try CCS strategies and resources.

 Ownership: Individuals are able to judge available

resources and apply their own understanding to making
decisions about integrating CCS and their practice.

 Advocacy and Innovation: Individuals are able to support

the development of their colleagues and/or go beyond
judging resources to actually creating CCS tools and
resources.
 Overview of Plan
 Series of professional learning experiences provided
for participants to build understanding of CCS for the
2014-2015 SY and 2015-2016 SY.

 Opportunities for professional development embedded

into early release PD days, department meetings, and
within DT/PLC time.

 K-12 Humanities Curriculum Administrator, Associate

Principal of Instruction, Department Head, Instructional
Coach, and Content Leads will monitor the plan and
adjust as needed.
 Rationale and Goal
 Alignment to DPS District Goal determined by the
Instructional Coherence Committee.

 Endurance: used by students several years after they use it

at grade level.

 Leverage: knowledge and skills in other academic areas.

 Readiness: necessary entry point for students to be
prepared for the next grade level.

 Provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to

become college and career ready.
 Needs Assessment
Careful review of middle school ELA benchmark data indicate:

 65.7% of 6th, 7th, and 8Th grade students scored at or above goal as
Measured by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 33.7% of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 0 Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 53.5% of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 1 Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 7.5% of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 2 Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 .70% of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 3+ Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.
 Needs Assessment (cont’d)
Careful review of middle school Social Studies benchmark data indicate:

 53.2 % of 6th, 7th, and 8Th grade students scored at or above goal as
Measured by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 26.6 % of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 0 Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 53.5 % of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 1 Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 13.8 % of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 2 Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.

 2.1 % of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students showed 3+ Band Growth as Measured
by the Spring Writing Benchmark administered in April 2014.
 Strategic Plan Outcomes
Goals:

 100% of teachers will understand the purpose, elements, and

expectations of CCS and implement with fidelity.

 100% of teachers will understand that SBAC claims provide a

bridge between the CCS & classroom practice.

 100% of teachers will learn strategies to implement in the

classroom that allow for rigorous instruction to meet the
demands of the CCS.

 100% of teachers will meet the district goals by focusing on

the high-leverage skills working towards coherence.
 Readiness
 ELA Units of Study aligned to CCS.
 Social Studies developing curriculum to integrate
literacy within their content.

 ELA & SS are involved on data analysis through DT

time and have participated in a refresher PD.

 All middle school staff has been introduced to an

introduction/overview of SBAC and have participated in
a sample test.
 Plan for Success
 “Trainer of Trainer” sessions for Instructional Coach
and Content Leaders to become experts in CCS and
build capacity within the department.

 The Department Head, Instructional Coach, and

Content Leaders will assist DT/PLC’s in implementation
of the CCS strategies introduced.
 Learning Activities
Teachers will:
apply their knowledge in practice, gain
support through their DT/PLC’s and the
Instructional Coach as they reflect, discuss,
and collaboratively plan lessons that
incorporate CCS strategies and analyze
benchmark and formative data results, in
order to help them refine their implementation
of these strategies.
 Assessment of Plan
 Who: K-12 Humanities Curriculum
Administrator, Associate Principal of
Instruction, Middle School Department
Head of Humanities, Instructional Coach,
Content Leads.
 How: Informal Data Rounds, Focus
Walks to measure successful
implementation.
 Assessment of Plan (cont’d)
What:
 Alignment: To what extent are principals and teachers
participating in PD that is aligned to the district goals?
Suggested metric: Number of participants in attendance at PD.
 User Satisfaction: To what extent do principals and teachers who
participate in aligned PD find it to be helpful in aiding student
learning on the CCS? Suggested metric: Participant Survey.
 Classroom Practice: To what extent do teaches participating in
aligned PD change their practices? Suggested metric: self-
reported change in goal meetings, observations.
 Impact on Student Outcomes: To what extent do principals and
teachers participating in aligned PD achieve better results for their
students? Suggested metrics: formative/summative assessment
and Benchmark data.
 Reflection & Generation
To generate adjustments to the plan:

 Were the PD plans met?

 How satisfied were participants with the content
knowledge gained?

 What is the rate of implementation within the

classrooms?

 What are the outcome data?

 What factors contributed to this result?
 Components of the Strategic Plan
 CCS Instructional Shifts
 CCR Anchor Standards and Grade Level Expectations
 EQuiP Rubric
 Socratic Seminar
 Close Reading
 Text- Dependent Questioning and Analysis
 Building Academic and Domain-Specific Vocabulary
 Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
 Argument Writing and Problem Solving
 End Result of Strategic Plan
 A symbiotic process within the Humanities Department
where leaders and teachers work together to create a
collaborative culture and a climate of respect while
working towards promoting academic excellence and
improving the quality of the student experience
through enhanced instruction. This will better prepare
our DPS students to be ready for DHS and then
become college and career ready.

(My Vision!)
Thank You for Your
Consideration!
Patricia M. Hall