Designing 21st Century Universal Classrooms

CCSU Model for Professional Staff Development

CCSU’s overarching goal for staff development is to provide results-driven, high quality, needs-centered, and research-based professional development that gives CCSU’s educators the knowledge and skills necessary to continuously improve student learning. The CCSU Model for Professional Staff Development is a design that synthesizes researched principles and best practices in staff development into coherent programs that promote teachers’ growth in all domains of professional practice toward the outcome of improved teaching and learning.

Our comprehensive supervisory union professional development plan includes:

• CCSU Inservice
• Site-based Professional Development
• Site-based Coaching Models
• Mentoring Program
• Professional Development Institute (Action Research)
• Leadership Development Institute (Action Research in Teacher Leadership and Reflective Practice)
• Supervision and Evaluation System (S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting based on The Comprehensive Plan for Continuous Improvement)
• Curriculum Leadership Committees
• Tuition Reimbursement Program
• School-based and District-wide Study Groups
• Reflective Practice Forums

Standards for Professional Staff Development

The National Staff Development Council’s Standards for Staff Development provides critical guidance in planning professional development in the supervisory union. The National Staff Development Council defines staff development as the “means by which educators acquire or enhance the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs necessary to create high levels of learning for all students.” The standards are:

Context Standards

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district. (Learning Communities)
• Requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement. (Leadership)
• Requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration. (Resources)

Process Standards

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Uses disaggregated student data to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement. (Data-Driven)
• Uses multiple sources of information to guide improvement and demonstrate its impact. (Evaluation)
• Prepares educators to apply research to decision making. (Research-Based)
• Uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal. (Design)
• Applies knowledge about human learning and change. (Learning)
• Provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate. (Collaboration)

Content Standards

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement. (Equity)
• Deepens educators’ content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately. (Quality Teaching)
• Provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately. (Family Involvement)

Last updated: Sep 2 at 10:02 am