PDC Meeting: January 13, 2011
PDC Meeting: Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Willard R-II District Professional Development Committee met on Thursday, January 13, 2011 in the District Training Room.
The following members were in attendance: Susan Marcum, Michelle Sechler, Matt Rosebrough, Nancy Ipock, Robin Kramer, LeeAnne Peterson, Debbie Newman, Lindsay Paulsell, Amy Earl, Janet Simmons, Carolyn Nixon, Natalie Roth, Yvonne Galloway, and Amy Smith.
Meeting was called to order by chairperson, Michelle Sechler. Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Ms. Sechler called for reports about professional development activities at each building in the district. The following items were reported by building representativis.
Willard North
- Big 8
- Brain Gym
Willard Intermediate
- Book Study (15 Fixes for Broken Grades)
- Class-Within-a-Class collaborative meetings
- CAPS work continuing(math, communication arts, science)
- MRI
- strategy instruction for teaching compare/contrast
Willard Orchard Hills
- Brain Gym
- Ruby Payne book study on poverty
- 90-90-90 School Research and Literacy Intervention with collaborative scoring of student scoring as a focus
Willard High School
- ALC process
- Moodle
- individual content-specific activities
Willard Middle
- CAPS process continuing this year with implementation of common formative assessments (Pre-formative, Post-Formative, and Summative Tests) and collaboration protocols for lesson planning and differentiated instruction based on student needs
- Integration of Technology with Stratalogica in Social Studies Department
Willard South
- Clickers
- Mobile Lab
- Writing/Literacy Focus
Willard Central
- CAP work – Literacy and Math Teams
- Technology Needs
There was discussion regarding the after-school training sessions offered by district teaching specialists. Key points of the discussion included: attendance numbers for sessions, the rationale behind the 3-4 PM time frame, ways to prompt teachers who are registered for a session to be sure to attend, possible time change to 4:15 to accommodate schools releasing later and distance factors, and how to create a system for promoting the training sessions and posting reminders throughout the school year so that teachers are aware of the PD opportunities.
Robin Kramer gave a brief report of the PD Liaison meeting held on January 12, 2011. PDL’s engaged in a collaborative activity, discussion, and training related to The Big 8 Classroom Engagement Skills. PDL’s will replicate the training at monthly mentor meetings at their respective buildings.
Looking to the future, Ms. Sechler reminded committee members that budget discussions will begin in February. The outlook is similar to last year; cuts are likely.
PDC elections will be held in February. One representative from each building has reached the end of the term. The election process was reviewed for those who are unfamiliar with it.
The school calendar of 2011-12 was discussed. A point of consideration for the calendar committee is putting back in designated days for professional development. Discussion included the following key points:
- need for a sustained focus instead of a one-shot topic or in-service that is never revisited
- need for teachers to have reflection and collaboration time to implement the focus of professional development training
- one possible format would be a half day training with a half day for reflection/collaboration & planning
- including an accountability factor to ensure implementation of training
- concern that the time added would not be additional contract days without pay
- comment that the great advantages of working at Willard is the district commitment to improving instruction and the focus on professional development of district teachers
- suggestion that data regarding Instructional Excellence requirements from each building be collected and considered
Meeting was adjourned to meet with Dr. Marcum regarding budget or Carolyn Nixon regarding mentor/protégé questions.
Respectfully submitted,
Carolyn Nixon
