Professional Development

Professional Development
Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) Pacific has developed an ambitious plan to achieve its professional development goals as outlined in the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Community Strategic Plan (CSP). Goal 3—Motivated, High Performing, Diverse Workforce, Outcome B, Continuous Professional Development and Training—states that “Personnel at all levels will participate in continuous professional development and training to support standards which enhance job performance.” Five-Year Plan Our five-year plan establishes outcomes for professional development for administrators and teachers. The overarching goals for this plan emphasize the need for our schools to develop capacity for creating and sustaining continuous learning communities and cultures of collaboration and the need for educators to deepen knowledge and skills required to implement standards-based curriculum and instruction.
Best Practices Specifically, professional development in DoDDS Pacific will focus on deepening understanding of content and performance standards in all curricular areas and on the implementation of research-based instructional strategies that are essential to promote high student achievement. Among those best practices are such activities as principals observing and analyzing instruction through more frequent classroom visits, supporting a balanced approach to developing literacy skills across grade levels, and supporting appropriate instruction in a standards-based classroom. Professional development for teachers will focus on the use of appropriate lesson design for planning a standards-based curriculum, including effective assessment of student performance and congruent learning activities that are differentiated for each learner. Teachers and administrators will learn how to revitalize literacy efforts within our schools so that all classrooms become places where reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills are emphasized. They will become more skilled at understanding the underlying principles of systemwide assessment and how to use assessment of all types to make better decisions. Training Our professional development plan supports and encourages a variety of training venues. Site-based small group training sessions for teachers and administrators will allow for closer contact with trainers and strengthen the notion of creating learning communities. Mentoring programs for teachers are fully developed and in the process of being developed for administrators. A plan for selecting and training site-based Curriculum Implementation Facilitators (CIFs) is being developed. CIFs will strengthen our capacity to train at the school level and our ability to respond local needs for professional development. They will also help us reach one of our most important goals by helping schools and school leaders create a culture of collaboration through distributed leadership. This comprehensive professional development plan will ensure that DoDDS Pacific educators possess the knowledge and skills needed to meet Goal 1 of the CSP, High Student Achievement for ALL students.