For Educators : Staff Development Activites and Partnerships
LCCS is a collaborative school, where the school culture and environment foster teachers to make creative instructional decisions, work collaboratively in teams, and analyze data and student work. A group of teachers and administrators meet as a team to assess the professional development needs of the staff and the learning needs of the students. This team then plans for the staff development activities for the year.
Since staff development is so essential to effective teaching practice, LCCS makes sure to provide adequate time for teachers to learn and work together. Teachers meet four days before the school year begins for strategic planning and engage in activities to review student assessment data and identify school wide goals and initiatives. During the school year, teachers have common prep periods five times per week, which is the time allocated for planning between grade level teams and contiguous grades to share best practices in instruction in various content areas. Teachers also participate in professional development activities every Tuesday afternoon after school. Staff development is conducted in full staff meetings and small group activities.
Since staff development is so essential to effective teaching practice, LCCS makes sure to provide adequate time for teachers to learn and work together. Teachers meet four days before the school year begins for strategic planning and engage in activities to review student assessment data and identify school wide goals and initiatives. During the school year, teachers have common prep periods five times per week, which is the time allocated for planning between grade level teams and contiguous grades to share best practices in instruction in various content areas. Teachers also participate in professional development activities every Tuesday afternoon after school. Staff development is conducted in full staff meetings and small group activities.
Current and previous staff development activities include:
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Instruction. This year, the Simon Foundation is funding a program entitled Use What You Learn. The focal point for the staff is to improve the quality of the science curriculum to include STEM principles into learning activities. Teachers will review LCCS curriculum overviews to assess where STEM learning activities can be integrated and then modify existing or create new units of study as necessary. A partnership with Stevens Institute has been developed to provide professional development opportunities for teachers.
- Writing. The Simon Foundation funded LCCS’ writing initiative entitled Write to Excel! The goal of the program was to improve the writing of the students. The staff learned to understand their role in modeling good writing for students and participated in professional development workshops conducted by the National Writing Project at Rutgers University. These workshops included: teachers as writers; revision/editing; persuasive essays; nonfiction writing in the content areas; and responding to literature. Teachers also participated in summer staff development activities with the National Writing Project.
- Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction. Many times, the focus of staff development is to improve the delivery differentiated instruction and to provide the diverse student body many opportunities to succeed. One summer, Kim Marshall led workshops that helped the staff learn how to plan curriculum units, performance assessments, and instruction using the backwards-planning framework explained by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in their book, Understanding by Design. The staff also explored the four characteristics of an effective differentiated classroom: concept-focused and principle-driven instruction; on-going assessment of student readiness and growth; consistent flexible grouping; and active student exploration. To continue their learning, the staff participated in discussions centered on the professional development book, Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe. The staff often revisits these texts to help them create new or modify existing units of study.
- Technology Instruction. The school employs the assistance of a technology coordinator to improve the technology skills for staff and to help plan for the integration of technology in learning activities. Staff members are continuously learning how to teach students technology literacy skills such as the purposes and advantages of technology; acceptable and ethical behavior when using technology; and the use of concept-mapping, word-processing, database, and presentation software.
- Assessing student work samples. Teachers meet to examine student work to establish strengths and weaknesses and plan for instruction. Teachers evaluate student writing and math problem-solving skills using the New Jersey Holistic scoring rubrics. Teachers also work together to plan units to prepare students for the NJASK.
- Study groups. The staff meets in small groups to engage in specific areas designed to improve their personal professional improvement. Past study groups have included: reading intervention in the primary grades; reading in the middle school; mechanics, grammar, and word study; math instruction; science instruction; and adolescent development.
- School Visits. Teachers are encouraged to visit other schools to observe various instructional practices that they may be able implement in their own classroom. Teachers are also encouraged to join professional organizations and develop relationships with teachers in other schools to broaden their network of support.
- Behavior Management. With the help of a behavior management consultant, the staff created a school-wide behavior model. The staff also participates in workshops during the year to explore various techniques for managing behavior in the classroom to ensure that instruction and learning take place.
