Professional learning and development is at the core of school improvement in the Spring Lake Park Schools. All learning is aligned with the district strategic framework and school continuous improvement priorities. Professional learning and development takes place at three levels: a) District-level; b) School-level and PLCs; and c) Individually. Our goal is that the majority of professional learning is embedded within the day to day work of staff. This occurs through activities such as ongoing teacher participation in collaborative teams (each school has set time aside each week, at a minimum, for teachers to participate in professional learning communities), work with instructional coaches, study groups, and curriculum development.

 

The design of Spring Lake Park professional development at the district-level is based on student learning needs, curriculum development and implementation schedules, emerging best practices, and information gathered from staff. Staff and administrative leaders involved on the Teaching, Learning, and Accountability (TLA) Advisory Council play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of improvement and professional development initiatives. They work together to plan and assess professional development, and to provide embedded, structured time to ensure effective professional development takes place.

 

At the school-level, principals and teachers develop continuous improvement plans which identify improvement needs and adaptive and/or learning work projects to meet address these needs. Professional learning is aligned to these needs. In addition, all teachers participate in collaborative teams, or professional learning communities, on a weekly basis at minimum. This provides staff with time to engage in collective, embedded professional learning that includes activities such as goal setting, instructional alignment of curriculum, and development and study of common, formative student assessment data.