Just in time before the start of the school year, the Clearview Regional High School District Board of Education reviewed the progress of a three-year professional development plan during its latest meeting on Aug. 26.
Director of Curriculum and Instruction Sherry McAteer shared a review of the District Professional Development Plan to the board. Every three years, the district creates a new plan with new goals, while also developing a long-range plan to address those goals.
“Student achievement, and climate and culture are the two things that we’re working on in terms of training for our teachers,” said McAteer.
As of the 2019-2020 school year, the district will be in the second year of its three-year plan.
During its annual discussion, a committee of administrators and teacher leaders met in July to review the professional development goals and activities to come up with enhancements for the second year.
McAteer shared some of those changes during the meeting. They include the addition of an extensive training model for co-teaching pairs who instruct students in the district’s in-class resource classrooms, which provide additional help to students who need support. More training in writing, data analysis, and curriculum development at the middle school level were also added for the upcoming school year.
The plan’s two major goals – student achievement, and climate and culture – were developed to directly address what the district saw as student needs, says McAteer. She explained the plan is essentially a way for the district to keep track of the professional development of its staff and administration.
One of the two major goals is to improve instructional practices involved in student learning. To keep track of progress, the district will look at NJSLA, AP and SAT results, along with classroom performances.
The second goal is to enhance school safety, culture and climate for students and staff. The district will take data from stakeholder surveys and student records to learn of its progress.
“We’re seeing a need among our student climate to support them more with character education and social and emotional learning,” said McAteer.
According to McAteer, the district created this goal to provide its students and staff “a safe and positive place to learn and work.”
“We believe in an environment where students and staff feel comfortable taking risks and challenging themselves to grow,” noted McAteer in an email.
Professional development for this year is budgeted as part of Clearview’s annual Elementary and Secondary Education Act grant allocations, as well as in the district curriculum budget, according to McAteer.
The plan started in the 2018-2019 school year and will end after the 2020-2021 school year. Every district in the state is required to have a continuous three-year plan.
The next BOE meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Public Conference Room of Clearview’s Administration Building.
