Pro-D Report December 2014

Our PD committee, with 3 new and 3 returning members, has had two dynamic and productive meetings this fall.  We have developed some creative ideas for PD offerings this year, begun planning for the Spring Fling and New Teachers Conference (Apr 24 and 25, 2015), reviewed special applications and post-conference reports. At each meeting we share a professional learning moment from the previous month -- it is encouraging to hear about the diverse ways in which teachers develop their craft.  Our fall budget for out-of-district funding is about 2/3 spent, our Jan-March and Apr-June budgets are less than 1/4 spent, so there are opportunities for conference applications.  We also have a budget for special projects (group applications), inquiry projects, and of course our Zone Conference.  There are two empty spots on the PD committee.  Talk to Glen T., Richard G., or Tina C. if you are interested.

PTA Conference Summary #2

When teachers apply to the Pro-D Fund for conference funding, we ask that they find a way to share what they have learned, pass their professional learning on to colleagues, and make use of new skills or ideas with their students. We also ask them (optionally) to craft a statement to be posted here. We are pleased to celebrate the professional development of our teachers.

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Conference: 2014 BC Primary Teachers' Association -- http://www.bcpta.ca/wordpress/

Participant: Debbie Byman, Pinewood Elementary

Summary: In October 2014 I had the opportunity to attend the BC Primary Teachers' Association Conference. The keynote speaker, Regie Routman, specializes in helping students achieve success in reading through writing. She inspired me to spend even more time than I already do on writing, and gave me a place to start to further investigate her strategies, which I will share with our staff as we are always looking for ways to improve our students' literacy skills.

Another speaker, Colleen Politano, shared many ideas for helping students with self regulation, as did our yoga instructor, Tanya Armstrong. Our school is focusing more on social emotional learning as a foundation for personal and academic success, so I am very interested in sharing what I have learned. We are hoping that improved self-regulation, along with greater academic achievement, will give our students the confidence and resilience they will need to feel successful.

I really enjoyed attending these workshops and connecting with other teachers. I highly recommend this conference to other primary teachers.

The PD Committee

After two PGDTA Professional Development Committee Meetings, it has become clear that we have a great team in place with profound respect for autonomous professionalism among teachers, a desire for mutual accountability, and creative ideas for change.

We have tried to clear much of the administrivia and information-only items from our meetings in order to focus on dialogue and planning. This respects the fact that our committee members are not passive attendees but actual PD leaders in the district. Last year the PD Committee began talking about how their role might shift, including that of the Chair, and how the use of the PD Fund might shift as a result. This year, after two meetings, I think we are ready to describe what that shift might look like. These four items represent the core of a vision, and will give us plenty to mull over for the remaining seven meetings ahead in 2013-14:

1. Committee: the committee should have more opportunities to lead PD whether this is facilitation, presentation, or organization -- and also share in the promotion and celebration of the PD of others. One way this might happen is to conduct conference participant interviews with the aim to publish short celebrations of learning for other educators and the public.
2. PD Fund administrator: as PD chair and also in possession of a half-time coordinator's position, this person should be as active as possible on the professional learning side of the equation as the Fund administration duties; while it is already a busy job with pulls in many directions, there is always room to change how it is used. Solid precedents have been set by the past Chairs' involvement in Learning Partners, facilitating teacher inquiry projects, and the work of organizing the Zone Conference.
3. Fund applicants: we need to adjust our policies and do more to make use of the professional learning that takes place when we send teachers off to conferences. We did not used to have many expectations for what participants did with what they learned -- a very basic paper report was the default. We need to provide more and different opportunities for teachers to share -- not everyone wants to put on a workshop.
4. The PD Fund: currently, we allocate about 67% of the fund to out-of-district travel, 5% to in-district registration, 19% to the Zone Conference, 8% to special projects, and 1% to other items. We would like to develop strategies so that big-ticket items (conference travel) results in maximum benefit to teachers and their students. This may mean shifting some of the allocation towards more in-district events where more local teachers can access high-quality PD speakers and workshops, and also begin using part of the Fund to promote local talent and build capacity.

September Pro-D News

The PD Fund: the budget for July-Dec out-of-district travel has almost been reached -- currently $47,600 out of the $50,000 allocated has been committed. The next 2 or 3 applications will finish this off. The majority of approved out-of-district travel was for conferences on (or including) the Oct 25th PD day -- 41 of 53 applications. In-district events and special projects may still be funded (all year), as well as out-of-district travel after December. This year, one of our goals is to evolve the expectations for conference attendees, mainly in providing more options for sharing professional learning.

Robson Valley PD on Oct 25th: presenter needed on topic of project-based learning; $400 honorarium & travel expenses paid -- details here: http://goo.gl/9UQ0pm -- contact me if interested by Oct 2nd.

Program for Quality Teaching: BCTF grant for teacher collaboration -- application deadline is Oct. 4th -- details at http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/public/AboutUs/ServicesHandbook/16PQT.pdf

PD Reps: most schools have found one. Being a PD rep can be as simple as being a contact, or can be kicked up a notch to include planning PD with other staff or helping teachers develop ideas for their PD. PD Rep training is taking place Oct 30th at Van Bien - last year this was a great day and well attended. This year our emphasis is on self-directed teacher inquiry. Contact me if you need to be convinced. Sign up on PD Reg, fill in a leave app, and phone sub service to book a TTOC. The specific leave app info will be posted here as well as sent to your school secretary once you register.

Sep 27 PD reminder: some schools have planned activities on this day (by mutual agreement and voluntary participation), while many teachers are working on independent inquiry or collaborative professional development in formal or informal groups. Others are seeking out a colleague with which to work through common problems. Still others are attending workshops or conferences, viewing webcasts or joining webinars, exploring ERAC resources, or even reading & reflecting on professional literature. Please be aware of our responsibilities regarding doing PD on PD days -- it is not unreasonable for our administrators to know where we are and have a rough idea what we are doing. There are many things that are beneficial to students and important for teachers to do (like marking and organizing a classroom) that do not constitute professional development by most definitions. There are grey areas, too -- e.g. planning your next set of lessons is marginal for PD, whereas planning for a new unit, course or teaching approach is much better, especially if it involves others. Working from home is not an option, but PD can take place off-site if the in-district venue fits the activity. Feel free to contact me if you need more background on our contractual obligations and also strategies for professional growth. The BCTF also has a good overview of PD days: http://www.bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=12792

New Job, Getting Started

Hello colleagues,

I'm looking forward to beginning my work as the SD57 Pro-D Fund Administrator next week. For those that don't know what this is, it is an elected position in the PGDTA, provided with .5 release, and responsible for:

• Pro-D Fund applications for in-district and out-of-district events (see form attached) 
• Applications and support for special inquiry projects
• Support for SD57 Mentorship Program and other shared initiatives with Curriculum & Instruction Dep't 
• Contact for BCTF Pro-D information and professional learning issues/strategies for teachers 
• Organization of Zone Conference (April 4, 2014)
• Chair and work with elected Pro-D committee for aspects of all of these responsibilities
• Various projects, reports, and meetings, e.g. as part of the PGDTA Executive 

The guidelines for accessing the Pro-D Fund are laid out in section 12B of the PGDTA Policies & Procedures manual (in Contract & Policies folder inside the PGDTA folder on 57Online). The Fund is filled by a $150 per member grant from the school district -- this varies from district to district with ours somewhere in the bottom-middle. Our practice, somewhat unique in the province, is to allow less frequent access to the fund but cover more substantial costs. We set aside money in "trimesters" in order to budget for fall conference travel, the Zone Conference, and other events and projects. Our committee sorted out some tricky applications in June and I'm sure new challenges await. Within a somewhat complex policy framework, we try to strike a balance between fairness to all members and accommodation of individual requests. By the way, there are at least two openings on the Pro-D Committee that need to be filled (by election at a Staff Rep Assembly).

I see a number of paper and electronic applications for PD funding, I will begin working through these next week as quickly as I am able to get up to speed on the process and software. Thanks for your patience and please feel free to contact me with questions or dialogue about Pro-D by email (gthielmann @ sd57.bc.ca) or at the PGDTA office in the afternoons at 250-562-7214.