School Type: Public	School Setting: Rural
Level: Elementary	School Design: Traditional
Content Presented By:
National Awards Program for Model Professional Development

Summary

The practice: Professional development should involve teachers in the identification of what they need to learn and in the development of the learning experiences in which they will be involved.

• School improvement teams comprised of teachers, parents, community members, and administrators determine goals and how to spend allocated PD funds ($400 per teacher per year)
• Grade-level teams of teachers meet weekly to devise methodology
• Teachers mentor others after training
• Cross-grade subject teams meet monthly to structure and monitor the progress of the school-wide initiatives
• The percentage of third graders mastering all objectives of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test increased from 30% to 48% in one year.

Located in a rural West Texas community not far from the border of Mexico, H. D. Hilley Elementary School serves just under 700 mostly Hispanic, economically disadvantaged children in grades K-5. When the new principal arrived in 1992, she was determined to break the stereotypical expectations of schools who served students like Hilley's. Poverty was not an excuse for poor performance.

Using professional development as the lever, Hilley teachers engaged in extensive, diverse learning experiences. Teachers identify areas for their own growth. They have both school-based and district-based learning opportunities available to them to meet their learning needs.

In its recent work on a Challenge Grant for Technology Innovation with the district and University of Texas at El Paso, teachers at Hilley were able to identify their areas of need related to technology. Working together with a technology specialist, teachers chose from training sessions, individual meetings, planning sessions, resources, or demonstration lessons as the methods for helping them achieve the goals set out in the grant. Teachers selected to participate in the training program associated with the grant are expected to mentor other teachers.

Teachers at H. D. Hilley worked with other teachers in the district to design the Socorro Teacher Academy, a district program that brings together top teachers to design and deliver both personal and professional growth opportunities. Aligned with the district's vision and goals, the Academy produces teacher leaders who are eager to assume responsibility for the success of ALL students.

This site also exemplifies the following practice(s):

• Professional development should provide learning opportunities that relate to individual needs but are, for the most part, organized around collaborative problem solving.  

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