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

Summary

The practice: Professional development should be primarily school-based and built into the day-to-day work of teaching.

• 100% of teachers work with a teacher-leader weekly
• Teacher-leader observes one period of instruction a week
• 30-minute coaching sessions for 100% of staff
• Individual action plans for teachers
• Teachers have six hours of planning time each week

Learning for staff and students is a part of everyone's day at Montview Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado. Teachers receive weekly coaching sessions from their assigned teacher leader. These coaching sessions are focused on individual teacher action plans, which are developed weekly and outline what teachers want to focus on in each week's coaching session. A coaching session consists of an observation of a teacher's lesson and a 30-minute conference in which the coach focuses specifically on individual teacher's needs. Paraprofessionals and substitutes release teachers from their classroom to participate in the coaching sessions.

As a part of the Literacy Learning Network, Montview's teacher-leaders, principal, and assistant principal receive monthly coaching sessions from visiting Network. Teachers also have approximately six hours of planning time each week which results from the use of teaching assistants who are hired to relieve teachers for collaboration within grade level teams and with teacher leaders. This system of building the capacity of teachers within a school fosters continuous, job embedded learning for all teachers, paraprofessionals, and the school's administrators.

In addition to the weekly coaching session, teachers have other opportunities for learning. They may ask to attend professional development conferences for which their registration fees and substitute costs are paid. Instead of regular faculty meetings teachers have time to use for grade level planning, working with their teacher leaders, or participating in some other professional development experience outside of the school.

This site also exemplifies the following practice(s):

• Professional development should be continuous and on-going, involving follow-up and support for further learning, including support from sources external to the school that can provide necessary resources and new perspectives.  
• Professional development should provide opportunities to gain an understanding of the theory underlying the knowledge and skills being learned.  

  [Top]   [Next]

This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu