School Type: Public	School Setting: Suburban
Level: K-12	School Design: Traditional
Content Presented By:
National Awards Program for Model Professional Development

Replication Details

Replication Tips

Olathe School District is successful because it has a strong infrastructure to support staff development. Key elements in this infrastructure are clear goals, guiding principles, and a strong link between school improvement efforts and staff development. The guiding principles are:

• Children first
• Respect for all
• Teamwork
• Excellence and Quality
• Commitment to Individual Needs

These guiding principles influence decisions made about staff development.

The state's accountability system requires schools to have five-year plans focused on improving student achievement. Frequent data analysis and alignment among the district teams that design and support the district and school improvement plans and the schools improvement and staff development plan help keep the district and schools on a steady course toward improvement.

The district has invested in resources to supoprt staff development. A voter-approved resource to the Instructional Materials Center helped the district expand its training facilities, add a distance learning lab, computer training labs, and additional training rooms. The center houses instructional materials, videotapes, sets of books for study groups to use, and other support resources.

The district, as a result of a grant from the National Foundation for Innovations in Education (NFIE), is strengthening the link among appraisal, school improvement, and staff development. This effort has allowed the district to develop future teachers clubs, four professional development schools, an induction program for new employees, promotion of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification for experienced teachers, and support for teachers in need.

Costs and Funding

The district enjoys the support of its teachers' union and the community for staff development. The budget for staff development has risen from $10,000 in 1993 to $350,000 in 1998. The district has received approximately two million dollars in grants in the 1998-99 school year, as a result of aggressive proposal writing. Additional staff members have been added to provide support in staff development. Instructional Resource Teachers and subject area coordinators are available to support teachers and schools.

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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