I.

Structure of the Professional Development Committee

A.

Teachers shall nominate and elect the members of the district’s Professional Development Committee (DPDC) by secret ballot.

1.

Nomination – A nomination form shall be available in the school office. Eligibility is limited to teachers who have at least three (3) years of teaching experience in the St. Charles School District and a total of five (5) years of experience as a teacher. The principal will place those names nominated on a ballot and announce the names. There should be at least one (1) week between nomination and election.

2.

Election – The election shall be by secret ballot within each school according to the building election schedule. A teacher and principal will count the ballots. If only one (1) teacher is nominated and accepts the nomination, the DPDC representative can be elected by acclamation. The ballots will be kept at the building for one (1) year. The name of the successful candidate will be forwarded to the Human Resources and Curriculum and Instruction Departments.

B.

Only teachers shall be voting members of the DPDC. Any DPDC member who becomes supervisory or evaluative will forfeit his/her position for the remainder of his/her term.

C.

Vacancies will be filled by building election. Those elected will only serve until the next scheduled building election.

D.

DPDC members shall be elected by April 15 for staggered three-year terms according to the building election schedule to ensure continuity.

E.

All members of the DPDC shall elect a co-chairperson by majority vote at the May meeting. The co-chairperson should have one (1) year of experience on the DPDC and will serve a three-year term, the first as co-chairperson, the second as chairperson, and the third as chair advisor.

F.

The DPDC shall be comprised of one (1) teacher representative from each elementary, middle and high school, Success Campus, Lewis and Clark Vocational, School Student Services and Instructional Services.

G

Each building shall establish a building PDC that will consist of the DPDC representative, a principal and at least one (1) teacher volunteer.

H.

Participation on building and district PDCs shall be considered as professional involvement for performance-based teacher evaluation.

I.

The Assistant Superintendent Human Resources, the Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction, one (1) elementary and one (1) secondary principal shall serve as ex officio members of the DPDC. They shall act in an advisory/liaison role with no vote in DPDC proceedings. The DPDC may wish to make use of other district staff as consultants on a periodic or regular basis. Higher educational faculty members may also be used as consultants.

J.

The DPDC shall meet on a regular basis during release time with substitutes provided by the district. The DPDC chairperson, the co-chairperson, and the chair advisor shall establish the schedule of meetings with the consent of the DPDC committee. The district will also supply training, clerical services and supplies, as required.

K.

The chairperson will be paid the equivalent of 40 hours at the district hourly rate, the co-chairperson and the chair advisor (past chair) will be paid the equivalent of 20 hours at the district hourly rate, and other DPDC members will be paid the equivalent of ten (10) hours at the district hourly rate.

L.

DPDC voting members are expected to attend regularly scheduled meetings. Members will be removed from the committee if they have no more than two (2) unexcused meetings during the year, and the above-listed procedure for filling vacancies will occur.

II.

Professional Development Committee Responsibilities

A.

Information and Communication

1.

The DPDC will communicate and collaborate with the staff and administration including, but not limited to, the dissemination of the PDC meeting minutes.

2.

An orientation shall be conducted by the DPDC on an annual basis at New Teacher Orientation.

3.

The DPDC will provide guidance and support to new teachers and their assigned mentors in the form of professional development for mentor/mentee teams.

4.

The building representative is responsible for voicing the views, concerns and needs of his/her building to the DPDC committee including, but not limited to, suggestions for appropriate staff development and resources.

B.

Assessing Professional Development Needs

1.

The DPDC shall be responsible for assessing professional development needs of the district.

2.

Instructional needs should be assessed by using multiple techniques that could include, but are not limited to:

a.

Interviews

b.

Questionnaires/Surveys

c.

Observations

d.

Study of archival materials such as student achievement, discipline and suspension statistics, dropout and transient rates, MAP data, resource inventories, personnel accreditations, library checkouts, etc.

3.

The DPDC shall be responsible for compiling and analyzing the data, identifying the nature and magnitude of needs and prioritizing the needs.

4.

The DPDC shall set goals based on the needs assessment.

5.

The DPDC shall communicate the needs assessment results to all stakeholders.

C.

Developing Appropriate Activities to Meet Individual/Group Needs

1.

Plan and implement in-service program. 

a.

Appropriate in-service opportunities will be developed by DPDC to meet specified needs of teachers. Efforts will be made to tailor programs to the needs of specific groups.

b.

In-service programs may be offered throughout the year. If the in-service is deemed mandatory by the building or district, in-services should be provided during release time or a stipend should be provided if held outside the regularly contracted time.

c.

Goals for each component of the professional development plan recommended by the DPDC should be clearly defined and are subject to change during the course of the year as determined by staff and district needs.

d.

Professional development could involve, but is not limited to: curriculum and assessment development, analysis of data, teacher collaboration, reading of professional publications and research, action research, observation of other classrooms/teachers, conferences and workshops, study groups, and visits to successful schools.

e.

The DPDC must coordinate plans for implementation of district in-services with the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction.

2.

Serve as confidential consultant for staff development:

a.

The PDC or individual PDC members can serve as confidential consultant(s) to aid teachers with instructional concerns related to staff development and to facilitate professional growth.

b.

All teachers can request the services of a confidential consultant for staff development activities.

c.

Identification of any teacher who requests the assistance of a confidential consultant for staff development will not be included in any records maintained by the PDC.

d.

The relationship between the teacher and the consultant is confidential with sharing of information made only as required by subpoena or upon release by teacher.

e.

Records maintained by confidential consultants in the process of assisting a teacher must not be incorporated into the evaluation process.

3.

Maintain a mentor program.

a.

Each beginning teacher will be assigned a mentor to assist in matters concerning classroom instruction, classroom management and in-service training for a period of two (2) years.

b.

Each experienced teacher new to the district will be assigned a mentor to assist in matters concerning district policy and procedures for a period of one (1) semester.

c.

The mentor candidate should have at least five (5) years of teaching experience. When selecting a mentor teacher, consideration should be given to grade level and/or content area experience. Mentors will be assigned by the building administrator.

d.

Each mentor teacher shall be responsible for one (1) beginning teacher only.

e.

Each mentor teacher must attend district training.

f.

The mentor teacher will be given release time to observe, review and assist the beginning teacher a maximum of two (2) half-days.

g.

The beginning teacher may receive up to three (3) half-days of release time for observation of or consulting with the mentor teacher.

h.

The mentor teacher will receive compensation in addition to the release time. The extra duty contracts for mentoring are issued through the Human Resources office.

i.

The mentor teacher and beginning teacher in collaboration with the building principal shall develop and implement a detailed plan of professional growth including goals for improvement and enrichment.

j.

The mentor log shall be submitted to the DPDC to certify the completion of the mentor program. A certificate of completion will be given to the individual and a copy will be placed in his/her personnel records.

4.

Recordkeeping, annual evaluation and reporting.

a.

All records of official DPDC and building PDC business shall be organized and kept for five (5) years.

b.

The DPDC shall maintain records pertaining to, but not limited to, new teacher orientation and mentoring program, assessing the professional development needs of the district, developing appropriate staff development opportunities, creating and maintaining the budget, and minutes of meetings.

c.

The DPDC should continuously monitor and evaluate professional development.

d.

The DPDC will annually review and develop a Professional Development Plan in collaboration with the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction based upon the district’s goals and identified needs. The professional development plan should be submitted to the superintendent, the faculty and the Board of Education as part of the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP).

e.

An annual program evaluation of professional development will be produced in collaboration with the DPDC and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction and include recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the PDC program. The annual report should be submitted to the superintendent, the faculty and the Board of Education as part of the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP).