A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FOR RELEASE
September 18, 2000

News Media Contact:
Melinda Kitchell Malico
(202) 401-1008

Program Contact:
Sharon Horn
(202) 219-2203

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley today named four schools and three school districts as winners in the U.S. Education Department’s National Awards Program for Model Professional Development, citing their efforts to improve teachers' knowledge and skills and raise student achievement.

Award recipients are Concord Road Elementary School in Ardsley, N.Y.; Jacob Hiatt Magnet School in Worcester and the New England Center for Children, Inc., in Southboro, both in Mass.; Pebble Hills Elementary School in El Paso, Texas; and the following school districts: Wichita Public Schools, Wichita, Kan.; Broward County Public Schools in Broward County, Fla.; and Mountain Brook City Schools in Mountain Brook, Ala.

"These outstanding schools and districts are equipping teachers with the tools and expertise they must have to help young people reach high standards of achievement," Riley said. "While states are raising standards and challenging students to succeed academically, we must not neglect the one most critical component to achieve academic success. Our teachers must receive top-notch professional development to teach to new, higher standards; to take advantage of the latest tools that technology has to offer; and to fully master their subject matter. These award winners exemplify what can be done to give teachers the best skills and knowledge."

Established in 1996, the National Awards Program recognizes comprehensive efforts that improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement and is consistent with a set of principles for professional development that are based on the best available research and exemplary practice. These professional development programs can serve as models for schools and districts

as they design strategies to improve teachers' skills and knowledge of subject matter and as they demonstrate to their communities that investing in professional development pays off in significant improvements in student achievement.

Eligibility for the awards program is open to public and private schools and districts. The department's regional laboratories coordinated a rigorous review process that included a first round of evaluation by a non-federal panel of experts, comprehensive site visits of the most promising applicants, and final review by a blue ribbon panel. The panel made recommendations to Riley, who selected the final honorees.

Previous award winners will be featured Sept. 19 in Sacramento, Calif., at the department’s first of three Improving America’s Schools Conferences this year. This year’s winners will be honored in December at the third Improving America's Schools Conference in Washington, D.C.

A large urban K-6 elementary school in El Paso, Texas, Pebble Hills has a strong focus on improving student achievement. Pebble Hills has an extremely diverse student population, 78% Hispanic, 4% African American, .8% Asian and 18% White. Close to 25% of the students are limited English proficient and taught in bilingual classrooms.

Pebble Hills, a traditional school with average student achievement, embarked on a major reform initiative of instructional and professional development practices in 1995 with dramatic results. The school staff examined its instructional practices, student achievement data and current research on effective professional development. The staff established a professional development model that includes research-based practices, mentoring, model lessons, coaching, and problem solving around specific problems of the practice of teaching and learning.

Two instructional specialists support teachers at Pebble Hills in their effort. The instructional leaders facilitate conversations about "behind the glass" model lessons, in which teachers are observed by others. Teachers participate in weekly 45-minute instructional meetings. A

"Professional Development Center" also is located on campus where weekly meetings are held and professional journals, books, and videos are available for staff.

The most apparent evidence of the success of the professional development model is the continual climb over the past four years of grades 3-6 student achievement as assessed by the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. In addition, the campus developed a database of student assessments in literacy for its kindergarten through third grade students beginning with the 1998-99 school year. This charts the progress in literacy across time for K-3 students to assess program effectiveness and individual student progress in their primary grades.

Pebble Hills Elementary School
Dona Descamps, Principal
11145 Edgemere Blvd.
El Paso, Texas 79936
915-591-2981
915-591-9222 (fax)
descamps@aol.com

Established as an inner-city magnet school to foster racial integration, Jacob Hiatt attracts more than 700 students from throughout the district. Its student body is 51% white, 32% Hispanic, 12% African American and 5% Asian. Six percent of the school’s population receives special education services. The staff has worked hard to develop a strong academic program, and as a result of these efforts, the school is now recognized in the community for its academic achievement and has a waiting list of over one hundred students.

Professional development has always been at the forefront of Jacob Hiatt’s school agenda since its doors first opened in 1990. Teachers are seen as leaders at the school and are the driving force for the professional development program. The staff participates in collaborative sessions during and after school to share insights and to address concerns. Analyzing test scores, looking at student work, and revising curriculum and teaching practices to improve achievement drive the staff decision-making process.

Jacob Hiatt uses portfolios in conjunction with formalized test data to document student growth and achievement. To help assess the effectiveness of new instructional approaches and curriculum, the Jacob Hiatt staff devised and copyrighted a Portfolio Table of Contents which outlined the mathematical problem-solving pieces, discovery science tasks, and writing selections to include in student portfolios.

Portfolio assessments in all classrooms, on-site teacher research, and utilization of innovative instructional practices have all impacted on students’ academic successes, as evidenced by their performance on formal and informal assessments. Jacob Hiatt students performed above district and state levels on Grade 3 Iowa Reading Tests from 1997-1999 and scored significantly above district levels on the Grades 4, 5, and 6 Stanford Achievement Tests in both 1998 and 1999. Students at Jacob Hiatt also have performed well on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) achievement test in both 1998 and 1999, ranking in the top seven of the forty district elementary schools in all subject areas.

Jacob Hiatt Magnet School
Susan Proulx, Professional Development School Facilitator
772 Main Street
Worcester, Massachusetts 01610
508-799-3601
508-799-3603 (fax)

Concord Road Elementary is a K-4 school in an upper-middle class suburb, 20 miles north of New York City. The students at Concord Road have consistently met and exceeded New York State performance requirements. Teachers therefore approach professional development not as a vehicle to totally change what is already working, but as a means to extend and refine their knowledge and skills based on current research and theory.

Professional development initiatives are the essence of many building conversations. Administrators, as well as teachers, read, discuss, and meet with consultants, attend workshops and conferences and become involved in mutually determined initiatives. Curriculum time is provided so that teachers (K-4) can meet weekly to discuss curricular issues. The heart of the professional development program lies in grade-level and cross-grade common interest teams that are routinely given the opportunity to meet with experts, as well as to problem solve as a group.

New ideas are introduced and change is effected through a four-phase process: awareness, orientation, guided implementation and evaluation. The four-phase process includes a staff introduction establishing awareness about the proposed professional development initiative. Then small group or individualized orientation occurs during which information is gathered, planning occurs, and questions are addressed. Guided implementation follows as consultants and/or school administrators provide feedback, as well as ample time for peer collaboration and discussion. Success or additional needs are assessed during the evaluation stage.

One of the goals of the Concord Road professional development program is to improve teachers’ ability to work with diverse learners within the classroom setting. This goal is clearly being met as evidenced by the fact that special education and limited-English-proficient students are making consistent progress. In 1997, 90% of the special education students met the minimum competency requirements in reading, while in 1998 and 1999 100% of special education students performed at or above the minimal requirement. On the math assessment based on the New York State learning standards, 98% of the fourth graders performed at the proficient and advanced levels. Students are required not only to demonstrate computational accuracy, but also to explain and support their problem-solving strategies in writing.

Concord Road Elementary School
Rochelle B. Cohen, Principal
Concord Road
Ardsley, New York 10502
914-693-7510
914-693-8720 (fax)
shcohen@ric.lhric.org

The New England Center for Children is a private, nonprofit school serving 215 students with autism, pervasive development disorder, behavior disorder and related disabilities. Providing educational services to this historically underserved and challenging group of children requires specialized services delivered by competent professionals at all levels of the school.

The efforts of the Center are driven by its mission "To create a work environment in which all staff members are valued and respected and able to achieve their professional potential." The Center has developed a professional development model that fosters the optimum growth of each employee through the provision of expert supervision and mentoring, extensive training opportunities, participation in advanced degree programs on-site, and periodic attendance at professional meetings and conferences.

Program directors and specialists attend biweekly meetings that provide a forum for reviewing ongoing research projects, discussing recent publications, sharing effective program strategies, and discussing and evaluating curriculum issues. Staff members engage in ongoing professional development through the acquisition of continuing education credits and participation in advanced accreditation and certification programs. The Center supports a minimum of two yearly in-services with guest speakers who are selected on the basis of their expertise in particular educational or clinical areas relevant to student needs.

The evidence of success for the Center is unique because of the nature of the population that it serves. Over half of the enrolled students at the Center have failed in prior placements; no students have failed placement at the Center for educational reasons. More importantly, progress report data from the 1998-1999 school year indicate that students have met or made significant progress on 75% of their educational objectives. This is not the only evidence of success. Vocational skills data from students who have graduated in the past three years indicate that over 75% have successfully worked in paid jobs in the community while at the Center and over 85% of graduating students have completed volunteer internship positions in local businesses and public agencies.

The New England Center for Children, Inc.
Myrna E. Libby, PhD, Program Director
33 Turnpike Road
Southboro, Massachusetts 01772
508-481-1015
508-485-3421 (fax)
MLibby@NECC.org

The Broward County Public School District, with more than 239,960 students, 12,575 full-time instructional staff, and 209 schools, is the largest fully accredited school system in the nation. To meet the needs of a diverse multicultural/multiethnic population with students from 159 countries, speaking 53 languages, the district has created a professional development system that focuses on impacting student achievement through increased teacher effectiveness.

The district’s professional development program, Professional Pathways, ensures that staff development is long-term, based on research, relates to school improvement, and addresses both student and teacher needs. The plan is well designed with large system support, effective leadership, a willingness to use outside consultants, extensive community and parent involvement, and an evaluation system for feedback and reform.

Professional Pathways requires all professionals to write annual professional development goals that must be aligned with the school’s improvement plan. Professional development opportunities for staff members include individual activities, school-based activities, and certain district mandated activities. The district distributes Focus on Professional Pathways, a monthly publication describing professional development issues, opportunities, and information. A Clearinghouse Information Center contains resources that support the staff development initiatives within the district.

Since 1996, state writing assessment scores have increased in elementary grades and state mathematics assessment scores have increased in all levels, K-12. In addition, the district’s average Scholastic Achievement Test scores and average American College Test scores have increased since 1997. Advanced Placement Test results indicate that the average score of district students increased 4.6 points over the previous year, compared to the statewide increase of 1.7 points.

School Board of Broward County, Florida
Margarita Sasse, Director, Human Resource Development
3531 Davie Road
Davie, Florida 33314
954-424-4124
954-424-4128 (fax)
msass@interpoint.net

Wichita Public Schools is a large urban district of 48,547 students of which 46% of the students are minority and 51% qualify for free and/or reduced lunch.

Wichita Public Schools is guided by a strategic plan developed in 1993 by a group of 230 individuals chosen to be representatives of the district’s richly varied school community. An important component of the plan is an effective, aligned professional development program focused on the four districts goals: increased student achievement, reduction in the achievement gap between groups of students, increased graduation rate, and prepared graduates.

Exemplary practices include campus support teachers who provide on-site coaching in best practices; individual professional development plans for every employee -- certified and non-certified -- that focus on achievement of the district objectives; and school improvement planning that includes a results-based staff development plan for all teachers.

Reading, writing and math scores are improving in this district that includes increasing numbers of economically disadvantaged, special education and minority students. Each year, the district administers the MAT7, a norm-referenced, standardized test, to all students in grades three to eight. Since 1995 the average percentile scores of all student groups have continued to increase. The average percentile score for third grade has jumped from the 50^th percentile to the 61^st percentile; fifth grade math has gone from the 54^th percentile to the 64^th percentile.

Wichita Public Schools
Ranelle Long, Director, School Improvement/Staff Development
201 North Water
Wichita, Kansas 67202
316-973-4623
316-973-4770 (fax)
rlang@feist.com

Mountain Brook City Schools, long recognized for the outstanding academic performance of its students, serves 3,898 students in suburban Birmingham, Alabama. In the past six years, the creation of an effective professional development program for all employees has enabled this system to develop a culture committed to continuous improvement rather than simply continuing to do what has worked well in the past.

The professional development plan for Mountain Brook City Schools addresses five major areas: (1) the purposes, benefits and advantages of professional development; (2) the current research in regard to the characteristics of effective professional development activities; (3) the program areas of a comprehensive professional development program; (4) the processes that should be used to plan, implement and evaluate a comprehensive program; and (5) the current resources available for professional development.

Professional development goals emerge and are pursued through three main vehicles. First is the School Improvement Team at each school, chaired by the principal and composed of teachers, support staff, and parents. Secondly, the needs of the teaching staff are assessed at each school via grade-level department meetings. In addition, a district-level group comprising the Director of Instruction and the six assistant principals from each school, ensures a methodical, deliberate, and sustained approach to professional development.

Teachers report positive effects of this emphasis on professional development when they assess their own skills and the performance of their students. Data from various objective measures, including the SAT, show a steady increase across schools, grade levels and content areas that have been targeted through professional development.