No Child Left Behind Act funds will once again be available this school year through Title II Part D (ED TECH) that can be used for professional development.  Professional development plays an essential role in successful education improvement. Professional development serves as the bridge between where prospective and experienced educators are now and where they will need to be in the future to meet the new challenges of guiding all students in achieving higher standards of learning and development.  Professional development activities must be designed with the input of teachers, principals, and other personnel, and must meet a variety of technical standards. Specifically, they must:
 

• be tied to state content and student performance standards;
• reflect current research on teaching and learning;
• be designed to have a positive impact on the teacher's performance in the classroom;
• contribute to continuous improvement in the classroom or throughout the school;
• include methods to teach children with special needs;
• be developed with extensive participation of teachers; and
• include gender-equitable education methods, techniques, and practices.

Title II Part D funding will be used to provide system-wide training on November 7, 2006.  A new component of after school training sessions will be added this year through the Technology Coach,  a new position at each school.  The Technology Coach will assist teachers throughout the year. In addition,  the Technology Coach and their principal can submit an after school staff development plan. This plan will consist of four 1.5 hour sessions throughout the year that are scheduled after school for teachers to attend as staff development opportunities for technology integration. Training sessions have been scheduled to meet the following goals:

Provide staff development that will help teachers improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools

Provide staff development that will help teachers assist students in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that they are technologically literate by the time they finish the eighth grade

Provide staff development that will ensure that teachers are able to integrate technology into the curriculum to improve student achievement


 


Title of Inservice	Research	Date	Location	Assessment
Technology Inservice Day	research	November 7, 2006	CDHS  CDMS	Results
After School Staff Development	research	Ongoing, Sustained	15 Schools	Results

A survey will be completed by participants to evaluate the effectiveness of sessions that are offered.  Results of these surveys will be posted online by the end of the 2006-2007 school year.

Greene County schools will use Title II Part D formula funds for providing ongoing and sustained professional development in the integration of advanced technologies, including emerging technologies, into curricula and instruction and in using those technologies to create new learning environments, such as professional development in the use of technology

• to access data and resources to develop curricula and instructional materials;
• to enable teachers
• to use the Internet and other technology to communicate with parents, other teachers, principals, and administrators
• to retrieve Internet-based learning resources;
• to lead to improvements in classroom instruction in the core academic subjects, that effectively prepare students to meet challenging State academic content standards including increasing student technology literacy, and student academic achievement standards.