Professional Development for Teachers Initiative

Authorization (N.J.A.C. 6A:9-15)

2010-2011 Professional Development Planning

The New Jersey Department of Education has released newly designed professional development planning templates and processes, developed in 2009 in conjunction with the Professional Teaching Standards Board, the advisory body to the Commissioner.  Based on current research on teacher efficacy and best practices, the plans have been designed to facilitate both school planning and district level planning.  Each plan includes detailed, user-friendly guidance to help professional development committee members, administrators, teachers and other members of the school community understand the elements of high quality professional development.  The  2010-2011 planning and implementation process should build direct connections between what teachers learn as they improve their practice and how students achieve success.

For districts with one school only, the school will submit one plan, not two, and should use the school-based plan template and guidance.

The school-based and district-based plans both have separate templates to be used when typing the narrative sections. There has been a delay in posting these templates. Until they are available, please copy and paste the questions from the guidance document. When the templates are posted, you can copy the work you’ve done into the appropriate template. Check this site regularly for the templates.

Listed below are guidance documents, a timeline and other valuable resources for educators involved in the planning process for the 2010-2011 professional development plans.

Plan Submission

2010-2011 Professional Development Plans

A Guidance Document for the School Professional Development Plan

The following documents are to be used by schools in writing the school plan which will be submitted to the County Professional Development Board (posted December 10, 2009):

School Professional Development Profile Sheet
31 KB PDF File
(Please note:  Please type your information into the sheet and save on your computer.  This will be sent to the district with the plan and plan summary.  If you are a one school district, please complete the district profile sheet to send the county.)

School Professional Development Plan Template
15.8 MB Microsoft Word File. The downloading of the templates may take several minutes.  Once the template is downloaded please save it to your computer.
(Please note: This document allows you to type all the planning team’s responses to the questions in the school plan in narrative or bulleted form.  Please put your cursor at the end of the row by the last question and hit enter/return in order to begin typing. Save the document to your computer.  The entire plan, including the summary sheet will be sent to the district committee.  A one school district will submit the school level plan with the district profile sheet to the county.  There is no need for the one school district to do the summary sheet.) 

A Guidance Document for the District Professional Development Plan

The following documents are to be used by districts in writing the district plan which will be submitted to the County Professional Development Board (posted December 10, 2009):

District Professional Development Profile Sheet
41 KB PDF File
(Please note: Please type your information into the sheet and save on your computer for submission with the plan to the County Board).

District Professional Development Plan Template
(Revised 3/10/10)
16.1 MB Microsoft Word File. The downloading of the templates may take several minutes.  Once the template is downloaded please save it to your computer.
(Please note: This document allows you to type all the planning team’s responses to the questions in the school plan in narrative or bulleted form.  Please put your cursor at the end of the row by the last question and hit enter/return in order to begin typing.  Save the document to your computer for submission to the County Board. When submitting the district plan, please attach only school summary sheets for all schools.) 

Timeline for Submission of Plans

County Professional Development Board Rubric

Resources for Teachers and Administrators

Professional Learning for Teachers - A Guidance Package for PDP Planning (formerly “What Counts”)

NSDC Definition of Professional Development (adapted by NJ Professional Teaching Standards Board and New Jersey Education Association Delegate Assembly)

NJ Professional Development Standards
(rationales may be accessed at http://www.nsdc.org/standards/index.cfm)

Guidance for Moving into the Five-year Cycle

A Common Language for Professional Learning Communities (308 kb PDF )

Professional Standards for Teachers and School Leaders (429 kb PDF )

Revisions to Standard 7 : Special Needs and New Standard 11: Professional Responsibility

New Jersey educators may obtain access to Collaborative Professional Learning in School And Beyond: A Tool Kit for New Jersey Educators by sending an email to Teachpd@doe.state.nj.us.  Include the name of the school district or New Jersey affiliation making the request.

Presentations on Collaborative Professional Learning in New Jersey

New Jersey educators may download the presentations for use in training and capacity building in school districts.

Schools as Collaborative Learning Communities: Getting Results
presented by Stephen Barkley

Celebrating Our Strengths and Confronting Our Challenges
presented by Douglas Reeves.

Follow these instructions to access NJ DOE webinars:

1. You will need the Java application and a headset or speakers to hear the webinar.
2. First, check your computer by going to www.elluminate.com/support. At this site, the system will notify you whether the Java application is already on your computer. If it is not, you may download it free of charge.
3. Continue following the directions to check your computer’s audio system, both spoken and heard.
4. When your computer is ready, go to the webinar.
5. A window will open. If the site has been blocked for security purposes, click to download the file. Wait until the file opens; it might take a while.

School Professional Development Committees (SPDCs) and Local Professional Development Committees (LPDCs) should collaborate regularly to communicate a collective vision for professional development and support the planning process at both the school and district levels. The SPDCs and LPDC are encouraged to view the two guidance webinars jointly and have discussions related to the respective roles of school committees and district committees. It is also important to establish a mechanism for ongoing collaboration among schools, the LPDC and central office administrators. You may send questions related to your plans to TeachPD@doe.state.nj.us.

Webinar - Module Six - October 21, 2009 - District-Based Planning for Professional Development

Webinar - Module Six - October 21, 2009:  powerpoint presentation printable version

Webinar Module Five - October 20, 2009 - School-Based Planning for Professional Development

Webinar - Module Five - October 20, 2009:  powerpoint presentation printable version

Webinar - Module Four - March 31, 2009 - Let’s Make It Happen  Leadership Skills and Attitudes That Foster Learning Communities

Webinar - Module Four - March 31, 2009:  powerpoint presentation printable version

Webinar - Module Three - February 3, 2009 - Building a Culture of School-Level Collaborations

Webinar - Module Three - February 3, 2009:  powerpoint presentation printable version

Webinar - Module Two - February 2, 2009 - First Steps Towards Implementing Collaborative Professional Development Planning

Webinar - Module Two - February 2, 2009:  powerpoint presentation printable version

Webinar - Module One - October 29, 2008 - Changes to Professional Development Requirements for Teachers

Webinar - Module One - October 29, 2008 powerpoint presentation printable version