Middlesex County Education Association IPD Committee Report November 19, 2009 Chair, Michele Shields Buono
MCEA County Workshops in September and October, 2009:
We had a very successful IPD Roundtable on September 30, 2009 at the East Brunswick Chateau. There were 58 MCEA members who attended this meeting. Pam Garwood, NJEA Associate Director of Professional Development who has been involved in Professional Development in her own school for years and was on the PTSB (Professional Teachers Standards Board) created in 1999, was the presenter. Pam spoke to us about NJEA Professional Development and Instructional Issues in our schools.
MCEA IPD Roundtable, Sept. 30, 2009 at the East Brunswick Chateau:
Leading Professional Learning in Our Schools:
The 12 Standards:
• Know your 12 PD Standards which are divided into 3 parts: content, process and content • Content. WHERE is the Professional Learning taking place? • Process. HOW will the Professional Learning Be conducted? • Content. WHAT will be the focus of the learning? • The standards are based on the premise: “Professional development that improves the learning of all students…”
Changes in PD Code:
• PD standards encourage collaborative learning experiences • Toolkit for NJ Educators recommended • Encourages PD learning to take place in collaborative teams within PD communities • All former Abbott Districts will use this same plan format, same timeline etc.
PD Regulations: Creation of School Professional Development Committees
• At least three teachers and one administrator • Teachers will be elected through the majority representative association • Chair to be elected by SPDC
More PD Issues: • You may serve on a local and school team. If you are on school team, you cannot serve on the county board. If you are on the local team, you cannot be on the county board. • The building principal cannot appoint SPDC members. If there is a vacancy, the local president can appoint members to be on the SPDC team. • You must get compensation or release time to work on your SPDC. • PD hours are portable if they are continuous. • The PDP helps us grow in the position we are in • You get PD hours for PD workshops. Everything must be clearly stated in the PDP. It is a living document. You can always add to it during the year. • A letter was sent to your superintendent of schools with the school grid template and the school district template on October 1, 2009. • Review the “What Counts” document on county rubrics. • Follow the new timeline for writing the PD Plans/Fall 2009 • Know what data to get for your evaluation • Reflect on your previous plans. What are the successes? Challenges?
To write a school PD plan you need: o Reflection o Needs Assessment o PD Goals o School PD Opportunities o PD Resources o Evaluation
THINKFINITY workshop at ETTC, October 15 and October 25, 2009
The MCEA sponsored 2 Thinkfinity workshops at the ETTC. We needed 15 participants and we met that in both sessions. Ruth Wang from the East Brunswick Education Association was the presenter. She helped our members navigate through the standards-based online resources including lesson plans, student materials, reviewed Web resources and interactives. Ruth showed us how to integrate online educational resources into our curriculum to engage our 21st Century students.
A small technology gift will be mailed to those members who participated in the Oct. 15 and Oct 25, 2009 workshops. The Thinkfinity workshop for Feb. 18, 2010 was cancelled. There will be a workshop at the East Brunswick Chateau on Feb. 18, 2010, TBD.
The Thinkfinity workshop for Feb. 25, 2010 will take place at ETTC. The registration form for the Feb. 25, 2010 Thinkfinity workshop is on the Middlesex County Education Association website. Fill out the online registration form and send it to Cheryl at: The Middlesex County Education Association, 43 Brunswick Woods Drive, East Brunswick, NJ 08816 one week prior to the workshop date. This is a good workshop!
