Policy 4231 - Staff Development

Staff Development

The Board of Education recognizes that staff does essential work that supports a healthy school environment and the educational program. Classified and certificated staff shall have opportunities to participate in staff development activities that are high‐quality, ongoing, and research based in order to improve job skills, learn best practices, and meet changing conditions in the district.

The Superintendent or designee shall involve classified staff, site and district administrators and others, as appropriate, in the development of the district’s staff development program. He/she shall ensure that the district’s staff development program is aligned with district goals, school improvement objectives, the local control and accountability plan, English learner master plan and other district and school plans.

The district provides high‐quality professional development to classroom teachers, principals, administrators and other school or community personnel that is:

• Designed to improve the instruction and assessment of English learners
• Designed to enhance the teacher’s ability to understand and use curricula, assessment measure and instructional strategies for English learners.
• Based on research demonstrating the effectiveness of the professional development in increasing the pupil’s English proficiency or the teacher’s subject matter knowledge, teaching knowledge and teaching skills.
• Of sufficient intensity and duration to have a positive and lasting impact on the teacher’s performance in the classroom.

Staff development may address general workplace skills and/or skills and knowledge specific to the duties of each classified and certificated position, including, but not limited to, the following topics.

1. Student learning and achievement
   1. How paraprofessionals can assist teachers and administrators to improve the academic achievement of students
   2. Alignment of curriculum and instructional materials with Common Core State Standards for English Language arts/English Language Development and Mathematics 
   3. Best practices in appropriate interventions and assistance to at‐risk students
2. Student and campus safety
3. Education technology, including management strategies and best practices regarding the use of education technology to improve student performance
4. School facility maintenance and operations, including new research and best practices in the operation and maintenance of school facilities, such as green technology and energy efficiency, that help reduce the use and cost of energy at school sites
5. Special needs students, English learners, special education and Migrant, to include best practices to meet the needs of special needs of these students and to comply with any new state and federal mandates
6. School transportation and bus safety
7. Parent involvement, including ways to increase parent involvement at school sites
8. Food service, including new research on food preparation to provide nutritional meals and food management
9. Health, counseling, and nursing services
10. Environmental safety, including pesticides and other possibly toxic substances so that them may be safely used at school sites

For classroom instructional aides and teachers, staff development activities may also include academic content of the core curriculum, teaching strategies, classroom management, and other training, designed to improve student performance, conflict resolution and relationships among students.

The Superintendent or designee shall provide a means for continual evaluation of the benefit of staff development activities to staff and students.