Professional Education Report

Pennsylvania Department of Education

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
333 MARKET STREET
HARRISBURG, PA 17126-0333

Professional Education Report
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Entity: Lackawanna Trail SD
Address: PO Box 85
Factoryville, PA 18419-0085
Phone:
Contact Name: Robert Jurbala

Professional Education Planning Committee

Name	Affiliation	Membership Category	Appointed By
Alexandra DelPrete	Student	Other	Students
Alice Stuffle	Community Member	Business Representative	School Board
Jeff Gregory	Secondary Asst. Principal	Administrator	Administration
Donna Salva	Reading Specialist	Elementary School Teacher	Teachers
Edward Gaidula	Technology Coordinator	Other	Administration
Ellen Frank	Secondary Guidance Counselor	Ed Specialist - School Counselor	Educational Specialists
Frank Tylutki	Community Representative	Board Member	School Board
Gerauld Frost	Community Member	Community Representative	School Board
James Kotz	Teacher	Elementary School Teacher	Teachers
Jane Richards	Community Representative	Board Member	School Board
Janice Joyce	Curriculum Director	Administrator	Administration
JoAnn Radicchi	Special Education Director	Special Education Representative	Administration
John Richter	Teacher	Secondary School Teacher	Teachers
Kathleen Kelly	Teacher	Elementary School Teacher	Teachers
Kelly Hopkins	Parent	Parent	School Board
William Edwards	Community Member	Business Representative	School Board
Margaret Kerzetski	Teacher	Middle School Teacher	Teachers
Maria DelPrete	Parent	Parent	School Board
Matthew Rakauskas	Secondary Principal	Administrator	Administration
Brandi Thomas	Student	Other	Students
Robert M. Jurbala	Superintendent	Administrator	Administration
Robert Scott	Higher Education Representative	Community Representative	School Board
Stanley Harder	Teacher	Secondary School Teacher	Teachers
Timothy Ronchi	Secondary Guidance Counselor	Ed Specialist - School Counselor	Educational Specialists
Tony Dalasio	Teacher	Middle School Teacher	Teachers

Needs Assessment

1. The Lackawanna Trail School District has assessed the educational and staff development needs of the school district, professional staff, students, and the community served. This assessment was conducted through utilization of the following resources:
    .      Lackawanna Trail’s vision, mission, and goals established by the strategic planning process
    .      District’s profile information
    .      Professional Development Needs Assessment (January 2007)
    .      Federal programs monitoring reports
    .      Middle States (AFG) and evaluations
    .      NEIU 19 professional staff, parent & community, and student perception surveys
    .      Teacher induction evaluations
    .      Safe and Drug Free Survey
    .      Curriculum based local assessments
    .      Analysis of standardized testing results; i.e., Terra Nova, DIBELS, 4Sight
    .      Analysis of PSSA results
    .      Response to Intervention (RTI)

2. A District-wide on-line needs assessment survey involving district administrators and staff was conducted during the Fall, 2006. The survey assessed the professional development needs of the Lackawanna Trail School District. The results of the survey will assist the professional committee in making future decisions regarding the professional development needs at both the district and building levels. Detailed results of this needs assessment survey can be accessed in the supporting documents section of the professional education plan.

This survey was distributed to all professional educators in the school district. A comprehensive review of all the data, including the results of the needs assessment was analyzed to provide general, as well as targeted information, for the District professional education plan. As indicated by the needs assessment, the following high priority areas of professional development emerged:

    .    effectively teaching PA Mathematics, Reading, and Science Standards
    .    curriculum collaboration among teachers
    .    student achievement data analysis
    .    improving reading, math, and science scores
    .    developing and maintaining an effective teaching and learning environment
    .    differentiated instruction
    .    integration of technology

Professional Education Action Plan

Goal: MATHEMATICS
Description: At least 56% of all students will be proficient in Mathematics, as measured by the annual state-wide PSSA assessments.

Strategy: Benchmark Academic Progress
Description: Mathematics progress in grades 9 through 11 will be periodically reviewed for instructional refinement. Benchmark assessments will provide the progress data.
Activities:

Activity	Description
4Sight Assessment Analysis	Mathematics teachers will meet periodically to review 4Sight data on grades 9, 10, 11. Plans for improvement and refinement will be implemented based on the data results.
Person Responsible	Timeline for Implementation	Resources
Janice Joyce	Start: 11/14/2008 Finish: 2/12/2010	$1,600.00
Professional Development Activity Information
Number of Hours Per Session	Total Number of Sessions Per School Year	Estimated Number of Participants Per Year
2	3	15
Organization or Institution Name	Type of Provider	Provider's Department of Education Approval Status
Lackawanna Trail School District NEIU 19	School Entity Intermediate Unit	Approved
Knowledge and Skills	Research and Best Practices	Designed to Accomplish
Administrators and teachers will meet to review, analyze, and interpret student achievement data, including 4Sight benchmark assessment results, to determine instructional needs of individual students and professional learning needs of faculty and staff.	Instruction that is aligned with planned instruction supports effective learning and student achievement.	For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists: Enhances the educator's content knowledge in the area of the educator's certification or assignment. Increases the educator's teaching skills based on research on effective practice, with attention given to interventions for struggling students. Provides educators with a variety of classroom-based assessment skills and the skills needed to analyze and use data in instructional decision-making. For school and district administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles: Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as well as to Pennsylvania's academic standards. Provides leaders with the ability to access and use appropriate data to inform decision-making. Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning.
Educator Groups Which Will Participate in this Activity
Role	Grade Level	Subject Area
Classroom teachers Principals / asst. principals School counselors	High school (grades 9-12)	Mathematics
Follow-up Activities	Evaluation Methods
Team development and sharing of content-area lesson implementation outcomes, with involvement of administrator and/or peers	Standardized student assessment data other than the PSSA

Strategy: Curriculum & Assessment Alignment
Description: Periodic review of planned courses to ensure assessments match curriculum in terms of state standards, assessment anchors, and eligible content.
Activities:

Activity	Description
Professional Development Sessions	Time will be dedicated throughout the year to allow staff to meet and align planned courses K - 12
Person Responsible	Timeline for Implementation	Resources
Janice Joyce	Start: 10/10/2008 Finish: 2/11/2011	$5,500.00
Professional Development Activity Information
Number of Hours Per Session	Total Number of Sessions Per School Year	Estimated Number of Participants Per Year
2	2	62
Organization or Institution Name	Type of Provider	Provider's Department of Education Approval Status
Lackawanna Trail School District NEIU 19	School Entity Intermediate Unit	Approved
Knowledge and Skills	Research and Best Practices	Designed to Accomplish
The participants will be able to: 1) identify the content and skills that are to be taught; 2) analyze how content and skills develop over time (introduction, development, and reinforcement); 3) analyze the curriculum to identify gaps and redundancies; 4) align content, skills, and assessments with academic standards, assessment anchors, and eligible content.	Research supports the analysis of student achievement data to guide instructional planning and implementation.	For classroom teachers, school counselors and education specialists: Provides educators with a variety of classroom-based assessment skills and the skills needed to analyze and use data in instructional decision-making. For school and district administrators, and other educators seeking leadership roles: Provides the knowledge and skills to think and plan strategically, ensuring that assessments, curriculum, instruction, staff professional education, teaching materials and interventions for struggling students are aligned to each other as well as to Pennsylvania's academic standards. Provides leaders with the ability to access and use appropriate data to inform decision-making. Empowers leaders to create a culture of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning. Instructs the leader in managing resources for effective results.
Educator Groups Which Will Participate in this Activity
Role	Grade Level	Subject Area