A few weeks ago, the United States Senate passed their version of the re-authroization of the “No Child Left Behind” Law (See my story on that: ECAA; Every Child Achieves Act of 2015). Although this version and the House version will have to be reconciled for its differences, a new part of the ECAA in the Senate version is worth noting on professional development.
This new part is the extent to which teachers are to be trained, supported, and sustained as they do their work. Although the field has long recognized this need, the definitions in the new bill are exciting to see proposed into the law. I quote from that Senate version below:
‘‘(30) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The
13 term ‘professional development’ may include activi-
14 ties that—
15 ‘‘(A) improve and increase teachers’ knowl-
16 edge of the academic subjects the teachers
17 teach;
18 ‘‘(B) are an integral part of broad
19 schoolwide and districtwide educational im-
20 provement plans;
21 ‘‘(C) give teachers, principals, other school
22 leaders, and administrators the knowledge and
23 skills to provide students with the opportunity
24 to meet challenging State academic standards;
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1 ‘‘(D) improve classroom management
2 skills;
3 ‘‘(E)(i) are high quality, sustained, inten-
4 sive, and classroom-focused in order to have a
5 positive and lasting impact on classroom in-
6 struction and the teacher’s performance in the
7 classroom; and
8 ‘‘(ii) are not 1-day or short-term work-
9 shops or conferences;
10 ‘‘(F) support the recruiting, hiring, and
11 training of effective teachers, including teachers
12 who became certified through State and local
13 alternative routes to certification;
14 ‘‘(G) advance teacher understanding of ef-
15 fective instructional strategies that are—
16 ‘‘(i) based on scientifically valid re-
17 search; and
18 ‘‘(ii) strategies for improving student
19 academic achievement or substantially in-
20 creasing the knowledge and teaching skills
21 of teachers; and
22 ‘‘(H) are aligned with and directly related
23 to—
24 ‘‘(i) challenging State academic stand-
25 ards and assessments; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the curricula and programs tied
2 to the standards described in clause (i);
3 ‘‘(I) are developed with extensive participa-
4 tion of teachers, principals, other school leaders,
5 parents, and administrators of schools to be
6 served under this Act;
7 ‘‘(J) are designed to give teachers of chil-
8 dren who are English learners, and other teach-
9 ers and instructional staff, the knowledge and
10 skills to provide instruction and appropriate
11 language and academic support services to
12 those children, including the appropriate use of
13 curricula and assessments;
14 ‘‘(K) to the extent appropriate, provide
15 training for teachers, principals, and other
16 school leaders in the use of technology so that
17 technology and technology applications are ef-
18 fectively used in the classroom to improve
19 teaching and learning in the curricula and aca-
20 demic subjects in which the teachers teach;
21 ‘‘(L) as a whole, are regularly evaluated
22 for their impact on increased teacher effective-
23 ness and improved student academic achieve-
24 ment, with the findings of the evaluations used
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1 to improve the quality of professional develop-
2 ment;
3 ‘‘(M) provide instruction in methods of
4 teaching children with special needs;
5 ‘‘(N) include instruction in the use of data
6 and assessments to inform and instruct class-
7 room practice;
8 ‘‘(O) include instruction in ways that
9 teachers, principals, other school leaders, spe-
10 cialized instructional support personnel, and
11 school administrators may work more effectively
12 with parents;
13 ‘‘(P) involve the forming of partnerships
14 with institutions of higher education to estab-
15 lish school-based teacher, principal, and school
16 leader training programs that provide prospec-
17 tive teachers, novice teachers, principals, and
18 other school leaders with an opportunity to
19 work under the guidance of experienced teach-
20 ers, principals, and other school leaders, and
21 college faculty;
22 ‘‘(Q) create programs to enable paraprofes-
23 sionals (assisting teachers employed by a local
24 educational agency receiving assistance under
25 part A of title I) to obtain the education nec-
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1 essary for those paraprofessionals to become
2 certified and licensed teachers; and
3 ‘‘(R) provide follow-up training to teachers
4 who have participated in activities described in
5 this paragraph that are designed to ensure that
6 the knowledge and skills learned by the teachers
7 are implemented in the classroom.’’;
8 (10) by inserting after paragraph (30), as re-
9 designated by paragraph (2), the following:
10 ‘‘(31) SCHOOL LEADER.—The term ‘school
11 leader’ means a principal, assistant principal, or
12 other individual who is—
13 ‘‘(A) an employee or officer of an elemen-
14 tary school or secondary school, local edu-
15 cational agency, or other entity operating the
16 elementary school or secondary school; and
17 ‘‘(B) responsible for the daily instructional
18 leadership and managerial operations of the ele-
19 mentary school or secondary school.
20 ‘‘(32) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The
21 term ‘scientifically valid research’ includes applied
22 research, basic research, and field-initiated research
23 in which the rationale, design, and interpretation are
24 soundly developed in accordance with the principles
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1 of scientific research (as defined in section 637 of
2 the Head Start Act).’’;
3 (11) by inserting after paragraph (34), as re-
4 designated by paragraph (2), the following:
5 ‘‘(35) SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
6 PERSONNEL; SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
7 SERVICES.—
8 ‘‘(A) SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUP-
9 PORT PERSONNEL.—The term ‘specialized in-
10 structional support personnel’ means school
11 counselors, school social workers, school psy-
12 chologists, and other qualified professional per-
13 sonnel involved in providing assessment, diag-
14 nosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and
15 other necessary services (including related serv-
16 ices as that term is defined in section 602 of
17 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
18 as part of a comprehensive program to meet
19 student needs.
