POLICY MANUAL - Calhoun County Schools

• attending faculty meetings;• serving on school-based committees (e.g., SACS/CASI, BBSST, textbookreview, IEP/MET);• conducting parent conferences;• attending PTA/PTO meetings;• attending orientation or awareness sessions (e.g. for products and/or servicesunder consideration, new laws, and/or regulations);• attending sessions on legal requirements (e.g., special education procedures,test administration procedures, sexual harassment); and• attending meetings for explanations of administrative procedures (e.g. PEPE,recordkeeping).Professional development points will not be awarded for participation in activities that areconsidered professional services.There are circumstances in which professional services topics may evolve into in-depth trainingthat meets the definition and criteria of high-quality professional development. In these cases,professional development points may be properly awarded.Professional development activities approved by the Calhoun County Board of Education mustbe based on the standards established by the National Staff Development Council, andapproved by the Alabama State Board of Education.Professional Development Standards• Effective professional development organizes adults into learning communities whosegoals are aligned with those of the school, the district, and the state.• Effective professional development requires knowledgeable and skillful school anddistrict leaders who actively participate in and guide continuous instructionalimprovement.• Effective professional development requires resources to support adult learning andcollaboration.• Effective professional development uses disaggregated student data to determine adultlearning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement.• Effective professional development uses multiple sources of information to guideimprovement and demonstrate its impact.• Effective professional development prepares educators to apply research to decisionmaking.• Effective professional development uses learning strategies appropriate to the intendedgoal.• Effective professional development applies knowledge about human learning andchange.