Carla Grant Mathis

EDD/721

November 24, 2014

VISION STATEMENT

West Mecklenburg High School provides students with a challenge and globally,

competitive education designed to promote success in post-secondary education and the

workforce in the 21st century.

MISSION STATEMENT

West Mecklenburg High School strives to maximize the academic and social potential of

all students and to produce globally, competitive life-long learners.

ONE-SIZE FITS ALL APPROACH

GENERIC NOT SPECIFIC

LACK RELEVANCE FOR SOME PARTICIPANTS

According to the American Federation of

Teachers, “Professional development is a

continuous process of individual and

collective examination and improvement of

practice. It should empower individual

educators and communities of educators to

make complex decisions; to identify and

solve problems; and to connect theory,

practice, and student outcomes.”

SENSE OF URGENCY!!!!!!!

Percent of Students College and Career Ready

2013-14 2012-13

Overall EOC: 37.76% 37.5%

English II EOC: 40.40% 37.8%

Math I EOC: 25.34% 28.4%

Biology EOC: 50.15% 30.2%

Reference: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

41.35% of teachers responded to the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey

43 out of 104 teachers responded which is a decline in responses from previous years

51.2% - agree that professional development is differentiated to meet individual needs

46.3% agree that professional development deepens teachers’ content knowledge

43.6% agree that professional development results are evaluated and communicated to teachers

2014 North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions

Multifaceted

Create a learning culture that fosters

collegial decision making based on

qualitative and quantitative student data

Shared leadership

Emphasis on learning versus

teaching/instructing

Needs-based targeted professional

development

Interactive training and development on

effective professional learning communities

and the collection and use of data

Sustainable transformational leadership will

be required to implement the change in

professional development (Vogel, 2013).

The implementation of true Professional

learning communities is a value-added

second-order change designed to increase

student achievement by creating a support

structure among teachers, school-level

instructional leaders and administrator.

American Federation of Teachers. Professional Development for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/topics/teacher-quality/prodev.htm.

Dufour, R., Dufour, R., Eaker, R., and Many, T. (2006). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Fullan, M. & Centre Strategic Education (Vic.). (2011). Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform. East Melbourne, Vic: Centre for Strategic Education.

Guskey, T. R. (2007). Closing achievement gaps: Revisiting Benjamin S. Bloom’s “Learning for Mastery”. Journal of Advanced Academics, 19(1), 8-31. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/2227473837?accounted=458

Kotter, J. (2010). 8 steps for leading change. Available at www.kotterinternational.com/KotterPrinciples/ChangeSTeps.aspx.

North Carolina Working Conditions. (2014). Retrieved from North Conditions Working Conditions. (2014). Retrieved from http://2014.ncteachingconditions.org/results/report/155/63717/pdf

Vogel, L. (2012). A leader’s journey: The challenges of implementing standards-based student grouping. NASSP Bulletin, 96(4), 323-349. SAGE Publications.