PD 360 Case StudyLarge, Suburban Oregon District Builds Focused Differentiated Learning with PD 360

“The most significant approach to student achievement

is through providing high-quality teachers. PD 360 and

Common Core 360 affect our students’ success by

helping us become more focused in our teacher training.”

Rachael Harms, Professional Development Coordinator, Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Oregon

Profile In 1955, Keizer School District #88 (est. 1878) and Salem

School District #24CJ (est. 1855) merged to form Salem-

Keizer Public Schools. Today it is the second-largest

district in Oregon and serves almost 41,000 students in

67 schools. The last 25 years have brought rapid growth

in student diversity with inherent opportunities for

differentiated learning strategies.

This is a high-achieving district that is serious about

progress as shown by their statistics listed below:

• District dropout rate fell to 2.63 percent in 2012, a

significant decrease from 7.20 percent in 2008.

• Between 2008 and 2012, student performance on AP

exams had a 17 percent increase, while the number of

students participating increased by 35 percent.

• In 2007, 184 sophomores took the PSAT/NMSQT,

and in 2012, the number of students participating

increased to 2,580.

• In 2012, 4,414 students were enrolled in 227 Career &

Technical Education programs and those who completed

their programs had a 90 percent graduation rate.

Focuses Always striving to move forward, Salem-Keizer currently

has the following professional focuses:

• Common Core

• Student engagement

• Equity and closing the achievement gap

• College and career readiness

Solutions

As Salem-Keizer Public Schools Coordinator of Profession-

al Development, Rachael Harms is a dynamic advocate of

student centered learning and individualized teacher prog-

ress. A vibrant, hands-on administrator, she understands

the impact of highly effective teachers on student success.

Four years ago, Ms. Harms was influential in the addition of

PD 360 to Salem-Keizer’s teacher improvement program

and a case study was created in 2010 that highlighted

her zeal for progress along with the excellent usage and

endorsement of teachers. Now in 2013, this updated study

is being added to observe evolving district needs and how

PD 360 addresses them.

Appreciative of PD 360, the district has also included

Observation 360 and Common Core 360. These three

components make up School Improvement Network’s

Educator Effectiveness System (EES) and meet each

Salem-Keizer focus with the following tools.

• Common Core 360 has over 300 videos with a

comprehensive set of tools that walk teachers through

every step of Common Core with aligned lesson guides,

implementation ideas, and lesson plans.

• PD 360 student engagement programs such as Working

on the Work with Phillip Schlecty, Conscious Classroom

Management with Rick Smith, in addition to webinars

and interactive communities.

• PD 360 student equity videos like How to Increase

Minority Student Achievement with Beverly Daniel

Tatum, Courageous Conversations about Race with

Glenn Singleton, and Equity 101 with Curtis Linton

and Michael Fullan.

• EES is a system encompassing every facet of education

to sustain leaders and teachers with skills that guide

students to college and career readiness.

Utilization Salem-Keizer is utilizing PD 360 in an assortment of

practices and to encourage consistency, an icon is installed

on each teacher’s computer for clicking easily to his or her

personal PD 360 site without password logins.

Common Core 360

Ms. Harms feels the district will get a lot of traction with

Common Core 360. A full scale rollout for teachers this

year will demonstrate how to best use the resources

within, allow time to explore them, and provide structured

time to understand, practice, and use them.

Focus Folders

Salem-Keizer has given every teacher a focus folder

addressing each item on the district strategic plan,

including student engagement and the available resources

found in PD 360. Teachers are asked to keep the folders on

their desks for easy access and continuous awareness.

Professional Development Units (PDU)

Salem-Keizer teachers are required to earn 125 PDUs every

five years for certification renewal and they love drawing

on PD 360 as a convenient source in which each cycle of

“watch, learn, apply, reflect” earns them one PDU.

Teachers Who Struggle

Teachers who struggle and need further support are

placed on Plans of Assistance and Improvement that

include an extra week of intensive training, including PD

360 with additional time to draw on it.

Title IIA Schools

To increase the number of highly qualified teachers,

paraprofessionals, and administrators, the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act (ESEA) grants allow Salem-

Keizer to draw on Title IIA funds to provide all of its

schools PD 360 access to bolster professional learning.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

Although use varies from school to school, many of Salem-

Keizer needs-based PLCs make use of Common Core 360

and PD 360 in group study and discussions. Additionally,

PD 360 is used with instructional coaches and mentor

training, as well as a tool for practice and calibration for

administrators who are participating in learning walks.

English Language Learners (ELLs)

Salem-Keizer has a large ELL population with 18.6 percent

of its students in ELL classes and 63 different languages

spoken in student homes. PD 360 programs illustrating

best practices are helpful in ways such as:

• ELL strategies in PD 360 videos are employed in trainings

by Ms. Harms and many of the content specialists.

• Teachers look for program segments pertaining to their

individual needs.

• The district middle school director often sends PD 360

segments to principals to build ELL awareness.

www.schoolimprovement.com | 801-572-1153

Custom Courses

Many teachers are accessing custom courses in Instructional

Coaching and Equity (Glenn Singleton classes) that Salem-

Keizer has provided for those interested and the feedback

has been overwhelmingly positive. They love the self-pacing

and relevant information.

Benefits LumiBook

LumiBook is the next step in education as an e-reading

platform that stays current with automatic author updates

and peer participation, joining expert research with the

principles of professional learning communities.

“LumiBook is Kindle on steroids! We really love its

interactive platform!”

Rachael Harms Professional Development Coordinator

Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Oregon

Improved Proficiency Scores

Salem-Keizer continually strives to increase student

success and as revealed in rising proficiency scores, this

approach has created a practice of consistent growth and

School Improvement Network is proud to be a part of the

development process.

Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Oregon 11th Grade Student Achievement Results Basic and Above Proficiency

Reading Math

2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2010-11 2010-11 2010-11

District 81% 83% 84% 67% 65% 73%

Excellent Customer Service and Training Support

Ms. Harms is very pleased with the support Salem-Keizer has

received from the School Improvement Network team who

consistently offer ways to facilitate more effective teachers.

“I tell people that PD 360 isn’t just a system, it’s a partner

in education. Everyone at School Improvement Network

wants to help us reach our goals. Our Strategic Partner

Advisor, Lee Ann Moorman is truly amazing and our

trainer, Karen Wathen is equally remarkable. Both are

fully engaged with our district’s needs.”

Rachael Harms Professional Development Coordinator

Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Oregon

The School Improvement Innovation Summit

Each year, Salem-Keizer sends 12 people to SIIS for

ground-breaking strategies and tools to prepare every

student to be college and career ready. The district

benefits when they return and share their new knowledge

in teacher groups.

Great Usage

The following high numbers confirm that Salem-Keizer

teachers enjoy the flexibility and autonomy of PD 360.

Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Oregon PD 360 Usage September 2012 – October 2013

Registered Users 2,368

Programs Viewed 2,447

Segments Viewed 5,096

Minutes Viewed 25,254

Conclusion

Ms. Harms caught the vision of PD 360 four years ago

and her enthusiasm continues to radiate through the

district. The Educator Effectiveness System is an integral

part of Salem-Keizer Public Schools, empowering teachers

to be responsible for their own growth with the tools

to address focuses and provide students with an

outstanding education.

“The longer we have PD 360, the more we learn about

its capabilities and the more specific we become in our

goals and implementation. Through our use of PD 360 and

Common Core 360, we have created a more centered, self-

contained, differentiated process.”

Rachael Harms Professional Development Coordinator

Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Oregon

www.schoolimprovement.com | 801-572-1153

www.schoolimprovement.com | 801-572-1153

About School Improvement

Founded in 1991 by teachers, School Improvement

Network has spent decades researching and documenting

the best practices in education. From this research, School

Improvement Network has developed the Educator

Effectiveness System. This system delivers a process to

improve teacher practice, and gives educators a set of

powerful tools to drive the process. Research shows that

districts and schools that use the tools in the Educator

Effectiveness System produce better teachers and,

as a result, experience dramatic increases in student

achievement, driving up student test scores by as much as

30 percent in a single year. School Improvement Network

works with thousands of schools and districts in every

state and around the world and has visited over 3,500

classrooms to document best practices in action. Learn

more at www.schoolimprovement.com