Case studySchool Improvement Network

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dIstRICt PROFILe The Ocean Springs School District (OSSD) is located in the quaint community of Ocean Springs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is a small district composed of eight schools serving 5,500 students. Since it was a small village in the 1850s, education has been important to the people of Ocean Springs and there are high expectations for both students and teachers. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits all OSSD eight schools, the highest standard of accreditation Mississippi schools can achieve. Maintaining a Level 5 status on the Mississippi School Performance Levels, the district has continued to meet criteria established by the No Child Left Behind Act. District scores on statewide assessments are well above the state average and traditionally fall within the top ten districts in Mississippi. dIstRICt FOCus Student success is at the forefront of OSSDs objectives. Through deliberate hiring and professional development (PD) practices, it has built up a group of committed, hard working professionals who have created an excellent learning environment. OSSD continually utilizes a large amount of time and effort on PD to improve education.www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

District focuses include: Common CORE Differentiated Instruction Technology Assessment Writing sOLutION OSSD purchased PD 360 for a few of its schools in 2007. Without a focused district-wide push, teachers did not catch the vision and the program was discontinued. A few years later, School Improvement Network re-contacted OSSD Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Edna Waller. When she saw how much PD 360 had grown in content and capabilities, she knew it was time to try again and encouraged the district to purchase three years for all schools. This time teacher response and usage are thriving. aBOut Pd 360 PD 360 is an on-demand library of professional teacher development resources that leverages technology to make professional learning more effective, convenient, and sustainable. With over 200 hours of research-based video content,plustoolsforfollow-up,tracking,reflection,and group training, PD 360 is the most comprehensive solution to professional teacher development needs. More than 700,000 educators across North America already use PD 360 to access individualized support on the most relevant topics, like differentiation, minority

student achievement, English language learners, classroom instruction that works, leadership, assessment, and many more. PD 360s content is divided into hundreds of indexed and searchable segments that make it easy for teachers, administrators, aspiring leaders, coaches, mentors, paraprofessionals, and professional learning communitiestofindtheanswerstheyneed.Newcontent is added continuously to keep educators up-to-date. See a demonstration at www.pd360.com. dRIVING usaGe aNd IMPLeMeNtatION New Teacher Training Teachers new to OSSD are introduced to PD 360 as part of the orientation program. After learning about district goals and objectives, new teachers are given assignments to watch certain videos that show implementation of classroom practices. Teacher Certification Renewal TeachingCertificatesmustberenewedeveryfiveyearswith Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or college coursework earned during the validity period of the license. The Mississippi Department of Education no longer holds approval over programs used for CEU credit. School districts now choose their own programs and give CEUs. OSSD teachers use PD 360 to earn CEUs. To do so, they must watch an entire program and complete all reflectionandfollow-upquestionsthatarethentrackedby administrators. Walkthroughs/Observations OSSD principals are expected to visit the classroom of each teacher on a regular basis to offer suggestions and give encouragement. These visits have a huge impact on teacher training and improvement. After a classroom observation,aprincipalcanemailspecificPD360segment links that are relevant to the instructional needs of that teacher to provide easy and effective, job-embedded follow-up. Group Training Showing any of the 1,500 PD 360 video segments will enhance group teacher training. Principals are able to determine which segments most effectively address their schools needs and plan group PD around those segments. One OSSD staff meeting even had teachers learning to do desktop yoga, a program by renowned education consultant, J. Allen Queen. Struggling Teachers Principals help teachers who struggle by suggesting specificPD360programsaspartoftheteachersPlanofwww.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

Improvement. When there is an issue in their classrooms, they are directed to such topics as classroom management, diversity, and many more. To follow the teachers growth, administrators can track usage as well as answers to reflectionandfollow-upquestions. BeNeFIts Educator Enthusiasm OSSD educators are pleased with PD 360. Though the district does not mandate use, activity is increasing. Ocean Springs School District PD 360 Usage Highlights August 2010 June 2011 Percent of registered users that have viewed Average minutes viewed per user Total Minutes viewed Cost Effective OSSD administrators have found PD 360 to be very economical. The expenditure is much less than traditional PD and can be purchased with a variety of funding sources available to districts. In this case, OSSD was able to pay for PD 360 with Hurricane Katrina Recovery funding as well as the district budget. pD 360 is cost effective for Ocean Springs School District because it is always there for us. Drastic budget cuts have made it difficult to send teachers to training and conferences but pD 360 is there to train teachers in needed areas by the real experts in education.Dr. edna Waller assistant Superintendent of elementary curriculum and instruction Ocean Springs School District, MS

76% 53.8 14,098

Accessibility/User Capacity Dr.Wallerfindsitveryappealingthatteacherscanaccess PD 360 anytime and anywhere the Internet is available, viewing segments and programs as many times as they wish and as often as they require. Teachers are encouraged to take charge of their learning on their own time schedule. Large Library of Content/Relevant Topics OSSDeducatorsareimmediatelyfindingthehelptheyneed in the 1,500 fully indexed, professional development video

segments that address the most pertinent topics and have easy search ability. In addition, PD 360 continues to add up-to-date programs. Job Embedded Dr. Waller wanted a PD program to meet the diversity of teacherneedsandabilities,notaone-time,one-size-fits-all event but an evolving process of growth that is focused on job-embedded responsibilities. As questions and situations ariseinclassrooms,teacherseasilyfindanswersinPD360 and receive support for improving teaching skills when it is needed. CONCLusION This small district is glad it gave PD 360 a second chance and is now enjoying the advantages. OSSD teachers have caught the vision and usage is up as they draw onitfororientation,certificaterenewal,andclassroom improvement.Bestofall,studentsarebenefittingfrom highly skilled teachers. pD 360 is an outstanding, quality professional development product that can be used in so many ways. it is continually growing and remains timely. i am delighted to recommend it to other districts.Dr. edna Waller assistant Superintendent of elementary curriculum and instruction Ocean Springs School District, MS

aBOut sCHOOL IMPROVeMeNt NetWORK School Improvement Network is the leading provider of teacher education and teacher training, specializing in on-demand, research-based professional development anytime, anywhere. As the home of The Video Journal of Education, PD 360, Observation 360 and the Learning 360 Framework, School Improvement Networks education training resources focus on the most relevant topics, such as classroom management, minority student achievement, English language learners, and more. The resources also feature top experts such as Michael Fullan and Douglas Reeves, and show how to put theory into practice. With its focus on long-term improvement, sustainability, and greater internal capacity, School Improvement Network helps its clients close achievement gaps, meet high standards, and increase student learning for both elementary education and secondary education. To learn more about School Improvement Networks dynamic resources, visit www.schoolimprovement.com.

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