Why we advocate ongoing professional development and feedback for educators?
Researchers advocate that districts dedicate at least 10% of their annual budgets to professional development. [1] However, because districts are also required to invest in the full breadth of their academic programs, their actual average professional development expenditures equate to roughly 3% to 5% of their annual budgets.
This is problematic considering that school leader and teacher education programs cannot provide the extensive range of learning experiences necessary for their graduates to become effective in their roles. Once students graduate, they learn through experience. Research shows that it takes school leaders and teachers years to gain the skills they need to be effective in their roles. Educators, who do not receive effective professional development, cannot improve their skills and student achievement suffers. [2] If every student, in every classroom, is to receive a high quality, equitable, and inclusive education every day, then on-going professional development and feedback is imperative!
Our expert consultants provide high impact, interactive professional development. In addition, we offer on-site coaching addendums for a number of our professional development sessions. These supplements can be added to your package to solidify, into your organizational culture, the knowledge gained in our professional learning experiences. Please take a look below for more information.
[1] Mizell, Hayes .Why Professional Development Matters. Learning Forward: 2010 [2] Jacob, B. A. & Lefgren, L. The impact of teacher training on student achievement: Quasi-experimental evidence from school reform efforts in Chicago. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 8916: April 2002