Great teachers are lifelong learners and value collaboration
The Florida Times-Union
During the past nine months, Susanna P. Barton, editor of the Resident Community News Group, and WJCT education reporter Cyd Hoskinson interviewed successful public school educators through a grant from The Community Foundation's Philanthropic Initiative. They found some common traits that great teachers share on education's front lines. These teachers are lifelong learners and recognize the importance of collaboration.More

Australian Education Union: Ongoing PD more important than dismissing underperforming teachers
ABC Melbourne
A new report from the Productivity Commission found that Australian governments are not giving enough thought to dealing with underperforming teachers in government schools. It suggests that state and territory governments should delegate the authority to school principals to discipline and even dismiss teachers for unsatisfactory performance. But Angelo Gavrielatos, federal president of the Australian Education Union, believes it is more important that teachers have an entitlement to ongoing professional development in the interest of improving teaching and learning for all students.More

South Dakota district working out details of early release to implement collaboration and PD
Rapid City Journal
Rapid City, Iowa, schools will implement a weekly early release day next year to give teachers more time for professional development and student assessment. It is a tool used in what educators call a professional learning community. Horace Mann Elementary School is one of five schools that already incorporates weekly early release days into their school calendar. Principal Danny Janklow said the early releases and the collaboration time it has allowed teachers has improved student learning.More

Increased scores attributed to professional learning communities
Daily Herald
Mountain Ridge Junior High School in Highland, Utah, and Timberline Middle School in Alpine, are gearing up to preserve the top scores they earned on state criterion reference tests last year. Both schools' general education students achieved above 90 percent proficiency in all three content areas — math, science and language arts. To a large degree, both schools attribute the increased scores to the professional learning communities that Alpine School District initiated a handful of years ago.More

Oregon teachers find success in professional development
Salem-Keizer Public Schools
Professional development has been a focus point of the Salem-Keizer (Ore.) Public Schools strategic plan for several years. Teachers need to be equipped with relevant training and strategies to increase student achievement in the classroom. Salem-Keizer uses job-embedded professional development through mentoring and instructional coaches.More

Collaboration leads to students' success
Mukilteo Beacon
For the students in Club 9, victories are a new experience. All of them became part of the experiment at Mariner High, Cape Coral, Fla., because they were identified as, at best, unlikely to graduate on time, and, at worst, probable dropouts. Through an intensive, focused, collaborative effort, a small group of teachers work together to help those students improve academically and behaviorally. With the help of state funding, the teachers have a common free period to discuss curriculum, students, and other issues — and to provide each other supportMore

Educators talk quality teaching, importance of PD
Green Valley News
In the trade of education, quality teaching has always been a hot button issue. In order to help students, teachers must pursue professional development. It is one thing to be really smart and then another thing to know how to use that knowledge in the classroom, said Brian Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. "How does a doctor become a great doctor? They learn and practice, and that is exactly what teachers must do," he added.More

Emphasis on continuing PD will be welcomed by school leaders
Belfast Telegraph
The best teachers in the U.K. should be rewarded with higher pay than their colleagues, says a new report from the Commons Education Select Committee that examines the best ways of recruiting and retaining the best teachers. "The emphasis on continuing professional development, including the proposal for sabbatical scholarships, the recommendation for a national, high-level continuous professional development strategy and, eventually, an entitlement to CPD, will all be warmly welcomed by school and college leaders,” said Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College.More

July 22-25: 2012 Summer Conference in Denver
Learning Forward
Learning Forward's Summer Conference is the premier learning opportunity for school-based professional learning leaders and the administrators who support them. This conference is about inspiring, informing, and helping teacher leaders and administrators provide the most powerful forms of professional learning to all teachers with whom they work. Select from over 150 breakout sessions and roundtables that address important issues for school leaders.More

Save $75 on registration for 2012 Annual Conference in Boston
Learning Forward
Learning Forward's Annual Conference, Dec. 1-5, in Boston, is the best investment you can make to promote professional learning that advances educator and student performance. Experience cutting-edge keynotes and general sessions, participate in interactive learning sessions, and form lasting professional relationships. Save $75 when you register by May 31.More