Professional Development Systems

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Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State PD Systems -- Discussion Kickoff
From:Cassie Drennon Bryant cassie at drennonassoc.net
DAte:Sun Jan 29 22:27:32 EST 2006

Hi All,
Thank you Jackie for the introduction, and welcome -- all of you-- to this discussion on state professional development systems.

I was so pleased when Jackie invited me to co-facilitate with her for these two weeks. Not only will it be great to interact with old friends on the list with whom I haven't communicated in awhile, but I'm looking forward to making new acquaintances among those who share an interest in this important -- dare I say "fascinating" (!) topic. Jackie and I thought that a good way to launch this discussion would be to invite everyone, and especially our guest respondents, to share a description of their state PD systems. Everyone is encouraged to ask clarifying questions as the system descriptions are posted. Jackie and I will, in a few days, be weaving in new discussion threads based on themes that emerge in the various state profiles.

Clearly, professional development is organized differently in different states. Some states have very sophisticated, well-functioning PD systems. Other states are just beginning to work on system-building in professional development. We have much to learn from both these scenarios and everything in between. We may find that we even have different ideas about what a "system" is. Personally, when I think of a PD "system", I have in mind something in addition to the array of activities and services that might be available to practitioners for their staff development. I'm thinking on the level of infrastructure -- the components that comprise the PD system (e.g. an SLRC; several regional PDCs; local training units), the policies that guide it, the processes that are undertaken within in (e.g. processes for looking at data to i.d. areas for program improvement; processes for self-assessing against teacher competencies), the funding that supports it, as well as the staff who provide the sprit, vision, and leadership for it. To me, a state system is the totality of activities, products, and services that are directed ultimately toward achieving learners' goals. In my mind, to say there is a "system" is to say there is some glue that holds all this stuff together (alignment among PD activities and goals, policies, and vision) and some sort of logical relationship among the different pieces of the system. I am interested to hear other definitions of a "statewide PD system" as we find our way into this discussion.

Unfortunately, so little is available in print about PD systems. However, this discussion will go along way toward documenting what our various state systems look like at this time, and the successes and challenges in implementing those systems.

So, at this time, I'd like to officially kick off the discussion by inviting our guest respondents, as well as anyone else, to post your responses to the following:

For those of you that don't identify with a state system per se., "How does staff development happen in your state?" For the rest of you, "What is the "system" for professional development in your state and how does that system work?"

Cassie

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State PD Systems -- Discussion Kickoff
From:Corley, Mary Ann MCorley at air.org
Date:Mon Jan 30 08:54:37 EST 2006

Hi, Cassie:

It's great to have you facilitate this discussion--welcome and thanks!

I'm responding for CALPRO, the state leadership project tasked with providing professional development to adult educators in California. Although Jackie also has posted this description to the adult literacy education wiki, I thought it might help to repeat it here, in response to your question. The "systems" piece is something we've been working on for some time now, but I first want to describe our state PD system and will respond later today or tomorrow specifically to the "systems" question:


The California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO), a project of the American Institutes for Research, is funded by the California Department of Education (CDE) Adult Education Office to offer a comprehensive, statewide approach to high quality professional development for the full range of California’s adult education and literacy providers. CALPRO’s overarching goals are to

  • Plan and provide high quality professional development in collaboration with CDE, other state Leadership Projects, and local service providers;
  • Develop, maintain, and support a regional structure for delivery of professional development services through regional Professional Development Centers (PDCs); and
  • Enhance the quality of instruction and services delivered to adult learners that ultimately result in learning gains.

AIR/CALPRO is committed to providing professional development that is research-based and that helps adult education practitioners translate research to practice. As a result, every workshop module developed by CALPRO has a research basis, whether the topic is critical thinking and problem solving, working with persons with learning disabilities, enhancing learner persistence, helping learner set realistic goals, effective use of questioning strategies, etc. After CALPRO authors have developed drafts of the workshop modules, CALPRO field tests them, makes revisions, and conducts a Training of Trainers (ToT) for several persons from across the state who will serve as workshop facilitators. The ten Professional Development Centers (PDCs) schedule these workshops using the CALPRO online calendar. The workshops are generally well attended.

The PDCs also host networking meetings on a variety of topics (ABE, ESL, adults with disabilities, EL Civics, Learner Persistence, etc.). Networking meetings provide an opportunity for teachers to share strategies and ideas as well as engage in problem solving. In addition, the PDCs house resource libraries from which adult educators can borrow materials.

Independent of the services provided by the PDCs, CALPRO develops and hosts institutes as well as training of study circle facilitators. Currently, more than 30 programs across the state are engaged in site-based study circles on learner persistence (the NCSALL model). Plans are underway to host training for study circle facilitators on a new topic: Research-based Reading Instruction. Two CALPRO institutes held this year are on field-based research (practitioner inquiry) and a learning community for site-based professional development. Approximately 10 programs participate in each of these initiatives, both of which represent an attempt to develop more site-based opportunities for professional development.

CALPRO is in the process of building an online course delivery system and currently has three facilitated online courses offered using the Blackboard platform: Effective Lesson Planning, Designing Programs for Adults with LD, and Managing the Multilevel ESL Classroom. The purpose of online course delivery is to provide opportunities for adult educators in remote areas of the state to take these courses, particularly if they would otherwise need to travel considerable distances to attend a workshop at a PDC. The online courses mirror the content of the face-to-face workshops. CALPRO has arranged with a local university to offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for persons who complete the activities of an online course.

The CALPRO Web site, www.calpro-online.org <http://www.calpro-online.org/> , houses a number of publications, including the entire archived database of the former ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education as well as NRS trainings for the past four years and several AIR/Pelavin documents and resource guides related to professional development. In addition, CALPRO develops and produces research publications and bibliographies on specific topics and posts these to the Web site.


Two other persons from California who are participating in this discussion are Erik Jacobson, AIR Research Analyst and CALPRO Professional Development Specialist, and Wendi Maxwell, Programs Consultant at the CA Department of Education, Adult Education Office. Erik has been instrumental in helping CALPRO build the systems approach and in ensuring that our practices are research-based. Wendi is the CALPRO project monitor with a strong background in organizational development; she can provide the broader picture of professional development within the state.


More later.

Thanks!

-Mary Ann Corley
CALPRO Director

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] SABES - System for Adult Basic Education Support
From:jataylor jataylor at utk.edu
Date:Mon Jan 30 17:05:15 EST 2006

The following description was provided courtesy of Mina Reddy. Please see below ~ Jackie 19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)~ Description of SABES

SABES is a comprehensive professional development system for Massachusetts. It was created in 1990 and is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education (MDOE) with both state and federal funds. It consists of one Central Resource Center located at World Education and five Regional Support Centers (RSCs) located at a public college and four community colleges. Each entity is funded separately through a competitive multi-year funding process.

The model for SABES evolved from discussions with groups of practitioners. Along with the creation of SABES, policies were developed at the state level that required all adult basic education staff to dedicate 2.5% of their paid time to staff development and that required each program to have a staff and program development facilitator.

A Massachusetts ABE Teachers license (voluntary, not mandatory) was created which is equivalent to k-12 licensure. SABES provides support for teachers seeking the license through courses and cohorts that meet monthly to work on portfolios. See www.sabes.org/license for more information.

The Central Resource Center is responsible for coordinating the work of the system as a whole and coordinating teams working on specific initiatives and services. In addition, the CRC produces a quarterly field-based publication, Field Notes. There are seven staff at the CRC.


Each regional center has a staff of five to eight people who work primarily with the programs and practitioners in each region that are funded by the state Department of Education. (We also work to a lesser degree with staff at programs that are not funded by the state DOE.) The offices are located on the campuses of the five sponsoring state higher education institutions.

All of the RSCs sponsor a wide variety of activities throughout the year, which usually take place either on-site at the SABES RSC or at some other site in the community, such as one of the local adult basic education programs. The staff and program development activities that we provide include single-session workshops, multi-session mini-courses, longer semester-length courses, on-going sharing groups that meet periodically, activities that are offered in whole or in part through some form of distance learning, as well as technical assistance to individual practitioners and programs. Most of our activities are offered regionally, but some are intended for a statewide audience, while some are program-based and focused on meeting the needs of a particular program.

Each year, SABES negotiates a detailed workplan with the Massachusetts Department of Education. The professional development activities detailed in the workplan for any given year are a result of practitioner needs assessment, federal and state initiatives and the collective perspective of the SABES staff. The Massachusetts DOE supports the concept of building capacity within the field and recognizing the expertise of practitioners and ABE program directors. In light of this, the majority of activities are facilitated by practitioners, with training of trainers as needed for specific content areas. All of the SABES activities and other ABE-related training events are accessible via an on-line calendar and registration process. (calendar.sabes.org)

We have also maintained regional resource collections intended for use by practitioners and are this year in the process of consolidating these into a statewide resource library as required by the MDOE. Besides the on-line training calendar and licensure materials referenced above, the SABES website provides a range of topical ABE resources to meet the needs of teachers, practitioners, policy makers and researchers.

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State PD Systems -- Discussion Kickoff
From:Ira Yankwitt iray at lacnyc.org
Date:Mon Jan 30 17:35:27 EST 2006

Hi All:

In New York, our state education department (SED) uses WIA Title 2 leadership money to fund seven Regional Adult Education Networks (RAENs). Each RAEN has a full-time director and an administrative assistant, and is responsible for providing professional development, technical assistance, and network building opportunities to the SED-funded programs in their region. While the SED has funded a set of regional adult education staff development centers since the early 90s, there have been several shifts in focus and scope since these centers were reestablished as RAENs two years ago.

In the past, most of our professional development was delivered through workshops, and the content was determined year-by-year, region-by-region. Since the establishment of the RAENs, there is now a much greater emphasis on intensive, on-site technical assistance for those programs deemed by the SED as needing improvement, as well as efforts to better align the adult literacy system with the K12, workforce development, and postsecondary systems. While each RAEN still has a great deal of flexibility in the content of the PD it chooses to provide, there are now SED-mandated workshops (such as NRS, BEST Plus and TABE), as well as state-mandated priority areas, such as EL-Civics, distance learning, and learning disabilities. As I'd imagine is true of all states, NYS is now placing much greater emphasis on research-based practices, and we have all begun to draw more regularly on NCSALL's study circles, both as a research-supported method of providing PD, and as a source of research-based content.

Each RAEN has an advisory board comprised primarily of instructors and program managers. The SED allows up to 20% of the RAEN's activities to be based on local needs identified by the advisory board that fall outside the SED-identified priority areas. The NYC RAEN, which I direct, is using this provision to support a citywide student leadership initiative.

In many ways, the flexibility that we enjoy as RAEN directors raises some fundamental questions. While all of us draw heavily on our state's adult education standards, as well as on various indicators of program quality, there is still great variation in our approaches and the approaches of the programs we serve. For example, while the NYC RAEN's PD around civics education has focused largely on participatory approaches (such as problem-posing and project-based learning), other RAEN's PD has focused on incorporating instructional videos like On Common Ground and Crossroads Cafe. On some days, I think that this kind of variety is a strength to our PD system and reflective of the variation within our field, but on other days I wonder if we should have more consistency and greater uniformity. I'm very curious what others think about this. I'm also very interested in learning how others have better integrated their adult literacy systems with the K12, workforce development, and postsecondary systems.

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] Ohio ABLE Resource Center Network
From:fantine@ohio.edu fantine at ohio.edu
Date:Mon Jan 30 23:12:39 EST 2006

PD Colleagues:

The Ohio ABLE Resource Center Network (RCN) includes 4 Regional Resources Centers and 1 Statewide Resource Center. The purpose of the Ohio ABLE RCN is to provide PD, resources, technical assistance, research and leadership to enhance student achievement. Each Regional Resource Center supports a regional area and all Resource Centers have areas of specialization we're responsible for supporting statewide. (http://www.ohioable.org)

Each Resource Center:

Ohio Literacy Resource Center - located at Kent State University
Specializations: Technology, Statewide IMS System (ABLELink), Family Literacy, Math, Distance Learning
http://literacy.kent.edu/

Northeast ABLE Resource Center - part of Euclid City School District
Specializations: ESOL and EL Civics
http://literacy.kent.edu/NEABLE/

Central/Southeast ABLE Resource Center - located at Ohio University
Specializations: Learning Disabilities, Special Learning Needs and GED
http://www.able-ohiou.org/

Southwest ABLE Resource Center - located at Sinclair Community College
Specializations: Reading and Writing
http://www.sinclair.edu/facilities/swable/index.cfm

Northwest ABLE Resource Center - located at Owens Community College
Specializations: Assessment and Workforce Education
https://www.owens.edu/workforce_cs/nw_center.html

Funding for the Ohio ABLE RCN is primarily WIA Title II State Leadership Adult Ed. funds. The Ohio Literacy Resource Center does get some State funds from the Adult Literacy budget. The Northeast ABLE Resource Center gets some EL Civics funds. Funding all comes through the Ohio Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education

Most of the staff at the RCs are full-time employees, a few are part-time. Our RC (Central/Southeast) has a full-time Director, Curriculum/Training Specialist, Resources Speclist/Program Liaison, and Administrative Assistant. The rest of the RCs have similar staffing. We all have basically the same office hours: 8-5 M-F. We do offer Saturday PD as requested.

Our RC is part of the Ohio University Literacy Center, so we have a lot of University and Center support to fulfill our ABLE mission - and have been given a lot of adequate space. Some of the other RCs have this similar situation, some do not. We have office space for the staff; a recently renovated training room; access to any University computer lab, classroom or conference space, and regional campuses; a dedicated library (with resources online at: http://cas1.cats.ohiou.edu/scripts/WebSafari.exe/Start )

We are in the process of developing a Virtual Resource Center Site Visit as a way of offering alternative PD. When it's available, I'll share with this e- list.

Each RC has an Advisory Board that guides the work of the RC. Many of us also have Task Force groups that are involved in the development and delivery of PD related to our specialization areas - these include learner involvement.

Our region is probably the most spread out and some have to travel up to 3 hours to attend a PD activity. We do try to deliver PD in various locations around the region when it's feasible. Like California and probably many others, we're developing more alternative and online PD opportunities. You can access our new Learning Disabilities Video Training Series at:

http://www.able-ohiou.org/learning_disabi1?ESS=3cfb1644877d90a9266f01a62e2ec410&time=1138679922

That's a brief make-up of our PD system in Ohio. I'll post PD policies and guidelines next.

Jeff Fantine
Director, Literacy Center
College of Education
Ohio University
340 McCracken Hall
Athens, OH 45701
800-753-1519

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State Professional Development Systems
From:Janet Isserlis Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu
Date:Tue Jan 31 10:31:17 EST 2006

This might be a good moment to jump in with a quick overview of Rhode Island's PD work.

Literacy Resources/RI will be 9 years old on Friday. Briefly, it's more of a virtual center, and a network of practitioners than bricks and mortar. Its mission - broadly - is to strengthen practice by assuming both areas of strength and need in the field and working to try to engage practitioners in naming and working on areas of professional development.

But what does that look like? With a staff of one, it looks like facilitated shares/discussion groups, referrals, work with programs (demo classes, facilitated observation/reflection), collaboration with programs and other PD providers to share information and resources, a website, a bulletin, participation in statewide meetings aimed at (re)visioning a system for PD in the state.

For the past two years, with a commitment from the governor to increase state funding, Judy Titzel has facilitated a process whereby adult ed practitioners (teachers, administrators,) and, to the extent possible, learners - have been engaged in developing a plan for RI's adult ed system - including PD. The document that emerged from that process is online (but at a site that is currently unavailable); more important is the fact that people came together in workgroups addressing program quality, standards/assessment, funding, and PD - a group Cassie facilitated.

The document the group produced is being carried forward as funded is sought for a PD center is on line at: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/RIPDModel .pdf

(for those for whom PDF is not useful, a fairly well rendered HTML version can be found at
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:g5QHXl-rn5MJ:www.brown.edu/Departments/ Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/RIPDModel.pdf+%22+system+model%22+%2B+%22p rofessional+development%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1)

Funding for LR/RI comes through WIA leadership monies with some inkind provision from Brown University, where it's sited.

I'll stop here for now, and also welcome other input from Rhode Island folks here. This is just one piece of the ongoing work - and one perspective. There is of course more to say, but there's also been a lot of information out and I'm hoping we can take time to absorb it all.

Janet Isserlis

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State PD Systems - CA
From:Wendi Maxwell WMaxwell at cde.ca.gov
Date:Tue Jan 31 16:38:00 EST 2006

I'm late chiming in with this overview of California PD. Mary Ann and Erik have given you an excellent synopsis of what CALPRO does - and CALPRO is the largest piece of our PD system. It's not the only piece however, so here's the rest. I'm also answering David's question #5: "What percent of state and federal resources does your state spend on professional development?" The California Department of Education (CDE), through the Adult Education Office, oversees all adult education professional development activity in the state. This includes CALPRO's activity as well as PD activities offered through CASAS, through OTAN (the Outreach and Technical Assistance Network), and through the CDE. California's 12,000 adult education teachers are responsible for obtaining and maintaining their teaching credential. School districts also have a responsibility to assure teachers meet the expectations of their bargaining unit contracts and the California Teaching Standards. For that reason, teacher orientation is typically viewed as a responsibility of the local employer. The CDE assures that a full range of developmental assistance is available to local adult education agencies. We fund 290 agencies through our federal program, as well as supporting over 350 state adult schools (many of whom also receive federal funds). All those local agencies and schools receive free technical assistance and PD. State consultants provide technical assistance on program, administrative and fiscal issues. The state leadership projects assist local agencies with data and accountability, technology, and professional development. California has substantial state money for school districts to run their adult education programs, but no money at the state level for administration or leadership. We use our federal leadership dollars for professional development. Around 35 percent (conservatively) of our federal leadership funds - or 4 percent of the entire federal allocation - are invested in PD. The remaining leadership funds support data and accountability systems and technology. For 2005-06 we anticipate spending about $3M for PD from different leadership projects. Before you gasp about the amount of money, think of our 12,000 teachers and related principals and coordinators. The budget covers running the Professional Development Centers, developing courses, publications, training trainers, paying trainers to teach workshops, maintaining websites, supporting advisory groups on specific topics, travel, special institutes and programs, etc. Wendi Maxwell

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] South Dakota Professional Development
From: jataylor jataylor at utk.edu
Date:Tue Jan 31 15:27:12 EST 2006

The following message is posted on behalf of Missy Slaathaug. Please see below...Jackie
19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)19:34, 1 February 2006 (EST)~~ Greetings, We here in South Dakota are in the very early stages of putting together a PD system. Up to now, we have had nothing in place, except a two and a half day Summer Institute that allowed 4 hours for an ESL workshop. We didn’t even have new teacher training for ESL teachers! Now we are participating in the CAELA State Capacity Building project, and we have an ESL Task Force whose job it is to come up with a viable 4 – 5 year PD Plan.

We are working within many constraints, some of which are common to any state offering ESL, while some are unique to SD. They include:

1) many part-time teachers
2) rather small numbers – a total of about 50 Adult Ed ESL teachers state wide
3) teachers with varied backgrounds, not many with any experience in ESL or foreign language teaching or cross-cultural communication
4) many teachers who are teaching in an isolated setting, with no ESL colleagues at their site or even in their town
5) trying to build community and plan PD for a number of centers scattered across the sparsely populated state, with large distances between them
6) a certain amount of teacher resistance to change and new programs

So we are perhaps in the place many of you were years ago, when you were first developing your PD program. We are spending a fair amount of time looking at what other states are doing, to gather ideas. I would be very interested in hearing any suggestions or comments from any of the participants on where we should go next, or pitfalls to avoid.

Thank you.

Missy Slaathaug
ESL Instructor/State ESL Specialist
The Right Turn
124 East Dakota Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
605-773-4755
mslaathaug at midco.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] Housekeeping and discussion catch-up
From: Marcia.Hess@state.sd.us Marcia.Hess at state.sd.us
Date: Thu Feb 2 11:57:32 EST 2006

Jackie and others,
I wanted to share more information about Professional Development in South Dakota. Thank you to Wendi Maxwell for bringing up the approach CA has taken to PD and explaining the two points about local and state view of PD needs

Professional Development in South Dakota has moved from teacher requested skill development workshops to a plan which addresses both state and local needs. The first priority has been to focus on the NRS requirements for quality data collection, managing programs using local and state data, and making sure everyone understands their part in this collection and analysis system. The second priority has been to address the overarching needs within the local programs including teacher identified needs.

States with smaller populations received proportionately smaller funding from the US Department of Education. All of our professional development funds come from the 12.5 percent allocation from federal funding. When we have received WIA Incentive grant funding, we have identified PD in high need areas like reading and ESL PD as an excellent way to advance the areas. This is how we have enhanced our STAR reading pilot projects and supported our CAELA ESL professional development project. Without these funds we would continue to utilize the limited funding to cover all the mandates, national priorities, and NRS system requirements.

Our state depends on taskforces of teachers and local program directors to develop plans, conduct training, and extend technical assistance across the state. Our PD budget is about $120,000 per year which is about 75% of our funds. Many will think, "How can you get anything done with so little?"

So what Professional Development do we offer?

  • New Teacher training for every Adult Ed teacher which is 2 full days
  • Summer Institute (two days) which addresses regulatory topics, areas of skill development for teachers, best practices, research-based strategies, assessment and goal setting, and nationally recognized trainers in areas like learning disabilities.
  • Targeted training workshops for teachers and directors on the data collection system and querying the data,
  • Special projects like STAR Reading Pilot and our Level One Reading, writing measurable Goals and Objectives based on local data, diversity workshops, topics from Department of Corrections, Needs Assessments and ESL workshops
  • When new initiatives are presented on the national level or in-depth training on the NRS, we get it out in a workshop or meeting immediately.
  • As competency standards are developed, training is provided.
  • Three years ago we developed our state ESL Start-up kit with the help of several other states sharing their kits. We are now developing this manual into a New ESL Teacher training manual.

We have learned that the one shot approach to training does not lead to systemic change and so we not focus more on the training over time series of meetings and utilize face-to-face, phone conferences, email, video and online classes. In our Reading Pilot Projects we also utilize regional coaches to help facilitate change and support teachers as they learn to implement new skills. With small census and great distance we all work closely together to survive and make this work.

Professional Development is also obtained through local agencies (CBO/FBO/school districts) as they see their own needs which may not be met from the State Leadership Resource Center.

Marcia Hess

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] Regional Trainers- Recruitment, Training, Compensation, Retention
From: Miller, Jane Miller_J at cde.state.co.us
Date: Tue Feb 7 14:19:55 EST 2006

Many thanks to our guests and subscribers for their very informative postings about state PD systems. I'll chime in with a description of PD for Colorado's adult educators.

Colorado has several strengths in our PD system but we are continually working to flesh it out and improve it.

The following elements have been in place for many years:
1) Three physical (and one virtual) Literacy Resource Centers. These one-room centers each have a single, part-time coordinator, and a collection of adult ed resources that are lent by mail to teachers in the region. The LRCs coordinate the annual assessment trainings each fall at the request of our state office. They also arrange trainings on topics requested by programs in their geographical regions. The centers are funded solely by our state office with WIA Title II Leadership funds.

2) The annual adult ed conference which is a collaboration of our Colorado Adult Education Professional Association and our state office. The annual CoTESOL conference, which is self-supporting.

3) A small cadre of CASAS and BEST Plus trainers who provide trainings state-wide on these standardized assessments.

4) One staff person at the state office whose task is to facilitate and promote PD for adult educators state-wide.

We do not have a cadre of state-supported trainers to provide trainings on "core" topics that are perennially in demand, nor to train on "responsive" topics - the immediate interests or needs of teachers. Whenever the state supports an in-depth training, we use the grapevine to identify who in the field might have expertise in the topic and who might be willing to work with us to create and deliver a training (on top of their regular classroom teaching.) Neither the resource centers nor the state office publishes an annual calendar of PD offerings; such trainings are created, promoted and delivered on an occasional basis. In looking at other state systems I see the benefits that could accrue from having a regular corps of trainers who could deliver "core" and "responsive" trainings on a pre-planned schedule throughout the regions of state. Hence, my previous questions to our guests and others on the list. (Many, many thanks to George K of SABES for his detailed response last Friday about state-wide trainers, and to Mary Ann C of Cal-Pro who touched on this issue.)

New initiatives in Colorado (as of the past 2 years):

1) We have instituted a state-issued adult ed credential - the Literacy Instruction Authorization. (Adult ed teachers in Colorado are not required to be K-12 licensed.) Teachers can be authorized either by taking four courses or by submitting a portfolio to a review committee. The courses are offered through the community college system and have been delivered on-line, face-to-face, and hybrid. Each AEFLA-funded program in Colorado is required to have a certain percentage of its teaching staff authorized.
2) We initiated study circles in FY04. We began by facilitating a study circle in which ten participants experienced the study circle process themselves and then conducted study circles at their programs with their colleagues.
3) For the past year I have facilitated a Professional Development Advisory Group (PDAG) whose mission is to reshape the PD system for the state. The ten members represent teachers, directors, resource center staff, state staff, ESL, ABE, urban, rural, mountain, community college, cbo, and school districts. Our first product is the Professional Development Self-Assessment for Colorado Adult Educators. We plan to put the self-assessment on our state website by FY07 so teachers throughout the state can log-on to complete it. Local program directors, the regional Literacy Resource Centers, and the state office will be able to use composite results from the self-assessment to inform our decisions about PD offerings. We hope in this way to address the balance of state-directed and locally-directed PD - a topic of discussion on this NIFL PD listserv.

The PDAG is currently drafting a set of state policies addressing PD, based on a selection of policies from the AALPD document just finished (Nov. 2005) and posted on this NIFL PD listserv. We are also drafting a point system for PD activities. (We've looked at TX, TN, WV, KY models.) All adult ed teachers will earn points annually for participating in PD and authorized teachers will earn hours toward the renewal of their credential.

4) Colorado is participating with a team of four in the CAELA State Capacity Building Initiative. Through their support, we have been able to bring three individuals into the ranks of state-wide trainers and hope to expand our cadre in the next year.

A factor which significantly impacts our PD efforts in Colorado is that we receive no state funding for adult education professional development. All the PD initiatives mentioned above are funded (along with many other projects) through our WIA Title II Leadership funds. Thus, we are a "small" state for PD - 1 state staff person (me), four part-time resource center staff members, and a handful of on-call trainers.

Best regards,

Jane Miller
Professional Development Coordinator
Colorado Department of Education - Adult Education and Family Literacy
Miller_j at cde.state.co.us

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] Discussion of State PD Systems
From: Bestor, Teresa Teresa.Bestor at fldoe.org
Date: Thu Feb 9 09:36:19 EST 2006

Florida provides professional development in a variety of ways. Regional Training Councils, five of them, offer staff development on a regional basis. Each region conducts a yearly needs assessment to determine staff development needs. The RTCs are composed of practioners and administrators in the field of adult education (we have a similar structure for career and technical educators), who then prioritize the training needs, identify or develop the training content, and make arrangement for the provision of the training. This has been very successful over the past seven years. The RTCs are also used to coordinate statewide training needs, such as NRS training, or other statewide priorities. Literally thousands of instructors and administrators have benefited from this system. Most of Florida's adult education teachers are part-time or adjunct, and to remove barriers from participation, we are able to offer reimbursement for travel expenses and often a supplement if they are not being paid for attending by their institution.

In conjunction with the RTCs, there is a statewide system of Regional Literacy Centers. These centers provide coordination between all adult education providers, referrals to educational programs, regional advertising and recruitment, GED scholarships, and tutor training. The RLCs work with the RTCs to provide workshops and conferences, and also work with a statewide Literacy Coalition, housed in the center of the state. The major difference between the Regional Training Councils and the Regional Literacy Centers is that the RTCs work primarily with school districts and colleges, and the Regional Literacy Centers and the Literacy Coalition work primarily with various volunteer groups. Oversight by the FL DOE ensures coordination of efforts and minimal duplication of services. Leadership funds are used to support all these initiatives.

Leadership funds are also dedicated to a variety of other training methods, including a statewide distance learning project known as Florida TechNet, which includes a wealth of training modules, documents, links and other resources. TechNet is in the process of developing an on line ESOL instructional series this year. Other leadership projects include innovative programs developed to encourage parents to learn to read to their children, how to identify and work with various cultural patterns, and developing a statewide evaluation tool to measure program effectiveness. Brand new is the Florida Distance Learning Consortium, designed to provide on-line instruction for both adult education and career and technical education students.

We also have a valued resource in the Practioner's Task Forces. These are task forces composed of adult education practioners in various subject areas, such as Family Literacy, Adults with learning Disabilities, And Adult Basic Education. They meet regularly to identify problems and provide solutions, and also have developed and distributed many valuable products, including innovative curriculum and on-line learning modules, particularly for adult high school and pre-GED programs. Training for the products developed by the Practioner's Task Forces is coordinated and provided by the Regional Training Councils. An annual Symposium, scheduled this year for the late spring, provides a statewide forum to learn about and discuss these products and other educational issues.

If you would like more information, please feel free to email me.

Teresa G. Bestor
Adult Education Director
Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Education
325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 644
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
850-245-9906 phone
850-245-0995 fax
Teresa.Bestor at fldoe.org

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