63-17 Northwest Regional Professional Development Program Self-Evaluation Report 2016 - 2017 Submitted August 2017 Kirsten Gleissner, Ph.D., Director 380-A Edison Way Reno, NV 89502 775-861-1242 1 | Page Executive Summary During the 2016-17 school year, the Northwest Regional Professional Development Program (NWRPDP) facilitators supported 2,059 teachers and administrators in a variety of content areas across the region’s six districts. Support for diverse learners and parent/family engagement were an integral part of trainings and workshops. Focus areas included, but were not limited to: • Ongoing in-depth training and exposure to the Nevada Academic Content Standards (NVACS) in mathematics content that included a year-long math certificate program serving K-8 teachers to increase their content knowledge and teaching competencies in math. • Literacy and English trainings based on the Nevada Academic Content Standards (NVACS) for PreK-12-based Literacy development and reading strategies with particular focus on writing using the methods of Lucy Calkins and Being a Writer. • Collaboration between NWRPDP facilitators and the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) to support the revision of Nevada Academic Content Standards (NVACS) in social studies. Facilitators developed and completed a nine-month professional learning cohort with novice social studies teachers resulting in significant gains in classroom effectiveness, management, and pedagogy. • Professional learning workshops and activities that focused on the incorporation of NVACS-Science and STEM Standards (based on the Next Generation Science Standards [NGSS]) —made possible through the Great Teaching and Leading Fund grant. • STEM activity teacher trainings on aerial and underwater vehicles through collaborations with university and regional experts—made possible from the College and Career Ready (CCR) grant. • Teacher Leader development through a cohort model to increase teacher leadership, retention, and recruitment—made possible through the Great Teaching and Leading Fund grant. • Cohorts of teachers studying for their National Board Certification —made possible by support from the Nevada State Educators Association and the Great Teaching and Leading Fund grant. • Teacher Leader development focused on increasing skills in leading collaborative teams for PLC work and studying student data. 2 | Page • Focused support of Parent and Family Engagement in curriculum and teaching practice that included the completion of a year-long Family Engagement project for Pre-K level teachers. • Professional learning opportunities in understanding the Nevada Educator Performance Framework (NEPF) Instructional and Professional Responsibility Standards for teachers and administrators. The following report details the scope, content, type, and impact of services that the NWRPDP performed within its six districts during 2016-17. This includes 13 narrative evaluation case studies which are representative of the program’s overall service to our region and which share a common philosophy of standards-based professional learning delivered in the context of district and school plans. Included in each project is a long-term commitment to ongoing support for teachers and administrators in order to sustain professional learning. The case studies, which share the story behind the work of our learning facilitators this year, cover a wide range of subjects that include: increasing teacher learning with respect to the NVACS in literacy (reading and writing), math, science, and STEM; support for novice teachers in secondary social studies; increasing family engagement; developing capacity for leading collaborative teams; and promoting teacher leadership competencies to address recruitment, retention, and professional learning. Key findings: • Case study evaluation data reveal a variety of positive outcomes across NWRPDP 2016- 17 case study projects. Examples include significant growth in the development of writing communities and implementation of student writing curricula from teachers in the second year cohort of the multi-year Early Literacy Cadre; significant improvements (<.001) in NVACSS Earth/Space science knowledge, pedagogy, and student/family engagement strategies among teachers in five districts; significant increases in math skills, content knowledge, and teaching efficacy among K-8 teachers; significant increases (<.01) in teacher knowledge of NVACS standards, strategies to engage and motivate students, and integration of questioning and discourse in social studies; increased efficacy for teachers in leading collaborate groups; and, increased teacher knowledge and implementation of parent classroom involvement among PreK-third grade teachers and administrators. • Professional development services were conducted in all six districts that comprise NWRPDP, reaching a total of 2,059 unique educators during 2016-17. Because professional development covers varied training topics and consulting services, the total number of duplicated educators receiving services was 4,962. These robust numbers represent slight declines from 2015-16 when statewide mandates made that an unusually high training year, but represent increases over the numbers of educators NWRPDP served in 2013. Elementary teachers (total served = 3,125) again were the 3 | Page largest educator group served this past year, followed by Middle school teachers (687), High school teachers (403), Others, which include substitutes, counselors and district personnel (555), and Administrators (192). Overall, 43% of the approximate 4,786 educators employed in the region participated in programs provided by the NWRPDP during 2016-17. • Participant ratings of the quality of professional development trainings performed by NWRPDP staff reveal consistent and very high satisfaction ratings over the past several years (all mean ratings of trainings have been between 4 and 5, on a 5 point scale). During 2016-17, this included high mean ratings from educator participants regarding the expertise of the facilitators (4.8) and the quality of the delivery of instruction during trainings, particularly providing opportunities for interaction and reflection (4.8). In addition, educator participants again indicated overwhelmingly that they will use the knowledge and skills learned from NWRPDP trainings in their classrooms (4.7). • Results indicated that 80% of this past year’s training participants had attended previous NWRPDP professional development activities, and of those, a large majority (4.28 mean on a 5 point scale, with 1 specifying ‘Not at all’ and 5 ‘To a great extent’) indicated that their participation had markedly changed their teaching instruction or administrator responsibility. • Professional services this past year were predominately delivered at school sites or professional learning sites in the form of in-service classes and workshops. Content focused mainly on the Nevada Academic Content Standards (NVACS) in math, literacy, and science/STEM, the Nevada Educator Performance Framework (NEPF), and PreK- third grade supports. 4 | Page Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 7 History 9 Future Direction 12 Self-Evaluation Overview 13 Self-Evaluation Procedures 13 Legislative Requirements 14 Statewide Coordinating Council and Governing Board Requirements 15 Professional Development Standards 15 How is the NWRPDP Organized? 15 The Statewide Coordinating Council 16 The Governing Board 16 Long Range Planning 17 Needs Assessment 18 Regional Structure Effectiveness 18 Staffing Patterns and Roles 18 Collaborations 21 What are the Nature and Extent of Services? 22 Participant Counts and Training Categorizations 22 Type and Focus of Services 23 Types of Services Provided by District 24 What is the Quality of NWRPDP Professional Development? 26 Participant Rating of Quality of Training 26 Internal Assessment for Quality Assurance 27 Professional Learning Standards 27 Research and Development Base 29 How does the NWRPDP measure training effectiveness? 29 The Case Study Model 29 1. Achieving Literacy across the Curriculum 30 2. Writers Workshop K-6 35 3. Embracing Writing Instruction in the Primary Grades 42 4. Hands-on Learning in Earth/Space Science: NVACSS (based on the NGSS) supported by the Great Teaching and Leading Fund Grant for 2016-17 49 5. Nevada STEM Aerial and Underwater Vehicle Computer Science Institute: supported by the College and Career Grant for 2016-17 56 5 | Page 6. Development of a K-8 Math Certificate Cohort to Increase Teacher Competency 62 7. Improving Curriculum Implementation in Math to Increase Student Achievement 68 8. Deepening Understanding in Mathematics 74 9. Math Support: A Collaborative Approach 80 10. Improving Novice Social Studies Teachers’ Effectiveness 85 11. Increasing Family Engagement 91 12. Leading Collaborative Teams 99 12. Teacher Leadership Cohort 105 References 114 Appendix A: Statewide Coordinating Council Evaluation Form 119 Appendix B: NWRPDP Professional Development Contact Documentation Form 120 Appendix C: Standards for Professional Learning and Self-Evaluation Rubric 121 Appendix D: NWRPDP Governing Board Meeting Agendas 124 Appendix E: State Coordinating Council Five Year Plan for Professional Development 129 Appendix F: Carson City School District Services Summary 132 Appendix G: Churchill County School District Services Summary 134 Appendix H: Douglas County School District Services Summary 136 Appendix I: Lyon County School District Services Summary 138 Appendix J: Storey County