2.015. Professional Development
2.015. Professional Development
The C.E.S. Representative Council the critical component professional development plays in an employee’s professional growth and development. The Representative Council believes that it should provide direction and support for professional development to C.E.S. staff; that the central administration should offer guidance as to areas where it would like to see staff improve their skills; that with these inputs the programs should ultimately be planned and organized by teachers and administrators who pool their ideas and resources.
Consistent with Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-116, the C.E.S. Representative Council shall make available annually at no cost to its certificated employees not fewer than eighteen (18) hours of professional development activities. Such activities shall be made available at a time and location to be determined by the Council or its designee and with the advice and assistance of the certificated staff members employed by the Representative Council.
Since a large portion of C.E.S. staff are comprised of non-certified personnel, the C.E.S. Representative Council also encourages and supports that professional level activities be planned and organized that address their specific areas of responsibilities.
CES shall further conform to the following for certificated staff:
CES shall attest to the State Department of Education in such form and at such time as the commissioner shall prescribe that professional development activities:
a. focus on individual needs, as informed by evaluation results, with the majority of the 18 hours delivered in small groups or individually, through mentors and coaching, in a job-embedded approach;
b. improve integration of (a) reading instruction, (b) literacy and numeracy enhancement, and (c) cultural awareness, and include strategies to improve English Language Learner instruction into teacher practice;
c. be used to improve teacher and administrator practice based on general results and findings from teacher and administrator evaluations;
d. foster collective responsibility for improved student performance; e. be comprehensive, sustained, and intensive enough to improve teacher and administrator effectiveness in raising student achievement;
e. focus on refining and improving effective teaching methods shared among educators and fostering collective responsibility for improving student achievement;
f. be aligned with state academic achievement standards, conducted among educators at the school, and facilitated by principals, coaches, mentors, distinguished educators, or other appropriate teachers;
g. occur frequently for teachers individually or in groups, within their jobs, and as part of a continuous improvement process; and
h. include a repository of teaching best practices developed by each school’s educators which is continuously available to them for comments and updates;
i. at least 15 hours of professional development for the Executive Director and administrators every 5 years in teacher evaluation and support.
Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes Section 12-116
Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-151b
Connecticut General Statutes Section 10-220a(b)
P.A. 13-245, Section 2
ADOPTED: February 26, 1986
REVIEWED: May 15, 1990
REVISED: June 1, 2000
REVISED: November 7, 2013