This article profiles Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). Hirsh joined NSDC in 1988 as associate program executive director. She had previously been director of program and staff development at Richardson Independent School District (RISD) in suburban Dallas, Texas. She began her career as a…

In this article, the author wants to bury inservice and all of the outdated practices that go with it such as "delivery of professional development," "training," "staff development programs," "professional development activities," and "ippy dippys." She wants to bury them so deep that no educator will ever again use them to describe the learning…

This article discusses the (National Staff Development Council's (NSDC) 12 Under 12 project and how it helps the participating schools in closing the academic achievement gap. NSDC embarked on the 12 Under 12 project as a way of prodding schools into moving more quickly than the federal government's requirement that every student meet or exceed…

Relationships and leadership, that, in a nutshell, is the vision of professional learning in the remote Northern Lights School Division in Alberta, Canada. This article describes the professional learning provided by Northern Lights, which has been building its capacity for teacher and leadership growth for more than 13 years. The division: (1)…

This year's winners of the U.S. Department of Education's Model Professional Development Awards exemplify schools and districts where everyone's job is to learn. In these models, time and resources are spent on teacher-run institutes, data analysis and collection, peer coaching, curriculum writing, collaborative lesson planning, examining student…

Presents the perspectives of six advocates for quality staff development, including a principal who emphasizes questioning; a director of communications for parents who emphasizes reading clues; an educational consultant who recommends sharing information; a board of education member who recommends educating oneself; a school superintendent who…

Ongoing study of New American Schools highlights factors common to the most successful implementations: a free, well-informed choice among designs; emphasis on curriculum, instruction, student assignments, and assessment systems of the schools; stronger support for implementation; strong advance-marketing efforts; and strong district support. The…

Presents strategies from six schools and two districts that won this year's U.S. Department of Education Model Professional Development Awards. Some of their strategies include teacher collaboration to plan professional development; teachers as leaders of learning for themselves and their peers; external partners providing expertise and resources;…

Five schools and districts recognized by the United States Department of Education for excellence in professional development used student needs to guide staff learning. This paper describes each model, noting common key practices (e.g., plans are based on student achievement, community support is crucial, site-based decision making is used, local…

Discusses the importance of engaging the public in conversations about school improvement, noting that public engagement goes beyond public relations. Discussion focuses on: listening as the key to public engagement; defining who the public is; engaging the public in rural schools; setting standards with the public's help; providing training to…

Questions and answers about staff development examine: what it is; why it is important; what teachers did not learn in college; collaboration; funding; connections between staff development and student learning; indicators of effective staff development; and improving staff development quality. Data come from six key national reports on…

Changing ideas about staff development means districts must begin calculating time and money being spent to support staff development. This paper examines how some schools manage time and money related to staff development, explains how to tie staff development time to money, discusses states' influence in staff development, and addresses the need…