Program Improvement and Professional Development (PI-PD)

Each Division-funded agency has identified an agency professional development team to lead the program improvement and professional development process. This team includes an administrator and an in-house professional development specialist (IHPDS) who work together to increase student learning outcomes. “A professional learning community, or PLC, is a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students. “

Hidden Curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum)

PLCs will schedule time to work together in job-embedded professional learning to enhance student outcomes by:

• Identifying instructional challenges,
• Planning lessons,
• Trying out solutions and/or new strategies,
• Observing and collecting evidence of student learning, and
• Revising lessons based on analysis.

Instructional leaders ensure that the appropriate professional development is provided to build knowledge and skills that teachers need to refine instructional lessons and reach higher student outcomes.

PLC Resources
PLC Guide (PDF)

Additional resources relevant to the PLC may be found in the Agency PD Team course in the PD Portal.

The PI-PD Worksheets are documents developed by agency staff in collaboration with their agency consultant.  Using data, an agency identifies a program improvement goal and then develops objectives and professional learning activities to reach that goal. Agencies document progress towards their PI-PD goals and objectives through Program Improvement Team (PIT) meeting minutes, which are updated quarterly.