Case study

School Improvement Network

HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY Large, urban texas district ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO embraces diverse COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Population through Pd 360 LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD alief iNDePeNDeNT SCHOOl DiSTriCT, TexaS
i lOVe PD 360. last year our district watched over 2,200 hours of videos (we have 3,500 teachers and sometimes teams watched video clips together) and this year we exceeded that number in hours watched in the first semester. Educators absolutely want it back!
Dr. Tracee Grigsby Professional Development Coordinator alief iSD, Tx

sOLutION While attending an ASCD Conference, Tracee Grigsby, PD Coordinator for Alief ISD, saw a demonstration of the School Improvement Networks PD 360 and realized it was a good match. She was pleased that it was easily accessible and could be customized to align with Aliefs initiatives in addition to fitting in well with their already robust PD program. aBOut Pd 360 PD 360 is an on-demand library of professional development resources that leverages technology to make professional learning more effective, convenient, and sustainable. With over 200 hours of research-based video content, plus tools for follow-up, tracking, reflection, and group training, PD 360 is the most comprehensive solution to your teacher professional development needs. More than 600,000 educators across North America already use PD 360 to access individualized support on the most relevant topics, like differentiation, minority student achievement, English language learners, classroom instruction that works, leadership, assessment, and many more. PD 360s content is divided into hundreds of indexed and searchable segments that make it easy for teachers, administrators, aspiring leaders, coaches, mentors, paraprofessionals, and professional learning communities to find the answers they need. New content is continually added to keep educators up to date. See a demonstration at www.pd360.com.

dIstRCt PROFILe Founded in 1917, Alief ISD is part of an urban community located in southwest Houston and is the most ethnically diverse of school districts of comparable size in Texas. More than 60 languages and dialects are spoken among its 45,000 students on 44 campuses. To help promote multicultural appreciation, Alief sponsors guest speakers, culture clubs, and ethnic fairs. dIstRICt FOCus The goal of the Alief ISD Professional Development (PD) Department is to increase student achievement by providing a rich variety of brain-friendly learning resources for all staff members. The district also has a large number of initiatives designed to ensure student success. An effective PD solution was needed to help Alief accomplish these objectives. In order to better achieve its aims, the PD Department had been trying for two years to bring all the district initiatives into focus.

www.schoolimprovement.com

| www.PD360.com

dRIVING usaGe aNd IMPLeMeNtatION Alief ISD constructed a well-designed implementation plan to drive PD 360 usage in the district. New Teacher Training Alief mentors are required to use PD 360 with new teachers. The teacher can be given individualized help as the mentor suggests segments that pertain to that teachers classroom. Training Sessions / Leadership Teams In training sessions and with leadership teams, Alief Content Coordinators are using PD 360. The segment Facilitator Guides include group activities, discussion questions, lesson plans, graphic organizers, reflection and journaling activities, and related handouts that can be printed ondemand. Program Evaluations Additional program evaluations are being planned for this year in order to ensure that professional development is happening consistently in the district. Principal Involvement Because teachers are found to do better when their principal is also engaged in the program, Alief is planning more principal training for this year. There is a set of three questions to answer at the end of each segment. The teacher answers the questions and the principal can read the answers. This is a great way to provide support and we have found it either assists the teachers in improving or helps them identify this is not the work for them.
Dr. Tracee Grigsby Professional Development Coordinator alief iSD, Tx

BeNeFIts With careful implementation of PD 360, Alief ISD has experienced many important benefits to its professional learning program. Easy Topic Searches Alief has a new PD catchphrase this year: Focus and Follow-up. It will be used in conjunction with district initiatives as the focus and PD 360 as the follow-up. Educator Enthusiasm Alief teachers and administrators have embraced PD 360 and their climbing usage shows professional development to be a priority. Reinforcement For District Initiatives PD 360 has the most current and complete professional development library available and covers nearly all initiative plans. The programs are a good match with our district initiatives. We have used Classroom Instruction That Works extensively as well as Quality Questioning. We also do a lot of work with the Center for Leadership and Learning and PD 360 just added the leadership and learning program to their lineup so, again, that has been a good match with our current initiatives.
Dr. Tracee Grigsby Professional Development Coordinator alief iSD, Tx

Simple-to-Share Specific Helps for Teachers PD 360s Share-A-Link provides easy and effective, job-embedded follow-up that addresses an educators needs. Alief Content Coordinators can e-mail links of specific segments, ideas, and documents to individual teachers or teams. Alief teachers have easy access to 112 recognized experts along with more than 3,000 real classroom examples that show how to implement best practices. Rising Test Scores The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is a standardized test used in Texas primary and secondary schools to assess students skills required under Texas education standards. Alief ISD Proficiency Improvement
2005 2009 2005-2009

Customized PD 360 Put into Practice Alief has a new PD catchphrase this year: Focus and Follow-up. It will be used in conjunction with district initiatives as the focus and PD 360 as the follow-up. Team Discussions The district feels that simply sitting in a room alone and watching a video is not nearly as effective as when teams identify something they want to learn, watch the videos either together or individually, and then come together to discuss what they saw and how they implemented what they learned.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com

Reading Math

78% 63%

89% 78%

+11% +15%

Superior Trainers When Alief purchased PD 360, it also received training from a qualified PD 360 expert who came to the district and trained educators in the many ways it could make PD more effective. The trainers have been very good quality and flexible for our needs.
Dr. Tracee Grigsby Professional Development Coordinator alief iSD, Tx

Excellent Technical Service and Support Alief has been very pleased with the School Improvement Networks Technical Support Division. It has an excellent online support system containing a knowledgebase with answers to frequently asked questions, a troubleshooter to diagnose and resolve common problems, a users guide, and an area for asking questions and getting answers directly. School Improvement Network has a policy of answering questions within four business hours. The service and support has exceeded my expectations and I had high expectations! The technical department always has quick answers and tries very hard to address all my requests.
Dr. Tracee Grigsby Professional Development Coordinator alief iSD, Tx

aBOut sCHOOL IMPROVeMeNt NetWORK School Improvement Network is the leading provider of teacher education and teacher training, specializing in on-demand, research-based professional development anytime, anywhere. As the home of The Video Journal of Education, PD 360, and the Leadership and Learning Framework, School Improvement Networks education training resources focus on the most relevant topics, such as classroom management. The resources also feature top experts such as Michael Fullan and Douglas Reeves, and show how to put theory into practice. With its focus on long-term improvement, sustainability, and greater internal capacity, School Improvement Network helps its clients close achievement gaps, meet high standards and increase student learning for both elementary education and secondary education. To learn more about School Improvement Networks dynamic resources, visit www.schoolimprovement.com.

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www.schoolimprovement.com

| www.PD360.com