Chalkboard advocates for more teacher support

Contacts:
Chalkboard Project
(503) 542-4325
info@chalkboardproject.org

Research shows teachers need stronger professional development to help raise student achievement

PORTLAND – January 8, 2008 – Oregon’s K-12 teachers need and want more time for focused, ongoing professional development opportunities to keep up with changing school and classroom needs, including new graduation requirements, and to raise student achievement levels.

That’s the bottom-line finding of new research by the Chalkboard Project on the quantity and quality of the continuing professional training Oregon’s teachers receive. The topic of how to provide ongoing support to veteran teachers was the focus of significant discussions and proposed legislation during the 2007 Oregon legislative session, even as the Legislature was approving important new mentoring support for new teachers and principals.

“We’ve taken a thorough look at the professional development landscape, and while we know school districts are working hard to provide quality, we need to do more as a state to support those efforts,” said Sue Hildick, Chalkboard Project president. “We need to develop professional development standards, share best practices and take steps to make sure all teachers in Oregon have access to the ongoing support they need to be successful in the classroom.”

To shed light on this subject, the Chalkboard Project commissioned two complementary reports to review the scope and quality of professional development activities in Oregon. The first report, Professional Development in Oregon, draws on recent surveys of teachers from Oregon and across the United States about the kinds of professional growth activities they want and find useful, and how well that compares to what they receive. The second report, Nurturing Quality Teachers: A Profile of the Successes and Challenges of Six Oregon Districts, provides an in-depth look at how six small to mid-sized districts implement and finance professional development. The primary findings:

While a majority of Oregon teachers say their professional development is “useful,” they are less satisfied with their opportunities than teachers in many other states.

Wide disparities exist in the resources and time made available for ongoing teacher training; some districts can provide considerably more than others, based on grant writing and management skills, teacher contract terms, scheduling agreements and other factors.

Teachers need and want more time devoted to collaboration and professional development practices that will increase student achievement.

The Oregon school district report summarizes in its introduction: “While all the respondents were positive about their district’s recent improvements in professional development, they uniformly call for more collaborative professional development time, better and equitable access to quality trainers, and increased networking with neighboring districts. They also recognize that as they expand their investments and strive to improve quality, they will need better outcome measures – changes in teacher practice and student achievement – to demonstrate their expected successes to parents, policymakers, and taxpayers.”

The findings support significant evidence collected from Oregon teachers in focus groups about their professional development experiences.

In addition, new public opinion research conducted by Chalkboard shows that more than 80 percent of Oregonians believe all teachers deserve equal access to high-quality ongoing training, and that such training must have a clear aim of raising student achievement.

Chalkboard’s earlier research found that the most critical factor in raising student achievement is making sure there is an excellent teacher in every classroom, a goal that is more achievable when educators receive the ongoing support they need to enhance their teaching practices.

“Effective staff development, which supports professionals focused on student achievement and systemic change, is critical to every school district working to ensure high levels of learning for all students,” said Deborah Sommer, superintendent of the Canby School District.

“We have set a new vision for our state with new high school graduation requirements that raise standards and require evidence of proficiency,” said State Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo. “We have to help all Oregon teachers at all grade levels incorporate these expectations for all students into their teaching. Investing in our teachers is essential, and the research points to this as the most important thing we can do to increase student achievement.”

“Educators want equal access to quality professional development. Research shows we need better ways to make sure they get it. Professional development for teachers, administrators, and classified staff is a non-partisan issue that gets to the heart of what we need to do to improve our schools and help all students achieve at higher levels,” said Hildick. “Districts make significant investments in professional development activities every year. We as a state need to support districts in maintaining and enhancing strong professional development programs that tie back to improved student achievement in the classroom.”

To help address these professional development challenges, Chalkboard makes five recommendations:

Develop partnerships to make sure all educators have equal access and time devoted to high-quality professional development opportunities

Adopt quality standards for professional development similar to those adopted in 30 other states

Establish an electronic learning network to link all Oregon educators with resources and best practices

Encourage state and local policymakers to invest more time and resources in professional collaborative learning linked to increasing student achievement

Do more to show links between professional development activities/outcomes and school district improvement plans and goals

Chalkboard is participating in a multi-organizational effort, led by the governor’s office, to develop legislative solutions to these challenges that can be considered in 2009.

Additional information:

How Well is Oregon Supporting Excellence in Our Schools? (summary of Chalkboard’s professional development research)

Ten Key Findings on Professional Development in Oregon

Full report, Professional Development in Oregon: What Do Teachers Want, What Do They Get, and Do They Find It Useful?

Full report, Nurturing Quality Teachers: A Profile of the Successes and Challenges of Six Oregon Districts

Summary of Oregon public opinion results
(December 2007) re educator professional development

Oregon educator workgroup report (2006) advocating for a stronger statewide professional development system

National Staff Development Council's Standards for Staff Development

About Chalkboard Project

Launched in early 2004, Chalkboard Project exists to inspire Oregonians to do what it takes to make the state’s K-12 public schools among the nation’s best, while strengthening our school system’s financial accountability to taxpayers. Chalkboard aims to help create a more informed and engaged public who understand and address the tough choices and trade-offs required to build strong schools, and to enable statewide programs that can be applied locally to improve school quality, accountability, and funding. To date, Chalkboard has connected with an estimated 100,000 Oregonians, asking for their best ideas to strengthen the state’s K-12 public schools. It also has partnered with other education organizations to create the Open Book$ Web site (www.openbooksproject.org) to track school district spending.

Chalkboard – an initiative of Foundations For A Better Oregon – is sponsored by a growing list of independent Oregon foundations. The foundations providing major support are: The Collins Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, Jeld-Wen Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and The Oregon Community Foundation. For more information about Chalkboard and to learn how to get involved, call (877) YOUR-K12 or visit www.chalkboardproject.org.