Coordinated Individualized Staff Support:
Teachers meet weekly with district-level curriculum and assessment coaches in “Teacher Check-ins.” Teachers are introduced to curriculum and assessment coaches during content focus at the beginning of the year. The district understands that it is critical that meaningful, supportive relationships are formed between teachers and admin. The role of the support personnel is explained on the teacher’s first day. District admin work along side teachers in initial planning and development phases, contribute resources, website, etc. to planning discussions, and strive to leave new teachers with strong sense that they are supported, expected to take risks in the classroom, and will be strengthened and celebrated throughout the course of their career at Prep. All teachers are required to participate in the creation of a Professional Learning Plan (PLP). This is the individual teacher’s documentation of their continuously improving professional practice. In this document, created with the assistance of the Curriculum and Assessment Directors, the teacher outlines his/her strengths, challenges, goals, and interventions. The document is continually used in conversations between teachers and admin as a springboard for strengthening pedagogical practice. Though the district mandates one formal evaluation per year, it is the philosophy of Prep admin that there are no surprises at the time of the formal evaluation. Teachers are involved in on-going discussions regarding creatively addressing challenge areas and supports are put in place early on to ensure that teachers are successful in the classroom.

Staff Training and Development Sessions:
Teachers are expected to meet three mornings per week with their grade level teams. In these meetings, teachers are collaborating, planning, looking at student work, analyzing data, etc. Utilizing the ATLAS school reform model Tuning and Meeting Protocols, teachers collaboratively plan an action research project that they will research, conduct, and report on their own. At the end of each year, teachers participate in Instructional Council. At the Instructional Council, teachers are asked to share their research, findings, implementation challenges and successes, in a “science fair for adults” type format. In addition to the grade level team meetings, teachers are expected to meet once weekly with their content partners, and once weekly with the entire staff. In these meetings, student data is analyzed, school-wide goals revisited and assessed, instructional strategies shared, etc. Based on these conversations, staff my elect to bring in outside resources such as speakers and trainers to help address school-wide issues and challenges. Also, books and articles chosen by teachers and admin will be selected throughout the year for shared readings, book clubs, “final word” discussions, etc. One Friday per month is dedicated to coordinated, school-wide staff development. The content of these meetings is based on teacher input, survey data, and research-based best practices.

Content Focus Days:
The purpose of the content focus day is three-fold: To allow teachers in common content areas the opportunity to get acquainted, review all curricular documents while beginning project roll-outs for the year, to get acquainted with PEC district curriculum and assessment coordinators to understand scope of instructional support. This is typically a full day (8:30-3:30) in July with a provided lunch.

9th Grade Teaching Staff Training and Development Week:
The purpose of the Staff Training and Development Week is to provide comprehensive, intense training on different program elements at PEC Preparatory High School. By week’s end, the teachers should have received training on the tools and pedagogy to be implemented and have a crystalline picture of what will make PEC Prep the most innovative school in Michigan. This training week focuses on training for high tech roll-outs and planning, creation of the digital portfolio and planning for the 9th grade orientation week.

District Staff Training and Development Week:
District-wide staff development and training typically occurs prior to the start of the academic year. The purpose of the PEC district staff training and development week is to bring all staff up to speed on district-wide initiatives. Past training has included power writing, TESA, TRIBES, and HR On-line. Teachers also have time to continue collaborative planning across content and with grade level teams. In the Fall of each academic year, the district attends the annual Michigan Association of Public School Academies conference downtown. The conference features keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and vendor booths.