Professional development

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In last year's state budget, lawmakers allocated considerable sums toward helping current teachers understand and implement the science of reading. Over the next biennium, $86 million will go toward professional development. Another $18 million will pay for literacy coaches, who will be charged with providing intensive support to teachers in the state's lowest performing schools. If this state investment had occurred in 2018, CCS officials likely would have been thrilled.

That's because, in their 2018 RAP, they identified professional  Laos Phone Number Data  development as a factor contributing to their underachievement. Beyond the substitute teacher issues outlined above, the plan also notes that the district needs to “further define the role of instructional coaches related to literacy,” as well as “identify a mechanism for ongoing instructional support for teachers to ensure effective implementation of high impact reading instructional strategies.





Given these stated aims, one might think that the district's 2023 plan would have good news on the professional development front. Unfortunately, that's not the case. The 2023 plan notes that, although the district has provided “multiple opportunities” for teachers to receive professional development related to new curriculum resources for literacy, “many teachers have failed to complete training due to professional development being outside the contractual workday.”