In a school district where almost half of the students come home from non-English homes and 21 schools qualify for the Title I program, PD 360 helps them coordinate their efforts to improve student achievement. Read about how PD 360's English Language Learners (ELL) modules and other features are helping these schools bring the best practices into their classrooms.

1. School Improvement Network
Case Study
HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA
Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY
Large FL District Opens COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD
ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO
COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO
Teacher Dialogue and
HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA
Collaborative Spirit
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
COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, FLORIDA
“PD 360 has been extremely successful in our district.
Principals as well as teachers embrace it and district coor-
dinators are using it with schools all the time.”
CHALLENGES
Dr. Shari Huene-Johnson
Supervisor of Professional Development
Collier County Public Schools, FL Although CCPS conscientiously strives to increase student
achievement and improve classroom instructional strat-
egies, it wants to do a better job of ensuring that each
DISTRCT PROFILE student has the opportunity and support to succeed while
in school and after graduation. Its challenges include:
Collier County Public Schools (CCPS) is located in the far
southwest of Florida’s Gulf Coast. It is a large district of 50 • Twenty-one schools qualify for the Title I program.
schools with a student population of 43,250. CCPS does
its part to make Collier County, FL the “best community in • Budget cuts affect professional development (PD)
America to live, work, and play” by focusing on providing its programs.
students with quality education.
• More than 59% of the student population qualifies for
• The district and all of its schools are accredited by free or reduced-price lunch and a depressed economy
AdvancED, the parent organization for the Southern As- continues to add to this category.
sociation of Colleges and Schools Council on Accredita-
tion and School Improvement (SACS CASI). • English is not the first language for 14.6% of students
with more than 6,335 students in the English Lan-
• CCPS employs nearly 3,000 highly qualified teachers, guage Learners (ELL) program. Collectively, these
49% with advanced degrees. students speak 81 different heritage languages and
hail from 147 different countries of origin.
• Of the 48 individual Collier schools graded under the
State of Florida A+ Plan at the end of the 2009-2010 • More than 46% of students live in non-English homes,
school year, 21 schools received an “A” grade (44%), where English is not the first language and sometimes
10 received a “B” (21%), 14 received a “C” (29%), and is not even spoken. The percentage increases to 53%
3 received a “D” (6%). Some 65% of Collier’s schools in grades PreK through 3, where learning to read is so
are “high performing schools” by state definition, re- critical.
ceiving either an “A” or “B.”
SOLUTION
• At the end of the 2009-2010 school year, six of 48 Col-
lier schools had made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
under the very stringent federal No Child Left Behind Dr. Shari Huene-Johnson, Supervisor of Professional De-
(NCLB) criteria. velopment in CCPS, was delighted to find PD 360, School
Improvement Network’s online, on demand professional
development resource for teachers. CCPS has had PD 360
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

2. in its Title I schools for two years and will take it district- An annual performance appraisal for CCPS teachers
wide during the 2011-2012 school year. includes student achievement data, annual performance
appraisal data for teachers, and annual school report data
“People were talking about PD 360. Directors, as integral components. PD 360 programs are suggested in
coordinators, it seemed that everyone was talking each teacher’s areas of need.
about it. I thought, ‘This is too good to be true. It
can’t possibly be that wonderful.’ Then I found out for Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
myself that it is true! PD 360 is everything they said
and more.” As a tangible study resource, PD 360 has solidified PLCs in
CCPS and encouraged collaborative conversations. PLCs
Dr. Shari Huene-Johnson identify a need, watch a video segment, and discuss how
Supervisor of Professional Development to apply the practices in their classrooms. The accompa-
Collier County Public Schools, FL nying digitized Facilitator Guides provide group activities,
discussion questions, lesson plans, and graphic organizers.
ABOUT PD 360 As PLCs evolve, they are able to utilize PD 360 in greater
depth.
PD 360 is an on-demand library of professional teacher
development resources that leverages technology to make English Language Learners (ELL)
professional learning more effective, convenient, and sus-
tainable. With over 200 hours of research-based video con-
Almost all CCPS schools using PD 360 are Title I schools
tent, plus tools for follow-up, tracking, reflection, and group
and all incorporate the ELL modules with teachers. With
training, PD 360 is the most comprehensive solution to your
increasingly high academic standards for all students, it is
professional teacher development needs.
more important than ever that those teachers know how to
be effective with English Language Learners. PD 360 ELL
More than 700,000 educators across North America already
and differentiated instruction programs with excellent con-
use PD 360 to access individualized support on the most
tent help teachers to implement strategies and practices
relevant topics, like differentiation, minority student achieve-
that actively involve all students in learning.
ment, English language learners, classroom instruction that
works, leadership, assessment, and many more. PD 360’s
Renewing Teaching Certificates
content is divided into hundreds of indexed and searchable
segments that make it easy for teachers, administrators,
Florida teaching certificates are renewed every five years
aspiring leaders, coaches, mentors, paraprofessionals, and
with 120 Master Inservice Points. To earn points for recerti-
professional learning communities to find the answers they
fication, teachers can view a PD 360 course, complete the
need. New content is continually added to keep educators up
reflection questions on each segment, implement strategies
to date. See a demonstration at www.pd360.com.
from the session, and complete the follow-up questions.
This can be accomplished as an individual or a group, such
DRIVING USAGE AND IMPLEMENTATION as PLCs or Large Group (Faculty) Courses.
CCPS introduced PD 360 to principals and pre-determined Standards-Based Report Cards
school contacts after which training was completed school
by school. Educator response was excellent as they found it
CCPS has implemented a standards-based curriculum for
easy to use. Each school PD 360 contact was required to cre-
many years. As it now begins implementation of standards-
ate a usage plan to meet the specific needs of their particu-
based report cards, PD 360 programs on Assessment and
lar staff and then run with it.
Standards-Based Learning are useful and supportive.
The district is incorporating PD 360 in a variety of supportive Cusomizable
ways and looks toward adding more.
CCPS teachers have been engaging in both Response to
Professional Growth Plans (PGPs)
Intervention and Lesson Study with teams of teachers at
several schools showcasing their work on videos. These
CCPS teachers meet yearly with principals to develop indi-
videos have been uploaded onto PD 360 to share with the
vidual PGPs and to identify specific classroom management
entire district.
needs. Principals, trained in PD 360, suggest specific seg-
ments that show best classroom practices and target weak BENEFITS
areas. Teacher answers to Reflection and Follow-Up Ques-
tions are tracked and included in PGPs. Accessibility / User Capacity
Annual Performance Appraisals
CCPS teachers are pleased to have the flexibility to access
PD 360 anytime and anywhere the Internet is available.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

3. They can log on at home as well as at work, which encour- CONCLUSION
ages teachers to take charge of their learning on their own
time schedule. Educators also have unlimited access to
With PD 360, CCPS has added a new dimension to its
view segments and programs as many times as they wish
teacher development. Straightforward flexibility and differ-
and as often as they require.
entiated teacher learning are freeing up time for educators
to further delve into their own PD.
Differentiated Professional Development
“PD 360 has raised the level of how Collier County
Dr. Huene-Johnson feels that PD should meet the diversity
Public Schools think of student learning and
of teacher needs and abilities, not be just a one-time, one-
achievement. The professional development provided
size-fits-all event but also an evolving process of growth that
by PD 360 is what we needed to bring best practices
is focused on job-embedded responsibilities. As questions
to our work.”
and situations arise in classrooms, teachers easily find
answers in PD 360 to receive support when needed and
Dr. Shari Huene-Johnson
improve teaching skills. Supervisor of Professional Development
Collier County Public Schools, FL
Educator Enthusiasm
Feedback from teachers has been enthusiastic as evi-
denced by the large amount of usage and increased ex- ABOUT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK
change of ideas. They are pleased by the quality of the con-
tent, the real classroom examples, and the ability to search
for their own answers. Good teacher response transforms School Improvement Network is the leading provider of
to zeal in the classroom that in turn motivates students. teacher education and teacher training, specializing in on-
demand, research-based professional development any-
“PD 360 has brought a collaborative spirit to schools time, anywhere. As the home of The Video Journal of Educa-
and teachers as it opens up dialogues. They are tion, PD 360, and the Leadership and Learning Framework,
talking more and sharing ideas with each other. The School Improvement Network’s education training resourc-
real growth occurs with the discussion that follows as es focus on the most relevant topics, such as classroom
teachers take time to reflect upon their work.” management. The resources also feature top experts such
as Michael Fullan and Douglas Reeves, and show how to
Dr. Shari Huene-Johnson put theory into practice. With its focus on long-term improve-
Supervisor of Professional Development ment, sustainability, and greater internal capacity, School
Collier County Public Schools, FL Improvement Network helps its clients close achievement
gaps, meet high standards and increase student learning
Renowned Experts in Education for both elementary education and secondary education. To
learn more about School Improvement Network’s dynamic
Dr. Huene-Johnson is pleased to have over 120 respected resources, visit www.schoolimprovement.com.
experts such as Michael Fullan, Gayle Gregory, Rick DuFour,
and many others available at each CCPS teacher’s finger-
tips. They no longer have to wait to attend workshops and
conferences to learn from the best authorities.
Student Achievement
All CCPS Title I schools are using PD 360. At a time when To read more case studies, scan this QR
code with a smartphone or visit www.
the assessment bar is being raised every year, they are now schoolimprovement.com/casestudies
keeping pace in their yearly measured improvement.
Tracking Features
CCPS teachers follow their own growth curve with the
tracking tools and reflection questions at the end of each
segment while administrators draw on PD 360’s integrated
tracking, reporting, and follow-up to ensure that teacher PD
happens consistently.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153