In an area where tropical storms, hurricanes, and floods happen all too often, the Terrebonne Parish School District needed an affordable way to help their teachers meet their PD goals when budgets shrink due to school closures and repairs. (Not to mention something that wouldn't be delayed or damaged due to Mother Nature.) Discover how the School Improvement Network and PD 360 helped this district keep up on its professional development goals.

1. Case Study
School Improvement Network
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THE TERREBONNE PARISH SCHOOL DISTRICT, LOUISIANA
DISTRICT PROFILE
The Terrebonne Parish School District (TPSD) is a system in
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, a strong community that val-
ues education and prides itself on being self-reliant. TPSD When looking to upgrade their school improvement plan
is the tenth largest district in Louisiana with 41 schools and and knowing it would need creativity with too little funding,
serving 18,911 students. TPSD identified the needs of its educators and looked for
an affordable resource that would support district goals and
TPSD provides a learning environment which seeks to provide individualized, job-embedded PD for all teachers.
ensure that every student achieve high academic standards
and become a confident, productive citizen. It strives to SOLUTION
accomplish this through a coordinated teaching program
guided by well-trained instructional and administrative Roslyn Dempster, Title I/Title II Coordinator at Terrebonne
leaders working together with students, parents, and the Parish School District, was already familiar with the high
community. quality of School Improvement Network (SINET) products
and when she was introduced to its online, on-demand
DISTRICT NEEDS professional development product, PD 360, she knew it was
ideal for the system’s needs. Educators can instantly find
TPSD recognizes that an effective professional develop- the help they need on nearly every topic including differen-
ment (PD) program is vital to the continual growth and tiated instruction, classroom management, assessment,
improvement of educators. Professional personnel in the English language learners, leadership, and more. PD 360
district are encouraged to keep up with new developments bridges the gap between training and classroom imple-
and opportunities in their academic fields and to promote mentation with job-embedded follow-up, tracking, reflection
current educational practices. However, when budgets were tools, and unlimited usage.
drastically cut because of the economy, inadequate funding
made it difficult to provide comprehensive PD for all educators. Even with insufficient financial support, Ms. Dempster and
Superintendent Philip Martin found the cost for so many
TPSD also has needs that are unique to its location. Sitting benefits to be reasonable and significantly less than tradi-
on the Gulf of Mexico means being vulnerable to tropical tional PD.
storms, hurricanes, floods, and the recent oil spill that can
cause school closures, building damage, and economic up- Regarding the natural disasters that affect the district
heaval for schools and students. Each time a catastrophe physically and financially, Mrs. Carol Davis, Assistant Super-
hits Terrebonne Parish, the school district is overpowered intendent feels that PD 360 has been a crucial aid to TPSD.
financially and must allocate funds to areas other than She appreciates that PD 360 is a soft product so it cannot
professional development. be destroyed by flooding. In addition, it makes experts and
training available to educators regardless of missed days
due to storms and school cancellations.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

2. “Even with all the storms and flooding, the profes- Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
sional development is not lost but is there for us. This
is another great benefit of an online product. And PD 360 supports existing Professional Learning Communi-
at a time when we haven’t funds to send educators ties in TPSD. The PLCs watch a video segment from PD 360
to conferences, it provides all-inclusive professional and discuss how to apply the practices in their classrooms.
development. PD 360 is a lifesaver.” The accompanying digitized Facilitator Guides provide group
activities, discussion questions, lesson plans, and graphic
Roslyn Dempster
organizers. Many include handouts that can be printed on-
Title I/Title II Coordinator
Terrebonne Parish School Board, LA demand.
Teacher Learning Credits
ABOUT PD 360
PD 360 time viewed and responses to reflection ques-
PD 360 is the leading on-demand professional learning tions are tracked and applied as Continuing Learning Units
resource for educators with over 700,000 subscribers. toward teacher learning credits.
Teachers, administrators, professional learning communi-
ties, coaches, etc., have access to over 1,400 indexed and New Teachers
searchable video segments that present real, best-practice
classroom examples. Each segment includes content from New teachers are immediately trained to use PD 360. When
respected educational experts such as Michael Fullan, Rick there is an issue in their classrooms, they can be directed
DuFour, Doug Reeves, Rick Stiggins, and many others. PD to segments included in programs such as Classroom
360 can be used to create a structured learning experience Management and Differentiated Instruction. PD 360 is also
for an individual teacher, professional learning community, a great source for helping new teachers understand the
or entire school. It bridges the gap between training and district and school goals.
classroom implementation with job-embedded follow-up,
tracking, and reflection tools. PD 360 also gives educators Teachers Who Struggle
access to an online community of teaching professionals
that allows interaction and collaboration either within a Coaches can help struggling teachers by suggesting specific
district or across the United States and around the world. PD 360 segments that show what best classroom practices
See a demonstration at www.pd360.com. look like in needed areas. Each teacher’s viewing as well as
answers to Reflection and Follow-Up Questions can be fol-
DRIVING USAGE AND IMPLEMENTATION lowed by the administration to track teacher growth.
At mid school year Terrebonne Parish School District Walkthroughs
launched PD 360, integrated usage into some areas, and
encouraged teachers to browse and become familiar with Getting principals into the classrooms has a large impact on
it. In the next school year, Ms. Dempster has plans for the teacher training. As principals do classroom walk-throughs,
program to become more focused as additional implemen- they can email specific PD 360 segment links that are rel-
tation is added. evant to the instructional needs of the teachers and provide
easy and effective, job-embedded follow-up. Being able to
Principal Training quickly provide instant remediation on many issues has
been beneficial to both principals and teachers alike.
TPSD began PD 360 implementation by training school
principals. Principal buy-in is critical as teachers are found Group Training
to do better when their administrators are engaged in and
supportive of the PD program, putting all educators on the Teacher education can be personalized for group training.
same page. The digitized Facilitator Guides in PD 360 provide assis-
tance as district facilitators prepare training sessions. Video
Master Teacher Training segments are shared with a group of teachers and PD
360’s automated reflection questions are assigned to help
The district next trained its Master Teachers, teachers teachers implement new strategies. The trainer can read
without classrooms who coach others. The Master Teach- teachers’ answers and provide suggestions and feedback.
ers were then able to go back to their schools and instruct
teachers in using PD 360. Faculty Meetings
Terrebonne Parish schools show video segments in fac-
ulty meetings to teach best classroom practices and start
discussions, using ideas from the Facilitator Guides to lead
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

3. activities. Discussion and activities encourage teacher they have the Internet. They can log on at home as well as
interaction, peer support, and enhance school at work, which encourages teachers to take charge of their
communication. learning on their own time schedule.
Interactive Learning Communities Research Based and Best Practices
Terrebonne Parish Focus Teachers are highly trained PD 360 programs are always research-based and
educators who teach math and English classes for at classroom-proven, dealing with nearly every educational
risk students. Because they are spread among schools initiative of the past two decades. Each program shows
throughout the district, it has been difficult to get them real classrooms from around the country using the best
together for group meetings. Therefore, Ms. Andrea teaching practices.
Rodrigue, Lead Focus Teacher, is using the PD 360
Learning Communities to allow teachers to communicate Relevant Topics
and collaborate with each other. Through it, teachers
present each other with implementation ideas, participate New, quality content is continually being added to the
in discussion forums, upload lesson plans, and share web up-to-date PD 360 library providing a resource that helps
links to helpful resources. Teachers and administrators can teachers continue to grow professionally. PD 360 has
share best practices, learn from one another, and eliminate programs dealing with nearly every educational initiative of
classroom isolation regardless of location. Learning the past two decades.
Communities can be created as public or private domains.
Cost Effective
BENEFITS
PD 360 has been very cost-effective for Terrebonne Parish.
The expenditure is much less than traditional professional
The benefits of PD 360 to Terrebonne Parish School District development and can be purchased with a variety of
are plentiful and it anticipates experiencing many more. funding sources available to districts and schools, including
Title I, II, III, IV, V, VII, state funds, foundation funds, federal
Educator Enthusiasm and state grant monies, math funds, reading funds,
technology funds, etc.
Superintendent Philip Martin is supportive of PD 360 and
sees great promise for it in TPSD. Customizable Content
Teacher response has been excellent which generates The district is planning to customize PD 360 to align with
enthusiasm in the classroom that in turn motivates state, district, and school goals plus initiatives in the
students. They have been pleased by the quality of the coming year. As teachers and administrators use these
content, the real classroom examples, and the ability to aligned segments, they can actually see what the standards
search for their own answers. and best classroom practices look like when implemented
in real classrooms.
Vast Library Content Individual Accountability and Integrated Tracking
TPSD’s educators can immediately find the help they need With PD 360, teachers are responsible for their own
in the 1400 fully indexed, video learning segments that professional growth and administrators can ensure that it
address the most pertinent topics and have easy search happens consistently with PD 360’s integrated tracking,
ability. In addition, PD 360 is always adding more programs reporting, and follow-up. This strengthens teacher
that are up-to-date and applicable. commitment, which translates into positive changes in the
classroom.
Job Embedded
Real Experts
As questions and situations arise in classrooms, each
teacher can instantly find answers to improve teaching Over 120 respected education experts are available
and give support when needed instead of waiting for at each TPSD teacher’s fingertips whenever they need
district workshops. The wide variety of content in PD 360 them. Ms. Dempster no longer has the frustration of not
ensures that teachers of every experience level can find sending everyone to conferences because of the high costs
individualized help. associated with them. Now educators do not have to wait to
attend workshops and conferences yet can learn from the
Accessibility best authorities.
Because PD 360 is an online and on-demand solution,
teachers in the system can access it anytime and anywhere
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

4. “PD 360 has made professional development more
available and I like that our teachers can see the
real experts – the people who actually developed the
solutions and who can teach the best implementa-
tion of them.”
Roslyn Dempster
Title I/Title II Coordinator
Terrebonne Parish School Board, LA
Terrebonne Parish School District’s Instructional Staff is
excited to continue to explore the many possibilities of PD
360 during the coming school year, increasing student
learning across all grade levels.
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 Network’s 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, the 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 Network’s dynamic resources, visit www.
schoolimprovement.com.
To read more case studies, scan this QR
code with a smartphone or visit www.
schoolimprovement.com/casestudies
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153