The Clinton Public School District in Mississippi is focused on developing more effective teachers and implementing Common Core standards. To achieve this, the district is utilizing the online professional development tool PD 360. PD 360 provides teachers personalized learning opportunities to improve their skills. It also helps administrators observe classrooms and provide targeted feedback to teachers. Through PD 360, the district aims to increase teacher effectiveness and ultimately boost student achievement.

1. Case Study
Small, Suburban Mississippi District
Builds Effective Teachers and
Implements Common Core
CLINTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, • More Effective Teachers
MISSISSIPPI Knowing that teachers influence student performance,
CPSD is promoting and guiding individual and
collaborative professional learning and growth.
“Teacher effectiveness has proven to
be the number one factor in student • Common Core Standards Implementation
success. As a resource for educator Last year (2011–2012), CPSD switched from the
improvement, PD 360 is a real-time, Mississippi curriculum standards to the more rigorous
rich, robust set of tools, and a wealth Common Core Standards in grades K–2. This year
(2012–2013), it is making this transition in grades 3–8,
of information.”
and next year (2013–14), students in all grades will be
taught at this level.
Tim Martin
Assistant Superintendent
Clinton Public School District, Mississippi SOLUTIONS
Clinton Public School District Assistant Superintendent
PROFILE Tim Martin is a dedicated, straightforward administrator
who has a clear vision and understanding of 21st century
Clinton Public School District (CPSD) is located in Clinton, education. When introduced to PD 360, he recognized it
Mississippi, a city once called the “Athens of Mississippi” as a valuable asset to CPSD teacher improvement.
because of its many academies and colleges. There is a
deeply-rooted community priority to provide excellent As an integral component of School Improvement
learning opportunities for all ages. Network’s teacher effectiveness system, PD 360 provides
concrete solutions for CPSD concerns. Mr. Martin quickly
This small suburban district serves almost 5,000 students found long-term significance in these benefits:
in nine schools with 254 teachers. An energized, high-
achieving district, its recent recognitions include the • Online Capacity and Accessibility
following: CPSD educators are able to view PD 360 programs as
many times as they wish and as often as they need.
• One of only three districts to receive an “A” ranking, the Rather than being limited to the school calendar, PD
highest possible academic ranking a Mississippi school 360 allows teachers to take charge of their professional
district can achieve. learning according to their own timetable by logging on
• The only district in the Jackson metro area to attain an at home as well as at work.
“A” rating.
• Siemens Corporation named Clinton High School as one • Differentiated Professional Development
of the top 50 nationally recognized high schools in the PD 360 addresses a wide variety of teacher career
United States for excellence in math and science. levels, not as a one-size-fits-all training but as an
individualized growth process. It targets specific
questions, situations, and experience levels.
FOCUSES
CPSD is intensely focused on two key issues that affect
districts across the country:

2. • Cost Effectiveness • Professional Development Plans
Mr. Martin affirms that PD 360 is more economical than As part of the evaluation process, all CPSD teachers have
traditional conferences or workshops with the same a personal professional development plan. PD 360
experts and messages. And the unlimited access ensures programs that are relevant to the teacher’s specific needs
that it is never just a one-shot training. are included as part of the action plans.
• New Teacher Training
ABOUT PD 360 New teachers and teachers new to CPSD participate
in an induction program which meets monthly for one
PD 360 is the multi-award winning, online, on-demand year to help them adapt to district goals and standards.
professional learning resource within School Improvement PD 360 programs are shown as part of the training to
Network’s system for educator effectiveness. With 2,000+ illustrate best practices in areas such as reading strategies
videos on 125 topics from 120 experts, PD 360 has the and differentiated instruction.
largest online community of nearly one million educators.
It is the most comprehensive web-based library of • Classroom Observation
professional development resources available. Teachers, PD 360’s companion tool, Observation 360 has
administrators, professional learning communities, coaches, made CPSD classroom observations more efficient
mentors, instructional leaders, and paraprofessionals for administrators and effective for teachers. Using
have available at their fingertips hundreds of indexed and an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, CPSD principals give
searchable video segments that present real, best-practice immediate feedback to the teacher and recommend PD
classroom examples and feature respected education 360 segment links that are pertinent to the situation.
experts, such as Michael Fullan, Rick DuFour, Doug Reeves,
Rick Stiggins, and many others. Educators can instantly “I am willing to point out teacher weaknesses as
find the help they need on nearly every topic, including
long as I am able to provide tools that will fix those
differentiation, assessment, English language learners,
leadership, and more. It can be used to create a structured difficulties. PD 360 and Observation 360 are perfect
learning experience for an individual teacher, a PLC, or for that.”
even an entire school. PD 360 and all the tools within
School improvement Network’s system bridge the gap Tim Martin
between training and classroom implementation with job- Assistant Superintendent
embedded follow-up, tracking, and reflection tools. See a Clinton Public School District, Mississippi
demonstration at www.pd360.com.
ABOUT OBSERVATION 360
IMPLEMENTATION AND DRIVING USAGE
Observation 360 is a vital component of School
CPSD is committed to advancing student achievement by Improvement Network’s system for educator effectiveness.
addressing the necessity for highly effective teachers to be With full compliance to even the strictest of state
in each and every classroom. observation requirements, it is the only tool that integrates
on-demand training resources and a wide array of reporting
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) capabilities into the observation process. The all-new, fully
CPSD is using PD 360 in PLCs as a study resource, redesigned Observation 360 provides the resources, data,
conversation starter, and a way to unify teachers with and personalized training to prepare teachers to get 100%
common language and practice. The groups determine of students college and career ready.
a focus, watch a video segment together during the
meeting, and discuss how to apply the practices in BENEFITS
their classrooms.
• Excellent Customer Support
• License Renewal
Mr. Martin is quick to say that the customer support from
CPSD teachers are required to watch five hours of PD
School Improvement Network has been outstanding.
360 for Continuing Education Units. Because PD 360
With a personal interest, Professional Development
is simple and convenient, teachers are excited that its
Advisor Dennis Moss and Client Implementation
usage is applicable to required certification hours.
Specialist Lindsey Fenstermaker have been prompt to
meet CPSD’s needs.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.pd360.com | 800-572-1153 2

3. • Capacity/Accessibility CONCLUSION
District administrators are pleased that CPSD educators
are able to view programs as many times as they wish Mr. Martin is enthused to have the online flexibility and
and as often as they need. Rather than being limited to differentiated learning for CPSD teachers as long-lasting
the school calendar, PD 360 allows teachers to take contributions that PD 360 and Observation 360 are
charge of their professional learning according to their making to the district’s professional learning. He knows
own timetable. the students will be the ones who will benefit from more
effective teachers.
“As a former principal, I know the drawbacks of after-
school professional development. Teachers are tired “High performance schools are made up of exceptional
or have outside commitments and do not want to stay teachers who accept the education challenge and
for meetings at the end of the day. PD 360 provides want to continue to grow. Today’s teachers must learn
needed training when it is convenient for the teacher.” to ride the wave or get out of the water and PD 360
easily lends itself to that motivation.”
Tim Martin
Assistant Superintendent Tim Martin
Clinton Public School District, Mississippi Assistant Superintendent
Clinton Public School District, Mississippi
• Educator Enthusiasm
CPSD teachers are benefitting from the online,
individualized training PD 360 supplies and their
usage numbers illustrate that. ABOUT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
Founded in 1991 by teachers, School Improvement Network
Clinton Public School District, Mississippi
has spent decades researching and documenting the
PD 360 Usage January 2011 – October 2012
best practices in education. From this research, School
Improvement Network has developed an integrated system
Registered Users 349 for educator effectiveness. The company’s system outlines
Collective Programs Viewed 5,370 a step-by-step process to improve teacher practice, and
arms educators with a set of powerful tools that can be
Collective Segments Viewed 14,408 used to complete each step. Research shows that districts
Collective Minutes Viewed 109,918 and schools that use the tools in School Improvement
Network’s integrated suite of tools produce better teachers,
and as a result experience dramatic increases in student
A 2011 independent study of PD 360 usage showed higher achievement, driving up student test scores by as much
minutes per user in schools like those in CPSD resulted as 30% in a single year. School Improvement Network
in more than twelve times the gains in student math works with thousands of schools and districts in every
proficiency rates and twice the gains in student reading state and around the world and has visited over 3,500
proficiency rates than district averages. classrooms to document best practices in action. Learn
more at http://www.schoolimprovement.com.
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