With an existing professional development program that used a "one size fits all" format, Lamesa Independent School District Assistant Superintendent Scott Davis wanted to find a different program that could offer individualized training for his district's teachers. Read about how PD 360 helped the district customize their training as well as save them money and find a better way to help train new teachers.

1. Case study
HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA
School Improvement Network
LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY
ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO
small, Rural texas district
COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD
HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESAProgramsCOUNTY ARTESIA
uses HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY
Individualized ISD HENRICO
LAmESA ISD
For Flexible teacher Learning
ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO
COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LAmESA ISD
Lamesa Independent schooL dIstrIct, tX
“PD 360 provides flexible professional development
that fits within our existing framework and enhances it.”
Scott Davis
Assistant Superintendent High Costs
Lamesa ISD, TX
The high cost of PD activities was an additional worry. To
dIstRICt PROFILe bring in an expert consultant and hire substitutes for teach-
ers would cost thousands of dollars without meeting the
The Lamesa Independent School District (LISD) is a small, need for ongoing PD throughout the school year.
rural district located 62 miles south of Lubbock, Texas. It
serves over 2,100 students at four campuses with a staff of
nearly 200 teachers and administrators. Difficult Integration of New Teachers
Mr. Davis felt frustration about the difficult and time-con-
CHaLLeNGes suming process of assimilating new teachers into Lamesa’s
culture. As the administrator over personnel, he shared this
As an Assistant Superintendent at LISD, Scott Davis knew frustration with the district’s principals, who often did not
something was missing in the professional development know where to begin training a new teacher.
(PD) of teachers and administrators in his district. LISD
took part in a curriculum audit that helped them establish
a PD framework. Says Mr. Davis, “Although the framework sOLutION
was a big step in the right direction, its downfall was that it
emphasized “one size fits all” training. I thought there must In the fall of 2006, Mr. Davis began looking for a method of
be a better way to do this.” providing PD that could meet the individual needs of LISD’s
teachers. In January 2007, LISD Superintendent Keith Bry-
To determine how he could more fully meet PD needs, ant attended a conference and learned about PD 360, the
Mr. Davis surveyed teachers and administrators. The School Improvement Network’s on-demand professional
challenges included: learning tool. He passed on the information to Mr. Davis
who immediately called for a demonstration and free trial.
Inflexible Professional Development
Impressed by the flexible and comprehensive nature of PD
LISD educators responded that they wanted time for and 360, he knew he had found a fit for LISD.
access to PD materials of their own choosing. Although the
district provided internal PD activities and was well served “PD 360 provides flexible professional development
by its regional service center, individualized training was a that fits within our existing framework and enhances it.”
gap in its program.
Scott Davis
Assistant Superintendent
Lamesa ISD, TX
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

2. aBOut Pd 360 of onsite training by a professional consultant. The cost of
hiring substitutes if the hours had taken place out of the
classroom plus bringing in outside consultants would have
PD 360 is an on-demand library of professional develop-
been $9,000 per school.
ment resources that leverages technology to make profes-
sional learning more effective, convenient, and sustainable. Individualized Learning / Flexibility
With over 200 hours of research-based video content, plus
tools for follow-up, tracking, reflection, and group training,
PD 360 is responsive to student needs and to a teacher’s
PD 360 is the most comprehensive solution to your teacher
day-to-day practices. As questions and situations arise,
professional development needs.
teachers can instantly find answers as the wide variety of
con¬tent ensures that teachers of every experience level
More than 700,000 educators across North America
can find individualized help when they need it. Because it is
already use PD 360 to access individualized support on the
an online and on-demand solution, teachers in LISD can log
most relevant topics, like differentiation, minority student
on at home as well as at work, encouraging teacher educa-
achievement, English language learners, classroom instruc-
tion on their own time schedule. Mr. Davis has received
tion that works, leadership, assessment, and many more.
many emails from teachers expressing their appreciation for
PD 360’s content is divided into hundreds of indexed and
a resource they can access on their own.
searchable segments that make it easy for teachers, ad-
ministrators, aspiring leaders, coaches, mentors, parapro-
“It meets our need to individualize staff development at
fessionals, and professional learning communities to find
a department level, vertical team level, school level, or
the answers they need. New content is continually added to
individual teacher level. Because PD 360 is hosted on
keep educators up to date. See a demonstration at
our server, teachers can access it from school or home,
www.pd360.com.
making PD 360 the most flexible and pervasive method
of professional development delivery available.”
dRIVING usaGe aNd IMPLeMeNtatION Scott Davis
Assistant Superintendent
Lamesa ISD, TX
• To begin implementation, Mr. Davis chose to focus on
a research-based program about questioning; one of “I particularly like that I can set my own time frame for
PD 360’s numerous programs. He required teachers learning. Being able to go back and review the things I
to go through the program at their own pace over the missed or did not quite understand keeps the informa-
summer so that when the new school year started, tion fresh in my mind, which is something traditional
every teacher would be on the same page and ready to professional development has not done for me. I have
implement the new strategies. found that I implement what I have learned more fully in
the classroom.”
• LISD has customized PD 360 to state, district, and
school standards. By providing teachers with a cen- Jaci Ernest
tral location to view video segments that show how to Middle School Dyslexia Teacher
implement standards and objectives, teachers under- Lamesa ISD, TX
stand them more fully and are better equipped to apply
them. “I like PD 360 because I can sit down at the computer
for a few minutes when I have time and learn something
• In the first year, 170 LISD teachers used PD 360 to new.”
log 41,452 PD minutes or more than four hours per
teacher. Lynn McKinney
Third Grade Reading Specialist
Lamesa ISD, TX
BeNeFIts
“I enjoy having PD 360 because it allows me to look
up and learn about different issues as they arise in the
Mr. Davis is pleased with the way PD 360 supports and en-
classroom. The information is so accessible and well
hances the district’s existing efforts, as well as the training
organized. At the beginning of the year, I needed help
provided by the LISD regional service center.
with graphic organizers and was immediately able to
find the information I wanted.”
Cost Effective
Tillie Borrego
PD 360 has saved LISD thousands of dollars by allow- Second Grade Bilingual Teacher
ing teachers to do PD without leaving the classroom. The Lamesa ISD, TX
price of a year for its entire staff is comparable to one day
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

3. More Successful New Teachers focus on long-term improvement, sustainability, and greater
internal capacity, School Improvement Network helps its
With PD 360, LISD can quickly integrate a newly hired clients close achievement gaps, meet high standards, and
teacher, as can principals when a new teacher begins at increase student learning for both elementary education
their school. Principals can immediately begin training and secondary education. To learn more about School
teachers in the most critical areas; even if the school’s Improvement Network’s dynamic resources, visit www.
other teachers have already been trained. Says Mr. Davis, schoolimprovement.com.
“PD 360 is a tremendous help in the process of
assimilating newly hired teachers.”
Reliable Content and Technology
LISD did not want to invest resources in a company with
little experience or in technology that was not reliable. Mr.
Davis learned that School Improvement Network has been
producing high-quality, research-based video content that
has been used with great satisfaction in thousands of
districts in every state and around the world since 1991.
It has been providing web-based videos since 1998 and is
currently using its third platform. This experience, combined
with expertise, assured him that PD 360 would yield reli-
able, positive results.
CONCLusION
LISD educators are using PD 360 to deepen their under-
standing, improve their practice, and find individualized
support. Its flexible and comprehensive nature makes it a
perfect fit.
“I know the challenge of providing systemic yet individual
professional development is common for all districts,
particularly smaller systems with limited budgets.
However, I am convinced that on-demand professional
learning remedies these concerns and it supports and
enhances current professional development efforts. PD
360 meets the needs of our teachers and meeting their
needs helps us meet the needs of our kids. Period. It’s as
simple as that.”
Scott Davis
Assistant Superintendent
Lamesa ISD, TX
To read more case studies, scan this QR
aBOut sCHOOL IMPROVeMeNt NetWORK code with a smartphone or visit www.
schoolimprovement.com/casestudies
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, Observation 360, and the Learning
360 Framework, School Improvement Network’s education
training resources focus on the most relevant topics, such
as classroom management, minority student achievement,
English language learners, and more. The resources also
feature top experts such as Michael Fullan and Douglas
Reeves, and show how to put theory into practice. With its
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153