This document discusses Williamson County Schools' use of the PD 360 professional development solution over the past 4 years. Some key points: 1) PD 360 provides convenient, on-demand access to over 1,400 video segments on best practices from experts. This allows for more effective site-based training. 2) Williamson County uses PD 360 for re-licensure, administrator training, and helping struggling teachers. Tracking and reflection tools reinforce learning. 3) Updated content, renowned experts, and alignment to district goals make PD 360 a comprehensive and sustainable resource for ongoing professional learning.

1. A School Improvement Network Product
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 HENRICO
COUNTY ARTESIA LaMesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LaMesa ISD
Williamson County
HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LaMesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA
LaMesa ISDSCHOOLS update ARTESIA LaMesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY
PUBLIC HENRICO COUNTY
ARTESIAImprovement Network’s previous case study of Williamson County Schools
School LaMesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LaMesa ISD HENRICO
COUNTY ARTESIAthe district purchasedISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LaMesa ISD
was written not long after
LaMesa PD 360. (See it at http://www.
schoolimprovement.com/casestudies/Williamson-County-Schools.html.) Now in
HENRICO COUNTYPD 360developmentsolution. it is a perfect time to
ARTESIA solution,
its 4th year using this professional LaMesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA
LaMesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA LaMesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY
assess the effectiveness of as a viable
>> More Convenient and Accessible Professional Develop-
District Profile ment
Williamson County Schools is located in a scenic area >>A Job-Embedded Resource of Research-Based Best
of eastern Tennessee, serving 30,700 students in 37 Practices
schools. It is proud to be a student-centered, academ-
ically-enriching district that encourages the collabora- >>More Effective Site-Based Training
tive educational efforts of students, teachers, staff, and The professional learning resource Williamson found
community. Here are just a few of the district’s aca- was PD 360 and Karen Hawkins, Professional Develop-
demic highlights: ment Coordinator in Williamson County Schools, has
>> All high schools have Advanced Placement (AP) Pro- been exceptionally happy with it. She felt that it was a
grams with 24 different courses offered. “natural piece” to fit in the district’s PD program.
>> Nineteen Williamson County students have been
named as National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists for About PD 360
the 2009-2010 school year.
PD 360 is the leading on-demand professional learning
>> During the 2008-2009 school year, Williamson County resource for educators with over 600,000 subscribers.
students continued to earn achievement scores that Teachers, administrators, professional learning commu-
ranked among the highest in the State of Tennessee. nities, coaches, etc., have access to over 1,400 indexed
>> The American College Test is a graduation requirement and searchable video segments that present real, best-
and Williamson’s countywide score of 22.8 exceeds the practice classroom examples. Each segment includes
national average of 21.1 and the state average of 20.6. content from respected educational experts such as
Michael Fullan, Rick DuFour, Doug Reeves, Rick Stig-
>> K-12 student attendance for 2008-2009 was 95.9 per- gins, and many others. PD 360 can be used to create a
cent. That rate surpasses the Tennessee Department of structured learning experience for an individual teacher,
Education goal of 93 percent. professional learning community, or entire school. It
bridges the gap between training and classroom imple-
mentation with job-embedded follow-up, tracking, and
Previous District Needs and Solution reflection tools. PD 360 also gives educators access to
an online community of teaching professionals that al-
Some of the features Williamson had previously looked lows interaction and collaboration either within a district
for in a PD product were: or across the United States and around the world. See a
>> Common Language and Common Practice demonstration at www.pd360.com
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com

2. >>Search Features
Driving Usage and Implementation
With hundreds of fully indexed and searchable learn-
These are some of the ways Williamson has continued ing segments, teachers and administrators can easily
to engage its educators in PD 360 usage: find the answers they require. PD 360 has everything
Williamson teachers need to immediately improve their
>>Re-Licensure teaching and implement best practices.
PD 360 usage may be applied in part toward a teacher’s
re-licensure as well as used in Professional Growth Plans. >>Customized District Alignment
Williamson can keep everyone focused on what mat-
>>Administrators Use PD 360 as a Training Tool ters most by customizing PD 360 to align with its own
At a recent district-wide professional development day, individual state, system, and school objectives.
educators were divided into groups and shown a PD 360
program on assessment. Afterwards, they discussed >>Individual Tracking
what they had seen and how to implement it in their Teachers can reflect on their own learning and growth by
classrooms. using the tracking tools and reflection questions at the end
of each segment while also reviewing their previous entries.
>>Teachers Who Struggle
Principals can help struggling teachers by emailing spe- “By making usage so easily available, PD 360 recognizes
cific segment links to the individual showing what best that not all learning takes place in a classroom. Because
practices look like in needed areas. A teacher’s PD 360 they are capable of using it anytime and anywhere,
usage is tracked in their Professional Growth Plan as a teachers feel it is respectful of them and their needs.”
way to chronicle a teacher goals and development. Karen Hawkins
Professional Development Coordinator
“When teachers respond to the reflection questions at Williamson County Schools, TN
the end of a learning segment, it becomes so much
more than just an exercise in watching.”
As School Improvement Network continues to update
Karen Hawkins and develop PD 360, Williamson County Schools will
Professional Development Coordinator have an ongoing and sustainable resource for profes-
Williamson County Schools, TN
sional learning. Williamson has evolved and grown
and so has PD 360. And it will continue to do so while
supporting the developmental needs of educators.
Benefits
The added benefits that Williamson County Schools has About School Improvement Network
experienced and enjoyed with continued use of PD 360
have been many and varied. These include: Founded in 1991 by two school teachers, School Im-
provement Network empowers educators with compre-
>>Updated Content hensive, research-based, professional learning tools that
New content is continually being added to the over 1,400 build teacher expertise to foster greater achievement
indexed and searchable video segments giving William- among their students. As the home of The Video Journal
son the most current and complete PD library available. of Education, PD 360, and The 360 Learning Frame-
work, School Improvement Network offers content from
>>High-Quality Product
the largest group of educational experts, the broadest
PD 360 is education’s most comprehensive and innova-
range of topics, and the most classroom examples any-
tive on-demand professional development library. All
where. School Improvement Network boasts the world’s
content in research-based, proven, and is ideal for Wil-
largest educator-verified, on-demand professional
liamson’s educators, as they instantly find answers to
development network with over 600,000 users. To learn
their questions and watch over 1,400 real, best-practice
more about School Improvement Network’s dynamic
classroom examples.
resources, visit www.schoolimprovement.com
>>Renowned Experts
Over 100 respected education experts are available
at each Williamson teacher’s fingertips whenever they
need them. Educators no longer have to wait to attend
workshops and conferences, or pay the high costs as-
sociated with them.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com