Guiding Values, Governance, and Standards

Guiding Values

The Professional Development Department is committed to promoting and providing a quality professional development program for all MPS employees that incorporates

• a continuous improvement ethic;
• respect and support for staff and student diversity;
• innovative methods that are research-based;
• the expertise of internal and external resources;
• a variety of instructional strategies;
• collaboration and collegiality;
• a user-friendly system.

Governance

Appeals Committee

The Appeals Committee considers employee concerns resulting from Professional Development policies.  The committee will be convened if resolution to an appeal cannot be reached at the director level.  The committee is comprised of one Mesa certificated employee appointed by the president of the MEA, one classified employee appointed by the president of the MESPA, and one employee appointed by the Superintendent.

National Staff Development Council Standards

Context

Staff development standards provide directions for designing a professional learning experience that ensure educators acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. The Arizona State Board of Education adopted the National Staff Development Council Standards in 2006 as a model for professional development throughout Arizona schools.

• Learning Communities
  organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district;
• Leadership
  requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement;
• Resources
  requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration.

Process

Staff development that improves the learning of all students

• Data-Driven
  uses disaggregated student data to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement;
• Evaluation
  uses multiple sources of information to guide improvement and demonstrate its impact;
• Research-Based
  prepares educators to apply research to decision making;
• Design
  uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal;
• Learning
  applies knowledge about human learning and change;
• Collaboration
  provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate.

 Content

Staff development that improves the learning of all students.

• Equity
  prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students; creates safe, orderly, and supportive learning environments; and holds high expectations for students’ academic achievement;
• Quality Teaching
  deepens educators’ content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately;
• Family Involvement
  provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately.