Making it last | Professional Development

making it last

With less than a year remaining on the grant that has made this program possible, the Coeur d'Alene district is hoping to find a way to keep its innovative professional development concept alive. Without outside financial support, the district probably won't be able to afford to hire interns, suspects Bauman, even though the program has been a boon for recruiting good teachers. More than 90 percent of previous interns have been hired by the district, she says, "and they are so well prepared to teach. They really hit the ground running." Student achievement is also up in the district, reflected by improving scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills.

What won't end anytime soon is a commitment to drawing on the district's own talent for staff development. "It's honoring for our staff when we say that we have knowledge here. Some of our best resources are our own folks," says Principal Pratt. A new state law requires teachers to pass a reading course for recertification, and the district is exploring having lead teachers serve as instructors.

Even without the intern component of the program, the district hopes to continue to support lead teachers. "To identify someone in every building with expertise and passion about teaching language arts, and have that person network with her colleagues, is a powerful model," says Bauman. If money were no object, she would like to introduce the same approach for math, then expand the lead teacher concept into the secondary level. In whatever form the program survives, she says, "I hope we can retain the same flavor."

The teachers themselves have enjoyed networking too much to let it stop with the grant. "This program has changed the perception of whether a teacher can open her classroom door and ask a colleague a question," observes Bieze. "That won't change. We will continue to raise inquiries, to create opportunities to dialogue, to look for answers, to work together collegially."

Adds Bohanek, "We may not have the same luxury of time for staff development in the future, but I don't see us going backwards. It's too good for us as teachers, and it's good for kids. We'll keep putting our energy into people and practices."