Professional Development and Learning Academy
Session Offerings

What is the Professional Development and Learning Academy?
The Professional Development and Learning Academy provides staff throughout the district with a variety of learning opportunities. These opportunities reflect our district-wide professional development goals, our strategic directions, and topics of staff interest and need identified through a staff survey last spring. Members of our Teaching, Learning, and Accountability Advisory Council identified the strands for study last spring, and a smaller task force developed the specific course offerings. All learning opportunities reflect best practice in professional development processes, providing ongoing focus and support.

This is the second year of conducting an Academy such as this in the Spring Lake Park Schools. While we are sure the learning opportunities are outstanding, there may be process questions around registration, board credits, etc. that will come up. Please be sure to share these questions immediately. We will use that feedback to continue to improve processes immediately and in the future.

General Information About Courses
The strands of focus that were identified for the 2006-2007 Professional Development and Learning Academy were identified through a staff survey and by members of the Teaching, Learning, and Accountability Advisory Council.
Specific offerings within each strand were then identified by a smaller task force.

Participation Guidelines

Participation in these courses requires no tuition or fee, except for those cases the participant chooses to take graduate credit. Board credit is available for many of the offerings. Stipends are available instead of board credits for staff at MA60 or higher. Please see the specific session descriptions for information or contact Stacey Sovine (ext 5916) with any questions.

District 16 believes that the PDLA offers a wide variety of topics and venues, and encourages staff to enroll in the sessions according to their professional development goals and interests. We hope that you find the PDLA a valuable resource for your professional development.

The strands of focus include:
• DIFFERENTIATION
• ASSESSMENT
• PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
• DIVERSITY AND THE URBAN LEARNER
• ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
 

Mini-Sessions include:
• STATE LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS
• SUPPORT STAFF

• TECH TUTOR

NEMEI Summer Institute Registration

Session Calendar

Overview Page with Registration Deadlines