Needs Based Professional Learning

 

“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.” W Edward Deming

At Champlain Valley School District (CVSD), we are driven by a vision to create a thriving learning environment where every individual—student, faculty, and staff—achieves personal and collective growth. Our Needs-Based Professional Learning System plays a crucial role in ensuring this vision, equipping our educators and staff with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver inclusive, culturally responsive, rich, and relevant educational experiences. Our approach to professional development is grounded in the understanding that effective student education relies on highly effective and well-supported teaching staff. Recognizing the diversity of needs, we tailor our opportunities to align with both individual aspirations and district-wide objectives. This strategic alignment ensures that our professional learning opportunities are intentionally derived to address the needs of the organization and directly contribute to classroom effectiveness and student success.

Our Needs-Based Professional Learning System is designed to prioritize three central values:

• Collaboration: A foundational element of our system is the cultivation of a community where collaboration is standard, and where professionals work together to ensure our Portrait of a Graduate for all students.

• Innovation: Our professional learning system is designed to challenge existing ideas, encourage experimentation, and ensure innovative thinking.

• Reflection: Our system acknowledges that regular reflection is essential to learning for adults and students, and must be intentionally built into our experiences.  Through reflection, the system flexes for immediate, short-term, and long-term goals and needs.

The Needs-Based Professional Learning System at CVSD is foundational to our pursuit of educational excellence. It embodies our commitment to the continuous development of the adults in our system, recognizing that their growth is essential to our students' success. This system is a strategic investment in our educational practices, ensuring we meet the highest standards of education through a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

Professional Learning is happening each day in our classrooms as teachers reflect and refine their practice. In addition, CVSD has formal professional learning structures:

• Pre-Service learning opportunities as a whole district as well as building specific

• Select full-day inservice periodically throughout the year

• PK-8 Wednesday Early Release (2:00-4:00) and 9-12 Daily Late Start (8:00-8:30)

• Release time for Committees and Job Alike Groups

• Post-Service learning opportunities as a whole district as well as building specific learning

• Teachers can access payment for and earn salary credit towards column movement by enrolling in Graduate courses, workshops, or conferences