I
n the early days of reform, the Partnership began its support of teachers' efforts by sending letters to 44,000 Kentucky teachers, supporting Kentucky's education program and praising their hard work.Later, we developed more concrete ways to provide teacher support through technical assistance and continuing education opportunities.
Teachers to the Power of Two T2
Conducted in collaboration with the Kentucky Education Association, T² linked teachers through information-mentoring and learning relationships.
The program was later redesigned to
- continue a system of teacher-to-teacher and school-to-school visits
- assist schools in crisis in cooperation with the Kentucky Department of Education's Partnership for Achieving School Success project
- develop and install software to support professional sharing on KEA's web site
In 1995, 59 trips for groups and individuals involved 135 teachers; an additional 65 members acted as resource persons for these teachers, allowing them to visit their classrooms.
Professional Development
The Partnership advocates for ongoing teacher learning. We believe this support is critical to ensuring higher quality instruction for students. The Partnership has published guidelines for professional development for Kentucky's teachers and regularly brings together state and national professional development researchers and policy makers to discuss issues and make recommendations.
With support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts, Partnership staff provides ongoing support for a team of five researchers conducting research on professional development practices in 25 Kentucky schools. Two professional development roundtables were formed — one for policy makers and one for researchers. Each roundtable consists of 30 individuals representing all levels of school leadership, policy development, and research.
In June 1995, Professional Development under KERA: Meeting the Challenge (52 KB, pdf) was published. An executive summary (14 KB, pdf) is also available. More recently, a policy recommendation document, Shifting Gears: Providing Professional Development that Promotes High Academic Performance (12 KB, pdf), was developed and presented to the Interim Joint Education Legislative Committee.
Partnership staff assisted Bill McDiarmid, National Center for Research Teacher Learning, in securing professional development plans from 155 schools as part of a grant with MacArthur/Spencer — Teachers in Charge: A Study of Kentucky Teachers' Plans for their Professional Development.
Realizing New Learning for All Students: A Framework for the Professional Development of Kentucky Teachers was released at a press conference in May 1994 and later received an award from the American Educational Research Association.
A Planning and Resource Guide for Professional Development, a compilation of professional development resources, was distributed to 7,000 schools and individuals.
