We presented a 4-hour training program designed to enhance school counselors' self-efficacy in handling school crises, with a specific focus on school shootings. Employing a pretest-posttest research design using the School Counselor Response to Violent Crisis Questionnaire, we found that the training was effective in improving the self-efficacy…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs serving predominantly racialized minority communities can help reduce racial disparities in STEM as they provide a culturally affirming learning environment that includes supportive staff of similar ethnic identities as the youth. However, staff at OST programs located in underserved communities that serve…

Traditional systems of teacher evaluation are often ineffective because they rely on outmoded evaluative criteria, usually in the form of checklists; simplistic assessments, such as "needs improvement"; procedures that fail to differentiate between new and veteran teachers' experience and expertise; lack of consistency among evaluators;…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the formative evaluation results from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Healthy School Communities (HSC) pilot project. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilized 11 HSC pilot sites in the USA (eight sites) and Canada (three sites). The evaluation question was…

A program using professional-development support teams in lieu of a traditional formal evaluation system has certified staff members in Santa Cruz, California, schools feeling more positive about a formerly meaningless, demoralizing process. Key program elements include choice, support, stimulation, trust, and respect for peers' judgment. Teacher…

Library media specialists in Hawaii, like many of their colleagues elsewhere in the nation, are exploring ways to design and implement a type of student-oriented assessment that focuses on student performance. To tackle the issue of assessment in Hawaii's school library media centers, twenty-four K-12 library media specialists are currently…

Maine's 1985 Administrator Certification Law crafted new preservice, induction, and professional development expectations keyed to 12 competency areas. Between 1986-1988, three pilot sites were established to assess the efficacy of the competencies and test a new procedure linking renewal to an administrator support system based on three…

In a pilot test, superintendents participated in self-assessment activities in the American Association of School Administrator's Executive Development Center program. Activity stages centered on professional attitudes and skills, personal health, and fitness. Data provided a profile for professional development. Participants felt activities were…

This article focuses upon the use of the portfolio as a tool to assess professional performance in beginning classroom teachers and in special education applications. An Oregon pilot study, the Beginning Teacher Assessment Model (BTAM) for elementary teachers in their second or third year in the classroom, is described. The BTAM relies extensively…

The case study of a school involved in a pilot study of the use of a state-mandated teacher evaluation system as a tool for professional development is presented. Eight principles that can be used to guide future school improvement efforts grounded in classroom-based assessments of teaching and learning are identified. (SLD)

A program in Illinois designed to combine a professional growth experience for teachers with a learning experience for children in a new type of summer school is described. (MP)

The pedagogical development of teachers has been described in five stages: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. This study sought to determine if a survey instrument called the Method Acceptance Scale for Teachers (MAST) would be useful in revealing differences among teachers in different stages of development with regard…

The Seashore Teacher Professional Certification Program developed by Seattle University, Washington, in collaboration with three school districts, is being implemented in several phases. Phase 1 consisted of mentor support for new teachers, and Phase 2 established a site-based support program. Phase 3 consisted of graduate program coursework for…

Describes on-the-job training models developed by the Pilot Mini District of the Cincinnati Public Schools for integrating computer technology into classroom instruction: (1) Shadowing; (2) One-on-One for One; (3) Rotating Topics; (4) Walk-in Clinics; and (5) Student Exchanges. (AEF)

In 1987, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2020, the School Improvement and Professional Development Program. Designed to encourage innovation and professional development in a select number of Oregon schools, this act was intended to upgrade educational quality and create models for other state schools. Rather than evaluating program…