State Professional Development

Kindergarten to Grade 5

Delivery

• Professional development is ongoing, long term, and has a sustained focus.
• The state approves teacher preparation programs that are aligned to the Alaska State Birth to Graduation Literacy Blueprint.
• The state, in conjunction with universities statewide, increases opportunities for secondary teachers to become certified reading or literacy specialists.
• The state reviews and endorses program of study offered by universities in the area of literacy.
• The state provides professional training using research about adult learning:
• Provides job-embedded coaching or other forms of assistance to support the transfer of new knowledge and skills to the classroom.
• Attends to the conditions needed for change.
• Employs a team-oriented approach and promotes collaboration.
• The state provides teacher and principal mentoring programs through ongoing coaching to educators in the instructional environment.
• The state ensures that intern placements (MAT, student teachers) only occur with qualified or trained teachers who have had mentoring or supervision training and subject appropriate disciplinary literacy coursework.

Resources

• State, districts, and community agencies pool resources and expertise to increase training opportunities. Districts or programs ensure that professional development is systemic and available to all staff, though the content may vary for staff in different positions.
• The state sufficiently funds literacy efforts across the state to provide the following:
• Access to print and online resources to support literacy, including resources that depict multiple Alaskan cultures.
• Acquisition and/or development of materials in students’ primary languages.
• A state literacy center that provides access to a variety of literacy research and resources for educators.
• Professional development on literacy instruction, intervention, and assessment.
• Dissemination and implementation of state resources such as standards, guidelines, and plans.
• Teacher and principal mentor programs.
• The state develops and fosters effective partnerships with and among districts, professional associations, consortia, foundations, libraries, community resources, and higher education.
• The state analyzes data to allocate resources based on districts’ needs.

Content

• The state provides educators with professional development about effective instructional practices to promote the following:
• Oral language and vocabulary.
• Phonological awareness.
• Phonics.
• Vocabulary.
• Comprehension.
• Writing.
• The state ensures that educators receive professional development in the use of appropriate assessment tools and the analysis of assessment results.

Delivery

• Professional development is ongoing, long term, and has a sustained focus.
• The state approves teacher preparation programs that are aligned to the Alaska State Birth to Graduation Literacy Blueprint.
• The state, in conjunction with universities statewide, increases opportunities for secondary teachers to become certified reading or literacy specialists.
• The state reviews and endorses program of study offered by universities in the area of literacy.
• The state provides professional training using research about adult learning:
• Provides job-embedded coaching or other forms of assistance to support the transfer of new knowledge and skills to the classroom.
• Attends to the conditions needed for change.
• Employs a team-oriented approach and promotes collaboration.
• The state provides teacher and principal mentoring programs through ongoing coaching to educators in the instructional environment.
• The state ensures that intern placements (MAT, student teachers) only occur with qualified or trained teachers who have had mentoring or supervision training and subject appropriate disciplinary literacy coursework.
• The state disseminates information about the literacy development and needs of adolescents.
• State certification requirements for secondary teachers include rigorous state-approved coursework in disciplinary literacy instruction and strategies (content area literacy), in literacy development of adolescents, and in support for struggling readers and writers.

Resources

• State, districts, and community agencies pool resources and expertise to increase training opportunities. Districts or programs ensure that professional development is systemic and available to all staff, though the content may vary for staff in different positions.
• The state sufficiently funds literacy efforts across the state to provide the following:
• Access to print and online resources to support literacy, including resources that depict multiple Alaskan cultures.
• Acquisition and/or development of materials in students’ primary languages.
• A state literacy center that provides access to a variety of literacy research and resources for educators.
• Professional development on literacy instruction, intervention, and assessment.
• Dissemination and implementation of state resources such as standards, guidelines, and plans.
• Teacher and principal mentor programs.
• The state develops and fosters effective partnerships with and among districts, professional associations, consortia, foundations, libraries, community resources, and higher education.
• The state analyzes data to allocate resources based on districts’ needs.

Content

• The state provides educators with professional development about effective instructional practices to promote the following:
• Disciplinary Literacy.
• Vocabulary.
• Comprehension.
• Writing.
• The state ensures that educators receive professional development in the use of appropriate assessment tools and the analysis of assessment results.