Pearson to manage California teacher
certification testing
Challenge: The California Commission on
Teacher Credentialing needs to ensure that
the state’s six million students receive the best
possible education from qualified professionals.
Solution: Pearson will continue to administer
the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, the California Basic Education
Skills Test, the California Teacher of English Learners, and the Reading Instruction
Competence Assessment programs. In addition, Pearson will continue to grow
computer-based testing for all of its programs.
Harrison County (MS) School District
receives a Vantage Learning grant for
professional development
Challenge: The district wanted to enable
teachers to provide individualized instruction in all
content areas.
Solution: The $115,200 Vantage Learning
Foundation Grant Award will allow Harrison
County to purchase the instructional writing and
assessment program MY Access!, a Web-based
tool that will assist students in nine schools
across the county to prepare for the Mississippi
Writing Assessment. In addition, the grant will
go toward comprehensive professional development and online instructional tools.
New York City schools select Teachscape to
improve professional learning
Challenge: More than 150 NYC schools were
eager to provide more targeted professional
development to improve teacher effectiveness.
Solution: To the rescue: Teachscape’s Classroom
Walkthrough software application and
online Professional Learning Suite. “Teachscape
Classroom Walkthrough will allow us to provide
teachers with clear data-driven feedback in a
timely manner and develop a common language
for best practices. Based on this data, we will deliver professional development
through the online courses offered in the Professional Learning Suite,” said David
Cintron, principal of P.S. 214, The Lorraine Hansberry Academy in New York City.
Teachers in
Etowah County
(AL) use social
media for
professional
development
Challenge: The Etowah
County School System decided
to find a way to make professional
development accessible
and cost effective for its teachers
while it fostered stronger
connections with its community
and engaged its students.
Solution: In 2008, the
district implemented the
Schoolwires Centricity Web
site and community management
platform. In 2009, the district’s
director of instructional
technology collaborated with
administrators to create the
ENGAGE initiative (Empowering
Next Generation with Authentic
Global Experiences), which
allows teachers to participate in
sustained professional development
in project-based learning,
integrating 21st-century skills
using NETS-T into the core curriculum,
and increasing rigor
and relevance of assignments.
As part of ENGAGE, a Ning, wiki,
and other forums were created
to host online professional
learning communities.