Background

It is important that professional development activities are driven by the district goals, district vision, individual school improvement initiatives and the need to increase student achievement for all learners. As activities are strategically planned either at the district or building level, careful consideration should be given to alignment with district goals, school improvement initiatives and core values.

As review:

Our vision

· Excellence Every Day

Core Values

· All students can achieve at high levels

· Continuous improvement

· Customer satisfaction

· Data driven decisions

· Empowerment with responsibility

District Goals

· Increase the academic performance of all students

· Create and implement a comprehensive development program for teachers, administrators, support staff and parents

· Develop researched based calendars, schedules, and systems of operation to optimize student learning

· Review and implement effective personnel selection and retention processes with emphasis on minority recruitment

Building School Improvement Goals

· Each school has created its own improvement plan including goals, strategic plans for achieving progress and methods of evaluating progress toward stated goals. Quality processes, Lincoln-Baldrige criteria and other models of continuous improvement often help guide activities. Ideally, building goals are aligned with RISD 41 goals, core values and quality initiatives to achieve the maximum benefit of planned activities.

Please follow the following process for utilizing district professional development funds.

Process for Utilizing District Professional Development Funds

1. Complete the "School Improvement-Professional Development Application" form in its entirety.

· You are encouraged to type or word-process the application.

2. Submit the completed application to the curriculum office.

3. Applications will be reviewed by the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and will be approved "as is" or will be approved "with modifications".

· If modifications are necessary, the building principal will be contacted and the original application will be modified accordingly and then approved.

4. A copy of the approved application form will be sent back to the building principal (with authorized signature- indicating funding source to be used). Once the application is approved, the building principal will begin the process of completing requisition(s) form(s).

5. (A.) If building professional development funds are used as indicated on the approved form a requisition form should be completed and coded accordingly by the building principal. (Building funds are defined as being the traditional $2000.00 building allotment used in the past).

· The completed requisition form should be sent to the business office-purchasing department. A purchase order will be issued and sent to the building principal.

(B.) If district grant funds are being used as indicated on the approved form, then the building principal will complete the requisition form and send to the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction who will code the requisition as necessary and send to the business office for processing. A purchase order will be issued and sent to the building principal.