Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) for Paducah Administrators

Kentucky requires all instructional leaders to fulfill 21 hours of professional development annually for the Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA). An instructional leader is anyone with an administrative position that requires an administrative certificate.

The purpose is to encourage and require the development of instructional leadership in the schools to make instructional decisions that support teaching and learning, establish organizational direction, develop and support high performance expectations, create a culture of learning and develop leadership capacity.

Leadership Program for Paducah Schools for 2010-2012

Assist school leadership to reach their school and district goals for No Child Left Behind. All groups of students will reach the objectives stated in the No Child Left Behind targets by providing administrators with

• A common focus for all administrators through a Management Team study.

• Training in test related needs such as testing in KY's Administration Code for the Educational Assessment Program and the Inclusion of Special Populations in the State Required Assessment and Accountability Programs.

• Support the need for learning about and implementing Classrom Assessment for Student Learning and A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades in the schools.

• Training in the statewide student information system, Infinite Campus.

• Guidance in implementing the new Kentucky Core Academic Standards in reading/language arts, math and later in the year 2012, science.

• Guidance in the new state assessment requirements for 2012 and beyond.
  

• Required School Based Decision Making (SBDM) training for all SBDM members.

• Additional assistance for individual leaders to complete their personal growth plans as requested.

Professional Development

All certified teachers and administrators in Kentucky schools are required to complete 24 hours of professional development annually. The professional development is tied closely to school and district improvement plans and to individual employee growth plans. Each district in Kentucky receives an allocation for professional development through state funds. Other sources such as Title 1 and Title 2 funds are used, also. Those funds are allocated to the schools through the Comprehensive Planning Process according to the requirements of the funding grant and school and district needs.

School professional development plans can be found in the Downloads Section: Professional Development of the website at http://www.paducah.kyschools.us/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=99&Itemid=56

High quality professional development is defined in 704 KAR 3:035 Section (1) (1) as “those experiences that systematically, over a sustained period of time, enable educators to facilitate the learning of students by acquiring and applying knowledge, understanding, skills, and abilities that address the instructional improvement goals of the school district, the individual school, or the individual professional growth needs of the educator”.

Standards for Professional Development

Standard 1: Professional Development is aligned with:

• local school and district goals and priorities as reflected in the school or district improvement plan or individual professional growth plans;

• Kentucy Standards and Indicators for School Improvement; and

• Kentucky New or Experienced Teacher Standards or Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards, or other professional/job standards.

Standard 2: Professional development is a continuous process of learning through consciously constructed relevant job-embedded experiences so that professional development experiences and professional learning are integrated in the day-to day work of teachers, administrators, and others to support improved practices, effectiveness and the application of skills, processes, and content.

Standard 3: Professional development focuses on the knowledge and skills teachers, principals, administrators, and other school and district staff are to know and to do in support of student learning and students’ well being. Professional development is based on what students need to know and be able to do in order to meet Kentucky’s challenging content standards and student performance standards. Student content, performance and opportunity to learn standards are the core of professional development.

Standard 4: Professional development actively engages teachers, principals, administrators, and others in learning experiences that advance their understanding and application of research based instructional practices and skills that reduce barriers to learning, close achievement gaps, and improve student performance

Standard 5: Professional development prepares teachers, administrators, school council members and others in the school community as instructional leaders and collaborative partners in improving student performance

Standard 6: Professional development is data and results driven focused on increasing teachers, administrators, and others’ effectiveness in improving student performance and is continuously evaluated to improve the quality and impact of professional development.

Standard 7: Professional development fosters an effective ongoing learning community that supports a culture and climate conducive to performance excellence.

Standard 8: Professional development is culturally responsive and facilitates removing barriers to learning in an effort to meet each student’s needs

Standard 9: Professional development is planned collaboratively (e.g., teachers and principals) and organized to maximize the collaborative use of all available resources to support high student and staff performance

Standard 10: Professional Development fosters a comprehensive, long-range change process that communicates clear purpose, direction, and strategies to support teaching and learning. Standard 11: Professional development is grounded in the critical attributes of adult pedagogy.