Professional Development

Mission Statement of the Professional Development Committee

The mission of The Wallingford Professional Development Committee is to provide staff development that will assist all teachers in excelling at helping students to reach the high levels of achievement they need to succeed. To this end we look to provide professional development that focuses on improving student learning, is part of every teacher's work day, deeply immerses teachers in their subject matter and instructional methods, provides teachers with classroom assessment skills, and is ongoing and systematic.

Staff Development Principles

The district's professional development program is founded on the following staff development principles:

• Student learning is directly affected by teacher competency.

• There are three major strands that link teaching to improving student learning: increasing the repertoire of teaching strategies, increasing the depth of content knowledge, understanding of the district curricula, and increasing the understanding of how students learn and develop.

• Teachers, like students, must be continual learners.

• The gaps between expectations for student performance and actual student performance should guide the content of professional development.