Professional Development

The Princeton ISD Board of Trustees has adopted a goal to recruit, challenge, and retain qualified and productive staff that is supportive in all areas. The primary purpose of the Princeton ISD Staff Development Plan is the betterment of students' learning experiences through increased effectiveness of teachers, specialists, and administrators. Professional development in an educational environment increases the effectiveness of all who are engaged in the teaching-learning process. Each member of the professional staff must develop his knowledge and skill to the maximum and the educational setting must provide a positive environment which encourages and establishes the necessary development machinery for each professional staff member to participate. Princeton ISD offers a variety of means to foster the continuing education of its personnel.

Keynote Speakers

At the beginning of each school year, Princeton ISD provides keynote speakers to:

• set a positive tone for the new school year
• arouse attention for an important educational topic
• unify all staff members by affirming our organization’s purpose and goals for improving the educational experiences of our students.

These keynote speakers are educators, national speakers, authors, and experts in their fields. Through inspirational/motivational/educational speeches, they share their knowledge and experiences with the staff of PISD providing insights and strategies to take back to the classroom. The following speakers are just a few who have been contracted to share their message with our staff:

August In-service: PISD provides 7 days of professional development at the beginning of each school year.

• The first 2 days of our August in-service are devoted to acclimating new teachers to the district.
• The next 2 days are district-based, which includes a motivational speaker and presenters brought in to facilitate individual breakout sessions covering all core subject areas and a variety of other topics. The topics are determined from professional development needs assessments provided by the campus principals, areas of weakness observed from disaggregated student performance data, and district goals set by the Board of Trustees. The sessions are scheduled in the spring of each year, and they are entered into an online registration system. Before leaving for the summer in May, the teachers register for 1 full-day or 2 half-day sessions of the in-service experience. The teachers are given the choice to select the sessions that best fit their subject areas and needs.
• The last 3 days of our August in-service are devoted to campus-based initiatives, curriculum academies, and preparation for the first day of school.

Workshops/Conferences: During the school year, campus administrators offer on-site professional development sessions to teachers after school on a wide range of topics and send staff members to workshops/conferences outside of the district based on campus/teacher needs.

Curriculum Academies: All professional staff attend 1 academy day in the summer, one in the beginning of the school year, and one in January in which they work collaboratively by grade level/subject area to disaggregate student performance data and plan instructional improvements.