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Calling all parents to support NSDC standards

By Stephanie Hirsh

Results, October 2003

Copyright, National Staff Development Council, 2003. All rights reserved.

National polls indicate that parents support standards for student learning. What I want now is for each school to have parents who support standards for professional development.

These parents will recognize the important connection between staff development, quality teaching, and student learning. These parents will hold the school district responsible for ensuring that all educators have access to the kind of staff development described in the NSDC Standards for Staff Development. They will advocate for passage of the standards and then monitor the district's actions in response to its commitment. Why should they do this? Here are my reasons.

Clarify expectations. Just as student standards communicate the knowledge and skills students will master at each grade level and in each course, staff development standards describe the kind of professional development that is essential for advancing teacher practice and student learning.

Staff development standards provide a vision for professional learning that is results-driven, standards-based, and focused on the daily work of educators. The NSDC standards describe how schools organize to support the continuous learning of all individuals in a coherent and aligned system. The standards provide powerful language that parents can use to describe how teachers use time for professional development and how that will benefit the quality of teaching and learning in the school.

Raise expectations. Many states and districts have staff development requirements, related to how many hours must be completed rather than what educators must learn. Using standards to guide planning and implementation creates a more deliberate approach for professional development. Staff development standards call for staff development tied to improved classroom practice for teachers and better results for students. Parents have a right to expect that aligning practice with the standards will produce better results for their students.

Often when states make explicit their standards for student learning, expectations for public school performance increases. When states and local districts adopt staff development standards, expectations similarly rise. Committing to the kind of staff development called for in the standards raises expectations for higher quality activity.

Establish accountability. When students aren't in class because the district has set aside time for teacher learning, parents have a right to expect it to benefit the teachers and students. While parents may support professional development, they are probably frustrated when teacher complaints lead them to believe their school does not know how to consistently implement quality professional development.

The NSDC standards also offer guidance for users. For example, the standard for Learning Community reads: Staff development that improves the learning of all students organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district. Accompanying materials say teachers adhering to this standard meet regularly with a learning team during scheduled times to develop lesson plans, examine student work, and identify needs for future learning. Such guidelines will enable parents and other stakeholders to evaluate the professional development provided against a standard that's been agreed upon.

Impact students. Each NSDC standard begins with the same phrase: Staff development that improves student learning. ... The phrase offers the most important reason for parents to support staff development standards. Schools have lots of strategies at their disposal to focus improvement. But no strategy is more powerful than investing in the knowledge and skills of the staff who interact with students daily. Staff development can be offered for a variety of reasons (motivation, retention, efficacy), but these standards declare that the most important reason is the student.