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Alaska State Literacy Blueprint
District Professional Development
Delivery
- Professional development is ongoing, long term, and has a sustained focus.
- Districts and local community organizations provide a continuum of professional
development to sustain implementation that aligns with the Early Learning Guidelines:
- Providing opportunities to develop concept and content knowledge through webinars,
institutes, online courses, and in-services.
- Including childcare providers and educators at every level: instructional aides,
coaches, teachers, principals, and administrators.
- Providing ongoing coaching to early childhood providers and educators, in the
child’s learning environment, to support implementation of knowledge and skills
acquired through formal trainings. Coaching includes modeling, observation, feedback,
and problem solving.
- Collaborative literacy teams engage in professional conversations about instruction
and interventions on a regular basis.
- Collaborative literacy teams meet regularly to analyze data and solve problems.
- Districts regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development in
achieving identified learning goals.
- The state and districts work with local community organizations to use a range of
technologies and media to provide information about early literacy to parents and
caregivers.
Resources
- The state develops and implements a statewide quality rating system for early care
and learning programs to assess their early literacy practices.
- Professional developers reference the SEED Early Childhood Professional Development
Plan.
- Districts utilize the SEED Registry data to identify literacy professional development
needs and align resources.
- State and districts work with local community organizations to provide parents and
caregivers with information about the following:
- Milestones of early literacy.
- Where to seek resources.
- How adults can foster their child’s developing literacy.
Content
- Districts provide professional development to teachers in the use of classroom-based
formative assessments that are specific to learning goals, provide for responsive
correction, build learner understanding, and engage students in the establishment of
criteria for evaluation.
- Districts provide early care and learning providers with professional development
about effective practices to promote the following:
- Oral language and vocabulary.
- Phonological awareness.
- Letter knowledge and phonics.
- Print awareness.
- Print motivation and writing.
- Comprehension.
- Understanding content and ability to relate to own experiences.
- Districts ensure that educators receive professional development in the use of
appropriate assessment tools and the analysis of assessment results.
Delivery
- Professional development is ongoing, long term, and has a sustained focus.
- Districts provide a continuum of professional development to sustain implementation
that aligns with rigorous state academic achievement standards:
- Providing opportunities to develop content knowledge through webinars, institutes,
online courses, and in-services.
- Including educators at every level: instructional aides, coaches, teachers,
principals, and administrators.
- Providing ongoing coaching to educators in the instructional environment to
support implementation of knowledge and skills acquired through formal trainings.
Coaching includes modeling, observation, feedback, and problem solving.
- Collaborative literacy teams engage in professional conversations about instruction
and interventions on a regular basis.
- Collaborative literacy teams meet regularly to analyze data and solve problems.
- Districts regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development in
achieving identified learning goals.
Resources
- Districts provide written guides that break down essential elements and expectations
of literacy to parents and community members. These guides are written in accessible
language and available in families’ primary languages.
Content
- Districts provide professional development to teachers in the use of classroom-based
formative assessments that are specific to learning goals, provide for responsive
correction, build learner understanding, and engage students in the establishment of
criteria for evaluation.
- Districts provide educators with professional development about effective practices
to promote the following:
- Oral language and vocabulary.
- Phonological awareness.
- Fluency.
- Phonics.
- Vocabulary.
- Comprehension.
- Writing.
- Districts ensure that educators receive professional development in the use of
appropriate assessment tools and the analysis of assessment results.
Delivery
- Professional development is ongoing, long term, and has a sustained focus.
- Districts provide a continuum of professional development to sustain implementation
that aligns with rigorous state academic achievement standards:
- Providing opportunities to develop content knowledge through webinars, institutes,
online courses, and in-services.
- Including educators at every level: instructional aides, coaches, teachers,
principals, and administrators.
- Providing ongoing coaching to educators in the instructional environment to
support implementation of knowledge and skills acquired through formal trainings.
Coaching includes modeling, observation, feedback, and problem solving.
- Collaborative literacy teams engage in professional conversations about instruction
and interventions on a regular basis.
- Collaborative literacy teams meet regularly to analyze data and solve problems.
- Districts regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development in
achieving identified learning goals.
- Districts provide professional development that brings content area specialists
(e.g. physics teachers) together with literacy specialists to address the content area
needs of students.
Resources
- Districts provide written guides that break down essential elements and expectations
of literacy to parents and community members. These guides are written in accessible
language and available in families’ primary languages.
Content
- Districts provide professional development to teachers in the use of classroom-based
formative assessments that are specific to learning goals, provide for responsive
correction, build learner understanding, and engage students in the establishment of
criteria for evaluation.
- Districts provide educators with professional development about effective practices
to promote the following:
- Disciplinary Literacy.
- Vocabulary.
- Comprehension.
- Writing.
- Partnerships with the business community inform teachers, students, and families about
the literacy requirements of professions available for careers within the community.
- Districts ensure that educators receive professional development in the use of
appropriate assessment tools and the analysis of assessment results.
