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SAU 16 to Host Seacoast Professional Development Center
The New Hampshire Department of Education is pleased to announce the funding
of the first Local Educational Support Centers. Funding for these centers
was through educational technology dollars in the No Child Left Behind
federal legislation. These centers are the first four in a network
envisioned as connecting all educators and schools to be within a thirty
mile radius of a center. The mission of these centers is to provide high
quality training opportunities that will empower teachers and show a
positive correlation to student achievement. Programs will provide high
quality professional development to increase teacher quality by increasing
their content knowledge, teaching skills, and use of classroom technology.
The Seacoast Professional Development Center (SPDC) will provide educators with any time, any place, any pace, and any path learning opportunities for educators in the seacoast region. The SPDC will provide on-line courses and workshops as well as intensive two-week summer institutes on a range of topics. During the first year of operation, the SPDC will expand its service area from the SAU 16 school districts to the entire New Hampshire seacoast area. The professional development center will be housed in downtown Exeter, New Hampshire and will include a meeting area, 25 networked computers, a video projection system, and video-conferencing capabilities.
A brief description of the other funded centers follows: Education Support Center For South Central New Hampshire Cohorts of 125 new teachers each year we will be recruited from participating districts with high-need school districts given priority enrollment. These teachers will participate in a comprehensive professional development program promoting effective integration of technology into the curriculum and best instructional practices with a focus on improving student performance. This consortium includes the following districts: Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Hampstead, Hooksett, Hudson, Litchfield, Manchester, Merrimack, Nashua, Windham, Pelham and Timberlane.
North Country Education Services Agency The North Country Education Foundation Technology and Professional Development Center will provide services to the School Administrative Units of 3, 7, 9, 20, 23, 35, 36, 58, 68, 77 in northern New Hampshire. Educators from school districts in the region will have the opportunity to participate in sustained high quality professional staff development programs designed to train teachers and support personnel to infuse technology into the curriculum. Programs for the first year will include Curriculum Mapping, Global Positioning Training, Connected University on-line training, and the incorporation of technology into everyday classroom teaching.
Southwestern Professional Development Center Building upon the existing resources, staff, and procedures of the Center of Instructional Resources, Technology, and Training, the Southwest Center will work first with area high needs schools to establish Train the Trainer programs and mentor/mentee programs. The center will serve as a center clearinghouse for class scheduling, speakers, trainers and state initiatives including Marco Polo. It will also become a resource for area schools in technology planning, curriculum integration of technology, grants information, hardware and software purchasing and will serve as a location for showcasing new technologies. Any time, any place professional development will be offered through on-line classes and video conferencing, in conjunction with Keene State College and the Granite State Distance Learning Network. For more information: http://www.exeternewsletter.com/news/exeter/04152003/news/23409.htm |
The SPDC will
work with a wide range of partners to provide a variety of high quality
professional development experiences. Partners include: the University of New
Hampshire, the College for Lifelong Learning, Connected University, New
Hampshire Public Television, and Intel’s Teach to the Future Program. The SPDC
will use a blended approach to the delivery of professional development. This
approach will utilize on-line e-learning technologies as well as face-to-face
meetings. The blend will be tailored according to the type of activity and also
be designed to best meet the needs of the participants. Data will be collected
on an ongoing basis to determine the impact on teaching and student
achievement.