Professional Development
Professional development focuses on improving instruction and student learning. It provides staff with an opportunity for in-depth study and learning to improve the delivery of professional services, practice and feedback, reflection, and expert support designed to change attitudes, insights, and/or perspectives. The Worthington School District is committed to offering staff opportunities for high quality professional development. The District's Race to the Top Plan as produced several reform initiatives that will require all staff members to engage in an array of professional development trainings that will define professional expectations and ensure consistency of professional practice across the District.
In addition to required professional development trainings offered by the District, staff members are encouraged to engage in professional development opportunities identified through personal professional reflection. Please find below current ways to meet your professional and personal needs. Please refer to the professional development calendar for specific offerings with dates, times and locations.
The deadlines for all universities
How to Apply for PAC's Note: If the LPDC does not approve your plan, a statement of the reason for rejection will be returned to the member or group along with recommendations for improvement before the project may be resubmitted. Additional Information: Professional Advancement Credit (PAC) is to encourage and recognize professional growth through activities beyond those normally accepted as instructional duties. Professional growth is encouraged through the awarding of PAC and monetary grants. One PAC is a unit of measure of professional growth, which is accepted as equivalent to one semester hour of accredited college or university work. PACs shall be granted for various professional activities. PACs received shall be included with the record of academic work. PACs are only applicable to the Worthington City Schools Salary Schedule. PACs are not recognized by the State Department of Education as a basis for certification nor by institutions of higher learning as a basis for further degrees. A maximum of seven (7) PACs may be used to meet the requirements for change in classification when moving from Classes I to II; II to III; IV to V; V to VI; and VI to VII. All plans shall be submitted for pre-approval, in writing, to the co-chairs of the LPDC. The LPDC may request the member or sponsoring group to speak on behalf of the proposal and in addition may request opinions about the relationship of the proposal and its implications for the district from department heads, other members, and administrators. Upon approval of the proposal by the Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC-Article 19, a resume of the approved project, including the suggested PACs or financial grant to be received, will be sent to the Superintendent/designee. Any project that includes suggested PAC credit shall demonstrate alignment with the member’s Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) as submitted and approved by the Superintendent/designee for class change. Types of Professional Advancement How do I join the Master Teacher Committee? Contact WEA President Mark Hill (450-6058) if you have any questions regarding Master Teacher Committee
Additional Information: The Master Teacher Committee shall consist of five (5) members, two (2) of which shall be administrators appointed by the Superintendent and three (3) of which shall be appointed by the Association President. Committee members shall serve for terms of one year each and may be reappointed to subsequent terms. Vacancies will be filled in the manner of original appointment. The Master Teacher Committee shall: The committee shall designate a chairperson who will be responsible for establishing committee meeting agendas and overseeing committee operations. The committee meeting schedule shall be established by mutual agreement of members of the committee. Committee meetings shall occur outside the contract day. The committee shall be responsible for receiving, reviewing and scoring Master Teacher applications. The Committee may delegate review and scoring of Master Teacher applications to appropriate bargaining unit members. Final approval of all applications is the responsibility of the Committee. Members of the committee and designated reviewers shall be provided with appropriate training. Bargaining unit members who serve on the committee shall be compensated $1,250 annually. How to apply for National Board Certification? Additional Information: The Board and Association agree that National Board Certification, as established by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, provides members with a valuable opportunity for professional growth and recognizes educators who meet standards of excellence in the profession. The district will support members who seek and achieve National Board Certification in the following ways:
Fee Waivers - How do I apply for University Fee Waivers?
How to Apply for Fee Waivers
Your
Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) must be on file. All
courses must be tied to members' Individual Professional Development
Plans (IPDPs) or Class Change forms.
You must complete form (Form B-5). Fee Waiver Applications should be turned in to Paula Dimmick (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) in the Human Resources Department, WEC. See Application deadlines below.
Only 3 hours credit per person is allowed for Autumn, Winter, and
Spring Quarters. Up to 6 hours credit is granted for Summer Quarter,
depending on availability. Applications will not be processed after
deadlines for each quarter. For additional information, see Article 16.2
of the Master Agreement. Note: Personnel requesting fee
authorization and who are in their first year of employment with the
district need the written approval of their immediate supervisor to have
the application considered.
Deadline for Applications:(OSU, Otterbein, ODU, Capital, & Ashland):
Spring 2022
Summer 2022
Fall 2022
November 30th, 2021
March 31st, 2022
August 1st, 2022
Additional Information: The
purpose of fee authorization is to encourage the professional growth of
personnel (members and administrators) and to improve the district's
instructional capabilities by providing assistance in the form of a
waiver of fees. Fee authorization, based on the number of students
participating in field experiences, is provided to the district through
agreements with The Ohio State University (OSU), Capital University,
Ohio Dominican College, Ashland University, and Otterbein College.
Agreements with other colleges and universities may be approved as
appropriate.
For OSU,
no more than three hours will be approved during spring, summer, and
fall terms for any personnel. No more than six hours will be approved
for summer term for any personnel. After all timely requests have been
satisfied, the Association President and Superintendent/designee, upon
mutual agreement, may waive these limits when a surplus of fee waivers
exists. Personnel on sabbatical leave will be eligible for six hours of
fee authorization during each term they are on such leave. Personnel on
RIF status will be eligible for six hours of fee authorization during
each term they are on RIF status.
For
Capital, Ohio Dominican, Ashland, and Otterbein no more than one fee
authorization certificate will be approved during autumn, winter, and
spring terms for any personnel. No more than two certificates will be
approved for summer term for any personnel.
Personnel
eligible for participation in the OSU "Employee/Dependent Fee
Authorization Program" are responsible for informing the Personnel
Office of eligibility. Such personnel will still be eligible for the
same amount of OSU fee authorizations as enumerated above.
The fee
authorization hours available from OSU will be divided such that one
third of the available hours will be set aside for summer term use with
the remaining available hours being divided equally among the three
remaining terms. Hours not used will be carried over to the next term.
No more than the allocated number of hours will be issued during any one
school year.
Fee
authorization hours available from Capital, Ohio Dominican, Ashland, and
Otterbein will be issued if they are available using the priorities
listed below.
Before any fee authorization application is considered, it will be determined that the requesting individual
has indicated a willingness to supervise a student teacher/intern or
other field experience student (includes participation in an approved
research project) by completing the appropriate form for the current
school year. Failure to have completed the form will result in
the application not being considered. An individual who refuses a
request to serve as a supervisor without just cause (just cause to be
determined by the Association President and the Superintendent/designee)
will not be eligible to receive fee authorization for one term
following the term during which the refusal occurred.
If the
requests for fee authorization are greater than the amount allocated for
a particular term, then requests will be considered utilizing the
priorities listed below. Within any priority, years of service within
the district will be used to determine eligibility. In the event that
years of service create a tie, hire date will be used to break the tie.
If a tie cannot be broken, a lottery will be utilized, which will be
supervised by the Association President and the Superintendent/designee.
Priority for Issuance of Fee AuthorizationAll of
the criteria below must be met before an individual is eligible for the
following priority distribution in the following order:
Members who are required to complete coursework to fulfill the requirements of section 14.1(b)(4)(RIF) of the Agreement.All other full time personnel who have a need to renew a certificate/license to maintain their employment with the district.Personnel
qualifying in this priority are those who are completing
recertification/licensure requirements during the four terms preceding
the July 1 date that their certificate/license will be renewed.Personnel
who are officially enrolled in an approved master's or doctoral program
and who have earned academic credit within the last 12 months.Personnel
who wish to use fee authorization to take courses associated with their
unit or with district goals. Such individuals will conduct development
programs in their unit or in the district. This priority must be
approved by the Chair(s) of the Professional Development Advisory
Council.Members
who are completing requirements for change in classification during the
four terms proceeding the September of the year the change will be
granted.All
other personnel who have not qualified under one of the above priorities
and if the contractual agreement with the participating
university/college so provides.Other
employees who have not qualified under one of the above priorities and
who are not members of the bargaining unit (all other employees of the
Board) if the contractual agreement with the participating
university/college so provides.
PAC's - How do I apply for Professional Advancement Credits (PAC's)?
Master Teacher Committee - What is the Master Teacher Committee?
National Board Certification - How do I apply for National Board Certification?
