CFF Professional Development

Overview
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has indicated that Springfield School District is still under obligation to complete another year of grant specific professional development for the Classrooms for the Future grant. Although the district has reached an equipment maximum of $707,000.00 over the past two years, we are still receiving support monies and are therefore still under the professional development obligation. The obligation consists of another 30 hour course in the same format as the previous CFF courses, the current PDE deadline for completing this stage of CFF Professional Development is August 31, 2009.

Link to course website

Teachers impacted by CFF professional development

Teachers included in 2008-2009 CFF Professional Development

If your name is not on the list, you have fulfilled the obligation for this year and do not have to take the course. You can confirm this by clicking on the "Sheet 2" link, even if you do not have to take the course this year, may still proceed to the next class if you wish.

District Completion Plan
In order to complete this obligation and not incur any penalties from PDE, members of the PAC team and Administration have met to discuss the most equitable way to complete the training and insure appropriate compensation for the participating teachers. The following format appears to be agreeable to both the PAC team and administration.

• 12 hours (roughly units 1-3) of the applicable course will be completed during the 2008-2009 school year with the deadline being June 15th and the drop dead date being June 20th. In compensation for this work during the school year, the applicable teachers would be allowed to flex out of the equivalent of two 2009 staff development days. Sync Point/Due Dates for the three units will be at the discretion of the course facilitator and participants will be expected to have completed or be near the completion of Unit Three by the end of the school year.

• 12 hours will be completed online and from home during two summer in-service days at the prevailing summer staff development rate. During the 2008-2009 school year, the course facilitator will provide participants with any work that requires student input so that that materials can be completed prior to the start of summer.

• 6 hours will be completed in the building during a "start of school" in-service in August, the date is yet to be determined.

Participants will be able to start the course on January 10th, 2009

This will cover all 30 hours of the course with both monetary and "flex/comp" day compensation to the participants. With the exception of extenuating circumstances, use of flex days is contingent upon course completion.

Graduate Option
There is a graduate option offered through Wilkes University. If there is interest in this option, it will become the responsibility of the teacher to obtain the information for the course, complete the appropriate District forms for approval, and register for the course; standard reimbursement rates for approved courses will apply. Please contact Rob Nelson for initial information for this option.

The course run by the School District will be facilitated by a designee of the Director of Teaching and Learning while the graduate cou se will be run exclusively through Wilkes University all concerns regarding the graduate course will need to be addressed to Wilkes.

2009-2010 School Year
There has been no determination made as to CFF professional development for the 2009-2010 school year. PDE will not be able to advise participating districts if the CFF grant will continue until the state budget has been passed; at that time the School District will able to determine if it will continue to participate in the CFF grant.