New Wednesday schedule a hit in Dist. 204

Indian Prairie Unit District 204's Professional Development Wednesdays program got rolling this week and officials say they hope to keep the momentum going.

As part of this year's contract negotiations, teachers agreed to set aside a block of time to work collaboratively on improving student learning each Wednesday before school. Elementary teachers have 60 minutes and middle and high school teachers have 50 minutes in the district that covers portions of Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield and Bolingbrook.

Tricia McCarthy, the district's director of professional development, said the initial Wednesday sessions at each school - the first of about 35 scheduled throughout the year - "went very smoothly" and were "exciting to watch."

"Our teachers were highly engaged as they focused on their schools' individual curriculum, instruction and assessment," McCarthy said. "We also had groups involved in collaborative discussions of research-based strategies to reach our children."

As the sessions move forward, McCarthy said teachers will begin to narrow their focus to the needs of each individual student.

"Instead of one teacher in a classroom, acting instinctively to the needs of a student, they can all meet in a group and problem solve and create our best practices together," she said. "Never before has every teacher been able to sit down in a group and really talk about what they expect all students to know and do."

The before-school meetings, however, cut into about 10 minutes of class time on Wednesdays, creating later start times and potential scheduling conflicts for parents.

District spokeswoman Janet Buglio said most students arrived at the correct time Wednesday. If parents can't make the adjustment, she said, supervision will be provided at the elementary schools for the additional 10 minutes before classes begin.

The school board will receive periodic updates on the program before deciding whether to make it a permanent fixture.