Dist. 204 teacher program successful so far

Just a trial program last year, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officials have decided the Professional Development Wednesdays program is on its way to becoming a mainstay.

Teachers agreed to set aside a block of time to work collaboratively on improving student learning each Wednesday before the school day starts - a concession from last year's contract negotiations.

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, explained to board members how teachers started the year by focusing on curriculum, instruction and assessment and progressed into shaping those three areas to best reach their individual students and increase achievement.

Data from the first year is too fresh to warrant definitive changes, but McCarthy said a few more years worth of data comparisons is expected to prove the weekly hourlong sessions have boosted student achievement and improved communication between teachers across the district.

"Never before had every teacher been able to sit down in a group and really talk about what they expect all students to know and do," McCarthy said. "Now they've had the chance to do that for a full year and I'm confident we'll continue to see student achievement gains based on the discussions being had on Wednesday mornings."

Board Vice President Alka Tyle said progress already has begun.

"We all know that teacher quality is the number one factor that impacts academic achievement and from the level of detail I can tell that, from a year ago, we've made a lot of progress," Tyle said. "I also recognize that we won't see the full benefit of all of this work for a few years down the road. But it is very exciting."

The before-school meetings will also continue to cut into about 10 minutes of class time on Wednesdays, creating later start times.