High-Quality Professional Development Report

As the title of the report suggests, the Council has concluded that there is a critical need for the Maryland State Department of Education to continue working with local school systems and institutions of higher education to ensure that all of Maryland's teachers have access to high-quality professional development. In responding to the charge to report on current policies and practices in teacher professional development, the Council found many examples of good practice at both the state and local levels. At the same time, Council identified a number of areas in which improvements are warranted if we are to make good on our commitment to educate all students to their fullest potential.

After a careful review of research and lessons from successful practice and with input from hundreds of educators across the state, the Council has articulated a set of standards for teacher professional development and recommends full implementation and use of these standards to guide future professional development. The standards offer a bold vision of professional development and recognize that responsibility and accountability for ensuring that professional development is of the highest quality rests with all stakeholders. The Council's central recommendation calls for creating a statewide system of high-quality professional development and relying on the standards to guide the process. The remainder of the Council's recommendations explains the Council's vision of this system in more detail and outline specific steps that can be taken by all of the stakeholders who share in the responsibility for high-quality professional development. The Council recognizes that implementing its recommendations will take time and other resources but considers these investments to be essential to assuring the quality of education in Maryland.

This document reports on the Council's observations and recommendations. It is a consensus document that offers a bold new vision of professional development and a comprehensive, long-term strategy for bringing that vision to reality.