PowerSchool Professional Learning: Empowering Educators and Inspiring Learners

Teacher and staff development is an ongoing process aimed at increasing their classroom effectiveness and helping them grow their careers. Research indicates that teachers impact student performance two to three times more than any other school factor. As teachers combine experience with targeted professional education, their teaching toolbox grows. PowerSchool Professional Learning offers a comprehensive suite of resources designed to support educators in their ongoing development, ultimately leading to improved student outcomes.

The Importance of Investing in Teacher Development

At a time when many educators are leaving the profession altogether, demonstrating to teachers that your district will invest in their professional future is critical. The cost of not investing in staff development can be devastatingly high. If students do not receive the education they need to thrive, classroom performance is unlikely to improve, which for some districts is unacceptable and detrimental to the district and its students’ futures.

Aligning Goals and Content

Teacher and staff development goals vary from district to district, but learning content can be related to growing skills, expanding knowledge, or both. Teacher input should always drive the type of learning content offered as part of any professional development program. Engagement is key.

PowerSchool Professional Learning: A Comprehensive Solution

PowerSchool’s professional learning solution enables districts to implement customized staff development programs based on district size, needs, and goals. It all comes down to developing stronger teachers to boost student performance. Strong teacher and staff development programs rely on the right tools to plan, deliver, and measure learning that lasts. PowerSchool Professional Learning gives districts the flexibility to offer personalized courses, track completion, and recognize milestones with digital credentials-all within one easy-to-manage system. For a large district like ours, it was important to have tools that helped us personalize learning and target specific audiences based on their collective needs. PowerSchool Professional Learning has opened up how we are able to manage our professional learning program as well as help our teachers to better track their own professional learning and development. Educators can learn in the same environment they teach in, their LMS.

Key Features and Benefits

Personalized Learning: PowerSchool Professional Learning gives districts the flexibility to offer personalized courses.
Comprehensive Management: PowerSchool Professional Learning has opened up how we are able to manage our professional learning program.
Progress Tracking: PowerSchool Professional Learning helps our teachers to better track their own professional learning and development.
Accredited Content: Support teachers and staff with online courses from accredited PD vendors.
Data-Driven Insights: PowerSchool Performance Matters connects assessment, attendance, and engagement data so leaders can see how staff learning influences student success. Adding PowerSchool Performance Matters, a student assessment platform, to your current SIS gives your district the ability to see the big picture and track improvements in real time. This solution connects data from across different software tools your district is already using to reveal big-picture insights.
Secure Platform: We are dedicated to protecting your students’ data with a comprehensive security program that starts with “secure by design” principles at the inception of our products and extends through third-party penetration testing, robust cloud security, and a fully staffed 24x7x365 Security Operations Center. Our products are independently validated by third-party auditors, ensuring your data is always protected with PowerSchool.

Strategies for Effective Professional Development

There is no single-size-fits-all approach, but engagement is key. Empower teachers. Inspire learners. With the right classroom skills, teachers can find ways to connect with students who might otherwise fall through the cracks. Success depends on keeping administrators and teachers believing in the benefits of continued learning. A successful professional development implementation will empower teachers with new and enhanced skills in the classroom.

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Focus on Long-Term Growth

A one-day seminar, quick online course, or other compressed professional development activities can boost enthusiasm or introduce new PD initiatives. But one-off sessions alone likely won’t contribute to improved student success in the long term. That’s why learning should be planned over quarters or months. According to ISEE at the University of California, Santa Cruz, “effective professional development programs require 50 to 80 hours of instruction, practice, and coaching before teachers arrive at mastery.” In fact, a Stanford University study shows that teachers receive up to 100 hours of professional development annually in some high-achieving countries.

Measuring Success and Gathering Feedback

Measurable improvement of student performance should be the standard against which professional development is judged. From the start, your district should set clear guidelines around the metrics that will be monitored to gauge professional development effectiveness. Identify problem areas and seek to improve them. Consider using multiple data sources from your school’s software systems to gain a holistic view of student performance. Remember that it takes time to see results. Practice makes perfect, and consistently rehearsing skills in training will help teachers effectively transfer learned skills to the classroom. Improved test scores will follow, but there are early indicators that show teachers are becoming more effective. Teacher evaluations also offer valuable opportunities for teachers and administrators to discuss professional goals and what’s working or not working in your professional development program. Do they find the content valuable? Do they need more flexibility in completing courses and activities?

Cost-Effective Strategies

Developing teacher and staff skills is an investment for any district. Not every district has the budget to offer show-stopping learning events and activities, but that’s okay. Even districts on a tight budget can likely find room to create an efficient, effective professional development program. Smart planning can help your district cut costs while benefiting from a powerfully effective professional development program. Invite local food trucks to serve attendees at a summer development event. Utilize volunteer workshop leaders from your district’s own staff. Choose an online learning system that lets teachers complete coursework anytime and anywhere to reduce the need for substitute teachers.

Addressing Technology Integration

Districts in the early stages of adopting new instructional technology, like tablet computers and online collaboration programs, may choose to offer robust technology education to their teachers to gain buy-in for new systems and help boost success during implementation. Engagement is key, so consider how teachers will learn their new skills.

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