FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the CH Professional Development Program?
The Campbell Hall Professional Development Program is on the one hand an
expression of expectations for faculty, staff and administrative competence,
and at the same time it is designed to help employees grow in core
competencies. More basically, it creates specific expectations of our
community as a true community of inquiry – for adults as well as children
and teenagers.
How will the expectations for faculty, staff, and administrators be expressed?
Course requirements organized around the six Key Competencies are meant to reflect the core values of our school community. The hours achieved in each will assist individuals in their continued professional development. The office of the Assistant Head of School will maintain records which will reflect individual progress (yearly hours completed).
The program applies to all employees, though the five core competencies will need to be adapted for the needs of teachers, staff and administrators. For example, Instructional Technology would be geared toward classroom use for faculty as compared with office use for staff and administrators. On the other hand, the areas of Episcopal Identity or Diversity apply to all members of the school community.
What form will the “full adult education program” take?
We are developing a catalog of course offerings each year and as far
into the future as possible. It is our hope that over time, especially as it
becomes more common for faculty to offer courses to their colleagues, the
catalog will grow to allow for many and varied offerings. The more variety
CH can provide in course offerings, the more enjoyable and user-friendly the
program will be.
Say more about these “courses” that make up the offerings under
the program. Are we really talking about college courses, semester-long?
No. A minimum of seven contact hours (plus associated written
homework, follow-up, or reading) will be required for each competency
(except Health and Safety – see below), plus an additional seven hours in
one of the competencies or some "other" learning experience (42 hours in
all). The minimal requirements for one competency could be fulfilled, for
example, in a seminar that met over the course of 10 lunch periods, seven
hours of before-school meetings, through a full-day workshop or retreat, or
by attending six 70-minute after-school presentations.
How much time do employees have to fulfill requirements under the program?
Employees must complete work for the first five key competencies over the course of each seven-year cycle they are employed at Campbell Hall. Health and Safety requirements fall outside of the cycle and must be completed regularly as mandated by government, the Episcopal diocese, or our insurers. An additional seven hours are required in any category, or the learning experience of your choice. (Many faculty are already enrolled in French class, for example, which could provide the "other" seven hours if languages are not one's area of subject expertise).
It is the intent of the program to maintain an ongoing commitment to
learning. For that reason, faculty should generally undertake at least
seven hours of professional development each year, though this is a
guideline rather than a requirement. Some faculty, of course, will go
above and beyond the required hours. A full course of 35 hours in
Schools Attuned, for example, would count as 7 hours in Differentiated
Instruction and 7 hours in "Other."
Are requirements the same for teachers enrolled in CLU or other State credentialing classes or other approved post-graduate programs?
Most classes being taken at CLU and other graduate institutions will
fulfill one of the five Core Competencies (or "other"), and then some.
It is still important for such a teacher to make sure they fulfill the range
of requirements in all areas, which are not, after all, onerous.
Can teachers fulfill requirements by going to conferences?
Yes, in some cases. Certainly some conferences provide valuable learning opportunities. Many, however, are less effective and more expensive than other courses of study. It is possible that conference-going will decline as a percentage of the overall professional development program over time.
Can online courses fulfill the requirement?
Absolutely! In fact, we encourage people to find and create such courses.
Who pays for all this?
CH will cover the costs of all approved classes and conferences in the program, as well as the credentialing classes offered through Cal Lutheran. The costs of post-graduate work will continue to be subsidized at the current rate. Faculty members (but not administrators) will receive a stipend and/or contact hours for teaching an approved CH professional development class.
Who will keep track of how many hours have been completed?
The technology staff has created a database that will keep track of fulfilled requirements so that faculty may check their progress from the Professional Development website. Pre-approval of expenses will continue as it has in the past--first by department chairs, and ultimately by the Assistant Head of School. Each individual should keep his or her own portfolio with course materials, certificates of completion, etc., simply as a matter of good practice.
What is the Episcopal Identity competency about?
According to our Statement of Philosophy,
Campbell Hall embraces
the philosophy that the students entrusted to its care are persons of both
faith and reason. This point of view commissions the faculty and staff to
encourage each student to quest for knowledge and to fit the educational
experience into a pattern of faith for daily living. The relationship with
the Episcopal Church places Campbell Hall in the Judeo-Christian tradition
and imbues the school with a sensitivity to the moral and ethical dimensions
of life. The chapel program encourages students to discover the presence of
God in their lives and to respect all religions of the world as sources of
knowledge and truth. The school is committed to serving a diverse,
interfaith student body.
The school must be deliberate in fostering dialogue about how Campbell Hall’s Episcopal identity does, in fact, impact our teaching and the students’ learning – especially given the fact that the influence of the school’s Episcopal ethos and heritage is subtle and easily misunderstood.
Campbell Hall has enjoyed some encouraging successes in recruiting students and employees of color. We have also enjoyed hearing speakers and seeing programs, many in chapel, on the broad topic of diversity. At the same time, we must be intentional about ensuring that all teachers, staff, and administrators have the tools they need to help create a truly inclusive community at Campbell Hall. We must also be intentional about examining whether our curriculum is genuinely open to the broad horizons of human achievement, rather than unwittingly institutionalizing narrower, chauvinistic notions of excellence.
While this topic is actually several topics and is so broad as to defy easy classification, it is clear that part of Campbell Hall’s unique mission has to do with the academic diversity in our student body. Rather than seeing diversity in learning styles as a problem, the school must be intentional about offering strategies for differentiating instruction for all kinds of learners. More broadly, how do we truly celebrate the diversity of human gifts and the many intelligences of the whole child, rather than being constrained by the definitions of achievement only as reflected on the SAT’s and AP’s? Are there new forms of assessment and reporting to colleges that would speak better to the broad growth and formation we claim to foster at Campbell Hall?