Baltimore County Public Schools? newly hired chief academic officer recommended a systemwide professional-development policy with increased emphasis on teacher accountability at a school board work session Tuesday.
“Professional development is the glue that holds everything together,” said Sonia Diaz, chief academic officer for Baltimore County Schools.
The school board is working through the recommendations of an independent audit of the school system released in March. Auditors said in the 442-page document that current professional development is inadequate to provide individual staff members with the knowledge and skills to improve student achievement. There is currently no policy regarding continuing education and training for county teachers.
“The professional development has been pretty bad,” board member Meg O?Hare said. “I?m amazed the board didn?t do anything before the audit.”
Diaz, who was hired to implement the audit?s recommendations, said the school system needs a comprehensive, long-range centralized policy for professional development.
She also recommended a system of checks and balances to monitor teacher education. The school system needs to ensure that teachers who attend weekend conferences stay all weekend, for instance, and monitor classrooms to see whether teachers are using new techniques, she said.
Diaz also wants to work with principals to determine the specific needs of teachers.
There was disagreement at the work session about how quickly the school system needs to move on the audit?s recommendations.
Board member John Hayden said better professional development was urgently needed.
But schools Superintendent Joe Hairston said the school board should try to implement the new policies by the beginning of next school year.
“We can?t fix everything overnight, because it didn?t happen overnight,” board member Warren Hayman said.
The board will consider the recommendations in upcoming committee meetings and then vote on them.
