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Midsize CA DistrictRaises Learning toNew Level with PD

Case StudySchool Improvement Network

www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

“We are learning how versatile PD 360 is and want

to utilize all possible methods in order to provide a

completely job-embedded resource for every teacher.”

Adora FisherDirector, Curriculum and Instruction

Cupertino Union School District, CA

The Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) serves 18,250

students in twenty elementary schools and ve middle

schools. It is located in an area that includes the city of 

Cupertino and portions of ve other cities in California’s

Silicon Valley. The district serves a richly diverse student

population—70% Asian (includes Indian subcontinent),23% White, 5% Hispanic, 1% Black, and 1% Filipino,

representing 48 different languages.

CUSD has great expectations for students and enjoys an

outstanding degree of parent involvement. District families,

community, and staff join as partners to develop creative,

skilled, and enthusiastic learners.

• District test scores are high, placing CUSD among 

 the premier public school districts with state and

national recognition for the excellence of its schools.

• The CUSD performed well above federal AnnualMeasurable Objectives (AMO) standards with 87.0%

of students scoring procient or above in English/

language arts, and 87.4% of students scoring 

procient or above in mathematics.

• CUSD is nationally recognized for leadership in

 the innovative application of technology to enrich

student learning, and fully integrate technology into

 the curriculum.

• Instructionally, the district provides a comprehensive

array of integrated, school-based services designed

 to meet the needs of all students, including extended

learning, special education, and English Language

Development programs.

• All schools are part of the school-based coordination

program to identify and direct resources to support

efforts that have a positive impact on student

learning.

Why would a district with excellent programs and

achievements look for a new professional development (PD)

resource?

CUSD was dealing with unprecedented reductions in

education funding. It was facing teacher cuts, program cuts

and an increase in teacher-student ratio.

“When our budget began shrinking, we looked for a cost

effective, all inclusive source to give teachers what they

need to better engage students and take their learning to

another level without a prohibitive expenditure. Our focus

has always been on learning, not achievement and PD

360 has the same focus.”

Adora FisherDirector, Curriculum and InstructionCupertino Union School District, CA

DISTRCT PROFILE

CHALLENGES

CUPERTINO UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA

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A teacher in the district learned of School Improvement

Network’s online, on-demand professional development

product PD 360 and recommended it to Adora Fisher, CUSD

Director, Curriculum and Instruction. Ms. Fisher signed up

for a free trial and was very enthusiastic with the possibili-

 ties.

PD 360 is an on-demand library of professional teacher

development resources that leverages technology to make

professional learning more effective, convenient, and

sustainable. With over 200 hours of research-based video

content, plus tools for follow-up, tracking, reection, and

group training, PD 360 is the most comprehensive solution

 to your professional teacher development needs.

More than 600,000 educators across North America

already use PD 360 to access individualized support on the

most relevant topics, like differentiation, minority studentachievement, English language learners, classroom instruc-

 tion that works, leadership, assessment, and many more.

PD 360’s content is divided into hundreds of indexed and

searchable segments that make it easy for teachers, ad-

ministrators, aspiring leaders, coaches, mentors, parapro-

fessionals, and professional learning communities to nd

 the answers they need. New content is continually added to

keep you up-to-date.

See a demonstration at www.pd360.com. 

> Though CUSD is only six months into PD 360, Staff 

Development has launched a great implementation.

> PD 360 Training 

Principals were rst to be trained on PD 360. They then

implemented it in their schools starting with the middle

schools and continuing into the lower grades. CUSD has

since hired a former teacher to work part time to identify

areas of need in the schools and match with videos from

PD 360.

> Staff Meetings

Prior to staff meetings educators are often assigned a

specic video to watch. This provides the opportunity for

good discussions by using common language, and under-

standing of best classroom practice.

> Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) 

PD 360 is used in Professional Learning Community

 training meetings. It supports the groups with a solid

resource to study, and the autonomy to work on subjects

 that relate to their needs. PLCs watch a PD 360 video

segment and discuss how to apply the practices in their

classrooms. The accompanying digitized Facilitator Guides

provide group activities, discussion questions, lesson

plans, and graphic organizers. Many include handouts

 that can be printed on-demand.

> New Teachers

It is important to Ms. Fisher that new teachers be intro-

duced to PD 360 as a teaching resource and be trained

 to use it. After they are told about district goals and

objectives, assignments are given to watch certain videos

and answer reection questions so they can understandimplementation of those goals. Administrators can track

 their usage.

 > Teachers Who Struggle

Principals are helping struggling teachers by suggesting 

specic PD 360 programs that show what best classroom

practices look like in the needed areas. In order to follow

 teacher growth, administrators can track their usage as

well as their answers to Reection and Follow-Up Ques-

 tions.

 > Teacher Recertification

CUSD plans to apply PD 360 viewing time and Reectionwork as evidence of professional development toward the

 teacher recertication program.

> Courses

CUSD is planning to write its own course unit to be used

 toward advancement and transferred to college credit.

This gives them exibility to create an alignment with the

district’s initiatives.

> Walkthroughs

Getting principals into the classrooms has a huge impact

on teacher training. As principals do classroom walk-

 throughs, they can email specic PD 360 segment links

 that are relevant to the instructional needs of the teach-ers while providing easy and effective, job-embedded

follow-up. Being able to quickly provide instant remedia-

 tion on many issues has been benecial to both principals

and teachers alike.

 > Job Embedded / Individual Needs 

Professional development should not be identical for

each teacher but should be responsive to a teacher’s

day-to-day practices in school and student needs. Asquestions and situations arise in classrooms, teachers

can instantly nd answers in PD 360 to improve teach-

ing and give support when needed instead of waiting for

district workshops. The wide variety of content in PD 360

ensures that teachers of every experience level can nd

individualized help when they need it.

> Customizable

Ms. Fisher is looking forward to customizing PD 360 to

CUSD’s own needs. She would like to create content

 to focus areas and align with state, district, and school

requirements and initiatives in the coming year.

DRIVING USAGE AND IMPLEMENTATION

ABOUT PD 360

BENEFITS

SOLUTION

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 > Cost Effective 

PD 360 has been very cost-effective for CUSD. Costing 

much less than traditional professional development, it

can be purchased with a variety of funding sources avail-

able to districts and schools, including Title I, II, III, IV, V,

VII, state funds, foundation funds, federal and state grant

monies, math funds, reading funds, technology funds,

etc. Cupertino is using Beginning Teacher Support and

Assessment (BTSA) funding.

> Great Customer ServiceMs. Fisher and the Staff Development department have

been delighted with the great customer service that

School Improvement Network has provided with excellent

 trainers and rst-rate technical support.

> Tracking Features

CUSD administrators oversee teacher professional devel-

opment with PD 360’s integrated tracking, reporting, and

follow-up and know which areas need extra reinforce-

ment. This year, they were able to monitor usage for the

 teacher summer stipends.

>

Real Classroom Examples Ms. Fisher has been pleased with the wide variety of real

classroom examples from across the country that are

shown in every PD 360 program so that teachers can

actually see how to implement best practices in their own

classroom management.

> Real Experts

Teachers are delighted to have access to over 120

respected education experts that give credibility to best

practices and are available at each teacher’s ngertips

whenever needed. Educators no longer have to wait to

attend conferences or pay the high costs associated with

 them, to learn from acclaimed authorities.

> Accessibility / Unlimited Use 

Because PD 360 is an online and on-demand solution,

CUSD teachers can access it anytime and anywhere they

have the Internet. They can log on at home as well as at

work, which encourages teachers to take charge of their

learning on their own time schedule. Educators have

unlimited access to view segments and programs as

many times as they wish.

CUSD has found that even with a reduced budget, PD 360is cost-effective and offers a wide variety of professional

development opportunities for teachers. Moreover,

as educators learn to draw on it for all their school

improvement needs then CUSD, teachers, and students will

come out ahead.

“This is not a professional development that is a one-time

event. PD 360 provides numerous PD opportunities and

many avenues of engagement for every teacher as they

are actively involved watching video segments, answering

reection questions, and simulating the real examples in

 their own classrooms.”

Adora FisherDirector, Curriculum and InstructionCupertino Union School District, CA

The School Improvement Network is the leading provider

of teacher education and teacher training, specializing in

on-demand, research-based professional development

anytime, anywhere. As the home of The Video Journal

of Education, PD 360, and the Leadership and Learning 

Framework, School Improvement Network’s education

 training resources focus on the most relevant topics, such

as classroom management. The resources also feature

 top experts such as Michael Fullan and Douglas Reeves,and show how to put theory into practice. With its focus on

long-term improvement, sustainability, and greater internal

capacity, the School Improvement Network helps its clients

close achievement gaps, meet high standards and increase

student learning for both elementary education and second

ary education. To learn more about School Improvement

Network’s dynamic resources, visit 

www.schoolimprovement.com.

 

CONCLUSION

ABOUT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK

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