New York State’s Professional Development Standards provide a blueprint for high-quality professional development for all educators to improve instruction and student achievement. 

These standards promote and sustain continuous development, growth, and examination of practice. They also provide clearly defined expectations and commitment to change. They are aligned with New York State Learning Standards. They are based on analyzing and adapting the National Staff Development Council’s Standards for Staff Development and other national, state, and professional standards. 

The New York State Professional Development Standards are based on fundamental knowledge about contextual factors from converging research about effective professional development and its ultimate impact on student learning. Attributes of effective professional development include the following:

• Effective professional development fosters a culture of continuous improvement for all engaged in the learning endeavor.
• Effective professional development improves the learning of all students, including those with different educational needs, learning styles, and incremental abilities, and those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. 
• Professional development is most effective when there are clear research-based expectations for what teachers should know and be able to do to support student learning.
• Professional development is most effective when it takes place in professional learning communities.
• Professional development is most effective when there is collaborative leadership and shared responsibility for improving teaching and learning.
• Professional development is most effective when it is job-embedded, directly relevant to classroom practice, provided over time, and when it provides an opportunity for the practice of new strategies, time to reflect on changes, and integrate new learning into the teaching practice. 
• Professional development is most effective when adequate resources are provided.

The New York State Professional Learning Standards are based on an analysis and adaptation of the New York State Professional Development Standards (2009), Learning Forward Standards, and other national, state, and professional standards. The standards reference the importance of all stakeholders, including P-12 staff, parents, social workers, counselors, community members, teacher educators, higher education representatives, and students. 

• Professional Growth and Collaboration
• Expanding Professional Capacity
• Leadership
• Professional Learning Approaches
• Utilizing Data
• Cultural Responsiveness
• Engagement Among Diverse Communities

The RVC Teacher Center, in partnership with NYSUT ELT, is excited to offer you various virtual and online professional development opportunities to help meet your many needs as an educator. All of these seminars are of no cost to you. The attached catalog offers multiple options for 3-hour virtual/synchronous seminars and 5 and 15-hour online/asynchronous seminars. Seminar topics include, but are not limited to: integrated co-teaching, parent communication, differentiation, ELL strategies, mental health, and technology. All of the seminars are CTLE-approved through NYSUT ELT. The fifteen-hour seminars may be used towards earning 1 in-service credit. These seminars are open to all teachers, teacher assistants, and administrators. Many of your colleagues have already begun to register for seminars on Frontline/MLP. Please be sure that you also take advantage of these great opportunities! Please reach out to me with any questions you have. Thank you for your support of the RVCTC and NYSUT ELT.