[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 210 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58870-58874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28825]



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Part VII





Department of Education





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National Awards Program for Model Professional Development Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998; Notices

  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 210 / Thursday, October 30, 1997 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RIN 1850-ZA02


National Awards Program for Model Professional Development

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of final eligibility and selection criteria.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces eligibility and selection criteria to 
govern the National Awards Program for Model Professional Development 
for Fiscal Year 1998. Under these criteria, the National Awards Program 
will recognize a variety of schools (public and private) and school 
districts with model professional development activities in the pre-
kindergarten through twelfth grade levels that have led to increases in 
student achievement.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These criteria take effect December 1, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Horn, Office of Educational 
Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey 
Avenue, NW, Room 506e, Washington, DC 20208-5644. Telephone: 202-219-
2203 or 202-219-2187. Inquiries also may be sent by e-mail to 
[email protected] or by FAX at 202-219-2198. Individuals who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 
p.m.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through this notice the Secretary announces 
definitions and criteria to govern applications for recognition 
submitted under the second National Awards Program for Model 
Professional Development. This program began in 1996, in coordination 
with a wide range of national education organizations, to highlight and 
recognize schools and school districts whose professional development 
activities are aligned with the statement of Mission and Principles of 
Professional Development that the Department developed in 1994. See 
Appendix A. This second National Awards Program, to be conducted during 
Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, will be implemented in ways similar to last 
year's program (see, for example, the Notice Inviting Applications for 
Awards published in the Federal Register on June 14, 1996 at 61 FR 
30450) but with criteria designed to better inform applicants of the 
kind of information that successful applicants will need to provide. 
Again this year, the Secretary intends to recognize successful 
applicants at a ceremony in Washington, DC, and present each successful 
applicant with an award of not less than $5,000 that the recipient 
could use to expand, promote, or publicize its professional development 
activities.
    The reasons for wanting to continue the National Awards Program are 
clear. Schools and school districts throughout the Nation are 
undertaking efforts to raise academic standards and to improve the 
academic achievement of all students. For these efforts to be 
successful they must include strategies for permitting teachers (and 
other school and local educational agency (LEA) staff) to obtain the 
skills and knowledge they need to enable all students to achieve. 
Indeed, whatever the school reform initiative, teachers are the core. 
However, teachers need access to new knowledge and skills to enable 
them to continue to teach to higher standards and to respond to the 
challenges facing education today.
    Realizing that high-quality professional development must be at the 
core of any effort to achieve educational excellence, the Secretary in 
1994 directed a broadly representative team within the U.S. Department 
of Education to examine the best available research and exemplary 
practices related to professional development and work with the field 
to develop a set of basic principles of high-quality professional 
development. Out of this national effort came the Department's 
Statement of Mission and Principles of Professional Development. This 
statement reflected both extensive collaboration with a wide range of 
education constituents and review of public comment received on a draft 
Statement of Mission and Principles of Professional Development 
published in the Federal Register on December 9, 1994 (59 FR 63773). 
The Department issued the final Statement of Mission and Principles 
(Appendix A) in 1995 after review of public comment and re-examination 
of the best available research on exemplary practices. This Statement--
grounded in the practical wisdom of leading educators across the 
country--describes the kind of professional development that, if 
implemented, maintained, and supported, will have a positive and 
lasting effect on teaching and learning in America.
    The Statement of Mission and Principles of Professional Development 
represents a framework for guiding school and school district staff as 
they design and implement their professional development activities. 
Many of the same national education organizations that worked with the 
Department to develop the Mission and Principles of Professional 
Development sought the Department's help last year in identifying and 
recognizing those professional development efforts across the pre-
kindergarten through twelfth grade spectrum that reflect the Mission 
and Principles. Given the efforts of schools and school districts 
throughout the Nation to pursue school reform initiatives, the 
Secretary agreed with these organizations about the urgent need to 
identify sites whose professional development activities can be models 
for other schools and districts that are working to enhance their own 
professional development activities.
    Therefore, the Secretary last year announced the first National 
Awards Program for Model Professional Development. The public expressed 
great interest in the program, and the Department received over 100 
applications. In February of this year, the Department recognized five 
schools and school districts in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Kansas, and 
California for the high quality of their professional development 
activities and the link between those activities and improved student 
learning. But the importance of high-quality professional development 
to successful strategies to increase student achievement demands that 
this awards program be continued and that more schools and school 
districts have the opportunity for national recognition. Therefore, the 
Secretary is pleased to announce definitions and criteria to govern the 
second National Awards Program.
    On August 19, 1997, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational 
Research and Improvement published a notice of proposed eligibility and 
selection criteria for this program in the Federal Register (62 FR 
44194-98). In response to public comment, the final eligibility 
criteria invite applicants to identify and describe any important 
partnering with institutions of higher education and other entities 
that have contributed to the high quality of their professional 
development activities. Otherwise, except for minor editorial revisions 
made to enhance clarity, there are no differences between the 
eligibility and selection criteria proposed in that notice and the 
final eligibility and selection criteria announced in this notice.

    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. A notice 
inviting applications

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under this competition is published elsewhere in this edition of the 
Federal Register.

Summary of Comments and Changes

    In response to the invitation in the notice of proposed eligibility 
and selection criteria, the Department received two comments.
    Comment: One commenter noted that his State requires professional 
development to be aligned with State education standards, and requested 
that the ``Supplementary Information'' section of the notice state that 
successful applicants must demonstrate a link between their 
professional development activities and improved student achievement 
and teacher effectiveness ``toward attaining State standards.''
    Discussion: The notice of proposed eligibility and selection 
criteria would have required applicants to demonstrate a link between 
their professional development activities and ``high'' standards. These 
high standards are the content and student performance standards that 
states and school districts have adopted or are adopting as key parts 
of their strategies to increase student achievement. Upon review of the 
commenter's suggestion, no change in the background discussion 
contained in the ``Supplementary Information'' section of the notice 
seems necessary. However, the language of Selection Criterion B, 
``Goals and Outcomes,'' has been clarified to require applicants to 
address ``how professional development goals and outcomes promote 
teaching and learning to State or local standards, or both.'' Moreover, 
while alignment with challenging State content and student performance 
standards is crucial to successful education reform, the language of 
the criterion is not limited to ``State standards'' so as not to 
penalize schools and districts with local standards that now are more 
rigorous than their States' standards.
    Changes: Selection Criterion B, ``Goals and Outcomes,'' has been 
changed accordingly.
    Comment: One commenter noted the importance that institutions of 
higher education (IHEs) play in promoting high-quality professional 
development at the school and school district level, and urged that 
eligibility for the National Awards Program be extended to IHEs.
    Discussion: Individual IHEs do play an increasingly important role 
in helping many schools and school districts improve the quality of 
their professional development activities. However, the Secretary has 
determined that eligibility for the program should continue to be 
limited to schools and school districts--the places where K-12 teaching 
and learning actually occurs--both to maintain focus on the quality 
professional development within schools and school districts, and 
because of the difficulty of using common criteria to evaluate the 
relative merit of applications that otherwise would come from such very 
different kinds of institutions.
    Changes: In view of the comment, the ``Eligibility Criteria'' 
section of this notice now specifically invites applicants to describe 
their partnerships with IHEs and other entities in their applications.
    Comment: None.
    Discussion: The discussion of ``Proposed Selection Procedures'' 
contained in the Notice of Proposed Eligibility and Selection Criteria 
failed to advise the public that, like last year, the Secretary expects 
to give recognition under this National Awards Program to no more than 
ten schools and school districts. In addition, the proposed notice 
stated that the Secretary anticipated the size of a recipient's 
monetary award to be between $5,000 and $10,000. While the Secretary 
still hopes that this is the case, this notice clarifies that the 
Department anticipates that each successful applicant will receive a 
monetary award of no less than $5,000.
    Changes: The ``Selection Procedures'' portion of this notice has 
been changed accordingly.

Eligibility Criteria

    As with last year's program, eligible applicants are schools and 
school districts in the States (including schools located on Indian 
reservations, and in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the 
outlying areas) serving students in the pre-kindergarten through 
twelfth grade range. While only schools and school districts may apply, 
the Secretary recognizes that the high quality of a school or 
district's professional development activities may be the result of its 
successful partnering with institutions of higher education and other 
entities such as public and private nonprofit organizations, 
businesses, and community organizations. The Secretary invites 
applicants to describe these partnerships in their National Award 
Program applications.
    In addition, this year's program retains application selection 
criteria that are built on two key elements: (1) A demonstration that 
the professional development activities are fully aligned with the 
Mission and Principles of Professional Development, and (2) a 
demonstration of how, consistent with the Mission and Principles, the 
professional development activities benefit all affected students and 
have led to improved student achievement and improved teacher 
effectiveness. As noted above, the Statement of Mission and Principles 
of Professional Development reflects broad agreement on what is ``best 
practice.'' It was prepared in collaboration with a great many national 
educational associations and upon review of public comment. The 
Secretary believes that professional development activities can only be 
considered exemplary if they, in fact, are linked to increased student 
achievement.
    Again this year, the format of applications remains fairly simple. 
However, the application material has been revised to better identify 
topics applicants will need to consider in order to demonstrate 
alignment with the Mission and Principles of Professional Development 
and a link to increased student achievement. In addition, to promote 
fairness among those seeking recognition under the National Awards 
Program, all applications must be prepared in accordance with 
formatting instructions included in the application packet.

Selection Criteria

    Applicants are free to respond to these selection criteria in any 
way they choose as long as they comply with the formatting requirements 
set out in the application packet. The degree to which applicants 
demonstrate alignment with the Mission and Principles of Professional 
Development and a link to increased student achievement will be 
evaluated using the following criteria:

Guiding Principles

    In evaluating applications for the National Awards Program, 
reviewers will look to see whether the application, taken as a whole, 
demonstrates that the school's or school district's professional 
development activities are comprehensive and lead to improved teacher 
effectiveness and increased student achievement. In doing so, reviewers 
will be guided by the extent to which and how well applicants respond 
to the following criteria, the most important of which would concern 
objective evidence of success. Each criterion includes one or more 
questions that are designed to help applicants formulate their 
responses. It is not necessary for applicants to answer each question 
individually. But, taken as a whole, the description of their 
professional development activities must address each criterion and 
provide enough information so that reviewers

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can determine whether the school's or district's professional 
development is comprehensive and leads to improved teacher 
effectiveness and increased student achievement. In this regard, this 
description must provide evidence of improved student achievement and 
show how the improvement is linked to the professional development 
activities that have been implemented.

A. Background and Overview of Professional Development

    In this section applicants must provide a brief explanation of why 
they consider professional development in their schools or districts 
exemplary by describing its key components and relating those to the 
U.S. Department of Education's Mission and Principles of Professional 
Development. This description must provide evidence that the 
professional development activities are not narrowly focused on one 
subgroup of students or staff within the school or district.
    In responding to this criterion, applicants should consider the 
following questions:
    1. What are the infrastructure, content, and process components of 
professional development in the school or district?
    2. How does professional development in the school or district 
reflect the U.S. Department of Education's Mission and Principles of 
Professional Development?
    3. Why is professional development in the school or district 
exemplary?

B. Goals and Outcomes

    In this section, applicants must describe their professional 
development goals, how they were developed, how they relate to school 
improvement, and how they are based on needs assessment and address the 
achievement of all students (regardless of gender; socio-economic 
level; disadvantaged status; racial, ethic or cultural background; 
exceptional abilities or disabilities; or limited English proficiency). 
Applicants also must address the changes in teaching and student 
learning that are expected to result from professional development. In 
doing so, they must include how professional development goals and 
outcomes promote teaching and learning to State or local standards, or 
both.
    In responding to this criterion, applicants should consider the 
following questions:
    1. What are the broad goals of professional development in its 
school or district?
    2. What are the goals for ALL students' achievement through 
professional development?
    3. What are the ways that the professional development goals are 
connected to long-term school improvement plans?
    4. What process was used to create the professional development 
goals and plan, and who was involved in the development?
    5. What are the ways in which teachers' professional development 
needs are assessed and incorporated in the plan for professional 
development?
    6. How do the professional development goals and outcomes focus on 
increasing teachers' expertise in teaching to high standards?
    7. What changes in teaching and student learning result from 
participation in professional development in the school or district? 
What is the rationale for believing these changes would result in 
improved teaching and learning?

C. Professional Development Design and Implementation

    Overall, the applicant's response to this section must show how the 
context, content, and processes of its professional development 
activities are consistent with the Department's Mission and Principles 
of Professional Development. The description must provide evidence that 
professional development reflects research and best practice; includes 
comprehensive evaluation; includes organizational structures (e.g., 
administrative policy and support) and resources (e.g., use of time, 
expertise, funds) that support it; promotes continuous inquiry and 
improvement; and ensures that the larger school community understands 
its importance to school improvement.
    The applicant must describe the data-based processes that are used 
for ensuring that professional development is connected to the school 
or district improvement plan and that the professional development 
design supports the attainment of expected changes in teaching practice 
and student learning. The description must include any formal and 
informal processes used to routinely collect information for monitoring 
how the school or district is progressing toward its goals; for 
assessing the links between the plan, professional development 
activities, and teacher and student outcomes; and for adjusting what 
isn't working.
    Applicants already integrating technology into classroom 
instruction also must include a discussion of how professional 
development has contributed to ensuring that technology is an effective 
teaching tool or, if applicable, how technology has been used to 
support effective professional development.
    In responding to this criterion, applicants should consider the 
following questions:
    1. How is professional development a part of what ALL teachers do? 
What role do administrators and other members of the school community 
play in professional development?
    2. How do the applicant's professional development design and 
activities reflect research and best practice?
    3. How does the applicant's professional development design and 
activities reflect comprehensive evaluation? What data are routinely 
collected to assess the alignment of program activities and outcomes? 
How are collected data used to refine professional development?
    4. Why were the specific content, instructional strategies, and 
learning activities selected for professional development?
    5. What are the processes for ensuring and documenting that the 
improvement plans, professional development activities, and teacher and 
student outcomes are in alignment?
    6. What structures support the implementation of professional 
development at individual, collegial and organizational levels?
    7. What resources and types of sustained support (financial and 
other) are available for professional development for individuals, 
groups, and the whole school or district? How are current resources 
obtained?
    8. How does the applicant ensure that the school community 
understands how the professional development components fit together 
and connect to the overall school plan?

D. Objective Evidence of Success

    This portion of the application is fundamental to the 
characterization of the applicant's professional development and is the 
most important selection criterion that reviewers will use. Applicants 
must demonstrate clearly that teacher effectiveness and student 
learning have improved as a direct result of the implemented 
professional development. Data that indicate this connection must be 
provided and discussed; the focus is objective evidence. In doing so, 
applicants are expected to make a compelling argument for how 
professional development positively affects outcomes for all teachers 
and all students, emphasizing areas where any achievement gaps between 
groups (e.g.,

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gender, socio-economic status, ethnicity) have been closed.
    In responding to this criterion, applicants should consider the 
following questions:
    1. What evidence is there that demonstrate that professional 
development in the school or district has improved the effectiveness of 
all teachers?
    2. What evidence is there that professional development in the 
school or district has improved student achievement across all grade 
levels and all subject areas?
    3. What evidence is there that professional development in the 
school or district leads to a narrowing of existing achievement gaps 
between groups of students?

E. Implications for the Field

    In this section of the application, applicants must describe the 
lessons learned as their professional development activities have 
matured.
    In responding to this criterion, applicants should consider the 
following questions:
    1. What knowledge and documentation (e.g., training materials, 
strategies, or processes) are available that can benefit others?
    2. What lessons and practical advice about providing quality 
professional development has the applicant learned that other schools 
and districts could use?

Selection Procedures

    The Secretary will evaluate applications using unweighted selection 
criteria. The Secretary believes that the use of unweighted criteria is 
most appropriate because they will allow the reviewers maximum 
flexibility to apply their professional judgments in identifying the 
particular strengths and weaknesses in individual applications. 
However, to receive recognition under the National Awards Program, 
reviewers will need to find that the applicant's professional 
development activities reflect model practices as evidenced by 
exemplary responses to each of the criteria identified under the 
``Selection Criteria'' section of this notice. A key element in review 
of any application will be the extent to which the applicant 
demonstrates clear links between professional development activities 
and increases in student achievement. See Selection Criteria D, 
Objective Evidence of Success. In analyzing the response to Selection 
Criterion E, Implications for the Field, reviewers will not expect the 
same level of specificity from applications as will be expected in 
response to the other selection criteria. In examining the response to 
Selection Criterion E, reviewers will be primarily interested in seeing 
that applicants have considered the lessons they have learned and can 
pass on to others.
    After an initial screening, the Department will use outside panels 
of experts to evaluate the quality of the applications against these 
basic criteria. This stage in the process may include telephone 
interviews with project contacts to discuss and clarify information, 
and will lead to the selection of up to twenty semifinalists. The 
Department then will use outside experts to conduct site visits, which 
may involve the examination of documentation to confirm the 
effectiveness of the semifinalists' professional development 
activities, and the collection of additional supporting information 
from them. Based on the recommendations of the site reviewers (and 
possibly through a final panel of outside experts), the Secretary will 
select those schools or school districts that merit national 
recognition. Again this year, the Secretary intends to recognize up to 
ten schools and school districts with the very best professional 
development practices at a national ceremony in Washington, DC. 
Successful applicants also will receive other forms of recognition 
including a monetary award that the Department anticipates will be no 
less than $5,000 per recipient. Recipients will be able to use these 
funds to support their professional development activities and make 
them known to others.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid 
OMB control number. The valid OMB control number assigned to the 
collection of information in this notice of eligibility and selection 
criteria is 1880-0534.

Electronic Access to This Document

    Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or 
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the 
following sites:

http://gcs.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with Search, 
which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you have 
questions about using pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing Office 
toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
    Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an 
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option 
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8001.

    Dated: October 24, 1997.
Ricky T. Takai,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.

Appendix A--Mission and Principles of Professional Development, U.S. 
Department of Education--Professional Development Team

July 5, 1995

    Professional development plays an essential role in successful 
education reform. Professional development serves as the bridge 
between where prospective and experienced educators are now and 
where they will need to be to meet the new challenges of guiding all 
students in achieving to higher standards of learning and 
development.
    High-quality professional development as envisioned here refers 
to rigorous and relevant content, strategies, and organizational 
supports that ensure the preparation and career-long development of 
teachers and others whose competence, expectations and actions 
influence the teaching and learning environment. Both pre-and in-
service professional development require partnerships among schools, 
higher education institutions and other appropriate entities to 
promote inclusive learning communities of everyone who impacts 
students and their learning. Those within and outside schools need 
to work together to bring to bear the ideas, commitment and other 
resources that will be necessary to address important and complex 
educational issues in a variety of settings and for a diverse 
student body.
    Equitable access for all educators to such professional 
development opportunities is imperative. Moreover, professional 
development works best when it is part of a systemwide effort to 
improve and integrate the recruitment, selection, preparation, 
initial licensing, induction, ongoing development and support, and 
advanced certification of educators.
    High-quality professional development should incorporate all of 
the principles stated below. Adequately addressing each of these 
principles is necessary for a full realization of the potential of 
individuals, school communities and institutions to improve and 
excel.
    The mission of professional development is to prepare and 
support educators to help all students achieve to high standards of 
learning and development.--Professional Development

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     Focuses on teachers as central to student learning, yet 
includes all other members of the school community;
     Focuses on individual, collegial, and organizational 
improvement;
     Respects and nurtures the intellectual and leadership 
capacity of teachers, principals, and others in the school 
community;
     Reflects best available research and practice in 
teaching, learning, and leadership;
     Enables teachers to develop further expertise in 
subject content, teaching strategies, uses of technologies, and 
other essential elements in teaching to high standards;
     Promotes continuous inquiry and improvement embedded in 
the daily life of schools;
     Is planned collaboratively by those who will 
participate in and facilitate that development;
     Requires substantial time and other resources;
     Is driven by a coherent long-term plan;
     Is evaluated ultimately on the basis of its impact on 
teacher effectiveness and student learning; and this assessment 
guides subsequent professional development efforts.

[FR Doc. 97-28825 Filed 10-29-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P