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Administrative Procedure

AP-711 — Early Dismissal Professional Learning

Section Seven: Personnel and Employee Relations
Effective Date: June 19, 2023 Last Reviewed: —

Background

Grasslands Public Schools supports the professional learning of its employees, knowing that such an emphasis contributes to improved student learning and the quality of education within the Division. The Division believes that professional learning time embedded into the school calendar provides optimal and frequent opportunities for school leaders, teachers and support staff to collaborate with an explicit focus on student learning. As such, the board of trustees supports a student early dismissal on Friday afternoons.

Definitions

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) – a frequent and ongoing continuous improvement process where educators collaborate to review student data and implement plans to improve student learning outcomes.

Collaborative Response - a system-wide framework that values collaborative, action-focused responses, data-informed discussions, and timely continuums of support to ensure all students can experience success. Key components include:

Collaborative Planning - operates parallel to the Collaborative Team Meeting, providing teaching staff with the opportunity to work in teams in creating the resources, materials, lessons, and strategies that would support teaching and learning in their classrooms.

Collaborative Team Meetings (CTM) - occur every 3-5 weeks and ensure an opportunity for team members to celebrate successes for students, identify students with key issues, determine effective classroom responses and build upon the collective capacity of the team.

School Support Team Meetings - designed to support the specialized needs of students throughout the school. This team structure provides ongoing support to classroom teachers with regard to individual students and small groups. Administrators, learning support teachers, and teachers typically make up the team partners.

Case Consult Team Meetings - most intense level of support that focuses primarily on one student. The Case Consult Team meeting determines the most appropriate programming, external supports and specialized equipment that may be needed for an individual student. This team may require the involvement of other organizations external to the school.

Divisional Documentation – in this AP, this term refers to opportunities for staff to complete divisional documentation which includes report cards, Individual Student Plans (ISP), assessment data, or other priorities as assigned by the principal.

Early Dismissal - currently Friday afternoons have been designated as job-embedded professional learning time. Students are dismissed from school at noon. Staff remain at school until 3 pm.

Divisional Professional Learning - professional learning coordinated by the assistant superintendent of learning services or other program leader. Typically, every third Friday of the month is designated for division directed professional learning. Specific staff will be directed to attend sessions aligned to divisional priorities, curriculum, and instruction.

School-based Professional Learning - professional learning coordinated by the school administration centered on goals of the school education plan and professional learning plan.

General Procedures

  1. School administrators are responsible for the planning and coordination of school-based professional learning during early dismissal times.
  2. Administrators will complete a school-based professional learning plan by September 30th of each year as part of their Instructional Leadership for Exemplary Teaching Plan (ILET).
  3. School-based professional learning plans must focused on the following:
    1. School Education Plan goals
    2. Professional Learning Community (PLC) goals
      1. Grade/department level
      2. School level
    3. Collaborative Response
      1. Collaborative Planning
      2. Collaborative Team Meetings
      3. School Support Team Meetings
      4. Case Consult Team Meetings
  4. Professional learning time is designated for 120 minutes (1-3 pm) on scheduled early dismissal afternoons as per the Board approved school year calendar.
  5. Teachers and support staff may be directed to attend divisional professional learning as part of the early dismissal afternoons.
  6. Other professional learning and in-service opportunities may be scheduled at the discretion of the school division. These sessions may occur at times other than early dismissal afternoons.
  7. Early dismissal professional learning time will not be used for staff meetings.

Divisional Documentation

  1. Three times a year, school administration may designate an early dismissal afternoon for the purpose of teachers completing required divisional documentation.

  2. The three designated documentation days will be identified in the school's professional learning plan.

  3. Designated days to complete documentation need to align with divisional reporting periods - November, March, and June.

Staff Commitments

  1. Early dismissal days have been scheduled in the Board approved school year calendar well in advance. As such, it is expected that staff prioritize scheduled professional learning time when booking appointments.
  2. Extracurricular activities are an integral part of schools and the Board appreciates the time and dedication staff give to our students; however, staff also have a responsibility to their professional learning. As such, staff who also coach/lead extracurricular activities will work with their school administration to:
    1. Request later game/event times for Friday afternoons/evenings with the organizing body when playing outside of their school/community;
      1. If this is not possible, the staff member will make arrangements to have a community coach/parent cover for them, when applicable..
    2. Plan tournaments/games/events that occur in their school on Fridays to begin after 3 pm.
    3. In situations where 2a and 2b are not feasible, school administration will approve an appropriate time for the applicable staff member to be excused or the event to begin.

School admin may determine extra-curricular exceptions (Ex. league playoffs, zone tournaments or provincial competitions).

  1. When absent on Friday afternoon, staff are required to enter leaves into Atrieve as per board policies/procedures and/or collective agreement, even if substitute staff are not required.