Queens School of Inquiry

Early College High School at Queens College

Professional Development Plan

Professional development will be at the center of creating the new Queens School of Inquiry.  The goal for this new Early College High School is to develop a school culture of inquiry through collaborative learning that provides for equity and access.  A shared responsibility for student learning will be built between and among the entire professional staff, with Queens College and in collaborations with community agencies and institutions.  The school will create and sustain a professional learning community by implementing and supporting Critical Friends Groups and use the Point of Entry Model and Shared Reading process for conducting professional development and creating a rigorous and rich curriculum.  The focus for professional development prior to the school’s opening will be in four areas:  School as a Learning Community, Academic Rigor in a Thinking Curriculum, Assessment, and Differentiated Pedagogy.  We plan outcomes that correspond to each area that include an Advisory Handbook, A full-year Curriculum Map, Assessment Benchmarks and Portfolio Rubrics, and Integrated and Differentiated Curriculum Units.

Months	Topics	Process	Readings	Outcomes
March & April	School as a Learning Community: · Organizing for effort; · Advisory · Clear expectations · Professional learning community · Access and equity	Critical Friends Groups Point of Entry Model Shared Reading On line Research School visits 2 times per month plus one retreat	Turning Points; Neumann & Wehlage, Successful School; Soder, Goodlad & McMannon, Developing Democratic Character in the Young; Bocchino, Emotional Literacy; Resnick, Making America Smarter (IFL); Wiggins and McTigh, Understanding by Design	Advisory Guide and Student Handbook
April, May & June	Academic Rigor and Thinking Curriculum · Integrated Curriculum · Inquiry Based · Balanced literacy and numeracy · Disciplinary literacy Culturally Responsive Pedagogy · Culture and learning · Community Partnership Globe Science Curriculum	Critical Friends Groups Point of Entry Model Shared Reading On line Research Community Speaker or Panel School visits 2 times per month plus one retreat	Keene and Zimmerman, Mosaic of Thought; Mapping the Big Picture; Atwell, In the Middle; Shrum & Glison, Language Across the Curriculum; Curtain & Dahlberg, Language and Children:: Making the Match; NYC Performance Standards; NYC DOE Comprehensive Approach to Balanced Literacy and Numeracy Delpit, Other People’s Children; Hiebert, et al., Making Sense; Murrell, The Community Teacher Globe Science Curriculum Materials	Full Year Curriculum Map One week Bridge Curriculum
June & July	Assessment · Portfolios · Looking at Student Work · Applied learning · Data based instruction · Project-based learning	Critical Friends Groups Point of Entry Model Shared Reading On-line Research School Visits Two times per month plus a one week workshop on assessment	Danielson & Abrutyn, Portfolio in the Classroom; Newmann, Secada & Wehlage, A Guide to Authentic Instruction and Assessment; Blyth, Allen & Powell, Looking Together at Student Work	Assessment Benchmarks; Criteria and Rubrics for Portfolios
July & August	Preparing Individual Student Action Plans; Differentiating Pedagogy · For ELL · For students with disabilities · For struggling learners · For Gifted and Talented students	Critical Friends Groups Point of Entry Model Shared Reading On-line Research School visits Two times per month plus a one week workshop on Student Action Planning	Cumulative Records and Princeton Review Data Tomlinson, How to Differentiate Instruction; Villa & Thousand, Creating an Inclusive School; Gardner, Multiple Intelligences: Theory and Practice; Renzulli, Enrichment Clusters: A Practical Plan for Real World, Student Driven Learning	Individual Student Action Plans; Integrated Curriculum Units Differentiated for English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities and with Accelerated Learning Modules