Professional Development Committee Responsibilities
RESPONSIBILITIES AND MEMBERSHIP OF COMMITTEES SUPPORTING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Professional Development Committee
Responsibilities include:
- Understanding and endorsing the Master Plan, reviewing and revising the Master Plan as required, and submitting it for approval to the Superintendent of Schools, the school boards, and the NH Department of Education;
- Attending meetings of the Professional Development Committee to address business issues as well as participating in learning opportunities about professional development;
- Working closely with the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development Coordinator to review/reflect/plan In-Service activities that address SAU goals, to consider proposals from educators, and to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and skills derived from other professional development activities;
- Working closely with the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development to keep educators informed and provide them with current information regarding Master Plan revisions, and professional development programs;
- Working closely with the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development to develop procedures for review and evaluation of the Master Plan and to continually improve our evaluation process, including an annual needs assessment;
- Act as liaison between professional development committee and constituencies;
- Serve as a support to teachers in developing their Professional Growth Plans.
Membership:
Members will be elected for two year terms on the Professional Development Committee.
The nineteen (19) member committee shall be comprised of:
- Eight (8) certified professional staff (2 Mont Vernon Village School, 2 Clark/Wilkins School, 2 Amherst Middle School, and 2 Souhegan High School)
- Four (4) Building Administrators (1 Mont Vernon Village School, 1 Clark/Wilkins, 1 Amherst Middle School, 1 Souhegan High School)
- Three (3) certified paraprofessional or support staff (1 Mont Vernon, 1 Amherst, 1 Souhegan)
- Four (4) alternate certified professional staff alternate members to attend when members are unavailable (1 Mont Vernon Village School, 1 Clark/Wilkins, 1 Amherst Middle School, 1 Souhegan High School)
- One (1) Director of Curriculum and Professional Development
- One (1) Professional Development Coordinator
- One (1) School Board member
- One (1) Community member
The selection and terms of office shall be as follows: Amherst with the first year, 2014 - 2015, to begin as stated below.
- The School Board representative shall be appointed by the School Board each year at their organizational meeting. The Boards'representation will rotate between Amherst, Mont Vernon, and Souhegan. The School Boards'representative in the first year will be from Amherst (2014-2015).
- Community representatives shall be enlisted through the PTA/PTSA, each year rotating between Amherst, Mont Vernon, and Souhegan. In the first year (2014-2015), the community representative will be from Mont Vernon.
The names of the selected Professional Development Committee members from the Community and School Board shall be reported to the Chairperson by May 30th and be invited to the June meeting.
To ensure continuity of the efforts of the PD Committee, each building, will be represented by two representatives, who will each serve a two year term. Each year, a building should be electing one new member to the committee so that one experienced representative is working with one new committee member.
The Professional Development Committee seeks the following qualities or characteristics in its members:
- Strong communication skills
- Willingness to attend meetings and carry out the responsibilities of Committee membership
- Commitment to the work of the Professional Development Committee for two years
- Interest in developing leadership skills and learning about professional development
- Willingness to be a team player with an open and broad view of the SAU.
In developing the composition of the committee, the Professional Development Committee will attempt to provide representation of:
- All schools
- All constituent groups
- Various experience levels
- Subject areas/grade levels
- SAU and SAU committees
The resignation and replacement of members shall be as follows:
Any member who wishes to resign must submit a letter of resignation to the Professional Development Committee Chairperson at least one regular meeting prior to the effective date of resignation. The resigning member's constituency shall then be notified immediately by the Professional Development Chairperson, of the existing vacancy. The vacancy shall be filled by the constituency according to the selection procedures to complete the term of the member who resigned.
Duties of Officers
Election of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary will occur at the first meeting of the new school year (September). They shall be elected by a simple majority of members present provided there is a quorum (simple majority) for the meeting. Any other position deemed necessary will be appointed by the Professional Development Committee.
The Professional Development Committee shall include the following offices with the stipulations and duties as described for each office:
Chairperson
- serves a one year term of office
- prepares and mails (email or hardcopy) agendas for all meetings in advance
- presides at all regular meetings
- receives all resignations from committee members
- appoints members to subcommittees and appoints the Chairperson of the subcommittee
- establishes yearly Professional Development Committee tasks and timelines
- carries out any other duties as described in the Master Plan or assigned by the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development
- collaborates and plans with the Curriculum Office
Vice-Chairperson
- serves a one year term of office
- presides in the absence of the Chairperson
- oversees the dissemination of Professional Development Committee communications to the community at large
- coordinates the professional development needs assessment
- conducts the professional development evaluation survey and reports results
- carries out all other duties as assigned by the Chairperson or Director of Curriculum and Professional Development
Secretary
- serves a one year term of office
- keeps the minutes of all meetings
- publishes minutes of all meetings and distributes them to all members of the Professional Development Committee and submits them for posting on the SAU website
- handles all Professional Development Committee correspondence
- maintains a file of Professional Development Committee minutes, correspondence, and all other pertinent documents
Meetings
General Procedure:
- notification of all meetings shall be given at least one week prior to the meeting
- meeting announcements and minutes will be posted electronically for all staff to view
- a minimum of five meetings per year will be scheduled annually
Subcommittee meetings:
- subcommittee meetings may be called by the Chairperson of the subcommittee
Voting:
- a simple majority shall carry all decisions (a quorum required)
Quorum:
- the simple majority of the entire Professional Development Committee membership or subcommittee shall constitute a quorum