Professional Development (PD) supports School Learning Plans and the individual needs of teachers and principals through powerful training provided by in-house workshops and by nationally recognized presenters. The goal is to ensure that teachers and support staff are highly qualified and fully supported in their efforts to develop high-achieving, well-rounded young citizens. PD staff are experienced, highly skilled trainers who are certified in a wide range of instructional areas. Customized workshops support emerging programs in schools and reflect the needs of the student population of the school. Guided by the HCS division goals, the PD department focuses training on data-driven division goals to improve student learning.

PD oversees the evaluation process for HCS employees. The redesign of online evaluation instruments for nearly all employee groups has made HCS a leader in effective professional growth through evaluation.

HCS supports its NBCT candidates through full or partial funding of application, fees, workshops and mentoring during the process and salary supplement after certification. We are proud to have produced more NBC teachers than almost any other school division in Southeast Virginia.

Each summer, PD facilitates a leadership conference for building and central office administrators. Workshop topics come from recommendations from participants and reflect and promote the leadership philosophy of the division. Most of the workshops are taught by administrators and cover a wide range of topics and expertise.

Employees throughout the division are encouraged to grow and improve their performance through university study. HCS provides incentive toward this growth through tuition reimbursement. Each full-time employee is entitled to tuition reimbursement of $200 for a 3-credit course twice per fiscal year.

PD facilitates New Teacher Orientation and New Administrator Orientation during the summer, with continued workshops throughout the year. All new teachers to HCS are assigned a building mentor. New teachers with no prior years of experience are also assigned an instructional mentor drawn from a pool of trained retired teachers.

PD supports teachers and other employees in their efforts to achieve certification or to add endorsements to their current certification. In addition, PD assigns professional development points to workshops and other activities and tracks each teacher’s participation for re-licensure purposes. These records are sent to the Virginia DOE for re-licensure every five years.

While the division’s first choice for PD is through in-house training, staff may travel to state or national conferences for specialized training. Upon return, participants commit time and effort to sharing information and skills learned with colleagues. PD facilitates all aspects of travel and tracks content and expenditures. Participation must be linked to school division goals and must be pre-approved by the supervisor and PD staff.

Through a partnership with Shenandoah University, HCS is able to offer all education course needed by provisionally licensed teachers as well as endorsement coursework in gifted education, special education, earth science and algebra.

Recognition and appreciation of employee contributions are at the heart of the HCS focus on valued people. Each spring, PD hosts the Retirement Banquet, the Classified Reception, the Teacher of the Year Banquet, and the 25-Year Reception, in addition to smaller events during the year.

Specialized training is provided for all employee groups. Requests for training come from supervisors as well as individual employees.

Study sessions throughout the year prepare teachers for the Praxis I exam. PD also offers study sessions and is a test site for instructional assistants preparing for the ParaPro exam.

Specialized teams of teachers and support staff are trained to serve as division resources with expertise in areas such as Classroom Management, Systems Thinking, Habits of Mind and Cognitive Coaching, and Bully Prevention and Cure. These teams serve ongoing support to schools and students.

Carefully selected and trained Master Teachers oversee the practice of student teachers in the classroom. Close partnerships with universities ensure that these novice educators receive the finest preparation possible. PD also assigns and oversees the administrative internships and internships in specialized areas.

Located in the Human Resources conference room, the Leadership Library was created to provide principals and assistant principals with the latest research and information related to supervision, instruction, and leadership. Building administrators may visit the library in person or request titles from the online bibliography.