Lafourche Parish Public Schools in rural Louisiana serves 15,000 students in 30 schools. Read about how they use the Educator Effectiveness System to provide resources for implementing the Common Core State Standards, providing paraprofessional training, and aiding in ELL instruction. Learn more at http://www.schoolimprovement.com/educator-effectiveness-system/

1. Case Study
Large, Rural Louisiana District Builds
Master Teachers with Flexible Online
Teaching Strategies
Lafourche Parish Public Schools, Louisiana FOCUSES
“Our teachers appreciate PD 360 LPPS continually strives to increase teacher growth
because it recognizes that student success relates directly
and its 24/7 availability even as our
to educator quality. The district’s current focuses include
administrators welcome its versatility the following:
and value. It has definitely become a
significant piece of our professional • Common Core
learning program.” • Paraprofessionals
• Teachers of English Language Learners
Cynthia Eliser
Elementary Education Curriculum Supervisor
Lafourche Parish Public Schools, Louisiana
SOLUTIONS
LPPS Elementary Education Curriculum Supervisor
Cynthia Eliser is an energetic, student-focused
PROFILE
administrator who wholly supports teacher development.
Introduced to PD 360, she loved the unlimited access
Serving 15,000 students in 30 schools, Lafourche Parish
and recognized the potential of an online, on-demand
Public Schools (LPPS) is a large rural district located
professional development (PD) system. Ms. Eliser saw it
in the heart of Cajun country along the banks of
as a good fit in the district’s PD program and by using
Bayou Lafourche.
funds from Title II and Title I Stimulus, purchased PD
360 with its companion product Observation 360. Both
This 200-year-old, closely-knit community celebrates its
are vital components of School Improvement Network’s
uniqueness with yearly festivals spotlighting local music,
Educator Effectiveness System that provide solid
cuisine, folk arts, and traditions as well as hunting, fishing,
solutions for district focuses.
and boating.
• Common Core 360
Providing an outstanding education for LPPS children
PPS is planning to purchase another part of School
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is a responsibility shared by the schools, families,
Improvement Network’s Educator Effectiveness System,
and business groups of this unified district. All are
Common Core 360 which sustains implementation of
dedicated to helping students become lifelong learners
state standards and prepares educators to ready 100%
and realize their full potential. As shown in rising
of students for college and career.
proficiency scores, this approach has created a tradition
of consistent improvement.
• Paraprofessional Training
D 360 fully maintains paraprofessional training with
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Lafourche Parish Public Schools programs such as Training Paraprofessionals and many
Student Achievement online interactive communities that allow educators to
Basic Above Proficiency share experiences.
Spring Spring Spring Spring Spring • Training Teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs)
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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PPS teachers are honing their ELL instructional
60% 60% 64% 65% 66% strategies with PD 360 programs, such as Every Teacher
– a Teacher of English Language Learners and Helping
Students of Limited English Skills. Other programs
indirectly address ELLs, such as those on differentiation,
minority student achievement, and inclusion. minority
student achievement, and inclusion.

2. ABOUT PD 360 IMPLEMENTATION AND DRIVING USAGE
PD 360 is the multi-award winning, online, on-demand Below are some of the ways LPPS is currently using PD 360
professional learning resource within School Improvement and Observation 360 to meet professional needs.
Network’s system for educator effectiveness. With 2,000+
videos on 125 topics from 120 experts, PD 360 has the • PLCs
largest online community of nearly one million educators. uring the last two years, LPPS has put an intense
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It is the most comprehensive web-based library of emphasis on building PLCs and they are watching PD
professional development resources available. Teachers, 360 programs such as Practical PLCs and Whole Faculty
administrators, professional learning communities, coaches, Study Groups to learn how they work. Group leaders are
mentors, instructional leaders, and paraprofessionals using PD 360 to create understanding and goals.
have available at their fingertips hundreds of indexed and
searchable video segments that present real, best-practice • Observations
classroom examples and feature respected education lassroom observations are significant to teacher
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experts, such as Michael Fullan, Rick DuFour, Doug Reeves, evaluations and Observation 360 is making LPPS
Rick Stiggins, and many others. Educators can instantly walkthroughs more efficient for administrators
find the help they need on nearly every topic, including and effective for teachers. Using a mobile devise,
differentiation, assessment, English language learners, administrators give immediate feedback to the teacher
leadership, and more. It can be used to create a structured and recommend PD 360 segment links that are pertinent
learning experience for an individual teacher, a PLC, or to the situation.
even an entire school. PD 360 and all the tools within
School improvement Network’s system bridge the gap • License Renewal
between training and classroom implementation with job- B
ecause of ease and convenience, teachers are excited that
embedded follow-up, tracking, and reflection tools. See a PD 360 usage is applicable toward the required continuing
demonstration at www.pd360.com. education credits necessary for license renewal.
• Teachers who Struggle
ABOUT OBSERVATION 360 eachers who struggle are helped when LPPS principals
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suggest specific PD 360 programs that show best
Observation 360 is a vital piece of School Improvement practices in areas such as classroom management,
Network’s Educator Effectiveness System. With full differentiated instruction, and many more. For follow-up,
compliance to even the strictest of state observation each teacher’s usage, as well as their answers to reflection
requirements, it is the only tool that integrates on-demand and follow-up questions, can be tracked.
training resources and a wide array of reporting capabilities
into the observation process. The all-new, fully redesigned • Professional Development Plan
Observation 360 provides the resources, data, and s part of the evaluation process, all LPPS teachers have
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personalized training to prepare teachers to ready 100% of a PD plan. Relevant to a teacher’s specific needs, PD 360
students for college and career. Learn more at http://www. programs are incorporated as part of the planned growth.
schoolimprovement.com.
• Faculty Meetings
PPS administrators show video segments in faculty
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ABOUT COMMON CORE 360 meetings to teach best classroom practices and start
group discussions. The accompanying facilitator guides
Common Core 360 is education’s most relevant learning include activity ideas to encourage teacher interaction.
tool for the new Common Core Standards and can lead an
educator from the most basic understanding to mastery-
level implementation. With an ever-growing library that BENEFITS
extends to almost 300 training videos, this resource
includes 70 real in-class examples that place the viewer in LPPS educators are experiencing many benefits with PD
the middle of classrooms with teachers who are actively 360 such as the following:
navigating the day-to-day realization of the state standards.
Learn more at http://www.schoolimprovement.com.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.pd360.com | 800-572-1153 2

3. • Differentiated Professional Development
With the world’s largest online library of 2,000+ educator
training videos and 125 topics, PD 360 allows LPPS
administrators and teachers to create differentiated PD
plans that address individual needs and career levels.
• Capacity/Accessibility
PD 360 is an online, on-demand resource that gives LPPS
educators a unique autonomy. Through easy access and
availability, teachers are able to take control of their own
development by viewing programs as many times as they
wish, as often as they need, and wherever they want.
CONCLUSION
• Outstanding Customer Service
s. Eliser is delighted with School Improvement Network’s
M Gratified that PD 360 is proving its worth in the PD
responsive technical support and personalized customer service. program, Ms. Eliser knows that as usage grows, so will
teacher skills and most importantly, student proficiency
“We are so pleased with the staff of School will increase. Lafourche Parish Public Schools is truly an
Improvement Network. They are great representatives exceptional district in a community concerned about the
of the company and their dependable service has built success of its children.
product trust for our teachers and administrators.
From the strategic partner advisor to the training staff “PD 360 is a great tool. It builds master teachers,
to the technology troubleshooters, everyone has been developing their abilities to effectively impact students
very accommodating of our needs.” and to assist in training other teachers.”
Cynthia Eliser
Cynthia Eliser
Elementary Education Curriculum Supervisor
Elementary Education Curriculum Supervisor
Lafourche Parish Public Schools, Louisiana
Lafourche Parish Public Schools, Louisiana
• Educator Enthusiasm ABOUT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
High usage numbers confirm that LPPS teachers enjoy
the online, individualized training that PD 360 delivers. Founded in 1991 by teachers, School Improvement Network
has spent decades researching and documenting the
best practices in education. From this research, School
Lafourche Parish Public Schools, Louisiana
Improvement Network has developed an integrated system
June 2011 – December 2012 PD 360 Usage
for educator effectiveness. The company’s system outlines
a step-by-step process to improve teacher practice, and
Registered Users 1,066 arms educators with a set of powerful tools that can be
Collective Programs Viewed 5,104 used to complete each step. Research shows that districts
and schools that use the tools in School Improvement
Collective Segments Viewed 10,785 Network’s integrated suite of tools produce better teachers,
Collective Minutes Viewed 61,180 and as a result experience dramatic increases in student
achievement, driving up student test scores by as much
as 30% in a single year. School Improvement Network
A 2011 independent study of PD 360 usage showed higher works with thousands of schools and districts in every
minutes per user in schools like those in LPPS resulted state and around the world and has visited over 3,500
in more than twelve times the gains in student math classrooms to document best practices in action. Learn
proficiency rates and twice the gains in student reading more at http://www.schoolimprovement.com.
proficiency rates than district averages.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.pd360.com | 800-572-1153 3