Maryland State Department of Education - Professional Learning

As part of the Race to the Top grant, MSDE held 11 regional Educator Effectiveness Academies and Teacher Induction Academies during the summer of 2011 and 10 academies during the summer of 2012. The purpose of the academies was to provide professional development on Maryland's new reform initiatives to principals and teachers from each of Maryland's 1,600 schools. This innovative professional development model is the first of its kind in the nation and will continue with 11 additional academies during the summer of 2013.

The focus of the academies is the transition to the Maryland Common Core state Curriculum in English/language arts and mathematics; and to the STEM standards of Practice for integration of instruction in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Evaluation results provided by participants after the 2011 and 2012 academies indicated that the structure and activities were highly successful at achieving academy outcomes. Transition plans developed by school teams to guide professional development activities with school staff members demonstrated that academy activities were highly engaging and focused on transitioning to full implementation of the Maryland Common Core state Curriculum and STEM initiatives.