Knowing that the best schools are those in which teachers are reflective and always seeking new ways to improve, ongoing, job-embedded professional development is a fundamental component of the culture and practices of District 207. In addition to the role of district and school administrators in leading professional development, District 207 has a large and growing cadre of teacher leaders that develop and lead professional development for their peers as well as for educators in other school districts.
Instructional Coaching
District 207 is unique in that all instructional staff members have a coaching plan and work with an instructional coach annually. Considering that, in the world of sports, for example, even great athletes work with a coach, all educators can benefit from ongoing coaching. Each school includes instructional coaches, teachers who teach courses and students and have time in their schedule to work with colleagues. In addition to the school-wide instructional coaches, there are also department coaches, who provide additional support to colleagues with implementing new strategies for instruction and assessment.
Maine Township High School District 207 is proud to be the home of the Chicago Coaching Center, which is focused on improving instructional coaching for all educators and ensuring that all students learn more.
Teacher Leadership
District 207 provides a robust range of ongoing learning opportunities for teachers each year throughout the school year and summer and their careers. On topics ranging from literacy to assessment, many of these workshops are led by teachers for their colleagues. With teachers leading the professional development experiences, the instruction is as practical as possible given that those teachers leading the instruction are using the same strategies with the same students that those learning the strategies have in class.