Professional development is no longer optional. As many school administrators know, education professionals face many challenging demands:

• Day-to-day responsibilities of working with students;
• Fulfillment of district priorities in teaching and learning;
• Completion of professional development plan requirements; and
• Maintenance of licensure through credit coursework.

Because of these pressures, other school districts have formed customized learning partnerships with the University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Key Features

• Tailor professional development offerings for a small group or the entire district
• Hold courses within your own school building at a time that works for your faculty
• Offer graduate credit to your teachers at a discounted tuition level

Investing in Your Teaching Staff Pays

The benefits of providing customized learning for your staff through a partnership with the UW-River Falls are numerous:

• Choose topics specific to your district, building or group of educators;
• Educators apply learning immediately in the classroom;
• Reinforce continuous learning and improvement;
• Honor teacher’s time, interests and existing expertise;
• Schedule at your convenience;
• Enhance the network of professional peers; and
• Access a qualified field of practitioners.

Graduate credits may be offered to your faculty at a discount when your school district provides the marketing, meeting facilities, course materials, and potentially, the instructor.

How it Works

After completing a memorandum of understanding, your district decides the topics to address. Course syllabi are reviewed and approved by the UWRF College of Education and Professional Studies. You may request that UWRF identify and supply an instructor or, in many cases, a person from within your district who meets UWRF qualifications for an ad hoc instructor will be approved for that role.

Most popular are the one-credit book study courses in which colleagues read a professional book together, write an application paper, and meet to discuss implementation. Recent examples include The Morning Meeting Book by Roxann Kriete; Failure is Not an Option: Six Principals That Guide Student Achievement in High-Performing Schools by Alan Blankstein; and Classroom Instruction That Works by Marzano, Pickering and Pollock.

Get Started Today

We can help you set up a training program that meets your school or district needs! Contact us by email or call 715-425-3256.