Olympia School District lays out 2023-2024 professional learning plan

The Olympia School District (OSD) board convened last Thursday, October 12, to discuss the Professional Learning Plan for the 2023-2024 school year.

Inger Owen, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, reported the plan updates to the board, saying that the district is focused on inclusionary practices and how to take that information and interact with it.

The Professional Learning Plan’s formulation

Owens enumerated three frameworks pivotal to the formulation of the plan: Universal Design of Learning (UDL), Culturally Responsive Education (CRE), and Restorative Justice.

Owens highlighted teacher education author Peter DeWitt’s book “De-Implementation,” which says that teachers, staff, and school leaders must carefully decide which practices need to stay or go after spending time engaging in discussions about what practices successfully help impact student learning.

Owens said the plan always starts with the students in mind and that they have uncovered disproportionality by asking students and families about a sense of belonging.

“When a student steps into a classroom or family step[s] into a building, do they feel as though they're valued as people, that what they have to contribute is valuable? And so that's a real focus for us because we know we're more likely to engage in spaces where we feel safe,” said Owens.

Owens explained the plan's action items, guiding the indicators and short-term and long-term goals.

“We're focusing on administrators and district leadership, with the idea that they are the instructional leaders in their buildings. We create monthly inclusionary practice presentations based on various professional development. We also communicate through the Educator Connection. We have supporting our five schools of improvement, and we're working on how to provide our administrators and our teachers with some formative feedback around what it looks like in the classroom,” Owens said.

Some indicators from the mentioned action items are an increased understanding of inclusionary practices, an operationalized understanding of all forms of engagement, and student-first language.

From these indicators, the short and long-term goal is focused on creating a sense of belonging and addressing disproportionality in academics and behavior.

Owens also discussed that setting specific learning outcomes is the final part of formulating the plan, which is the following:

• All students will become passionate and kind
• Have the academic and life skills to pursue goals
• Advocate for social, physical, and mental wellness
• Skills, knowledge, and courage to identify and confront bias
• Discuss their passions and be curious
• Be critical thinkers who contribute and collaborate with the world
• “...continuous and maximized academic achievement for all students”

“We're taking the learning that we've gotten from student data, and using that to really provide some robust learning for district leadership, including our principal’s and then that helps prepare and prime them to help support teachers,” emphasized Owens.

Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Inger Owen discussed the district’s Professional Learning Plan last Thursday, October 12, 2023.