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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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The impact of resource allocation on professional development for the improvement of teaching and student learning within an elementary school in a centrally managed school district: a case study

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The impact of resource allocation on professional development for the improvement of teaching and student learning within an elementary school in a centrally managed school district: a case study

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Content THE IMPACT OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION ON PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF TEACHING AND
STUDENT LEARNING WITHIN AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN A
CENTRALLY MANAGED SCHOOL DISTRICT: A CASE STUDY

by

Jennifer Lynn Carter

__________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2007

Copyright 2007 Jennifer Lynn Carter

ii

DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my parents

James and Jackie Carter

Without their love, devoted support, and confidence in me,

writing this dissertation would not have been possible.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dr. Lawrence Picus
Dr. John Nelson
Dr. Guilbert Hentschke

Members of this Thematic Dissertation Group:
Lisa (a very special friend in the journey),
Jami, Katy, Kevin, Jason, Frank, J.D., and Wendy

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Table of Contents
Dedication………………………………………………………...…..…..ii

Acknowledgements....................................................................................iii

List of Tables...........................................................................................viii

List of Figures..…………………………...…………………...…..…......ix

Abstract………………………………………………………...........…....x

CHAPTER ONE .......................................................................................... 1
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ......................................................................... 1
Introduction .......................................................................................... 1
The Statement of the Problem ............................................................. 7
The Purpose of the Study ..................................................................... 9
Importance of the Study ..................................................................... 10
Limitations ......................................................................................... 12
Delim itations ...................................................................................... 13
Assumptions ...................................................................................... 13
Definitions ......................................................................................... 13
Organization of the Study .................................................................. 15

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................ 17
Introduction ........................................................................................ 17
Teacher Quality Related to Student Outcomes .................................. 18
Professional Development in an Era of Educational Reform ............ 24
Evidence-Based Approach in Relation to Effective
Professional Development ................................................................. 38
Resources Allocated for Professional Development .......................... 43
Summary ............................................................................................ 49

CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................... 50
METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 50
Introduction ........................................................................................ 50
Sample and population ...................................................................... 51
Overview of district and school .................................................... 52
Participants ................................................................................. 54
Instrumentation .................................................................................. 57

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Conceptual Framework ................................................................. 58
Framework for research question one ........................................ 62
Framework for research question two ........................................ 62
Framework for research question three ...................................... 63
Framework for research question four: ...................................... 63
Data Collection Instrument ................................................................ 64
Interview Guides ........................................................................... 64
Document Review Guide: ............................................................. 65
Data collection procedures ................................................................ 66
Data analysis ...................................................................................... 66
Qualitative Data ............................................................................ 67
Document Review Guide .............................................................. 67
Summary ............................................................................................ 68

CHAPTER FOUR
FINDINGS ................................................................................................. 69
Introduction ........................................................................................ 69
Utilization of Personnel for the Delivery of
Professional Development: Data for Research Question One ........... 71
Views on the Effectiveness of Professional Development ............ 79
Internal Providers for Professional Development ...................... 80
Outside Providers for Professional Development ..................... 82
Knowledge Gained from Professional Development ................. 84
Evaluation of Allocation Practices ................................................ 87
Decision-making for the Allocation of Professional
Development Resources: Data for Research Question Two .............. 89
Decision-Making Rationale .......................................................... 89
Vision for Learning .................................................................... 90
Determination of Resource Allocation for
Professional Development ......................................................... 93
Professional Development Funding: Data for Research
Question Three ................................................................................... 97
Dedication of Funds for Professional Development ..................... 97
Funding for Professional Development ..................................... 98
Teacher Compensation for Attending Professional
Development ............................................................................ 101
Evaluation of Springfield's Allocation Practices ......................... 102
Promoting Organizational Capacity and Student
Achievement Through Professional Development: Data for
Research Question Four ................................................................... 104
Professional Development Utilized to Promote
Organizational Capacity .............................................................. 104

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Professional Development Linked to Student Learning
Outcomes ..................................................................................... 108
Discussion: Six Core Strategies Conceptual Framework ................ 111
Recalibrate Goals ........................................................................ 112
Re-engineer Schools .................................................................... 113
Redesign Teacher Development .................................................. 115
Reinforce Achievement ............................................................... 116
Retool Schools' Technology ........................................................ 117
Restructure Teacher Compensation ............................................. 117
Summary .......................................................................................... 1 18

CHAPTER FIVE ...................................................................................... 1 19
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS ........... 1 19
Overview of the Problem ................................................................. 119
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................ 120
Methodology .................................................................................... 121
Sample and Population ................................................................ 122
Instrumentation ........................................................................... 122
Data Collection ............................................................................ 123
Data Analysis .............................................................................. 124
Qualitative Data ....................................................................... 124
Document Review Guide ......................................................... 124
Summary of the Findings ................................................................. 124
Framework for Research Question One ...................................... 125
Findings for Research Question One .......................................... 125
Framework for Research Question Two ...................................... 127
Findings for Research Question Two .......................................... 127
Framework for Research Question Three ................................... 128
Findings for Research Question Three ........................................ 129
Framework for Research Question Four ..................................... 130
Findings for Research Question Four ......................................... 130
Conclusions ...................................................................................... 131
Recommendations ............................................................................ 134
Suggestions for Further Research .................................................... 138
REFERENCES ........................................................................................ 140
APPENDIX A .......................................................................................... 146
INTERVIEW GUIDES ......................................................................... 146
District Level Interview Guide ........................................................ 146
Site Administrator Interview Guide ................................................. 149
Teacher Interview Guide .................................................................. 152
Outside Professional Development Provider Interview Guide ........ 155

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APPENDIX B .......................................................................................... 158
DOCUMENT REVIEW GUIDE ......................................................... 158

viii
List of Tables

Table 1: Serrano Unified School District 53
Springfield Elementary, Student Population Counts
2005-2006

Table 2: Springfield Elementary School Enrollment 54
by Ethnicity

Table 3: Relationship of Data Collection Instruments 58
to Research Questions

Table 4: Relationship Between the Six Core Strategies 61
and the Research Questions

Table 5: Comparative Analysis of Evidence-Based Standard 87
to Current Human Resource Allocation Practices of
Springfield Elementary

Table 6: Springfield’s 2006-2007 Professional Development 99
Allocations

Table 7: Comparative Analysis of Evidence-Based Standard 103
to Current Financial Resource Allocation Practices
of Springfield Elementary

Table 8: CST English Language Arts Results 109
for Springfield Elementary

Table 9: CELDT Results for Springfield Elementary 111

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Six Practices of High Performing Schools 73

Figure 2: District Goals for Serrano Unified School District 91

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of the study was to investigate how an identified school
within a centrally managed school district allocates adequate resources toward
professional development programs to increase student achievement. The study
examined the schools’ resource allocation, including human capital and
determined where the funding originates. Furthermore, the evaluation process
was used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the schools professional
development programs as they compare to the evidence-based model professional
development model in relation to student achievement.
This study used conceptual frameworks adapted from the research
literature to guide data collection and analysis for four research questions: (a)
How are personnel used for the delivery of professional development? (b) How
are resource allocation decisions for professional development determined? (c)
How much funding is directed toward professional development and from what
sources do these funds originate? (d) How is professional development used to
promote organizational capacity and student achievement?
This descriptive-analytic case study was conducted in one elementary
school in a centrally managed unified school district located in Orange County,
California. The selected school was also purposefully chosen according to the
following criteria: implementation of research-based professional development
programs; located within a centrally-managed school district; has an Academic

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Performance Index (API) over 800; and met the requirements of Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP).
Data analysis revealed that Springfield Elementary and Serrano Unified
School District personnel delivered and implemented professional development
on research-based strategies and standards-based curriculum that aimed at
building capacity of the organization and the individuals. Additionally, the data
uncovered that the professional development activities stemmed from the district
office but that the school site still had the autonomy to choose from a vast amount
of professional development activities that were included in their Single Plan for
Student Achievement. An evaluation of Springfield’s allocation practices for
professional development revealed that the allocations were not aligned to the
research provided by the evidence-based model.
The study provided conclusions addressing the findings from the study
and the centralized setting of Serrano Unified School District as compared to a
decentralized management style. Five major themes encompassing professional
development practices appeared to illustrate the overall success of the school and
the district: (a) a vision for learning; (b) data-driven decision making; (c) effective
utilization of resources; (d) collaboration; and (e) site autonomy.
Recommendations for successful professional development practices at other
schools and districts included: (a) establishing a clear vision and goals for
teaching and learning; (b) utilizing data to make professional development

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decisions; (c) establishing the needed access to ongoing, on-site, fulltime
coaching; (d) adopting a financial plan that mirrors those used in the private
sector; (e) collaboration across the school and district; and (f) encouraging site
autonomy for professional development decisions coupled with district support as
needed. Finally, suggestions for future research consisted of: (a) uncovering the
impact of lost instructional time for the purpose of professional development; (b)
investigating how to efficiently fund on-site coaches and understand the
knowledge and skills coaches must possess to be effective; (c) comparing the
professional development practices of decentralized and centralized districts on a
larger scale; and (d) performing experimental studies for the purpose of
establishing statistically significant correlations between professional
development practices and student learning outcomes.

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CHAPTER ONE

Overview of the Study

Introduction

The most vital factor that influences student learning and the determinant
of student achievement is the classroom teacher (2003). In order for classroom
teachers to be effective and highly qualified they must know the curriculum and
how to teach it (Berry, Hoke, & Hirsh, 2004) . Professional development is an
essential component to ensure that teachers are equipped with the knowledge and
skills necessary to deliver lessons that will increase student achievement (Sparks
& Hirsh, 1997).
The policymakers, district and site administrators, and colleges have to be
able to support teachers and give them the tools to help them be successful in the
classroom through professional development. Linda Darling-Hammond (2004)
discusses the following three major areas that are necessary when hiring,
retaining, preparing, supporting teachers to implement high quality teaching:
1. Ensuring that teachers have the knowledge and skills they need to
teach to the standards;

2. Providing school structures that support high quality teaching and
learning; and

3. Creating processes for school assessment that can evaluate students’
opportunities to learn and can leverage continuous change and
improvement. (p. 1078)

2
In the past, professional development was not presented to teachers
strategically and with a sustained purpose. Traditional inservice-based staff
development designed as one-size-fits all for teachers has not been successful
(Sparks & Hirsh, 1997). Hirsh (2004) discusses how results-driven professional
development is more beneficial than a variety of insignificant inservices. School
leaders and teachers should determine professional development by looking at
student assessments and their goals for their students. Hirsh’s model is similar to
Darling-Hammond’s (2004) ideas on creating teachers that are highly qualified.
According to Hirsh, schools will improve when adults work in learning
communities, analyze data, and create an action plan to promote student
achievement in conjunction with effective professional development.
Odden, Picus, and Fermanich discuss effective professional development
“that produces change in teachers’ classroom-based instructional practice, which
can be linked to improvements in student learning” (2003, p. 33). Odden et al.
have developed an Evidence-Based Approach to School Finance Adequacy that
has been adopted in states such as Arkansas, Kentucky, and New Jersey. They
examine the costs and allocation of resources associated with professional
development. In their Evidence-Based Approach they also emphasize the
importance of building learning communities and building capacity, content
focus, promoting coherence in teachers’ professional development that correlates
with the state standards, goals, and assessment data while also analyzing the

3
financial aspect of professional development. Due to the accountability system
in place with the most recent reforms, professional development needs to be
developed, delivered, implemented, and supported effectively if teachers are to
raise test scores. Student achievement is determined by the information and
classroom instruction the students are receiving on a daily basis (Marzano, 2003).
Past reports such as A Nation at Risk (1983) executed by The National
Commission of Excellence in Education and the Third International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMSS)-1995 and TIMSS-1999 (Nelson, 2002) discussed
how the students in the United States were behind the students in other countries
academically. The Nation at Risk and TIMSS reports emphasized the need for
school reform to improve student achievement. A Nation at Risk (1983) report
listed educational indicators where the United States students and citizens were at
risk of not being able to compete in the international marketplace. One indicator
that impacted education was the fact that 13% of all 17-year-olds in the United
States were considered functionally illiterate (National Commission on
Educational Excellence, 1983) Sixteen years later The Educational Resources
Information Center reported that internationally, U.S. students at the elementary
sites were holding their own but students in the middle and high schools were
falling behind (ERIC Clearinghousse on Assessment and Evaluation, 1998). A
recommendation that arose from A Nation at Risk was that teachers have

4
adequate opportunities for professional development. At this time there was still a
large debate on what effective or quality professional development consisted of to
help improve the quality of the U.S. education system.
School reform and accountability in public education has increased in the
past few decades due to low student achievement in reading, mathematics, and the
sciences across the United States. President George W. Bush signed the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) on January 8, 2002. President Bush has
expressed in the past “Too many of our neediest children are being left behind.”
(California Department of Education, 2004). The No Child Left Behind enacted in
2001 was designed to hold school districts accountable for increasing student
achievement across the grade levels.
Many politicians and educators have focused on the necessity for change
in the United States education system to improve student achievement.
Researchers, school district and school personnel are now taking a closer look at
classroom instruction and the impact of professional development on teacher and
student learning.
The standards-based reform and NCLB were created to address the state
of our nation’s schools. States across the nation have created standards-based
curriculum requirements in order to create consistency and accountability in the
subject matter being taught in the schools. Coffey and Lashway (2002) discuss
that policymakers have been promoting a system that is based on explicit

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standards, systematic testing, and consequences for results for the last decade.
Standards-based reform came to California in the late 1990s. English-language
arts and math content standards were adopted in 1997; science and social science
standards were adopted a year later. The content standards are listed on the
California Department of Education (CDE) website (California Department of
Education, 1997). In 1997 Ruth E. Greene, President of the California State
Board of Education and Jack O’Connell, the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction argued that many educators agree that standards create high
expectations for students (California Department of Education, 2006). In the
discussion about content standards they made it clear that all students would have
access to the standards and receive the resources and support necessary to meet
and/or exceed the standards. Teachers need to be supported with effective
professional development that deepens their content knowledge and teaching
skills for standards-based reform to be successful (Smith & Desimone, 2003).
In the age of further reform and accountability NCLB was brought to
fruition and put into action. The new federal law, NCLB, was built on the
following four principals (U.S. Department of Education, 2004); accountability
for results, an emphasis on doing what works on scientific research, expanded
parental options and expanded local control and flexibility. NCLB also required
school districts and schools to be accountable fiscally and allocate resources to
meet the requirements of NCLB. School districts around the nation must prepare

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their students so all students will meet proficiency in reading and math by the year
2014. Students must meet the targets of performance, called Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP). California students’ proficiency levels are measured by the
California State Standards. By the year 2007 elementary schools, middle schools,
and elementary school districts must have 24.4 % of the students proficient in
language arts and 26.5 % of the students proficient in math. The percentages of
the proficiency targets increase each year after 2007 until 2014. Schools must
also meet a score of 800 or over on their Academic Performance Index (API) by
2014. There are specific sanctions in place for the school districts and/or schools
that do not meet their AYP targets.
In conjunction with the accountability piece of NCLB is the need for
teachers to be “highly qualified” in the subjects they teach. If the school districts
and schools want to meet the AYP targets administrators must ensure that teachers
are “highly qualified.” Unfortunately, their term of “highly qualified” only
consists of a college degree, full certificate or license, and a demonstration of
content knowledge through a state test. Researchers and educators view the
NCLB definition as a narrow and insufficient term (Berry, Hoke, & Hirsh, 2004).
Quality teaching has been found to have an influence on student learning (Fullen,
2002) but is more than NCLB’s definition . Koppich (2004) indicates from
research that quality teachers know the content and how to teach, and use data to
drive instruction. NCLB does require districts to provide effective or quality

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professional development to the teachers so students will meet their proficiency
targets and the schools’ AYP targets. An integral part of quality teaching is
providing teachers with effective professional development that increases teacher
knowledge and impact student outcomes (Bouffard & Little, 2004).
Teachers have a responsibility to their students and the parents to ensure
that the students meet proficiency targets in reading and math. The teaching
profession has become a challenging profession and teachers are being held more
accountable for their teaching than in the past. The classroom teachers juggle
managing a classroom, implementing state standards, assessing students, work
with a variety of students including students with special needs and English
Language Learners (Berry, Hoke, & Hirsh, 2004). In order for teachers to be
successful and be qualified there must be effective professional development in
place at the school site and district level to increase student achievement.
Statement of the Problem
One of the main components of NCLB is to ensure students have
access to highly qualified teachers. NCLB emphasizes the necessity of well
trained teachers in the classroom that can impact student achievement. Today the
teachers are held more accountable then they have ever been in the past in
education. Teachers are responsible for delivery the state standards and ensuring
proficiency for all students. Standards-based reform requires teachers to utilize

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the state standards throughout the curriculum and on a daily basis. Due to the
emphasis on teacher quality, school districts across the nation have begun to focus
on professional development for all teachers.
Little is known about how districts spend their resources on professional
development. More information is needed on how school districts choose to
spend allocations on professional development and the rationale behind the
allocations. According to Dennis Sparks and Stephanie Hirsh “The typical school
district currently allocates only about one percent of its budget for improving the
abilities of its staff.” (2000, p. 4). Additional research and investigation of
professional development is necessary to determine the amount of money and
human resources needed to develop and implement an effective professional
development plan for a school and/or school district.
There is a plethora of research on professional development. The
professional development research is broad in its findings. In Teachers’
Professional Development in a Climate of Educational Reform, Judith Warren
Little (1993) stresses the fact that professional development needs to be
restructured to fit the alignment of equity, accountability, and the professionalism
of teaching.
Professional development varies among states, school districts within
states, and even within a school district. More information is needed to
determine what makes professional development effective to produce increased

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student achievement. A closer review is needed to examine centrally managed
school districts practices of professional development to promote student
achievement. Therefore, the allocation of resources both financially and human
resources and effective professional development research needs to be examined
to meet the demands of NCLB and increase student achievement.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to investigate how an identified school within
a centrally managed school district allocates adequate resources toward
professional development programs to increase student achievement. The study
will examine the schools’ resource allocation, including human capital and
determine where the funding originates. Furthermore, the evaluation process will
be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the schools professional
development programs as they compare to the evidence based model professional
development model in relation to student achievement.

10
Research questions guiding this study are:
1. How are personnel used for professional development?
2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?
3. How much funding is directed towards professional development and
from what sources do these funds originate?
4. How is professional development used to promote organizational
capacity and student achievement?
Importance of the Study
This study is important because there is a vital need for students to receive
high quality instruction from teachers in order to meet the goals of NCLB. This
study will provide an analysis of the financial costs and utilization of human
resources necessary for implementation of effective professional development in
the elementary school setting. The study will be valuable for classroom teachers,
school site administrators, district office personnel, educational researchers, state
policymakers, professional development consultants/providers, and university
degree programs in teacher education as professional development becomes
increasingly emphasized in the era of school reform.
Classroom teachers need to be given the tools in order to deliver effective
standards-based lessons in the classrooms that will increase student achievement.
In terms of meeting the demands of NCLB effective professional development is

11
considered by many educators to be instrumental in accomplishing the ambitious
student achievement goals that schools are trying to achieve (Odden, Archibald,
Fermanich, Gallagher, 2002). Researching the effectiveness of professional
development will give teachers insight on effective professional development
practices that are in place in the elementary school setting.
School site administrators and district office personnel will gain insight on
how to utilize monetary funds and human capital to create an effective
professional development plan related to positive student outcomes. The
researcher expects that they may discover that professional development needs to
be a priority in elementary education and resources should be allocated to
promote effective professional development.
Since education is always at the forefront of the political world, state
policy makers will learn the costs involved in the design and implementation of
professional development. It is important that the leaders of our states and nation
understand how schools and school district allocate their funds to train and coach
teachers in order to increase student achievement.
This study will contribute to the educational research of best practices in
the area of professional development and mainly how schools and districts
provide funding. Professional development consultants/providers will benefit
from the knowledge of how schools and districts allocate the monetary and human

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resources for professional development. The consultants will also have a better
understanding of how to design an effective professional plan for schools and
districts.
Universities that prepare their students for the teaching world will gain
insight on how schools and districts continue effectively educating the teachers
once they join the profession. This will provide useful information to guide the
curriculum that the students receive in teacher education programs.
Classroom teachers, school site administrators, district office personnel,
educational researchers, state policymakers, professional development
consultants/providers, and university degree programs in teacher education will
all benefit from this study, as it will explain how to appropriately fund and
allocate resources to an effective professional development plan that will meet the
goals of NCLB.
Limitations
Data collection for this study was conducted during a three-month period
at a selected elementary school and a K-12 centralized school district. The
researcher could not control participants’ biases or willingness to participate in the
interview. The data collected from documents was also limited due to the limited
amount of time and resources to collect and review the documents.

13
Delimitations
The data from this study is from one K-6 elementary school and a
centralized K-12 unified school district in Orange County in Southern California.
The study is a qualitative case study which will include collection of data from
interview and document review guides. The small sample consists of a
Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, three district administrators, a teacher
on special assignment at the district office, one elementary school site
administrator, three teachers from the school site and an outside professional
development provider. Due to the small sample size the ability to generalize to
other elementary schools and districts may be limited.
Assumptions
It is assumed that the participants answered willingly and honestly during
the interviews. Additionally, all existing data collected and analyzed from the
identified school and school district are assumed to be complete and correct.
Definitions
Academic Performance Index (API):
California numerical indicator of student achievement used as a basis for
comparative ranking of schools statewide.
Accountability:
Systems that hold students, schools, or districts responsible for academic
performance (Elmore, 2002).

14
Adequacy:
The supply of sufficient fiscal resources from the federal and state
government to each school within the state for the purpose of implementing
evidence-based professional development programs for the purpose of increasing
student performance (Odden, Picus, & Fermanich 2003).
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP):
Evaluation of four indicators; percent of students “proficient or above on
statewide tests, 95% participation rate in statewide tests, API test scores, and
graduation rates.
Assessment:
A measurement of a student’s particular skill or knowledge that may be
written, oral, or performance in nature.
Capacity:
The ability to flexibly respond to external demands in order to translate
high standards and incentives into effective instruction and strong student
performance which is comprised of both qualitative and quantitative factors that
reside in the unit, site, and system levels (Massell, 1998, , 2000).
Data:
Facts or figures from which conclusions can be drawn.

15
Effective Professional Development:
Defined as professional development that produces change in teachers’
classroom-based instructional practice, which can be linked to improvements in
student learning. (Odden, Picus, & Fermanich, 2003).
Reform:
A change effort that is undertaken to improve the educational system.
Resources:
The financial and human capital that is identified for professional
development use within an educational organization.
Standards:
Statements of what students from kindergarten through 12
th
grade should
know and be able to do in the core subject areas.
Stakeholders:
Any person with interest in operation and outcomes of the specific
educational system, which includes administrators, teachers, parents, students,
and community members. Also can include the term participants.
Organization of the Study
Chapter One contains an introduction to the importance of performing a
study which examines the cost that are involved in creating an effective
professional development plan; not only monetarily but the human capital needed
to fulfill the plan which is associated with student outcomes. Chapter Two

16
reviews literature related to the following themes: 1) Teacher Quality Related to
Student Outcomes 2) Professional Development in an Era of Educational Reform
3) Evidence-based Model Components of Effective Professional Development 4)
Resources Allocated Toward Professional Development. Chapter Three focuses
on the methodology of the study, including a rationale and description of the
sample, data collection techniques and instruments, and data analysis strategies.
Chapter Four discusses the findings, including an analysis and discussion of each
research question and the related findings. The final chapter, Chapter Five,
summarizes the findings and the conclusions drawn from the findings. The last
chapter also discusses the implications of the conclusions of the findings.
Additionally, this chapter will compare the study’s findings to those conducted in
a decentralized district. References and appendixes follow the final chapter to
conclude the study.

17
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
Introduction
A Nation at Risk focused on the disparities of education in the United
States and started a movement to redesign schools which created educational
reforms that are still occurring today, years later (Coffey & Lashway, 2002). The
major reform efforts of NCLB have put accountability and standards-based
systems in place to increase student achievement (Hanushek & Raymond, 2005).
Since accountability of educators is a high priority at the federal, state, and local
level there is a need to improve classroom instruction so students will meet the
requirements of NCLB. The design and implementation of professional
development has been closely examined to determine if it has an effect on student
performance. Guskey(1994) stated the following about the relationship of
professional development and educational reform in a paper presented to the
American Educational Research Association:
“Never before in the history of education has there been greater
recognition of the importance of professional development. Every modern
proposal to reform, restructure, or transform school emphasizes
professional development as a primary vehicle in efforts to bring about
change.” (p. 1)

18
The literature review will explore issues related to the necessity,
effectiveness, and funding of professional development to promote student
achievement. To facilitate this synthesis and review of literature, four main
themes have been identified:
1. An examination of the nature and meaning of teacher quality, the
impact of teacher quality on student outcomes, and the link between
professional development and teacher quality.
2. An examination of professional development practices in the era of
educational reform including an overview of models that evaluate
effective professional development.
3. An examination of the Evidence-Based Model (Odden et al., 2003)
Components in relation to effective professional development.
4. An examination of the resources allocated toward professional
development.
Teacher Quality Related to Student Outcomes
During the 1960s James Coleman and fellow researchers conducted a
nationwide survey of the availability of educational opportunity ordered by
Congress. Coleman and the researchers published their findings in July, 1966,
entitled Equality of Educational Opportunity usually known as the “Coleman

19
Report.” In the “Coleman Report” Coleman and the researchers found that
schools have little influence on a child’s achievement but student achievement is a
function of the student’s background (Coleman et al., 1966; Hanushek & Rivkin,
2003).
The views on the influence of schools and student achievement have
drastically changed. Schools are viewed as having an influence on promoting
student achievement and with the recent reform efforts held accountable for
student achievement. Today teachers are believed to be an integral part in students
being successful in schools (Hanushek & Rivkin, 2003; Koppich, 2004).
In order for California to stay a world-class leader both economically and
technologically, the education system must be a world-class system that is
supported by highly qualified and effective teachers (California Department of
Education, 2006). Our country as a whole is concerned about meeting the
economic needs of our society (Carey, 2004). Goldhaber (2003) states “there is
an increasing demand for the accumulation of knowledge and skills—known as
“human capital” —more so than any other time in history.” ( p. 1). NCLB was
created to increase educational accountability to ensure that students were
receiving the knowledge and skills that our society demands. A major
requirement for NCLB is that by the end of the 2005-2006 school year, the
academic core subjects must be taught by a “highly qualified” teacher. NCLB

20
teachers are “highly qualified” when they meet the following conditions (The
Education Trust, 2003):
1. A college degree.
2. Full certification or licensure, which specifically does not include any
certification or licensure that has been “waived on an emergency
temporary or provisional basis.”
3. Demonstrated content knowledge in the subject they’re teaching, or in
the case of elementary teachers, in at least verbal and mathematics
ability. This demonstration can come in various forms:
• new elementary teachers must pass a state test of literacy and
numeracy;
• new secondary teachers must either pass a rigorous test in the
subject area or have a college major;
• veteran teachers may either pass the state test, have a college
major, or demonstrate content knowledge through some other
uniformly applied process designed by the state (p. 2).
The NCLB definition of a “highly qualified” teacher demonstrates that teachers
need both subject-matter and pedagogical knowledge but mainly focuses on
teachers being qualified because they can pass standardized subject-matter tests.
There is not a clear consensus in education on the terms “high quality” teacher or
teacher quality (Berry, Hoke, & Hirsh, 2004).

21
Many studies have been conducted examining the effects of teacher
characteristics on student achievement in an aim to define teacher quality and/or
effectiveness. Hanushek and Rivkin (2003) have reviewed studies that used to the
value added approach to measure teacher characteristics. This approach isolates
the effects of inputs such as a child’s background and focuses on student
achievement growth during certain grade levels. Teacher education and teacher
experience are two teacher characteristics that have been largely researched.
Hanushek (1997) researched studies on the effects of these two characteristics on
student outcomes. He found that a teacher having a master’s degree did not have
a systematic relationship to teacher quality as measured by student outcomes.
This finding has implications because the majority of teachers’ salary schedules
are based on attaining advanced degrees which may not be equating to effective
teaching. In terms of the second characteristic, teacher experience, there have
been a more positive relationship in terms of student outcomes but only a few of
the studies have statistically significant results (Hanushek & Rivkin, 2003).
Carey (2004) discusses the TV AAS, the Tennessee Value Added
Assessment System that was created in the 1990s to measure student
improvement from the beginning and end of the school year in Tennessee. The
TV AAS is “based on measuring the amount of additional learning----the “value”--
--that a given district, school, or teacher adds to their students during a given
year” (Carey, p.5) which is measured by five annual assessments from different

22
subject areas. TV AAS isolates the individual teacher’s contribution to the
classroom. Teachers who not only met, but exceeded the growth target set for
his/her students were deemed as effective teachers. This value-added approach
focuses on defining teacher effectiveness through data over multiple years. The
studies from the TV AAS found that teachers that were skilled and effective one
year tended to be the same consistently over time. Sanders and Rivers (1996)
found that students who had ineffective teachers for three years scored at levels
that were less than of their peers who had effective teachers.
Rivkin and Hanushek (2005) discuss yet another approach to looking at
teacher quality, total teacher effects, which is based on focusing on pure outcome-
based measures of teacher effectiveness. Teacher effects are examined by the
differences in growth rates of student achievement across teachers. The authors
defined a good teacher as one whose students made consistent growth and a poor
teacher who produced low learning growth. This model takes out the input of
teacher characteristics. Hanushek (1992) found that a high quality teacher can
have students increase learning by an additional year compared to teachers of low
quality. Rivkin, Hanushek, Kain (2005) suggest that having five years of good
teachers in a row will close the achievement gap between lower income kids and
those from higher income families.

23
Koppich (2004) created a list from the most recent research of
commonalities and skills of effective teachers, they are as follows:
• Good teachers know the subject they teach.
• Effective teachers know how to teach their subjects.
• Good teachers understand how standards, curriculum, and assessments
link together to create a coherent educational system,
• Effective teachers are able to diagnose individual students’ learning
needs, and adapt instructional approached accordingly.
• Good teachers have the ability to adapt quickly to ever-changing
classroom situations (p. 3).
It seems from the review of literature that effective or quality teachers are
measured by their knowledge and the academic growth their students have made
on standardized assessments.
A major factor for school districts to have quality teachers is to provide
the teachers with effective professional development. Marzano (2003) has found
through research from the National Center of Educational Statistics (2002) that
teachers are average in the effectiveness in terms of their impact on student
achievement with some being a little below or above average. He suggests that if
teachers display average performance and they are provided with effective
professional development, students will be successful academically.

24
Haycock (1998) stresses the need for effective professional development
to promote student achievement and states that “teacher effectiveness is not
forever fixed” (p. 12). Carey (2004) suggests similarly to Marzano (2003), that
teacher effectiveness can be raised if the proper professional development is
implemented in efforts to increase student achievement.
Professional Development in an Era of Educational Reform
Challenges, innovations, and limitations for teachers’ professional
development are shaped by reform movements (Little, 1993). In the last thirty
years the design, application, importance, and emphasis of professional
development began to change with the impact of different educational reforms.
Educators, researchers, and reformers started to examine professional
development practices in relation to teachers’ instructional practice and student
achievement (Elmore, 2002).
Efforts to improve schools in the 1970s and 1980s focused on the
instruction of basic skills in the classrooms. The states and federal government
were concerned with the low performance of disadvantaged students and relaxed
standards in teaching (Cohen & Hill, 1998). The basic skills focused on basic
math, English, science, social studies skills and were enforced with standardized
tests that assessed minimum competency. The achievement gap for Latinos and
white students was cut in a third, and the achievement gap for African American
and white students was cut in half (Katy Haycock, 2001).

25
Later in 1980s, A Nation at Risk (1983) was commissioned because
standardized test scores reflected that students were not meeting the grade level
competencies and were not progressing academically. Unfortunately, the
achievement gap was widening among minority students (NCES, 2001). The
report discussed how the American school system was failing our students and our
students were not prepared to compete in a global economy. A Nation at Risk
forced policy makers and educators to examine the American school system.
Accountability and standards-based reforms became pertinent in education due to
the legislation enactments of Goals 2000 and NCLB. The quality and
effectiveness of teachers and their impact on student achievement became focal
points of the new legislations and reforms (Furman & Elmore, 2004).
Standards-based reform in the 1990s focused on subject matter and
curriculum content and pedagogy in relation to student outcomes (Little, 1993).
An emphasis was and is still placed on high academic standards, curriculum
frameworks, and assessments that are aligned to the standards (Smith &
Desimone, 2003). In the 1980s and 1990s some states invested in the new
standards and standardized tests without providing adequate professional
development to teachers on the standards. Teachers were not given the time,
materials and learning opportunities to support the reform. Student achievement
did not improve in those states (Darling-Hammond & Ball, 1999).

26
Standards-based accountability became very clear with NCLB requiring
explicit performance standards, assessments aligned with the standards, and
sanctions for not meeting the growth targets. Today’s accountability system
focuses on outcomes rather than inputs or effort put into teaching (Coffey &
Lashway, 2002, Fuhrman & Elmore, 2004). Expectations of teachers and
administrators significantly changed with standards-based reform, Goals 2000,
and NCLB. Teachers are being requested to participate in systematic, continual
improvement of students’ educational experience in the classroom and the
teachers’ accomplishments are connected to how well the students achieve
(Elmore, 2002).
Effectively implementing standards in the classrooms depends on the
effectiveness of the teachers (Smith & Desimone, 2003). There needs to be a
connection with the standards and professional development for it to be successful
(Garcia, 2002). Professional development goals changed from offering teachers
the basics in the 1970s early 1980s to deepening teachers’ knowledge and
understanding of content. Successful standards-based reform required teachers to
be able to promote basic knowledge, higher-level thinking skills, and problem
solving among their students with the deeper knowledge of the content (D. K.
Cohen & Hill, 1998; Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002; Loucks-

27
Horsley, Styles, & Hewson, 1996; Smith & Desimone, 2003). The focus is now
on what children learn and how they are taught (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman,
& Yoon, 2001).
Past professional development practices have not been viewed as effective
and fail short of providing evidence directly related to improvements in student
learning (Corcoran, 1995; Guskey, 2003a; Newman, King, & Youngs, 2000;
Singh & McMillan, 2002). Brief workshops, conferences with little or no follow-
up and long term feedback have not been very effective in improving teaching
practice and promoting student achievement (King & Newmann, 2000). Goals
2000 included Building Bridges: The Mission and Principles of Professional
Development, which discusses the significance of professional development in
implementation of successful school reform. NCLB legislation also recognizes
the value of professional development in the age of educational accountability and
educational reform. Both pieces of legislation call for professional development
activities to be high-quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom focused so there
will be a positive, lasting effect on teacher and student performance in the
classroom (Lowden, 2005).
Researchers are, more than ever, questioning and evaluating professional
development practices to determine their effectiveness related to teacher learning
and ultimately student outcomes. Garet et al. (2001) surveyed a nationally
representative probability sample of more that 1,000 teachers with a focus on

28
teachers who participated in professional development through the Eisenhower
Professional Development Program. The Eisenhower Program provided federal
funding for professional development through the Title II of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The researchers also conducted six
exploratory case studies and in-depth case studies in five states along with the
nationwide teacher surveys.
Through the research on best practice, literature, and analyzing the survey
data, Garet et al. (2001) identified six key features that could be used to evaluate
professional development. The first three features are structural features that
comprise the form or organization of the activity; form, duration, and
participation. Form of the activity focuses on whether the professional
development activity is structured as a “reform” activity such as a study group,
teacher collaboration, mentoring relationship, committee, or teacher resource
center or as a traditional inservice, conference, or workshop. The second
structural feature, duration, is in reference to how much time the participant
spends in the activity and the span of time the activity occurred. In addition,
participation, evaluated the groups of teachers from a school, grade level, and/or
department in teachers attending the activity from different school sites.
The other three key features; content focus, active learning, and coherence
are characteristics of the processes that happen during the professional
development activity. Content focus is determined by the level in which the

29
activity is focused on improving teachers’ content knowledge of math or science
and by the depth of understanding the teacher gains from the activity. Teacher
engagement in the analysis of teaching and learning is determined by active
learning. Lastly, coherence is promoted in professional development activities
when teachers are encouraged to communicate with their peers and integrate
experiences that are align with teachers’ and districts’ goals and state standards
plus assessments.
In the study Garet et al. found that reform type professional development
activities were more effective because of they were longer, therefore having more
content focus, active learning opportunities, and coherence. Teachers had more
opportunities for active learning when the activities were longer and focused on
subject matter. When teachers attended professional development activities
together either as a school site, grade level, and/or department, they received a
chance to collaborate. The teachers were able to discuss the concepts and
problems of the instructional practices they were learning and had a collection of
staff members on site for referral when implementing what they had learned.
Teachers reported that connecting the subject matter or the content to the
professional development increased their knowledge and skills. The connections
to content also influenced the coherence of the professional development. Active
learning allowed teachers to be actively engaged in their learning, observe others
teaching, demonstrate lessons with the knowledge from the activity, and be an

30
integral part of the professional development. They also found that professional
development activities that were in more the traditional form of workshops but
included the same elements were also effective in teacher learning and practice.
In another study conducted by Desimone et al. (2002) surveyed teachers
in 30 schools, in 10 districts in five states. The purpose of the longitudinal study
was to “examine features of teachers’ professional development and its effects on
changing teacher practice in mathematics and science from 1996-1999” (p. 81).
This study used the six key features of professional development as the hypothesis
in effecting the improvement of teaching practice. Reported findings provided
partial support for the value of five of the six features. The longitudinal study
results corresponded with the national study by supporting the link between focus
on certain teaching practices in professional development (content focus) and
teachers implementing the practices in their classroom. Professional development
was found to be more effective similarly to the national study when teachers
participated collectively as a school site, grade level, and/or department in the
activity, they were active engaged in the learning process, and reform type had a
positive effect. Duration was the one key feature that did not have an impact on
the effectiveness of the professional development activities in the longitudinal
study.

31
Sparks and Hirsh (2000) have found from research that professional
development that is effective integrates learning into all dimensions of the school.
They suggest from research that professional development be results-driven and
job-embedded. The professional development should be aligned to the district’s
learning goals for students and everyone in the school should be knowledgeable
of how the goals impact student outcomes (S. Hirsh, 2004). Similarly to the Garet
et al. (2001) and Desimone et al. (2002) studies in regards to content focus,
Sparks and Hirsh emphasis the importance of teachers being deeply immersed in
the subject matter and instructional strategies. The professional development
should be curriculum-centered and standards-based. Success of standards-based
reform depends on the teachers’ knowledge and implementation of instructional
practices around state standards (Smith & Desimone, 2003).
Sparks and Hirsh also suggest that effective professional development be
sustained, rigorous, cumulative, and related to what teachers do in their
classrooms. Research in California found that teachers, who participated in
professional development that was sustainable, based on curriculum and standards
for students were more apt to implement the new teaching practices (E. Hirsh,
Koppich, & Knapp, 2001). Student instructed with specific standards-based
curriculum were more successful on the state mathematics achievement test
across grade levels (Wiley & Yoon, 1995).

32
Guskey’s (2000) suggests the effectiveness of professional programs
should be evaluated emphasizing the impact in relation to change in the
knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs of teacher participants. He believes that
past professional development practices have failed and do not have an affect on
instructional practice because they are not well planned and unrelated to the
instruction in the classroom. Guskey created five evaluation levels to evaluate
professional development. The first level begins with participants’ reactions to
the experience (level 1), consider participants’ learning (level 2), examine
organization support and change (level 3), the use of implementation is
documented (level 4), and the impact of student learning outcomes (level 5)
(2000). Since he developed these levels, Guskey (2003b) now discusses how the
levels should be reversed when planning professional development experiences
and correlated evaluation activities. Desired student learning goals and outcomes
(level 5) should be considered first instead of the participants’ reactions, then the
planning of professional development can take place (level 4). Next the
organization support needed to implement and support the professional
development (level 3) should be considered, then decisions should be based on
the knowledge and skills the participants must have to implement the professional
development (level 2). Lastly, consideration should be given to providing
opportunities to the participants to acquire the knowledge and skills (level 1).

33
Lowden (2005) incorporated Guskey’s (2000) five evaluation levels in a
study evaluating professional development practices. She surveyed 250 teachers
in eleven public schools (K-12) from two different districts in New York state.
Teacher surveys were based on the participants’ satisfaction, participant learning,
the support and change of the organization, the change in teacher knowledge,
skills, and instructional pedagogy, teacher perceptions of student learning and
changes in attitudes and beliefs of teachers. She found that 68% of the teachers
reported that they were informed about the districts’ professional development
plan, but 31.2% were not aware of the goals surrounding professional
development. District goals need to be a link between professional development
and student achievement should be communicated to teachers for schools to be
successful (Guskey, 2003a; Sparks & Hirsh, 1997) . Lowden found that 90.2 % of
the teachers participated in professional development but they were district
conference days built into the calendar away from the school site. Researchers
have found that professional development is most effective when it is job
embedded, connected to the school goals, and during the school day (Guskey,
2003a; Loucks-Horsley, Styles, & Hewson, 1996; Sparks & Hirsh, 2000). The
study also found that there was a low positive correlation between the change in
teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about instructional practices and student outcomes.

34
Elmore (2002) discusses the consensus view of effective professional
development that aims to improve teaching and learning. The characteristics of
the consensus view are very similar to the characteristics stated in the previous
literature. The consensus view of focuses on the following for effective
professional development:
• Should be aligned with the mission and purpose in student learning
and the main subjects and skills
• Created from the analysis of student learning of specific subject area in
a certain setting
• Clearly states the model of teacher learning
• Creates, encourages collaboration and networks
• Active learning and engagement of staffs and administrators
• Focus on sustainability over time
• Models of effective practice in classrooms and schools
• Utilization of data to monitor student learning and feedback on the
teachers’ learning of new knowledge and practice
Guskey (2003a) and Sparks and Hirsh (2000) ideas of effective professional
development are relevant in the consensus view such as content focus, active
learning, sustainability, and results-driven or goal oriented professional
development.

35
Even though Elmore (2002) understands that there is evidence for the
consensus view of effective professional development and that the characteristics
are important, he feels that there is little evidence that “this consensus has had a
large-scale effort on the practice of schools and the school system.” (p, 10).
Unfortunately, schools and school districts view professional development as a
specialized activity instead of a strategy for school improvement. Many schools
that do have professional plans in place that are not designed with a focus tied to
student learning goals but tied to teachers’ individual activities that are not
necessarily connected to student learning (Little, 1993). Professional
development needs to change from topics that are disconnected from the
curriculum, teacher and student learning and away from the school site to
programs that are strategy focused. Professional development programs should
provide teachers with the knowledge and skill they need to improve student
learning in specific subject matter similarly stated by the previous researchers.
Elmore (2002) believes that the consensus view is effective for professional
development but that there is a “knowledge gap” in the implementation and
application of effective professional development in the educational arena. Until
the educational structures adopt and apply the consensus view there will not be
significant changes in professional development.
There are few research studies that correlate effective professional
development with student learning outcomes. In order to improve student

36
achievement, the Learning First Alliance (Togneri, 2003) studied five school
districts across the United States that had three years of improvement in student
achievement. The study was conducted in the area of reading and math across
multiple grades, races and ethnicities, size, and region. Interviews, school visits,
and focus groups comprised the study’s findings. The leaders and researchers
from the Learning First Alliance (2003) found seven commonalities in strategies
to improve instruction. Even though the strategies do not directly address
professional development, they fall under the underlying characteristics of the
consensus view of effective professional development, they are as follows:
1. Districts had the courage to acknowledge poor performance and the
will to see solutions.
2. Districts put in place a systemwide approach to improving instruction-
one that articulated curricular content and provided instructional
supports.
3. Districts instilled visions that focused on student learning and guided
instructional improvement.
4. Districts made decisions based on data, not instinct.
5. Districts adopted new approaches to professional development that
involved a coherent and district-organized set of strategies to improve
instruction.

37

6. Districts redefined leadership roles.
7. Districts committed to sustaining reform over the long haul. (p. 3)
The majority of these strategies are reflected in ways to implement the
consensus view. The research from the study found that districts were successful
because they used research-based principles of professional development, district
goals, needs based on student learning and data to guide professional
development. The districts also built capacity at their school sites and created
networks of instructional experts. New teachers were supported by mentors and
supported by the district. Allocation of funding was strategically used to fund
professional development. Professional development also became job-embedded
where teachers were given time to work together to address instructional
challenges (Togneri, 2003).
Throughout the studies listed above there were several commonalities to
the six key features of professional development described by Garet et al. (2001).
Table 1.2 shows the commonalities of the researchers’ findings in relation to six
key features of professional development Garet et al. (2001).
The large body of literature on professional development discusses how to
evaluate professional development and the characteristics of effective professional
development to improve teacher learning and knowledge which will hopefully
impact student achievement. Unfortunately, there is not a large body of empirical

38
data linking effective professional development to direct student outcomes or
achievement levels. Even though research is heading in the right direction, there
still needs to be more research in determining the effects of professional
development on student learning and progress. Hopefully, in the next decade with
the demands of NCLB, educators and researchers will put more of an emphasis on
the relationship between effective professional development and student
achievement.
Evidence-Based Model in Relation to Effective Professional Development
The Evidence-Based approach utilized by Odden et al. (2003; Odden,
Picus, Goetz, & Fermancih, June 2006) identifies components at a school level
that are necessary to implement a high-quality and instructional program which
included professional development. This approach is based on evidence from
research with randomized assignment to the treatment, research with controls or
statistical procedures that can aide in separating out the affect of the treatment,
and based on local district or school level studies that have been impacted by best
practices. Odden et al. (June 2006) connects the Evidence-Based approach to
school adequacy to determine the costs and allocations necessary to meet the
performance goals of school districts. Arkansas, Kentucky, and New Jersey have
adopted this model to implement in their school systems.
In 2006 Odden et al. conducted another study utilizing the Evidence-
Based approach of school adequacy in Washington to determine the programs and

39
financial allocations needed for the state’s education system to double student
performance. The students in Washington were lacking the tools they needed to
perform as workers in a knowledge-based global economy. The student test
scores from Washington’s Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) were
marginal at best and there needed to be an increase in student proficiency on the
state assessment.
Odden et al. (June 2006) developed six core strategies to create a clear
accountability and monitoring program to ensure an adequate education program
for Washington in which specific content was being taught and to produce an
increase in student achievement. They suggest educators should recalibrate
school goals for student learning to create goals that will double students’
proficiency levels on state tests. A long term goal they suggested to Washington
was to have 90% of all students reach proficiency. Re-engineer schools is the
second strategy where schools need to utilize their resources more effectively and
teachers should implement powerful instructional strategies. A third strategy
focuses on reinforcing achievement for students who are struggling and give them
extra support such as tutoring and extended-day and summer school programs.
Retool schools’ technology emphasizes the potential educational impact the
Internet has on classroom instruction. The researchers also suggested
restructuring teacher compensation to pay teachers individually on a knowledge

40
and skills-based pay system instead of the traditional steps and columns.
Redesign teacher development was one of the main categories included with the
six strategies. The researchers view redesign teacher development or otherwise
stated professional development as a critical strategy necessary for targeted
resources to be transformed into effective instructional practices for increasing
student outcomes.
The researchers studied school districts that had doubled student learning
to support the vision of these six core strategies. They studied a school district in
Wisconsin, schools that implemented Washington’s Reading First Initiative, and
successful school districts in Washington that had increased student achievement.
Lawrence O. Picus and Associates conducted a Successful District Study to
school finance for Washington (Fermanich et al., July 2006). For this study they
established a set of 36 criteria of school performance, then used the expenditure
level of the school districts as an estimate of how much it would cost to meet the
pre-established criteria. The criteria was based on the students’ proficiency levels
from the WASL, a single growth index over three years, and analyzed the
achievement gaps. The researchers studied 9 school districts and 31 schools in
Washington that used resources linked to improving instructional strategies.
The schools and districts ranged from low-income to high-income and
many had diverse populations in an urban setting, although some districts were in
rural settings. Professional development played a major role in the schools and

41
districts’ increased student achievement. Most of the schools adopted new
curriculum that was either aligned with research-based strategies, student
expectancies, and standards or curriculum based on problem solving focused on
higher order thinking skills. In many of these cases, extensive summer training
for teachers was provided for the research-based or problem-based curriculum to
be implemented which alignment with the standards. Assessments were linked to
the curriculum and informed the teachers of the students’ knowledge, skills, and
understandings of the material. The teachers were able to utilize the data to
implement strategic instructional strategies connected to the curriculum. Teachers
were supported with onsite instructional coaches who helped the teachers
implement instructional strategies. In some of the cases teachers were provided
time to collaborate and plan with one another to improve classroom instruction
(Fermanich et al., July 2006; Odden, Picus, Goetz, & Fermancih, June 2006).
Various studies on effective professional development were also analyzed
by Odden et al. (June 2006). They identify six structural features of effective
professional development; form, duration, collective participation, content focus,
active learning, and coherence which was described in literature reviewed earlier
from Garet et al. (2001). Other researchers such as Desimone et al. (2002),Sparks
and Hirsh (2000), and Elmore (2002) have also agreed that some of the six
structural features are needed for effective professional development.

42
Odden et al. (June 2006) developed an Evidence-Based Model for
professional development in order to redesign professional development for
Washington using what they had learned in the case studies and from the research
on effective professional development. They have also used a similar model in
Arkansas, Kentucky, and New Jersey. The model includes the following:
• Time during the summer for intensive training institutes.
• On-site coaching for all teachers (one for every 200 students)
• Teachers work collaboratively in their schools during planning and
preparation periods.
• Funds for training.
Originally the state of Washington allocated two days for professional
development, Odden et al. (June 2006) suggested an increase the duration of the
of the summer training institutes to ten days. The training is to be intensive and
based on the content to be taught and instructional strategies to improve student
learning (Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002; Garet, Porter,
Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Sparks & Hirsh, 2000).
The second recommendation was to provide instructional coaches for
teachers at the school sites. Galm and Perry (2004) reviewed three school
districts, focusing on the middle schools, that participated in a program to increase
teacher and learning through the Edna McConnell foundation. Three of the
urban, diverse, lower-income middle schools showed significant gains in student

43
achievement which the school and researchers attribute to having on-site
instructional coaches. Other schools that used on-site coaches for support made
measurable gains compared to schools that did not utilize coaches.
Collective participation and active learning is reinforced when there is
collaboration through the form of professional development. Building capacity at
a school site through the use of coaches and collaboration impacts teacher and
student learning (Odden, Picus, Goetz, & Fermancih, June 2006). A teacher
working on their own and in isolation is becoming obsolete in education.
Collaborative processes that are deeply embedded in the daily life of a school
develops professional learning communities to help improve teaching and
learning (Eaker, DuFour, & Burnette, 2002) Lastly, necessary funds need to be
provided for the summer and ongoing training.
Resources Allocated Toward Professional Development
There are many different reasons schools and districts are focusing on
financial, human capital resources and instructional resources to support
professional development. More than ever resources are being allocated toward
professional development due to state requirements with mandated hours of
training, preparation of new teachers to the field, provide continue knowledge and
skills to teachers to improve classroom instruction, and the requirements of
NCLB. The research and evidence shows that professional development can help

44
districts achieve their goals and qualified teachers improve student learning.
(Miles, Odden, Fermanich, & Archibald, 2005).

A limited amount of districts and school site personnel are knowledgeable
of how much money is spent on professional development and the funding source.
(Hornbeck, 2003; Miles, Odden, Fermanich, & Archibald, 2005). District and
school personnel need to understand how much they spend on professional
development activities, how are the activities funded, how the activities are
aligned with the district goals, and if the resources are accessible and flexible.
Educators need to be able to determine how much professional development will
cost and the return on the investment that the expenditures will provide to the
teachers and students (Miles, Odden, Fermanich, & Archibald, 2005).
Miles et al. (2005) created a standard way of analyzing district spending
for professional development which included the following:
• Defining the components of professional development;
• Describing their purpose and organization; and
• Tracking and describing their cost (p. 7)
They reviewed current literature that showed a variation of district spending
levels that ranged from districts spending 1 percent to 8 percent of their operating
budgets on professional development. A standard way of looking at district

45
spending was created because the review of literature did not inform the
researchers of the targets, purpose, and organization of professional development.
In past research in this area was limited, not standardized, and only district data
was provided when analyzing expenditures for professional development (Odden,
Archibald, Fermanich, & Gallagher, 2002).
In order for researchers to be able to track professional development
expenditures they tested a cost framework of what to include in professional
development spending (Odden, Archibald, Fermanich, & Gallagher, 2002). The
cost framework details six main components of professional development
spending. The components are teacher time, training and coaching,
administration, materials and equipment, and tuition and conference fees.
Looking at all aspects of allocations gave a clearer view of where and how the
money was being spent.
A second strategy used to standardize the process of analyzing financial
allocations was the use of coding for target, purpose, and delivery strategy. Miles
et al. (2005) reviewed investments targeted at the individual teacher or principal
and the purpose of the investment such as new teacher induction, continuing
education and teacher leadership. They also targeted school instruction and the
purposes such as restructuring planning and design work, school improvement
plans, content and instructional strategies, and program support. Lastly, delivery

46
strategies which looked at building capacity were coded, such as comprehensive
school reform designs, school-based coaching, mentors, and training academies.
Five urban districts were studied through the use of interviews analyzing
documents in reference to the cost framework and coding systems. Miles et al.
(2005) found that districts invested in professional development but the resources
and district spending to provide teacher time varied. The school districts did
target the financial allocations toward building school-level capacity but did not
have strategies in place to coordinate the investments. Common delivery
strategies were used by the districts but not all strategies were consistently used in
all the districts. Half of the allocations for professional development came from
non-local revenue sources including federal funds such as Title 1. This study
shows districts are spending their financial allocations on professional
development but the allocations are varied from one district to the next. Miles et
al. (2005) provides educators and researchers standardized tools to evaluate the
funding and impact of professional development investments on student learning.
There still needs to be more research on the financial allocations related to
professional development and how they relate to student performance.
A common component or characteristic that supports effective
professional development as evidenced with researchers (Elmore, 2002) is the
building of organizational capacity. Cohen, Raudenbush and Ball (2000) explain
capacity, or instructional resources, as the knowledge, skill, and material

47
resources that are necessary for the interaction among students, teachers and
content. In Washington Learns: A Successful School Study (Fermanich et al., July
2006) the researchers found that most of the districts allocated resources to
support the organizational capacity. The school districts utilized instructional
coaches at the school sites to support the teachers and create job-embedded
learning which is shown to improve student outcomes. Principals at their site
either released teachers to coach on site, or the district provided a coach to be
shared among schools. Schools that were able to apply multiple resources to
ensure multiple coaches for different subject areas seemed to make better gains in
student learning. Evidence-based model suggests that schools build capacity by
providing one instructional coach per 200 students (Odden, Picus, & Fermanich,
2003). This model also emphasizes other resources necessary for effective
professional development such as intensive training days for teachers and
providing funding allocations for the training.
There is also debate with educators on determining on how to manage
professional development resources. Some districts are centrally managed where
the district is mainly in control of the professional development plan and funding
allocations. Other school districts have schools that are site-based managed and
the schools decide on their own professional development. Ouchi (Winter 2004)
has studied centrally based school districts such as Los Angeles, New York City,

48
and Chicago and concluded that they have not been overly successful because
they are too top-down in their management. He suggests that centrally managed
school districts that are large should decentralize their resources. Ouchi argues
that schools are capable to organize their budgets to maximize efficiency and
student performance.
Black (1998) interviewed staff development specialists, curriculum
administrators, and principals about implementation and design of professional
development. She found from her interviews that many school site professional
development programs where ineffective because they lacked a focus and were a
smattering of disconnected practices. She suggests building cohesiveness
between the school district and school site to design and implement effective,
focused professional development. There is a variety of research favoring site-
based managed school sites taking charge of resources and professional
development decision-making but very limited research promoting centrally
managed school districts.
Determining the resource allocation toward professional development is
an important piece in providing effective professional development. Research is
beginning to make progress in analyzing the costs and resources needed for
professional development. Many of the studies are starting to focus first on the
criteria of effective professional development and then the costs needed to fund
the program. Hopefully, in the future more studies will be conducted to ensure

49
adequate resources are utilized to design and implement professional development
that will increase student learning.
Summary
This literature review found that teacher quality is related to increases in
student learning. Also, common elements of effective professional development
to promote teacher and student learning were found in the literature. Successful
school that are making significant gains in their test scores have strong
professional development programs that focus on content aligned with the
standards, research based strategies, building capacity through collaboration and
instructional coaches, sustained, focused training, and utilize student data to drive
instruction. There still needs to be more research in the relationship between
criteria of effective professional development and the allocation of resources
toward professional development that impact student learning.

50
CHAPTER THREE
Research Methodology
Introduction
This chapter describes the design, sample, instrumentation, data collection
and data analysis process of the current study. The purpose of the study was to
investigate how an identified school within a centrally managed school district
allocated human and financial resources to promote organizational capacity
through professional development to increase student achievement. The study
evaluated the current practices of the selected elementary school and its respective
school district in relation to an evidence-based model for effective professional
development in relation to student achievement.
Four research questions addressed the purposes of this study:
1. How are personnel used for the delivery of professional development?
2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?
3. How much funding is directed toward professional development and
from what sources do these funds originate?
4. How is professional development used to promote organizational
capacity and student achievement?
The methodology that utilized in this study was qualitative, descriptive-
analytic case study. The case study methodology was chosen for this research

51
because it was an in-depth investigation of a school site’s implementation of
professional development practice within a centralized managed school district
(Creswell, 2003). Interviews were conducted utilizing interview guides to
convey the details of the study through the viewpoint of the participants. In
addition, existing documents were analyzed using a document guide to collect
data related to the study. Both the interview guides and document review guides
were designed on the basis of the research questions and themes of the study
aligned with a conceptual framework. The district and interview participants
were given pseudonym to ensure anonymity.
Sample and Population
This study focused on a single elementary school in a centrally managed
unified district (K-12) to learn how a school within a centrally managed school
district determined and implemented professional development programs for the
teachers at the school site to increase student achievement. Purposeful sampling
was utilized to make the selection on the basis that the school and the district have
both been recognized as high achieving and having an instructional improvement
plan that focus on increasing student achievement which includes implementation
of targeted professional development.
The selected school was also purposefully chosen according to the
following criteria: implementation of research-based professional development
programs; located within a centrally-managed school district; API over 800; and

52
met the requirements of AYP. Schools and their respective unified districts that
were believed to meet the same criteria were identified and considered by the
researcher. The school was chosen because the teachers have seen great gains in
their test scores and it was an urban school with a diverse population.
Overview of District and School
Serrano Unified School District (SUSD), is a unified school district
(Kindergarten through grade 12) located in Orange County, California and is the
third largest district in the county serving a diverse student population of over
49,000. The district employs more than 5,000 staff members and operates 70
schools: 47 elementary, 10 intermediate, 7 high schools, 2 adult education centers
and two special education schools. Two years ago the district was recognized as
the nation’s finest urban school system for having success in raising overall test
scores while at the same time reducing achievement gaps across ethnic groups and
between high and low income students. One of the main reasons the district was
recognized for being so successful was due to the targeted professional
development established at the district and school level.
The school selected for the study, Springfield Elementary School in
SUSD, has 1 full-time administrator and 18 highly-qualified full-time teachers
defined earlier in chapter two, by NCLB standards (United States Department of
Education, 2004). In June, 2004 the school was recognized with the NCLB Blue
Ribbon Award for being an academically superior school in California and for

53
making significant gains in student achievement. The administrator and the school
district provide targeted professional development for the teachers to support the
standards-based curriculum. Tables 1 and 2 provide demographic information for
Serrano Unified School District and Springfield Elementary School.
Table 1:
Serrano Unified School District and Springfield Elementary, Student Population
Counts, 2005-2006
As % of Enrollment

Student Populations

School
Count

District
Count
School
District
Statewide
EL: English Learner
Students

183 23,133 41.7% 46.7% 24.9%
Free/Reduced Price
Meals for Children

196 29,835 44.6% 60.2% 50.8%
Special Education 29 4,730 6.6% 10.1% 10.1%
Total Enrollment 439 49,574 100% 100% 100%

54
Table 2:
Springfield Elementary School Enrollment by Ethnicity
As % of Total
Enrollment
Ethnicity
Enrollment School District
African American

13
3% 1.0%
American Indian

0 0% 0.2%
Asian

104 23.7% 28.8%
Filipino

12 2.7% 1.2%
Hispanic

191 43.5% 52.8%
Pacific Islander

1 0.2% 1.1%
White

118 26.9% 14.9%
Total 439 100% 100%

Participants
Personnel from the district and site level, plus one outside professional
development provider, participated in structured interviews. The researcher
utilized Interview Guides (Appendix A, B, C, and D) that were aligned with the
research questions and include probing questions. The interviews were
conducted at the site in which they work.
Superintendent The Superintendent has served in this position for 7 years.
She has been employed in the district for 33 years. During her employment she

55
has been an elementary and high school teacher and administrator. She served as
Associate Superintendent for Business and Personnel Services before assuming
her current position.
Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education The Assistant
Superintendent of Elementary Education has served in her current position for the
last three years. She has been an elementary principal, coordinator of the
Assessment and Registration Center, Director of Categorical Programs, and
director of K-6 Instruction. She works closely with the Director of K-6
Curriculum and Instruction on targeted professional development for the teachers
in the district.
Director of Personnel Services The Director of Personnel has been in her
position for two years. She has served as an elementary principal in the district.
She ensures that all the teachers in SUSD are highly-qualified and receive
targeted professional development.
Director of K-12 Educational Services The Director of K-12 Educational
Services has been in her position for the past seven years. She has served the
school district for the thirty six years as a teacher, principal, and Director of 7-12
Curriculum and Instruction. She is currently responsible for Federal and State
categorical programs, the State preschool programs and technology. She supports
the implementation of targeted professional development.

56
Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction The Director of K-6
Curriculum and Instruction has been in her position for one year. She served as
an elementary principal for six years in the school district. She is instrumental in
the development and implementation of targeted professional development.
BTSA Supervisor The BTSA Supervisor has been in her position for one
year and has worked in the district for thirty four years in as a teacher on special
assignment and an elementary teacher. She works with the Director of K-6
Instruction and provides targeted professional development, curriculum design,
site support, and BTSA coordinator.
Site Administrator This is the site administrator’s fourth year at
Springfield Elementary School. Prior to working at Springfield Elementary
School she served as a Vice Principal and teacher in another district.
Teachers Two lead teachers participated in the study through face to face
interviews. The two teachers were selected for this study by the principal because
they have been involved in providing professional development to the teachers in
an effort to increase student achievement. One teacher teaches third grade and the
other is the Resource Specialist Program teacher.
Outside Participant Descriptor The outside consultant of the professional
development company the SUSD employees. The company provides
professional development for effective leadership and training for school

57
administrators and classroom teachers. She has been an elementary teacher and
principal and has served on state curriculum adoption committees.
Instrumentation
The conceptual framework was collaboratively selected and utilized by a
University of Southern California thematic dissertation group. The thematic
dissertation was comprised of 11 students met during the summer of 2006 in a
seminar program led by Professor Lawrence Picus. The thematic dissertation
group selected Odden and Picus’ evidence-based school finance adequacy model
with an emphasis on six core strategies to improve student achievement. Two of
the thematic team members worked together to develop the purpose of the study,
research questions, and co-created the instruments used for data collection to
correspond with the research questions which focused on effective professional
development and the conceptual framework. Interview guides and a document
review guide were the two instruments created for the study. During the summer
of 2006 the data collection instruments were refined and piloted tested before the
fall, 2006, to reinforce the alignment with the purpose of the study and the
research questions. Table 3 demonstrates the matrix showing the relationship of
data collection instruments and the research questions.

58
Table 3
Relationship of Data Collection Instruments to Research Questions
Data Collection
Instrument

RQ 1: How are
personnel used
for the delivery
of professional
development?

RQ 2: How are
resource
allocation
decisions for
professional
development
determined?

RQ 3: How
much funding is
directed toward
professional
development
and from what
source do these
funds originate?

RQ 4: How is
professional
development
used to promote
organizational
capacity and
student
achievement?
Interview Guide
• District Administrators,
Site Administrators,
Teachers (composed of
different grade levels
and experience levels)

X X X X
Document Review Guide X X

Conceptual Framework
One conceptual framework was utilized in conjunction with the research
questions during the case study to examine and evaluate the allocation of
resources and effectiveness of professional development. The conceptual
framework incorporated the evidence-based model by Odden and Picus (2006).
The evidence-based model consists of six core strategies to assist school districts
in improving their educational programs. Odden and Picus argue that an adequate
education program should consist of the six core strategies “to rethink, if not
restructure, their entire educational program and reallocate all current and any
new resources to a restructured and more effective educational program” (2006,
p.4).

59
The six core strategies the authors have recommended to improve student
achievement are:
1. Recalibrate goals
2. Re-engineer schools
3. Redesign teacher development
4. Reinforce achievement
5. Retool schools’ technology
6. Restructure teacher compensation
The first of the six core strategies addresses recalibrating goals. The
authors suggest that in order for students to be prepared for college, work in the
global economy and citizenship the school districts must have goals to increase
student achievement. They also suggest that districts create a long term goal
focusing on at least 90% of students achieving proficiency standards. This goal
includes all students; low income, students of color, English Language Learners
(ELLs) and students with disabilities.
Re-engineering schools is the second core strategy which involves schools
and school districts utilizing their resources more efficiently and productively.
School administrators and teachers should focus on the instructional strategies
being used in the classroom, curriculum that is being taught, organization of the
schools, and examine how resources are utilized.

60
The third strategy closely looks at redesigning teacher development. The
goal of this strategy is that all teachers have the knowledge and expertise to be
successful in the classroom and raise student achievement test scores. Teachers
should be given the tools to assist students in being able to think, understand,
problem solve, communicate and meet the proficiency levels set by the state. The
redesigning of professional development involves utilizing both monetary and
human resources effectively to provide teachers with the professional
development they need to promote student achievement.
The next strategy reinforces student achievement for struggling students.
The goal is to provide students who are “at-risk” with extended learning
opportunities. The opportunities include small group tutoring, extended-day and
summer school programs to allow all students an opportunity to be meet
proficiency of the state standards.
An emphasis on the utilization of technology is the fifth strategy.
Retooling of the schools’ technology allows teachers and students access to the
Internet for instructional purposes. The teachers and administrators can also use
the Internet for analyzing data to drive instruction in order to increase student
achievement.
The last strategy is restructuring of teacher compensation. The idea
behind this strategy is that teachers pay should be based on a knowledge and
skills-based pay system where the teachers are paid individually for what they

61
know and can do and include bonuses for improving student learning. Instead of
the normal step and column pay scale where teachers are paid on the basis of just
years of experience and education units. The rationale for a knowledge and skills-
based pay and bonuses is that teachers will strive to learn and implement research
based strategies from professional development trainings in order for students to
meet grade level standards and proficiency.
The Conceptual Framework with the six core strategies related to the
research questions is visually depicted in Table 4.
Table 4:
Relationship Between the Six Core Strategies and the Research Questions
Six Core Strategies
(6 R’s)

RQ 1: How are
personnel used for
the delivery of
professional
development?

RQ 2: How are
resource
allocation
decisions for
professional
development
determined?

RQ 3: How much
funding is directed
toward
professional
development and
from what source
do these funds
originate?

RQ 4: How is
professional
development used
to promote
organizational
capacity and
student
achievement?
1. Recalibrate
Goals
X X
2. Re-engineer
Schools
X X X X
3. Redesign
Teacher
Development
X X
X
X
4. Reinforce
achievement
X
5. Retool
Schools’
Technology
X
6. Restructure
Compensation
X X

62

Framework for Research Question One
The first research question asked, “How are personnel used for
professional development?” Two of the six core strategies from the conceptual
framework evidenced-based model provided the basis for data collection in
regards to how the Serrano Unified School District and Springfield personnel
were utilized for professional development. Re-engineering of schools focused
on how personnel and resources were effectively used to provide professional
development to the teachers to increase student achievement. Programs at the
school were examined to see how personnel were utilized in delivery of
professional development at the school site and district in reference to the
redesigning teacher development. Structured interviews were conducted with
multiple participants utilizing interview guides to understand how personnel were
used for professional development.
Framework for Research Question Two
The second research question asked, “How are resource allocation
decisions for professional development determined?” Structured interviews with
the multiple participants in conjunction with the three of the six core strategies
were used to address the allocation of resources for professional development.
The recalibrating of goals provided a basis for data collection regarding the
school’s goals for student achievement that included allocations of resources for
professional development. Additionally, re-engineering schools and redesigning

63
teacher development provided other ways to identify how the school determined
the allocations and resources that are targeted towards professional development.
Framework for Research Question Three
The third research question asked, “How much funding is directed toward
professional development and from what sources do these funds originate?”
Structured interviews using the interview guides and documents were reviewed
with the document guides in relation to three of the six core strategies from the
conceptual framework which were the basis of this research question. Re-
engineer schools provided a lens to determine the effectiveness of funding
allocations targeted at professional development. Redesigning teacher
development is another core strategy that links funding and types of funding
directed at increasing teachers’ knowledge and expertise in the classroom to
increase student achievement. Lastly, restructuring of teacher compensation was
utilized to assess how funding is used to compensate teachers for participating in
professional development programs.
Framework for Research Question Four
The fourth question asked, “How is professional development used to
promote student organizational capacity and student achievement?” All of the six
core strategies served as a foundation for this research question. Each of the six
core strategies emphasized the need for organizational capacity at the school site
to promote student learning. In addition, the focal point for all six core strategies

64
was the use of resources, allocations, and strategies to increase student
achievement. Structure interviews with multiple participants with the interview
guide were conducted to answer this research question. Additionally, documents
were analyzed with the document review guide to provide data in relation to the
research questions.
Data Collection Instruments
Two instruments were developed jointly by the research team to collect
data which addressed the four research questions under the lens of the
conceptual framework in relation to the impact of professional development at
the school site. In order to ensure that the research questions were adequately
addressed the instruments were created carefully and thoroughly. The
Interview Guides and the Document Review Guide were utilized to provide
the data for the study. Both of the data collection instruments were field
tested with subjects outside the sample to measure the effectiveness and
accuracy of the instruments.
Interview Guides

The interview guides reflect each research question and incorporated the
six core strategies from the conceptual framework to guide interviews from the
multiple participants. Each interview guide consisted of interview questions and
corresponding probes that were developed over the duration of several meetings.

65
The four interview guides (Appendix A) were utilized to conduct
interviews to study professional development, the interviews were conducted with
a total of ten individuals:
Superintendent
Assistant Superintendent, Elementary Education
Director of Personnel Services
Director of K-12 Educational Services
Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction
BTSA Supervisor
Principal, Springfield Elementary
2 lead teachers, Springfield Elementary
Outside professional development consultant
Structured interviews were conducted in 30 to 60 minute interviews from
the multiple participants. District participants were interviewed at the district
office, site level personnel were interviewed at the site, and the outside participant
was interviewed at a school site. Follow up questions and e-mail were allowed to
provide clarification.
Document Review Guide

The Document Review Guide (Appendix E) was designed to analyze
existing documents that relate to the research questions in the study. During the
collection and analyzing of the documents, the Document Review Guide was

66
utilized to link data to the research questions, the themes, and the conceptual
framework of the study. Data that was analyzed will consist of school, district,
and state documentation that relates to the study.
Data Collection Procedures
Data collection for this study was conducted between November 2006 and
March 2007. Prior to the collection of data, procedures were followed with
respect to gaining access to the school site and school district by requesting
permission from the Superintendent of SUSD. The researcher also meet with the
site principal to determine the procedure to conduct the site interviews.
The collection of data from the instruments was conducted over a 5 month
period. The information consent forms were given to all of those interviewed.
Interviews with the site teachers were held in two different days. The other
interviews were conducted at days and times convenient for the interviewees.
Documents were analyzed and sorted on an ongoing basis throughout the five
month period.
Data Analysis
The purpose of the study was to investigate how one school site within a
centrally managed school district determines the staff and funding levels for
promoting effective professional development that impacts student achievement.
Additionally, the study aimed to understand how the school allocated human and

67

financial resources for professional development. The study also evaluated the
school’s professional development practices in reference to the current
educational research.
Data collection was addressed and analyzed utilizing the four research
questions in relation to the purpose, themes and conceptual framework in the
following ways:
Qualitative Data
Ten interviews were conducted, taped, and transcribed. The transcriptions
were coded and sorted to identify the common themes related to the purpose of
the study, research questions aligned with the conceptual framework and
educational literature pertaining to the study.
Document Review Guide
Documents were reviewed and sorted using the Document Review Guide
and imputed into a spreadsheet in an effort to compare the data to the other data
that was collected. The analyzed data was categorized in association with the
research questions and the conceptual framework.
Data collection from the two instruments; interviews from a variety of
participants and analyzing a range of documents was triangulated to confirm
findings for internal validity (Patton, 2002).

68
The Interview Guides and Document Guide were field tested for reliability.
Furthermore, the consistency of using the Interview Guides and Document
Review Guide protocols ensured reliability of the study.
Summary
The research methodology that was used for the study is discussed in this
chapter. This discussion outlines the sample and population, the conceptual
framework in relation to the research questions, instrumentation, data collection
process, and the analysis of the data used for the study. The findings resulting
from the analysis of the data collected are provided in chapter four.

69

CHAPTER FOUR
Findings
Introduction
This chapter presents an analysis and discussion of the data collected and
the research findings for each research question. The purpose of the study was to
investigate how an identified school within a centrally managed school district
allocated human and financial resources to promote organizational capacity
through professional development to increase student achievement. The study
evaluated the professional development practices of the selected elementary
school and its respective school district to the study’s conceptual framework. The
data for the study was obtained through ten structured interviews and review of
relevant documents. The researcher interviewed the following district personnel
from Serrano Unified School District; Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent of
Elementary Education, Assistant Superintendent of Personnel, Director of K-12
Educational Services, Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction, and the BTSA
Supervisor. The Site Administrator and two teachers were interviewed from
Springfield Elementary. An outside consultant that works closely with the district
was interviewed. Also collected were district and site documents such as the
School Accountability Report Card (SARC), Single Plan for Student

70
Achievement, District Goals, Six Practices of a High Performing School, budget
documents, the district website, and the California Department of Education
website.
One conceptual framework was utilized in conjunction with the research
questions during the case study to examine and evaluate the allocation of
resources and effectiveness of professional development. The conceptual
framework incorporated the evidence-based model by Odden, Picus, Goetz, and
Fermanich (2006). The evidence-based model consists of six core strategies to
assist school districts in improving their educational programs. The authors argue
that an adequate education program should consist of the six core strategies “to
rethink, if not restructure, their entire educational program and reallocate all
current and any new resources to a restructured and more effective educational
program” (2006, p.4). The data obtained from the school site and the district

71
office was utilized to answer the following four research questions in relation to
the conceptual framework:
1. How are personnel used for professional development?
2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?
3. How much funding is directed towards professional development and
from what sources do these funds originate?
4. How is professional development used to promote organizational
capacity and student achievement?
Utilization of Personnel for the Delivery of Personnel for the Delivery of
Professional Development
Data for Research Question One
The first research question asked, “How are personnel used for
professional development?” Re-engineering schools and redesigning teacher
development were two of the core strategies from the conceptual framework
evidenced-based model that provided the basis for data collection in regards to
how the Serrano Unified School District and Springfield personnel were utilized
for professional development. In addition the data was analyzed to determine the
effectiveness of the professional development practices and personnel utilized for
professional development. Data collected from the various interviews and

72
documents both from the site and district level provided for the triangulation of
how personnel were utilized for professional development.
Utilization of Human Resources
Springfield Elementary and Serrano Unified School District value
professional development in relation to the improvement of teaching practices and
student learning outcomes. District goals aligned with the Six Practices of High
Performing Schools (Figure 1) drive the utilization of resources and
implementation of professional development for the school district and school
site. Targeted professional development is a key component of the Six Practices of
High Performing Schools which the district and school site use to guide them to
increased student achievement. The practices were developed collaboratively
with an outside consultant in 2001 and then adopted by the district. Even though
targeted professional development is delineated as one component, professional
development can exist in all the other areas.

73
Figure 1-Six Practices of High Performing Schools
Standards Based Curriculum and
Assessment
• Focus Standards
• Curriculum Mapping and Pacing
• Standards-Based Lesson Design
and Multi-Task Performances
• Standards-Based Portfolios
• Standards-Based Assessments
Aligned to State Tests
Research Based Strategy
Instruction
• Direct Instruction
• Cooperative Learning
• Expository Text Handling
• Problem-Solving
• Process Writing
• Reciprocal Teaching
• Specially Designed Academic
Instruction in English (SDAIE)
• Complex Instruction

Data Driven Decision Making
• Data Analysis
• Data Team Training
• Action Walks
• Implementation Review
• Single Plan for Student Achievement
Targeted Professional
Development
• Roles and
Responsibilities
• Expert Training
• On-Site
Coaching;
Demonstration,
Co-Teaching
• Feedback
• Collegial
Support
Achievement-Driven
Structure and Support
• Horizontal Teaming
• Vertical Teaming
• Flexible Scheduling
• Support Services
• Extended Learning
Opportunities
• Administrative
Coaching
Academic-Centered
Family and
Community
Engagement
• Parent
Workshops
• Student-led
Conferences
Note: Serrano’s Unified School District’s Model for High Performing Schools
The Six Practices of High Performing Schools are all woven together to
create a consistent model for all the schools in the district. After creating the
standards based curriculum and assessment, research based strategy instruction,
and data driven decision making practices; the outside consultants and district

74
agreed that professional development was an important part of the model. The
outside consultant stated the following:
We then went and said targeted professional development directly aligned
to firstly academic needs of students, and secondly the instruction needs of
teachers. We deviled more deeply into this, we became more consonant of
the research cause the research was saying to us that the one shot drive by
staff development if you would was not effective.

The same sentiment of the importance of sustained, targeted professional
development was stated in the various interviews. The Assistant Superintendent
of Elementary Education commented on the past practices of professional
development in the district:
Many years ago we had a cafeteria approach, whatever a teacher was
interested in they would sign up and go hear about a particular approach or
strategy or program and then leave that staff development and there was
no accountability for it. Over the years we realize that best practices really
narrow down to choosing a few well researched effective strategies and or
standards aligned material programs and then focusing all your energy on
really building capacity within the narrow framework. So we are looking
for depth rather than breath in our staff development.

An integral provider of targeted professional development for Springfield
Elementary is The K-6 Curriculum and Instruction department at the district
office. Serrano Unified School District is a centralized district which has a large
part in the professional development practices. The K-6 Curriculum and
Instruction department delivers, plans, and supports professional development for
all the elementary school sites. The department includes the Director of K-6
Instruction, a BTSA Supervisor, and twenty teachers on special assignment, also
called a program facilitator, or as the district informally calls them TOSAs. The

75
Director of K-6 Instruction explained how the personnel from the department are
utilized:
All school sites are assigned a program facilitator which is a teacher on
special assignment. Teachers on special assignment are assigned based on
their strengthens and some schools receive additional time with a teacher
on special assignment if they need intensive support. In addition each
school site has the option to have instructional strategy coaches and
principals get to determine school site leaders that serve in the capacity of
a coach. This year coaching focus has been on Direct Instruction,
Reciprocal Teaching, differentiated Instruction, as well as our ELD
program English Now. We also have Thinking Maps coaches.

The K-6 Curriculum and Instruction department offer professional development
throughout the school year. Training opportunities are available on the district’s
website so the teachers can sign up online. Some of the research based strategies
the district and the school site have focused on are Direct Instruction, Reciprocal
Teaching, Differentiated Instruction, English Now!, and Thinking Maps. Re-
engineering schools from the evidence-based model reinforces the importance of
utilizing resources effectively for implementation of research based strategies.
The district also offers support in the base programs such as Houghton Mifflin,
Harcourt Brace, and Language!. All of the professional development activities
are aligned with the state standards and base programs.
The various trainings are delivered by the department and some outside
consultants. The teachers on special assignment and the strategy coaches at the
school site provide a co-planning, co-teaching model for the teachers they are
working with once the professional development has been delivered. The

76
Assistant Superintendent of Elementary calls the model “…a trainer of trainer
model.” Every person interviewed was well aware of this model. The district and
school site both stressed the importance of follow through with coaches once the
teachers have attended their trainings.
The site administrator at Springfield utilizes the teachers on special
assignment for coaching and her own teachers at the school site. The district
personnel provide co-teaching, co-planning for teachers who need reinforcement
in a particular strategy, who are struggling, or interested in having a coach co-
plan, co-teach with them. There are two teachers on site who are the strategy
focused coaches at the school site who provide co-planning and co-teaching in the
focus areas from the Single School Plan which are differentiated instruction,
Direct Instruction, Reciprocal Teaching, writing process, and any other skill that
needs to be addressed. These teachers are released during their instructional day
to help a teacher co-teach a lesson once the co-planning has been put in place.
In addition to the teachers on special assignment and the strategy focused
coaches; the school has a leadership team which is a valuable component of
professional development at the school site. The leadership team is the principal
and a lead teacher from each grade level kindergarten through sixth grade. The
leadership team attended a series of trainings through the district called
Leadership Academy. They attended four trainings throughout the year with a
cohort of similar schools. Part of the training includes an Action Walk which is a

77
visit to another school and the teachers walk the classrooms to ensure that the
schools are implementing the strategies/curriculum. The Director of K-6
Curriculum and Instruction stated “Our main focus for district level staff
development is Leadership Academy.” In the past the Leadership Academy was
presented by outside consultants and district personnel. Presently the district has
taken control of the Leadership Academies. The focus for this year was on
developing the Single School Plan for Student Achievement with a focus on
professional development in the area of writing. One of the teachers interviewed
serves on the leadership team. She explained how the leadership team receives
the professional development training and then meets with her grade level. She
delivers the training either to her grade level during collaboration meetings or
with the whole team at a staff meeting. She stated the following about the
Leadership Academy she attended:
…it has been really focused more on a school plan and a vision that we
want to go towards and then I know we implemented the whole new on
demand writing and how we are going to be implementing the writing
process into daily plans versus the segmented week plan and so it has been
a lot of just learning about that and incorporating into our classrooms…

She also added that members of the leadership team will also provide co-planning
and co-teaching to the staff. The same teacher and another teacher were also
trained on Thinking Maps by an outside provider and then presented the training
to the staff. Thinking Maps is a research based strategy to help students organize
their thoughts. After training the whole staff she became the on site primary grade

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Thinking Maps coach. If the principal sees a teacher with a particular strengthen
she will ask them to either present to the staff or coach another teacher on site on
a research based strategy.
Other areas where coaching occurs on site is with the BTSA teachers and
the Resource Specialist which a Special Education teacher. All the new teachers
are supported by the BTSA program for two years. The BTSA Supervisor stated
the following:
I also use the TOSAs, they are also support providers and they are staff
developers for the BTSA program. As far as whole group inservicing and
they are also available for small group or individual staff development for
BTSA teachers.

So not only do the teachers on special assignment from the district support the site
but also give extra support as a BTSA provider to the new teachers. One of the
teachers interviewed emphasized how vital the BTSA professional development
and coaching was to her as a teacher. She explained how the program providers
supported and motivated her as a beginning teacher.
Special Education teachers have different needs than general education
teachers since their curriculum is different in Language Arts. The Resource
Specialist teacher interviewed discussed how she receives professional
development from the district in the Language! third edition program. This is a
state adopted intervention program for students who are two years below or more
in reading. She attended a five day training at the beginning of the year presented

79
by one of the district’s teacher on special assignment. She also has access to a
teacher in the district who is a Language! coach which she can either observe or
have individual coaching with in the curriculum.
The school site administrator also provides professional development
during staff meetings, leadership team meetings, and/or collaboration meetings.
She is trained in all the research-based strategies, standards based programs, and
gains knowledge from the Leadership Academy. All the site administrators attend
study group sessions where the Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction and
the teachers on special assignment present professional development to the
principals.
Views on the Effectiveness of Professional Development
The various participants were asked about their opinions on the
effectiveness of professional development at the district office and the school site.
Providing effective professional development is a key component of redesigning
teacher development. According to the evidence-based model in order to redesign
teacher development teachers must be given the tools to assist students in being
able to think, understand, problem solve, communicate, and meet the proficiency
levels set by the state. As stated before the teachers on special assignment,
teachers on site, the site administrator, and outside consultants provide
professional development to the staff at Springfield Elementary.

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Due to the nature of a centralized district professional development often
starts at the district office and then is filtered out to the school sites. The majority
of the participants interviewed agreed that the utilization of district and site
personnel play a bigger role than outside providers. The Superintendent stated the
following about the internal and external providers, “I think there is times when
you can’t be a prophet in your own land but also if you don’t develop your own
internal capacity it is hard to keep it going.” Through all the interviews both
internal personnel and external personnel were found to be effective for
professional development. They also all agreed that they gained knowledge
through the professional development activities which they felt translates to
student learning outcomes.
Internal Providers for Professional Development
Part of the district’s philosophy is to have consistency among classrooms and
school sites; the utilization of internal personnel creates consistency for all
students. The Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction stated:
I think it is most effective when we use our own people. Because they
have the same reference as the rest of the staff, they have been through the
same experiences….I think the culture of our district is fairly unique in the
centralized nature of being very consistent and we are very careful about
the message that we send out, because if we send down a watered down
message out to school sites, then it will be watered down even further.

The idea of one centralized message was very evident in all the interviews. The
teachers on special assignment and the strategy focused coaches at the site

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provide a wealth of knowledge and support to the teachers at the school sites. The
Assistant Superintendent of Elementary stated the following about them:
I think yes they are effective more so than ever because now we realize
that the most effective training and staff development is what takes place
in the course of the regular school day. So the more we can provide co-
planning, co-teaching we scaffold assistance with teachers, the more
effective it is.

The teachers and the site administrator all felt that the internal providers were
effective in the implementation of professional development. The internal
providers both from the district office and on site are helpful for the on site
administrator. When she needs assistance with one of her teachers or needs some
training at site she knows who to call and who will be the most effective. One
teacher discussed how difficult it was when she first started differentiated
instruction in her classroom where she was working with small groups at their
various reading levels. She found the teacher on special assignment to be very
knowledgeable and helpful co-planning and co-teaching with her. In reflecting on
the effectiveness of internal personnel for professional development she stated,
“So I think they are very beneficial and helpful to the staff and they are always
there when you need them.”
One area for growth that the on site administrator at Springfield was the
utilization of strategy focused coaches. She discussed that there needs to be a
level of comfort with teachers currently teaching on site coaching their peers. The
teachers need to be able to trust the on site coach and feel that they will not be

82
judged or evaluated. Also, releasing the strategy focused coaches to co-plan and
co-teach with teachers on site becomes difficult due to shortage of substitutes.
There must be time for the on site coaches to meet with the other teachers during
the work day. In addition the on-site coaches do not like to be away from their
own students when they are released too often because it impacts their classroom
instruction. The Assistant Superintendent of Elementary agreed that this is an
area that still needs improvement. There are many teachers receiving various
trainings but sometimes limited resources to provide the co-planning and co-
teaching components at the school sites.
Outside Providers for Professional Development
It is has been just the last six years or so that the district began utilizing
outside providers for professional development. Prior to this the district thought
they could provide sufficient professional development without the aide of others
but due to the size of the district not all the needs were being met. As the
accountability system increased for the teachers with NCLB, the district needed to
look at alternative resources for providing professional development. The district
began to hire external personnel and learned quickly how to be a partner with the
provider so there was consistency in the message being delivered to the teachers.
The Superintendent remarked on the hiring of external providers:
So In terms of using outside experts I think it is really important not to
bring them in and set them loose but they clearly have to understand what
you want to achieve, what you expect from them, what the district culture

83
is and how it works and you really have to bring them as a partner and you
can’t bring them as someone who comes in and spreads the gospel and
then goes, it really has to be a partnership.

The same view point was held by all the participants interviewed. The district and
the schools have worked with various consultants and researchers to build a
stronger professional development program. One particular outside consultant
company that they began partnering with and still work with today is called
Priority Learning. This company has done an exceptional job working in
conjunction with the district and schools. The consultants meet frequently with
the district personnel to plan for what is needed for professional development.
They provided professional development in the areas of the following research
based strategies: Direct Instruction, differentiated instruction, Reciprocal
Teaching, and Houghton Mifflin language arts support. The company also guided
the school sites with the Single School Plan for Achievement during Leadership
Academies in the past. The company has trained the teachers on special
assignment, teachers in the district, but also provided training and coaching for
site administrators. Now that the internal capacity has been built and the K-6
Department of Curriculum and Instruction has grown the need for the outside
consultant has decreased.
The site administrator and teachers at Springfield agreed that the outside
consultants were effective at the school site. The site administrator stated, “I
think they are inspirational….the outside consultants give a fresh perspective.”

84
One of the teachers explained how in the past the outside consultants were very
helpful in developing the Single School Plan for Achievement with the
Leadership Team. She stated the following about ALS:
Yes, I think Priority Learning is effective. There have been certain
workshops that I think have been more effective than others but I think
overall as a Priority Learning team has been effective.

The Resource Specialist explained that the outside consultants have provided very
little in the area of Special Education. She attends the research-based strategy
trainings that were given by the outside consultants. The company designed an
implementation tool that teachers can utilize when observing the Language!
program but the training for Special Education teachers takes place with district
personnel. She stated “I think it is good but there is still a lot of room for
improvement.”
Knowledge Gained from Professional Development
Everyone from the school site and the district level agreed that they gained
knowledge through the various professional development activities. The site
administrator and the teachers all felt very strongly that they were able to take
what they learned and apply the trainings to their teaching practices. Many of the
district office personnel also attend the various trainings so they know what the
teachers and site administrators are focusing on for the year. The district office
personnel gain insight on the research-based strategies and then have a strong

85
grasp of what is happening in the classrooms throughout the district. This goes
back to the district wanting to create alignment and consistency throughout all the
schools.
Many of the participants saw a correlation from the knowledge gained
from professional development activities translating into student outcomes. The
teachers at Springfield Elementary have seen a difference with their students’
progress in the classroom utilizing the various strategies. One teacher commented
on the implementation of Thinking Maps:
…even with the whole thinking maps it really lays out and organizes ways
for students to think and help them visualize what they are doing since the
majority of students are visual learners.

Another teacher and the site administrator discussed how the staff and district
have been trained to utilize data at the Leadership Academies. The site
administrator views the professional development as having an impact on student
outcomes as “evident with our scores that we’ve had that students are acquiring
more of the curriculum.” Having training in how to analyze the data has helped
them learn how well the students are learning the concepts presented and where
they need to improve. Then the teachers can apply the appropriate strategies or
curriculum that is needed to help the students continue with their progress.
The teacher stated the following:
…because a lot of it is data driven and then we’ve gotten a lot of ways to
look at data at meetings and then decide if we are going to keep teaching,
re-teaching more than what our curriculum allows or are we going to
move on.

86

The Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction has visited the majority of
the elementary schools and sees consistency in instructional delivery and the
programs being utilized in the classroom. She feels strongly that this will have a
positive outcome on student achievement; she emphasized this in her statement:
…because I feel that we as a district provide all of the tools that are
necessary to have students achieve is really the application being able to
see that they are internalized by teachers and applied will definitely lead to
student achievement.

The Assistant Superintendent of Elementary explained the difficulty in
determining the effect of professional development related to student outcomes
but stated “we do see that our students are moving forward in the skills and tested
skills.”
Other participants emphasized that teachers needed to be held accountable
for what they were learning at the trainings in order to increase student outcomes.
Changing practice and habits in teachers is not always an easy task. If the
teachers do not implement what they have learned, the coaching is not evident,
and the site administrator does not hold them accountable; then there may be little
effect from the trainings. The site administrator at Springfield observes in the
classrooms on a daily basis and does hold the teachers accountable. She sees the
consistency in the programs and implementation of the research based strategies.

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Evaluation of Allocation Practices
Based upon the enrollment and demographic data, the human resource
allocation practices of Springfield Elementary were evaluated in relation to the
evidence-based model. Table 5 offers a visual comparison of the evidence-based
recommendations proposed by Odden and Picus’ (2006) in the Washington
Learns: Successful District Study.
Table 5:
Comparative Analysis of Evidence-Based Standard to Current Human Resource
Allocation Practices of Springfield Elementary
428 Students (262 K-3; 166 4-6)
48% Free and Reduced Price Lunch (196)
43% ELL (183)
School Element
Washington
Standard
Washington
Recommendatio
n
Springfield
Elementary
Core Teachers
K-3: 15
4-5: 25
17.5 18
Specialist Teachers 20% more 3.5 0
Instructional
Facilitators/Coaches
1:200 2.1 0
Tutors for struggling
students
1 for every 100
poverty students
4.1 0
ELL Teachers
1 for every 100
ELL students
1.7 0
Extended Day
2 hour/day for ½
of FRPL
students at 1:15
3.4 0
Summer School
Six week
session for ½ of
FRPL students
at 1:15
3.4 0
Special Education
Model would
generate 4 FTE
teacher positions
4 1
Total Teachers 39.7 19
Note: Adapted from Odden and Picus’ Washington Learn: Successful District Study Model

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Springfield Elementary does not have all the human resource allocations
in place compared to the allocations from the Washington Model in Table 5. One
key resource allocation that is missing in professional development is the on-site
coaches. The study recommends having two on-site coaches that are free to
provide coaching during the day since they do not have their own classroom. The
school site does have strategy focused coaches but they are current classroom
teachers that have to be released in order to provide coaching. The site
administrator did hire a teacher to provide intervention for students at risk during
the school day and after school. Some other interventions were offered to
students who were struggling but not to the degree that the study recommends.
The Language! program is a valuable reading intervention for students who are
two years below in reading and was conducted during the day for students in
grades three through six. Summer school was provided for a four week session
for students who are at risk and for English Language Learners (ELL). Summer
school classes were smaller during the summer as the study recommends. The
study recommends additional teachers for ELL students but the English Now!
program was offered to second language learners during the day with the
classroom teacher. There was only one Resource Specialist at Springfield
Elementary for twenty-nine students. The study recommends have an additional
three teachers to work with the students in the Resource Specialist Program.

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Decision-making for the Allocation of Professional Development Resources
Data for Research Question Two
The second research question asked, “How are resource allocation decisions for
professional development determined?” As with question one the two strategies
that guided the question were redesigning and re-engineering schools. A third
core strategy, recalibrating goals, was emphasized to determine if the school and
the district utilized a set of goals go make decisions in relation to professional
development. In conjunction with looking at the goals the question also focuses
on how and who makes the decisions for allocating resources question. Data
collected from the various interviews and documents both from the site and
district level provided for the triangulation of how decisions were made in
allocating resources for professional development.
Decision-making Rationale
Serrano Unified School District personnel work as a team to make
decisions about how resources are allocated for professional development. The
district vision is the over arching umbrella in making these decisions. The vision
is supported by the district’s and school’s goals alignment with the Six Practices
of a High Performing School. There are various stakeholders both from the
district and the school site who had an impact on deciding how resources would
be allocated for professional development. Data collected found that many of the

90
decisions on how resources are allocated for professional development relied
upon student achievement data both at the district and the school site.
Vision for Learning
The district’s mission statement is the broad vision for learning which is a
commitment to (School Accountability Report Card, 2006, p.1):
• Provide an educational program focusing on student achievement
• High Standards
• to live a productive life
Opportunities for all students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary In
order to meet the commitment the district ensures that students will be involved in
a comprehensive curriculum program intended to meet the goals set by the
district. The belief is that if students can achieve the goals set for them they will
have various opportunities to choose from upon high school graduation. Such
opportunities include “four-year colleges and universities, technical education, or
a skilled career.” (SARC, 2006, P.1). The Superintendent stressed how important
these opportunities are for students and she commented how the goals shape the
students outcomes:
In order to do that we developed two district goals that are very specific in
to which are both measurable and measurable at all levels, at the district
level, at the school level, at the classroom level which would be the
teacher level and then at the student level.

Two very precise district goals were created over the last few years. The
district has two main goals that support the mission which drive the decisions for

91
allocation of resources for professional development (Figure 2). The evidence-
based model emphasizes the importance of recalibrating goals. Goals should be
long term and be focused on 90% of the students achieving proficiency standards.
Serrano Unified School District’s goals are long term and are created so all
students will succeed.
Figure 2
District Goals
District Goal #1
Students in our district five years or longer will meet grade-level proficiency
in core academic subjects as measured by the California Standards Test
(CST).
• Students will increase a minimum of one performance level per year.
• In progressing toward “Proficient,” students at “Far Below” will
progress in 1 year to “Below,” and those at “Below” in 1 year to
“Basic;” those at “Basic” will progress in 2 years to “Proficient.”
• All grade-level proficient students will maintain the “Proficient”
performance level.
• No student will drop in academic performance level in progressing
toward or maintaining “Proficient.”

District Goal #2

All English Learners will advance one level per year in English language
proficiency until English proficient as measured by the state California
English Language Development Test (CELDT).
• Students will gain one overall proficiency level annually until they
reach English proficiency.
• Beginning students will move to Early Intermediate, Early
Intermediate will move to Intermediate, Intermediate will move to
Early Advanced, and Early Advanced will move to Advanced.
• Those reaching English proficient level will maintain it until
reclassified FEP.
• Local ELD assessments will be used during the school year to
monitor progress
Note: Serrano Unified School District’s District Goals (2007)

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The first goal explains how all the students each year will make progress from one
CST band to the next and meet “proficiency” after being a student in the district
for five years. The second goal addresses the English Language Learner (ELL)
population since students with a second language comprise 46.7 of the district’s
population. This goal is designed for ELL students to progress one performance
level on the CELDT assessment each year until they are reclassified.
A K-12 instructional team made up of the Superintendent, Assistant
Superintendents of Elementary and Secondary, Director of K-12 Educational
Services, Directors of K-6 and 7-12 Curriculum and Instruction, Director of
Special Education, Director of Personnel, and the Evaluation and Research
department helped in the creating of the goals. The instructional team spent many
hours designing the two goals. A statistician was hired to help them formulate
targeted goals to drive student achievement. The district team felt that the goals
should be more than meeting the federal and state mandates of NCLB. They did
not just want the API and AYP to be the only focus but as the Superintendent
stated goals should be based on “…what do we really feel strongly about what we
should be doing for our kids.” After the initial meetings were held to formulating
the goals; the district team invited principals, teachers, and other personnel to help
in the formation of the goals. It has been just over the last three years that these
goals have been fully implemented and used to drive professional development,
classroom instruction, and student outcomes.

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Determination of Resource Allocation for Professional Development
Both the district team and the school site make decisions on the allocation
of resources for professional development. The majority of the decisions are
based on the following stated by the Director of K-12 Education:
We look at the district goals and we look at the components of the six
effective practices of the single plan that works with the district goals
and the data of course the data driven is part of the components.

The instructional team analyzes student achievement data taken from the CSTs,
CELDT, and the benchmark assessments the students take throughout the year.
The benchmarks assessments are given four times a year for grades second
through sixth. Language Arts and Math are the two areas in which the students
are assessed. The benchmark assessments and the other data provide the district
team with a wealth of information. Research and evaluation has found that there
is a high correlation between the CST data and benchmark assessments. As the
instructional team analyzes the data they identify strengthens and weaknesses of
the students and determine of the district goals are being met.
Since the district is centralized many of the decisions in regards to
professional development begins at the district office. The K-12 instructional
team meets on a regular basis to analyze the student data in relation to the district
goals to determine what the students need to make progress. First they look at
professional development trainings that will support the base programs and
research-based strategies. Then the team prioritizes based on the data and the

94
needs at the school sites. The decisions for professional development are data
driven as stated by the Director of K-12 Educational Services “…we prioritize the
strategies first, we prioritize based on the data what the strategy or focus is going
to be and then we match the resources to it.” District goals impact these decisions
as stated by the Director of Personnel “Every time we meet and make decisions
we ask ourselves to what way is this helping us achieve our goals.” The team also
looks at research through articles and/or books to ensure that the strategies they
choose for professional development are research based. There are so many
different professional development opportunities in education today so they want
to ensure that the professional development is targeted to the needs of the teachers
and students.
Once the priorities are set for professional development, then the different
members identify the needs from each department to deliver the professional
development. The Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction determines how
many teachers on special assignment she is going to need and if there will be a
need to hire an outside consultant to help with the professional development. The
BTSA Supervisor works closely with the K-6 department since the teachers on
special assignment provide BTSA support and supplement the program. So the

95
BTSA program needs to be taken into account when deciding on resource
allocation. The BTSA provider stated:
…when I want to utilize the support providers-program facilitators to do
the staff development, I have to go through channels on that. K-6 and 7-
12 want me to align to our district goals and our district philosophies.

In terms of providing substitutes for all the trainings and on site coaching the
Director of Personnel works closely with the K-6 department. She feels very
strongly that the allocation of resources is a collaborative effort:
…in cabinet we will have detailed conversations K-12 and educational
meetings and conversations on how are we going to utilize our support and
where are we going to put our financial focus.
After the different department determines their needs they meet again as a
team and the Director of K-12 Educational Services provides them with the fiscal
allocation. She states:
The resource allocation is discussed and then we look at the numbers that
we have for money we have many pots of money and we try to match
those pots appropriately to what we want to do. It could be Title One, it
could be Title Two, Title Three, Title Four, Title Five, School
Improvement, could be EIA, it could be School Safety Funding, it could
be a variety of different resources. We to try not to let the money be the
thing that holds us back but the focus of the staff development and then
figure out which resource will make that happen with the federal and state
law.

Throughout the interviews the participants felt that money was not an issue. They
felt that the K-12 Educational Services department does an effective job not
limiting professional development due to funding. Since she utilizes many

96
different pots of money and the professional development is targeted; the district
is able to fund the programs they think will be most effective to meet the district
goals.
At Springfield Elementary the leadership team attends the district’s
Leadership Academies. Information is then brought back to the school site.
Beyond this training the school site has discretion on what the teachers attend for
professional development. In reference to making decisions on allocation of
resources for professional development at the school site the site administrator
stated, “There is a portion of the district decides and then there is a part that is
discretionary.” Both of the teachers felt that the district made the decisions on the
professional development but the school site then received the opportunity to
choose which trainings or coaching best fit their needs.
The site administrator and the Leadership Team meet on a regular basis to
analyze data for their school. They utilize the district benchmark assessments,
CSTs, and CELDT data to determine what the needs are for the school site. A
survey is given to the staff asking them what areas they need assistance and more
support. From there the leadership team and the site administrator take the data
and the information from the teachers to make the decisions of how to allocate
resources for professional development. District goals and the Six Components of
High Performing Schools guide the Single Plan for Student Achievement which
contains the professional development plan. The team decides which professional

97
development trainings are most beneficial for their teachers to promote student
achievement. The site administrator also receives input from the School Site
Council. The parents give input on the teaching practices that take place at
Springfield.
Professional Development Funding
Data for Research Question Three
The third research question asked, “How much funding is directed toward
professional development and from what sources do these funds originate?” Re-
engineering schools, re-designing teacher development, and re-structuring teacher
compensation were the core strategies utilized to evaluate the question. The
purpose of this question was to discover how much funding was dedicated to
professional development and from what funding sources were utilized to
implement professional development. Data collected from the various interviews
and documents both from the site and district level provided for the triangulation
of how personnel were utilized for professional development.
Dedication of Funds for Professional Development
Professional development is funded both by the school district and the
school site. The district receives $6,428.00 per student which mainly funds
salaries, benefits, special education, and operations. Categorical funds from the
state and federal budgets provide the money to fund professional development.
Every school site in the Serrano Unified School District has a school budget.

98
Once the district and the school site decide on the professional development they
would like to implement, they look at the various budgets to fund the programs.
Teachers are compensated for attending professional development trainings
outside of their work day. The district pays for a majority of the professional
development.
Funding for Professional Development
At Springfield Elementary the site administrator has two categorical
budgets that fund the programs and operations at the school site. The budgets are
determined by the number of students at the school site and the number of
students on free and reduced lunch. She has a Title One budget of $90,976.00
which is based on the number of students who are on free and reduced lunch
which is 44.6% of the student population. The other budget she utilizes is the
School Library Improvement Plan. In this budget she has $50,166.00. The site
administrator thought she dedicated approximately 20% of the budgets towards
professional development but the allocation of financial resources were lower
than what she thought. When looking at the data in Table 6, out of the two
categorical funds that total $141,142 only about $10,699 which is 7.6% of the
total of thecategorical funds are spent on professional development.

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Table 6:
Springfield’ s 2006-2007 Professional Development Allocations
Resources Purchased Expenditures
Teacher Release Days (Substitute Pay) $4,356
Program Training and Materials $2,000
Extra Duty Pay $4,343
Total Professional Development
Expenditures

$10,699

Note: Data collected from interview data with site administrator and Springfield’s Single Plan for
Student Achievement

Since the district provides the trainings through the teachers on special
assignment and outside consultants the main portion of funds at the site pay for
the substitutes or extra duty pay (Table 5). The teachers are released from the
classroom to attend a variety of trainings during the school year. On site strategy
focused coaches are also released during the day to coach another teacher on staff.
If staff development training occurs after school the teachers are compensated
with extra duty pay that comes out of the school budget.
On occasion the site administrator does pay for an outside consultant to
present training to the staff. Each year the site administrators are allowed to have
an all day staff development training at the school site before the school year
begins. The district offers a whole week of staff development during Super Week
which is prior to the students’ arrival. The Thursday of this week is reserved for
school sites to have their own trainings with their staffs. The site administrator at
Springfield Elementary takes advantage of these days. This past Super Week she
had the teachers trained in Direct Instruction at the school site. She pulled her

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funds and worked with another school to pay for the training. So both schools
attended the training together. The total cost for the training for Springfield
Elementary was $2,000.00. The training was followed up by using funds to pay
the on site strategy focused coaches to coach the teachers during the school day
on what they had learned at the training. The teachers were unaware of how much
money went into paying for professional development but knew that the funds
originated from the categorical funds.
The Director of K-12 Educational Services is in charge of allocating the
categorical funds for all the district programs including professional development.
The categorical funds are directed towards funding the teachers on special
assignment and the outside consultants. Director of K-12 Educational Services
explained how the funding for professional development is dispersed and the
categorical programs that are utilized:
Actually when you think about the teachers on special assignment, their
whole role is professional development and so a large percentage of all
those different budgets support salaries of those teachers special
assignment they are multi-funded from different pots as I just mentioned
but each one like Title Two is from the Highly Qualified Teacher we
utilize that, Title One has funding for Highly Qualified Teacher plus the
district focus, Title Three is to support your effective strategies for
teachers in working with the English Language Learners so it is your
Emergency Impact Aide-EIA, so all of them provide resources for
professional development.

She estimates that the district spends approximately ten million dollars from the
categorical funds on professional development mainly funding the teachers on
special assignment and the outside providers.

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BTSA funding also pays for some of the teachers on special assignments
salaries since they are BTSA providers. The BTSA supervisor has about a million
dollar budget and approximately the district receives $8,000.00 per BTSA
participant. So the BTSA funding pays for about thirty-five percent of the
teachers on special assignment salaries. Most districts utilize and pay classroom
teachers to be BTSA providers which can be costly. Having the teachers on
special assignment fulfill the role of the BTSA provider is a creative to way to
multi-fund positions and maximize costs.
Teacher Compensation for Attending Professional Development
During the interviews participants were asked about their thoughts on a
restructuring teacher compensation based on a knowledge and skills-based pay
system where the teachers are paid individually for what they know and can do
including bonuses for improved student learning. The majority of participants
thought it would be an interesting concept and could only be effective if it was
carefully constructed. One of the teachers at the school site thought it would
create problems amongst staff members. Presently, the teachers at Springfield
Elementary are paid from a steps and columns pay rate.
Teachers are compensated for attending professional development outside
their workday at Springfield Elementary. Teachers are paid their teacher hourly
rate of $42.46 when the training is during the summer, after school, or on a

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Saturday. The Director of K-12 Educational Services commented on teachers
receiving compensation for attending professional development:
They have different kinds of opportunities to be paid; they have a district
fifteen hour stipend which they can choose for their own professional
development. Then we have a categorical stipend where schools can set
aside money for teachers to receive training, district focused training at the
school site and then we also pay for example we have paid hourly when
we were putting in the English Now program….So there is a variety of
things, if it is a district focus then you will see the money goes from the
district pot for teacher hourly or for substitutes.

As the teachers at Springfield Elementary choose the professional development
offered by the district during Super Week or at the district office then they use the
hours for the district stipend. The district stipend comes from the district’s budget
not the school site. When the site administrator has an after school training or
training at the school site then the extra duty money is paid out of her budget and
is not part of their fifteen hour stipend.
Evaluation of Springfield’ s Allocation Practices
Based upon the enrollment and demographic data, the resource allocation
practices of Springfield Elementary were evaluated in relation to Odden and
Picus’s (2006) evidence-based model. Table 7 offers a visual comparison of the
evidence-based recommendations set forth by the Washington Learns: Successful
District Study and Springfield’s allocation practices. The allocations are from
both Title One and School Library Improvement funds.

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Table 7:
Comparative Analysis of Evidence-Based Standard to Current Financial Resource
Allocation Practices of Springfield Elementary
428 Students (262 K-3; 166 4-6)
48% Free and Reduced Price Lunch (196)
43% ELL (183)
School Element
Washington
Standard
Washington
Recommendation
Springfield
Elementary
Substitutes
10 days per
teacher at $121
per day
$48,037 $4,356
Pupil Support Staff
1 for every 100
poverty students
4.1 0
Non-Instructional aides 2.0 0
Instructional Aides (not
special education)
0 2
Librarians/media specialists 1 1
Principal 1 1
Assistant principal 0 0
School Site Secretary 2 1
Funds for Professional
Development beyond the ten
additional contract days and
the facilitators
$100 per pupil $42,800 $4,243*
Technology $250 per pupil $107,000 0
Instructional Materials,
equipment including
textbooks
$140 per pupil $59,920 $58,723
Student Activities $200 per pupil $85,600 0
Operations and Maintenance $609 per pupil $260,652 $4517
Note: Adapted from Odden and Picus’ Washington Learn: Successful District Study Model
*Extra Duty Pay for teachers attending professional development trainings
From the information presented in the above table, it appeared that
Springfield Elementary was not allocating resources in the same pattern as
suggested in the as identified by the Washington Model. Almost all of
Springfield’s expenditures were significantly less than that recommended through
the evidence-based model. The school site’s main expense is for substitutes to

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release the teachers for professional development. The allocation of resources is
different because SUDS provided the majority of the funding for professional
development instead of the school site.
Promoting Organizational Capacity and Student Achievement through
Professional Development
Data for Research Question Four
The fourth research question asked, “How is professional development
used to promote student organizational capacity and student achievement?” Each
of the six core strategies serve as a foundation for this research question.
Interviews with the school site and district personnel were utilized to evaluate
how the district utilizes professional development to develop organizational
capacity. The data from the SARC, The California of Education Website, the
district’s data base, and interviews were analyzed to determine if professional
development had an effect on student scores.
Professional Development Utilized to Promote Organizational Capacity
Collaboration is instrumental in building organizational capacity both at
the school site and the district office. Collaboration meetings at Springfield
Elementary are built into the work day. The site administrator and the teachers
worked together to build collaboration into the week by creating a minimum day

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on Wednesdays and changed the instructional minutes for the rest of the week.
The teachers meet with one another every Wednesday for an hour or more each
week.
The collaboration meetings allow time for the Leadership Team at the
school site to deliver professional development. Each week the topic of the
meetings is pre-determined from the Leadership Team and the site administrator.
Leadership Team delivers what they have learned at the district Leadership
Academies. Since this year the focus was on writing they have brought back
information on student writing and shared it with their grade level. As other
teachers attend trainings they will share the information with the staff at
collaboration or staff meetings. Having the teachers bring back what they have
learned helps build organizational capacity and the teachers have experts on staff
that they can rely on for support. One of the teachers on the Leadership Team
explained some of the topics for collaboration:
Every Wednesday we collaborate in the grade level and the leadership
team comes together and before we collaborate before the next month we
will come together and decide what areas need to be discussed I know
CSTs are coming up a lot of it has been analyzing the Language Arts
blueprints and the Math blueprints and then we will come together as a
grade level and discuss which ever topics we feel as a leadership team was
vertical teaming but we do implement it into our monthly collaborations
here and there and when a lot of times we will look at writing because
writing is such a there is no real set grade for a particular grade for a paper
so we will meet for vertical writing scoring.

The staff finds collaboration beneficial and effective. Time set aside during the
work day allows them to meet with their grade level members or once a month

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with other grade levels to vertically team. Teachers also analyze student data
from the benchmark assessments, CSTs, and CELDT. The Resource Specialist
also collaborates with the different grade levels since the resource students are
kindergarten through sixth.
Another way the school uses professional development to develop
organizational capacity is the utilization of the strategy focused coaches. The
strategy focused coaches have been trained in Direct Instruction, Differentiated
Instruction, and Reciprocal Teaching. Two other teachers are coaches for
Thinking Maps support. They are all available to the teachers for co-planning
and/or co-teaching. There are many experts on staff that teachers can work with
internally if they need assistance.
The site administrator collaborates with the Leadership Team at the
Leadership Academy and at her site Leadership Team meetings. She also attends
the various collaboration meetings on Wednesdays. Not only does she collaborate
at the school site but she also collaborates with fellow site administrators and
district office personnel. She meets once with a small group of site administrators
from similar schools to discuss instructional programs and daily operations at the
school sites. One designated site administrator from her small group attends an
advisory meeting on current programs and issues with the Assistant
Superintendent of Elementary and the Director of K-6 Curriculum and
Instruction. The designee then brings back information to the small group. The

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site administrator also attends a study group throughout the year which is made up
of site administrators and lead by the Director of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction.
Each year the group studies a research based book. In addition to this teachers on
special assignment will provide professional development for the site
administrators that correlate with what the teachers are attending.
District personnel collaborate with each other frequently. K-12
Instructional Team meets weekly but many of the participants stated that they
meet with one another sometimes on a daily basis informally. The Assistant
Superintendent of Elementary commented on how often they collaborate:
Constantly, the paper part of our jobs are done in the evenings/weekends
because our day is spent almost everyday throughout the day meeting in
subgroups or larger groups, updating our progress, identifying new needs,
identifying ways to meet those needs.

Collaboration serves as a time for the team to make decisions on professional
development together. The Superintendent commented on collaborating with
administrators at the district office:
Through cabinet in terms of sharing of things, through cabinet which
encompasses all the departments of the district, through our K-12
Instruction Team which is our Assistant Superintendents over secondary
and elementary and our Directors of Instruction and K-12 Ed. Services
which has a huge role in it and our data folks and that team of folks are
always pulling together just say okay what is the data telling us, what are
we going to do, how are we going to approach this, Business in terms of

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okay this is what we need to do, how are we going to fund it and finance
it, how are we going to set up priorities in terms of our budget, so all day
long.

Overall all the participants feel that having time to collaborate was beneficial in
planning and delivering professional development.
Professional Development Linked to Student Learning Outcomes
Connecting the effectiveness of professional development to student
learning outcomes is difficult. All of the participants interviewed agreed that they
thought there was a correlation between targeted professional development and
students doing better on their test scores. They also felt that it was hard to
measure. The Superintendent made the following remark about linking
professional development to student learning outcomes:
Absolutely, there is no doubt, I mean if it is a proven strategy and you do
it with fidelity overtime absolutely usually the problem is not knowing
what to do it is the people don’t do it or don’t do it with fidelity. So you
use the strategy but you don’t use it the way it was designed. It is like
taking an antibiotic and only take two of them when you are supposed to
take ten don’t wonder why you are still sick. So no doubt and our data
certainly shows that we know our classrooms where the teachers are using
strategies, good sound strategies and we’ve trained them on fidelity and
you can see their kids do far better than classrooms where we don’t see the
same fidelity.

This same viewpoint was shared by the other participants. The district personnel
and school site personnel feel confident in the research based strategies that are
being implemented because the student data was showing that students needed
assistance in certain areas. In order to get results the strategies must be
implemented with consistency and alignment to the district goals.

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At Springfield Elementary the students have made steady progress over
the years. Their current API from the 2006 test scores is 804 compared to 787 in
2005 (California Department of Education, 2007). One area that the site
administrator and teachers focused on for the 2005-2006 school year was the use
of Direct Instruction strategies during differentiated instruction. The school had
implemented a new language arts program in 2003 called Houghton Mifflin. In
the program there were many resources on how to meet the needs of all students
during small group instruction utilizing differentiated instruction. In looking at
student data and classroom observations the staff at Springfield realized that not
all of the students were where they needed to be in reading (Table 8).
Table 8:
CST English-Language Arts results for Springfield Elementary
2
nd

Grade
3
rd
Grade 4
th
Grade
5
th
Grade 6
th
Grade
2004
% Advanced
16% 9% 13% 18% 26%
% Proficient
36% 29% 25% 42% 38%
2005
% Advanced
27% 13% 31% 15% 21%
% Proficient
8% 25% 22% 23% 40%
2006
% Advanced
10% 23% 33% 28% 15%
% Proficient
24% 11% 30% 23% 31%
Note: Data collected from the California Department of Education, 2007
The district was also aware that the differentiated instruction was not
being fully implemented and the students needed extra support in the classrooms.
So the district presented trainings for the leadership team members in this area
and the team brought back the information to the different grade levels. The site
administrator and teachers also wrote this into their Single School Plan. After a

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year of faithfully implementing differentiated instruction the proficiency scores in
grades third, fourth, and fifth increased. The site administrator and teachers felt
that the differentiated instruction did have an effect on the students.
Another area of the school site focused on was the English Now program.
This program is for students who are second language students. The ELL
population is 41.7% of the students who attend the school. Students who are
designated ELL students received the English Now program according to their
CELDT level. The CELDT data from the district and the school site (Table 9)
showed that ELL students were not making adequate progress on the CELDT
assessment. The district decided to implement the English Now program at all the
elementary school sites. Specific teachers who would be delivering the
instruction were trained in the program at the district office. The program began
in the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year. Students spent thirty minutes
every day in the program. The test scores from the CELDT assessment in the fall
of 2006 showed a dramatic increase in the students’ scores in all grade levels.

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Table 9:
CELDT results for Springfield Elementary
2
nd
Grade 3
rd
Grade 4
th
Grade 5
th
Grade 6
th
Grade
2004
% Advanced
18% 7% 14% 26% 17%
% Early Adv.
38% 15% 34% 42% 58%
%Intermediate
33% 33% 34% 21% 4%
%Early Int.
10% 37% 10% 5% 13%
%Beginning
3% 7% 7% 5% 8%
2005
% Advanced
3% 8% 9% 4% 36%
% Early Adv.
31% 21% 41% 44% 43%
%Intermediate
54% 50% 27% 36% 14%
%Early Int.
9% 21% 14% 8% 7%
%Beginning
3% 0% 9% 8% 0%
2006
%Advanced
21% 7% 30% 38% 33%
%Early Adv.
29% 24% 33% 38% 46%
%Intermediate
32% 41% 23% 5% 8%
%Early Int.
13% 14% 3% 10% 4%
% Beginning
5% 14% 10% 10% 8%
Note: Data collected from the Serrano Unified School District’s Data Director, 2007
Since the site administrator has been at the school site for five years she is
now looking back at some past practices and making sure the teachers are still
implementing them in the classrooms. The school site continues to analyze data
on a regular basis utilizing Data Director. The analysis from the benchmark
assessments throughout the year show the teachers where the students’
strengthens and weaknesses are in language arts and math. Then the teachers can
adjust their teaching strategies to the students needs.
Discussion
Six Core Strategies Conceptual Framework
One conceptual framework was utilized in conjunction with the research
questions during the case study to examine and evaluate the allocation of

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resources and effectiveness of professional development. The conceptual
framework incorporated the evidence-based model by Odden and Picus (2006).
The six core strategies the authors have recommended to improve student
achievement are:
1. Recalibrate goals
2. Re-engineer schools
3. Redesign teacher development
4. Reinforce achievement
5. Retool schools’ technology
6. Restructure teacher compensation
These core strategies from the evidence-based model served as a guide for the
research questions to investigate how an identified school within a centrally
managed school district allocated human and financial resources to promote
organizational capacity through professional development to increase student
achievement.
Recalibrate Goals
Recalibrating goals focuses on the utilization of goals to promote student
achievement. Professional development opportunities for teachers at Springfield
Elementary stem from Serrano Unified School District’s two main district goals
for student achievement. Students that attend the school five or more years were
expected to meet proficiency levels on the CSTs both in language arts and math.

113
English Language Learners were expected to meet proficiency levels on the
CELDT assessment after being at the school for five or more years. The district
goals are the foundation of the school’s Single Plan for Student Achievement.
The Six Practices of a High Performing School provided key components of the
plan. The plan is based on decisions the site administrator and teachers made
utilizing data from the CSTs, district benchmark assessments, and on-going
classroom assessments. School goals are made after comparing the data to the
district goals.
Site personnel make decisions regarding professional development from
the data and the school’s goals. The site has a number of targeted, research-based
strategies to choose from the department of K-6 Curriculum and Instruction to aid
the teachers in meeting the students’ needs based on the goals. The Learning First
Alliance (Togneri, 2003) study found that districts and schools were successful
because they used research-based principles of professional development, district
goals, needs based on student learning and data to guide professional
development.
Re-engineer Schools
In the study re-engineer school was the lens to see how the school utilized
their resources and access to research-based strategies. Teachers at Springfield
Elementary had access to a variety of resources for professional development.
Teachers on special assignment from the district office, outside providers, the

114
leadership team, and the site principal all delivered professional development to
the staff. Research-based strategies such as Direct Instruction, Reciprocal
Teaching, Differentiated Instruction, Thinking Maps, and trainings in the base
programs were offered throughout the year.
On-site coaching was provided to the teachers after they attended a
training to reinforce what they learned. Galm and Perry (2004) found that schools
who had on-site coaches showed significant gains in student achievement. On-
site coaching was found to be effective and beneficial at Springfield Elementary.
The evidence-based recommendations set forth by the Washington Learns:
Successful District Study recommend that Springfield Elementary should staff two
on-site coaches according to the demographics and enrollment. The coaches
should be outside of the classroom so the teachers have daily access to them for
co-planning and co-teaching. The teachers at the school site do not have enough
accessibility to on-site coaches. Unfortunately, coaching is not always done due a
limited amount of time for the strategy focused coaches to be released from the
classroom and the teacher on special assignment is not always available to coach
every member on staff.
Garet et al. (2001) found that teachers who attended trainings together, had
a chance to collaborate and learn from one another increased their knowledge and
skills. The leadership team and the site principal attended the Leadership
Academies together and brought back the professional development to the staff.

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Teachers at the site had a unique chance to collaborate and share with each other
weekly together as a grade level or with vertically with other grade levels.
Collaboration consisted of analyzing data and professional development trainings
from various staff members.
In terms of providing financial resources for professional development the
school site felt that they had adequate funds to fund professional development.
The majority of the training was paid for by the district’s categorical monies. The
school site mainly had to pay for substitutes to release teachers for the trainings
and/or extra duty pay for teachers attending training outside their work day.
Redesign Teacher Development
Professional development is a critical strategy in redesigning teacher
development necessary for targeting resources to be transformed into effective
instructional practices for increasing student outcomes. The centralized nature of
Serrano Unified School District created professional development that was
consistent, sustained, and aligned to goals and the Six Practices of a High
Performing School. District personnel on the K-12 instructional team worked
collaboratively analyzing data and research-based strategies to help promote
student learning outcomes. The site administrator and staff at Springfield also
worked together collaboratively to prioritize the needs for professional
development based on the student outcomes.

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The main focus for professional development in the school plan was
Differentiated Instruction and helping meet the needs of the English Language
Learners. Student test scores increased the year after the Differentiated
Instruction and English Now! were implemented in the classroom. The teachers
and the site administrator also noticed a difference with the student in the
classrooms.
Reinforce Achievement
Reinforce achievement for students who are struggling is vital for
improved student achievement. At Springfield Elementary students struggling in
reading in grades three through sixth receive reading intervention during the day
with the Language! program. The goal of the program is to have students reading
with fluency and comprehension at their grade level. The Resource Specialist
teacher has received intense training in this area and coaching in this area to help
meet the needs of the at-risk students. Springfield Elementary also offers after
school tutoring but not as much as the Washington Study recommend. Students
who speak a second language receive a half hour of English acquisition every day
from the English Now! program that the teachers have been trained to implement.
The teachers also differentiate their instruction to meet the needs of all the
students throughout the base programs.

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Retool Schools’ Technology
Technology was a vehicle to access data for data-driven decision making
at Springfield Elementary. The school personnel utilized Data Director to access
the students’ data from CSTs, district benchmark assessments, and the CELDT.
After the teachers and site administrator accessed the data they were able to
disaggregate it to determine the students’ strengthens and weaknesses. This data
was very valuable for the site personnel to make effective decisions on
professional development, utilization of certain strategies for re-teaching, and
how to best meet the needs for the students.
Restructure Teacher Compensation
Some school districts are restructuring how teachers are compensated
based on skills and test scores. Overall the participants were hesitant on
implementing a skills based pay system. They were concerned about the structure
and fairness of a pay scale based on skills and test scores. Even though the
teachers at Springfield are on a traditional salary schedule of steps and columns,
teachers are still compensated for attending professional development trainings
that reflect the district and school goals. Teachers can receive up to fifteen hours
of teacher hourly pay for attending professional development outside the work
day. There were also other opportunities that the site administrator offered where
the teachers could receive extra duty pay for attending professional development
trainings.

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Summary
This chapter serves as a review of the findings, analysis, and interpretation
of data for this study. The data collected and analyzed provided evidence to
answer the study’s four research questions. Included in the findings was an
analysis of how professional development was delivered, implemented and
funded at a school site in a centralized district. The discussion addressed the four
research questions in the context of the conceptual framework and provided the
researcher’s reflection on connections to the literature. The study is summarized
in Chapter Five with conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for further
study.

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CHAPTER FIVE
Summary, Conclusions and Implications
Overview of the Problem
Standards-based reform and NCLB were created to increase student
achievement across the United States. Today teachers are held more accountable
to a higher standard due to NCLB. Teachers are responsible for delivery of the
state standards and ensuring students meet proficiency levels on the state
assessments that are aligned with the standards (Smith & Desimone, 2003).
Teachers are being requested to participate in systematic, continual improvement
of students’ educational experience in the classroom and the teachers’
accomplishments are connected to how well the students achieve (Elmore, 2002).
Professional development is a key component in training and supporting
teachers in the classroom. The design, delivery, access, and implementation of
professional development have changed over the years. In the past, professional
development was not presented to teachers strategically and with a sustained
purpose. Traditional inservice-based staff development designed as one-size fits
all for teachers has not been successful (Sparks & Hirsh, 1997).
There is an overwhelming amount of professional development activities
available to teachers. Districts and schools need to be strategic in their decisions
about professional development in order to meet the needs of the teachers and
students in the classroom. Professional development will have a little impact in

120
classroom practice unless it is effective in meeting these needs. An integral part
of quality teachers is providing teachers with effective professional development
that increases teacher knowledge and impact student outcomes (Bouffard & Little,
2004).
In determining quality professional development for teachers it is
important for districts and schools to evaluate their utilization of both human and
financial resources for professional development. Since the stakes are high in
education with NCLB, they also must consider if professional development will
have an impact on teacher learning and lead to increased student outcomes in the
classroom.
Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to investigate how an identified school within
a centrally managed school district allocates adequate resources toward
professional development programs to increase student achievement. The study
examined the school’s resource allocation, including human capital and to
determine where the funding originated. Furthermore, the evaluation process was
used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the schools professional
development programs as they compare to the evidence based model professional
development model in relation to student achievement.

121
Research questions guiding this study are:
1. How are personnel used for professional development?
2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?
3. How much funding is directed towards professional development and
from what sources do these funds originate?
4. How is professional development used to promote organizational
capacity and student achievement?
Methodology
Qualitative, descriptive-analytic case study research methods were used in
order to accomplish an in-depth investigation of a school site’s implementation of
professional development practice within a centralized managed school district
(Creswell, 2003). Interviews were conducted utilizing interview guides to
convey the details of the study through the viewpoint of the participants. In
addition, existing documents were analyzed using a document guide to collect
data related to the study. Both the interview guides and document review guides
were designed on the basis of the research questions and themes of the study
aligned with a conceptual framework.

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Sample and Population
This study focused on a single elementary school in a centrally managed
unified district (K-12) to learn how a school within a centrally managed school
district determined and implemented professional development programs for the
teachers at the school site to increase student achievement. Purposeful sampling
was utilized to make the selection on the basis that the school and the district have
both been recognized as high achieving and having an instructional improvement
plan that focus on increasing student achievement which includes implementation
of targeted professional development.
The selected school was also purposefully chosen according to the
following criteria: implementation of research-based professional development
programs; located within a centrally-managed school district; and high test scores.
The school selected for the study, Springfield Elementary School in
SUSD, has 1 full-time administrator and 18 highly-qualified full-time teachers
defined earlier in chapter two, by NCLB standards (United States Department of
Education, 2004).
Instrumentation
A conceptual framework was collaboratively selected and utilized by a
University of Southern California thematic dissertation group. The thematic
dissertation was comprised of 11 students met during the summer of 2006 in a
seminar program led by Professor Lawrence Picus. The thematic dissertation

123
group selected Odden and Picus’ evidence-based school finance adequacy model
with an emphasis on six core strategies to improve student achievement. Two of
the thematic team members worked together to develop the purpose of the study,
research questions, and co-created the instruments used for data collection to
correspond with the research questions which focused on effective professional
development and the conceptual framework.
Data Collection
The data collection was conducted between November of 2006 and March
of 2007, following the Superintendent’s approval of the project. Data collection
began with the collection of documents that included School Accountability
Report Card (SARC), Single Plan for Student Achievement, District Goals, Six
Practices of a High Performing School, budget documents, the district website,
and the California Department of Education website. The researcher interviewed
the following district personnel from Serrano Unified School District;
Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education, Assistant
Superintendent of Personnel, Director of K-12 Educational Services, Director of
K-6 Curriculum and Instruction, and the BTSA Supervisor. The Site
Administrator and two teachers were interviewed from Springfield Elementary.
An outside consultant that works closely with the district was interviewed.

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Data Analysis
The purpose of the study was to investigate how an identified school
within a centrally managed school district determined the staff and funding levels
for promoting effective professional development that impacts student
achievement. Additionally, the study sought to understand how the school
allocated human and financial resources for professional development. The data
collection which was utilized addressed the study’s purpose through examination
of the four research questions in the following manner:
Qualitative data
Ten interviews were conducted, taped, and transcribed. The transcriptions
were coded and sorted to identify the common themes related to the purpose of
the study, research questions aligned with the conceptual framework and
educational literature pertaining to the study.
Document Review Guide
Documents were reviewed and sorted using the Document Review Guide
and evaluated to compare the data collected. The analyzed data was categorized
in association with the research questions and the conceptual framework.
Summary of the Findings
The research questions for the study were guided with conceptual
framework that incorporated the evidence-based model by Odden and Picus
(2006). Six core strategies from the model served as the framework for the

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research questions: recalibrate goals, re-engineer schools, redesign teacher
development, reinforce achievement, retool schools’ technology, and restructure
teacher compensation.
Framework for Research Question One
The first research question asked, “How are personnel used for
professional development?” Two of the six core strategies from the conceptual
framework evidenced-based model provided the basis for data collection in
regards to how the Serrano Unified School District and Springfield personnel
were utilized for professional development. Re-engineering of schools focused
on how personnel and resources were effectively used to provide professional
development to the teachers to increase student achievement. Programs at the
school were examined to see how personnel were utilized in delivery of
professional development at the school site and district in reference to the
redesigning teacher development. Structured interviews were conducted with
multiple participants utilizing interview guides to understand how personnel were
used for professional development.
Findings for Research Question One
Research question one sought to discover how resources were utilized in
the re-engineering of schools and examined the accessibility teachers had to
research-based strategies. A few years ago Serrano Unified School District
analyzed their professional development practices and realized they needed to

126
redesign teacher development by providing more resources for professional
development. Teachers at Springfield were able to access professional
development through fellow staff members, the site administrator, teachers on
special assignment from the K-6 Curriculum and Instruction department, and
from outside providers. The teachers were able to attend trainings based on the
standards-based curriculum and research-based strategies to best meet the needs
of their students.
The district and site personnel both felt that both the internal and external
providers for professional development offered at the school and district levels
were effective. The school site administrator and teachers all agreed that they
gained knowledge from professional development activities such as: attending
trainings on and off campus, and on-site coaching. The teachers at the site saw a
difference in the classroom with their students’ achievement after implementing
the research-based strategies. Many of the participants saw a relationship from
the knowledge gained from professional development activities translating into
student learning outcomes.
One area of weakness found was that there was not enough time for on-
site strategy focused coaches to provide co-planning, co-teaching since the
coaches have a class of their own to teach. In comparing the school’s data with
the evidence-based recommendations proposed in Washington Learns: Successful
District Study (Odden et al, 2006), the site should have two full time coaches

127
available for the teachers to utilize for support in their teaching practices. The
school site personnel agreed that the on-site coaching could be improved.
Framework for Research Question Two
The second research question asked, “How are resource allocation
decisions for professional development determined?” Structured interviews with
the multiple participants in conjunction with the three of the six core strategies
were used to address the allocation of resources for professional development.
The recalibrating of goals provided a basis for data collection regarding the
school’s goals for student achievement that included allocations of resources for
professional development. Additionally, re-engineering schools and redesigning
teacher development provided other ways to identify how the school determined
the allocations and resources that are targeted towards professional development.
Findings for Research Question Two
Research question sought to explain how the school site made decisions
on allocating resources for professional development. As NCLB came to fruition
with school accountability reform, SUSD created two main district goals. The
district recalibrated their goals so they would be simple and focused on student
achievement outcomes. The guiding force at the school site and district level in
making determinations about professional development came from analyzing
student achievement data in comparison to the district goals. Goals aligned to the
district goals at the school site were written in the Single School Plan for Student

128
Achievement. Professional development resource allocation decisions were based
on the goals for the school and from data-driven decision making.
Due to the centralized nature of the district, professional development was
offered through the district office. Even though the district provided and offered a
majority of the professional development resources, the school site personnel still
had autonomy in deciding the particular professional development trainings they
were going to attend and implement to meet the needs of the students and
teachers.
Framework for Research Question Three
The third research question asked, “How much funding is directed toward
professional development and from what sources do these funds originate?”
Structured interviews using the interview guides and documents were reviewed
with the document guides in relation to three of the six core strategies from the
conceptual framework which were the basis of this research question. Re-
engineer schools provided a lens to determine the effectiveness of funding
allocations targeted at professional development. Redesigning teacher
development is another core strategy that links funding and types of funding
directed at increasing teachers’ knowledge and expertise in the classroom to
increase student achievement. Lastly, restructuring of teacher compensation was
utilized to assess how funding is used to compensate teachers for participating in
professional development programs.

129
Findings for Research Question Three
Research question three sought to determine the amount of funding
utilized for professional development and where the funding originates. The main
funding sources for professional development funding came from categorical
funds such as Title One and School Library Improvement. It was difficult to
disaggregate exactly how much money Springfield spent on professional
development since SUSD paid for the majority of the professional development.
The main costs Springfield accrued in relation to providing professional
development were monies for teachers to be released from the classroom
(substitute pay) and extra duty pay for when teachers attend training outside their
contract day.
The district office pays for teachers on special assignment in the K-6
Curriculum and Instruction department and outside providers to provide the
professional development for the school sites. The director of K-12 Educational
services estimated that the district spent six million dollars on professional
development out various categorical funds.
In looking at the restructuring of teacher compensation the study found
that teachers in the district are compensated outside their contractual steps and
columns salary for attending professional development activities. The teachers
receive a fifteen hour stipend and/or receive extra duty pay for attending trainings.

130
The district and the school site make the decisions of allocating financial
resources based on the student achievement data and the district/school goals.
Overall the participants felt the there was adequate funding to provide targeted
professional development to the teachers.
Framework for Research Question Four
The fourth question asked, “How is professional development used to
promote organizational capacity and student achievement?” All of the six core
strategies served as a foundation for this research question. Each of the six core
strategies emphasized the need for organizational capacity at the school site to
promote student learning. In addition, the focal point for all six core strategies
was the use of resources, allocations, and strategies to increase student
achievement. Structure interviews with multiple participants with the interview
guide were conducted to answer this research question. Additionally, documents
were analyzed with the document review guide to provide data in relation to the
research questions.
Findings for Research Question Four
Research question four sought to examine how professional development
was used to promote organizational capacity and student achievement. The
teachers and the site administrator utilized collaboration for analyzing data and
delivery of professional development. Teachers at Springfield met on a weekly
basis to collaborate with their grade and at times met vertically with other grade

131
levels. During collaboration the leadership team presents what they have learned
at the Leadership Academies, teachers discuss research-based strategies they are
utilizing in the classroom, the strategy focused coaches provide co-planning, and
the teachers spend time analyzing their students’ data to determine how to best
meet the needs of the students. The collaboration builds capacity amongst the
teachers and consistency in classroom practices school wide.
In addition professional development was viewed by the participants as an
important tool for increased student learning outcomes. The site administrator
and teachers saw a difference in not only the teaching practices but also student
test scores after attending training and implementing Differentiated Instruction
and English Now!
Conclusions
In terms of meeting the demands of NCLB, effective professional
development is considered by many educators to be instrumental in
accomplishing the student goals that schools are trying to achieve (Odden,
Archibald, Fermanich, & Gallagher, 2002). The study found that the personnel
made decisions and implemented professional development based on the
district/school goals and from the student assessment data. Professional
development was targeted and consistent to meet the learning needs of the
teachers and to meet the students’ needs in the classroom.

132
The teachers had access to personnel for professional development in the
area of research-based strategies and the standards-based curriculum at the school
site and at the district office. The teachers at the school site felt they gained
knowledge from the trainings they attended which translated into classroom
practice to improve student learning outcomes. There was a relationship between
the implementation of professional development activities and student
achievement scores increasing on the CSTs and the CELDT.
Professional development was funded through categorical funds and
mainly generated by the district office. The school site paid for some of the
professional development training but a large amount of the financial allocation
came from the district office.
Internal organizational capacity was created through the site and district
personnel being able to collaborate on an on-going, weekly basis. The
collaboration helped provide time for professional development, discuss
classroom practices, and analyze student achievement data. Collaboration helped
create consistency among the staff at Springfield Elementary and with the other
schools in the district.
Throughout the study it became quite clear that the centralized nature of
the district office played an integral role in the development and allocation of
resources for professional development at the school site. The K-12 instructional
team at the district office analyzed student achievement data, sought out research-

133
based strategies, and supported standards-based curriculum programs in order to
provide resources for the school sites to choose from for their individual school
site needs for teacher learning and to increase student achievement.
Part of this study also included a comparison professional development
practices between the centralized district of Serrano Unified School District to the
decentralized district of Glennpark Unified School District. The significance of
studying the two different districts was to better understand how the management
styles influenced the professional development practices at the school sites. The
researchers found that the espoused management styles of the districts studied did
not appear to significantly influence professional development practices. It
appeared that both districts utilized similar research-based practices in the area of
professional development. Additionally, the researchers uncovered that despite
the management style of the districts, school sites had the autonomy to make
decisions professional development decisions based on the needs of the individual
students and teachers.
Upon discussion of findings the researchers for the above mentioned
studies discovered several common themes in relationship to professional
development. The emergence of these themes was supported by the studies
conceptual framework. Additionally the findings reinforced the assertions made
in the body of literature pertaining to teacher quality, professional development

134
strategies, and management styles. The data revealed five major themes that
appeared to illustrate the overall success of the school and district:
1. Vision for learning
2. Data-driven decision making
3. Effective utilization of resources
4. Collaboration
5. Site Autonomy
These themes were interrelated in determining the study’s recommendations and
suggestions for future research.
Recommendations
The findings and conclusions of the study led to the following
recommendations
1. Serrano Unified School District and Springfield Elementary had a clear
vision for student achievement based on the two district goals: one that all
students will increase their proficiency levels each year on the CSTs and English
Language Learners will increase their proficiency levels on the CELDT. District
goals were known by all the participants interviewed. The school goals were
aligned with the district goals and utilized when making decisions about
professional development that was research-based and aligned with the standards-

135
based curriculum. The district and school goals focused the allocation of
resources for professional development in order to improve teacher learning and
student achievement outcomes.
In order to provide meaningful professional development, schools and
districts should have clear goals for teaching, learning, and student achievement.
Specific school site goals should be implemented to support the overarching
district vision and goals. The goals should serve as a guide in determining the
decisions and resource allocations made in regards to professional development.
2. The school site and district identified student learning gaps based on
student achievement data. The teachers, site administrator, and district office
personnel analyzed CST, CELDT, benchmark assessments, and on-going
assessments to determine the needs for professional development. A computer
program where the data were warehoused, Data Director, provided a tool to
capture the data then disaggregate data. All the participants used the data to make
decisions on providing targeted professional development to increase the teachers’
learning and the students’ achievement.
Student achievement data and observational data should be the catalyst for
determining professional development activities. Educational research
continually reinforces the importance of data-driven decision making for
improving the nation’s educational system (Togneri, 2003). By using data to
determine professional development needs, the quality of instruction can be

136
improved therefore positively influencing student learning outcomes (Odden et.al,
2002). Furthermore, to organize and delineate achievement gaps and determine
teaching and learning needs, schools and districts need to invest in a computer
program that stores student data from assessments and assists educators in the
analysis of data.
3. The participants in the study felt they had a sufficient amount of
resources for the delivery of professional development through the staff, teachers
on special assignment at the district office, and the outside providers. Personnel
both at the school site, district level, and outside providers were viewed as
effective. The site administer and teachers felt there was a need for more time
with on-site coaches to help support and follow up with the teachers after they
attend trainings.
In terms of the funding for professional development the data revealed that
the teachers and the site administrator do not fully understand how much money
is allocated towards professional development since the district funds the majority
of the trainings. The money allocation of dollars was not clearly articulated and it
was difficult to determine overall spending for professional development.
Educators need access to personnel for professional development that
targets the learning needs of the teachers and the students. Research from the
literature found that brief workshops, conferences with little or no follow-up and
long term feedback have not been effective in improving teaching practice and

137
promoting student achievement (King & Newmann, 2000). The studies data and
educational research supported the need for ongoing, on-site, and full time
coaching to reinforce the professional development trainings so that student
learning is realized.
The data revealed that the district and site personnel were unaware of the
exact financial allocation of resources for professional development. Since the
funding was derived from various funding sources it was difficult to disaggregate
exactly how much money went towards the implementation of professional
development activities. Therefore it is recommended that schools and districts
review the possibility of adopting a financial plan that mirrors those used in the
private sector.
4. The data uncovered that collaboration was utilized in making
professional development decisions as well as being a direct tool for professional
development (Sparks & Hirsh, 2000). Therefore, the researcher recommends
ongoing collaboration at both the school and district levels to build capacity for
improving instructional practices and students and teacher learning.
Collaboration should include: (a) horizontal articulation; (b) vertical articulation;
(c) site to site articulation; (d) site to district collaboration; and (e) district leader
collaboration.

138
5. Overall, the site administrator and the teachers felt they had site
autonomy in making decisions about professional development even though the
district was centralized in the development of professional development. The
district provided various targeted trainings that reflected research-based strategies
and supported the standards-based curriculum. Teachers attended district level
professional development trainings based on the needs of the teachers and the
students.
School sites need the autonomy to make professional development
decisions based on their own personal data and goals for teaching and learning.
The district should support and provide human and financial resources as needed
for professional development activities for individual school sites.
Suggestions for Further Research
Based on the findings of this study, the following suggestions are made
regarding future research in this area:
1. Through this study the data suggested a negative impact on student
learning due to the use of substitutes to provide release time for professional
development. Further research needs to be conducted to investigate the impact of
lost instructional time for the purpose of professional development.
2. The study uncovered a need for full-time, on-site coaching to reinforce
program implementation. Furthermore, the data displayed the need for coaches to
be effective in supporting teacher learning. An investigation should be

139
undertaken to determine how to efficiently fund on-site coaches. Additionally,
research should be conducted to understand the knowledge, delivery strategies,
and level of support necessary for a coach to be effective.
3. Due to the small case study design pertaining to the two management
styles, the findings on the resource allocation and practices for professional
development cannot be generalized. Therefore, an in-depth large scale study
should be conducted comparing how a centralized school district and a
decentralized district provide and fund professional development to promote
teacher learning and student learning achievement.
4. The effectiveness of professional development activities appeared to
have a positive influence on student learning outcomes. However, the
effectiveness of the professional development could not be directly measured
and/or correlated to student learning outcomes. Finally, experimental studies
including control groups need to be conducted in order to determine statistical
significance of professional development strategies on student learning outcomes.

140
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Appendix A
Interview Guides
District Level Interviews
1. How are personnel used for the delivery of professional development?

Describe the way in which staff is utilized for professional development in your
district.
Probing Questions:
• Do personnel have access to an instructional facilitator and/or coach?
• Do personnel have access to outside professional development consultants?
• How are facilitators, coaches, mentor teachers, BTSA providers, and/or
outside consultants utilized for professional development?
• How are district level personnel utilized in the design and implementation
of professional development activities?
• Do you use personnel in an inventive or new way?

What is your opinion about the way in which personnel are utilized for
professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Do you think the personnel (staff/outside consultants) are effective?
• Do you gain knowledge from the professional development activities?
• Do you think that the knowledge gained through professional development is
translated into increased student learning outcome?

2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?

Who decides how resources are utilized for professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Are multiple stakeholders involved in the decision-making process?
• What criteria are those decisions based upon?
• Are these criteria linked to district goals?
• Was there consensus on the allocation of resources for professional
development?

Does each school have its own budget?

147
3. How much funding is directed toward professional development and from what
sources do these funds originate?

Do you have a district budget for professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Are there multiple funding sources used for professional development?
• How much money does the district dedicate in total to professional
development?
• In your opinion, how much money should be dedicated to professional
development?
• What funding source(s) do you utilize for professional development?

Do teachers receive compensation for attending and participating in professional
development activities?
Probing Questions:
• Is there a standard amount of compensation established for teachers?

4. How is professional development used to promote organizational capacity and
student achievement?

How often are professional development activities offered to personnel?
Probing Questions:
• Are opportunities for professional development standard across the district?

Probing Questions:
• Do you collaborate with fellow district administrators?
• With whom do you collaborate?
• How do you have the opportunity to collaborate within the working day?
• Do you use your staff meetings for collaboration and/or professional
development?
• Do you provide your staff with current research pertaining to educational
issues?

Do you have district wide goals to promote student achievement?
Probing Questions:
• What are the district’s goals?
• Are all school sites and personnel knowledgeable about these goals?
• Who determined these goals?
• Are these goals aligned with professional development?

148
Do you strategically link professional development activities to student learning
outcomes?
Probing Questions:
• How do you determine professional development needs of your district?
• Is professional development aligned with the standards based curriculum?
• Does professional development focus on research-based instructional
strategies?
• Are professional development activities specifically designed to advance
the learning of struggling, at-risk student?
• Do students in your district take benchmark assessments?
• Are these assessment outcomes utilized to drive professional development?
• Do you or personnel utilize technology to access data to assist you in
identifying learning gaps for your district and students?

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Site Administrator Interview Guide

1. How are personnel used for the delivery of professional development?

Describe the way in which staff is utilized for professional development at your
school site
Probing Questions:
• Do you have access to an instructional facilitator and/or coach?
• Do you have access to outside professional development consultants?
• How are facilitators, coaches, mentor teachers, BTSA providers, and/or
outside consultants utilized for professional development?
• How are you utilized in the design and implementation of professional
development activities at your site?
Do you use personnel in an inventive or new way?

What is your opinion about the way in which personnel are utilized for
professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Do you think the personnel (staff/outside consultants) are effective?
• Do you gain knowledge from the professional development activities?
• Do you think that the knowledge gained through professional development is
translated into increased student learning outcome?

2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?

Who decides how resources are utilized for professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Are multiple stakeholders involved in the decision-making process?
• What criteria are those decisions based upon?
• Are these criteria linked to school or district goals?
Was there consensus on the allocation of resources for professional development?

Does each school have its own budget?

3. How much funding is directed toward professional development and from what
sources do these funds originate?

Do you have a site budget for professional development?
Probing Questions:
• How much money do you dedicate to professional development?
• What funding source(s) do you utilize for professional development?

150
• In your opinion, how much money should be dedicated to professional
development?

Do teachers receive compensation for attending and participating in professional
development activities at the site?
Probing Questions:
• Is there a standard amount of compensation established for your staff?

4. How is professional development used to promote organizational capacity and
student achievement?

How often are professional development activities offered to your staff?

What strategies do you use to build organizational capacity at your school site?
Probing Questions:
• Do your teachers collaborate horizontally and vertically?
• How often are your teachers given the opportunity to collaborate within the
working day?
• Do you use your staff meetings for collaboration and/or professional
development?
• Do you provide teachers with current research pertaining to effective
educational strategies?
• How do you build capacity with your Leadership Team and School Site
Council, etc.?

Do you have school wide goals to promote student achievement?
Probing Questions:
• What are the school’s goals?
• Who determined these goals?
• Are all personnel knowledgeable about these goals?
• Are these goals aligned with professional development?

Do you strategically link professional development activities to student learning
outcomes?
Probing Questions:
• How do you determine professional development needs of your staff?
• Is professional development aligned with the standards based curriculum?
• Does professional development focus on research-based instructional
strategies?
• Are professional development activities specifically designed to advance
the learning of struggling, at-risk student?
• Do your students take benchmark assessments?

151
• Are these assessment outcomes utilized to drive professional development?
• Do you and/or your teachers utilize technology to access data to assist you
in identifying learning gaps for your staff and students?

Do you observe your teachers effectively implementing the knowledge and skills
gained through professional development activities?

Do you think that skill-based pay could add to the organizational capacity of the
school?

152
Teacher Interview Guide

1. How are personnel used for the delivery of professional development?

Do you deliver professional development to fellow staff members?
Probing Questions:
• If so, what do you do?

How are fellow staff members utilized for the delivery of professional
development?

Are personnel utilized in an inventive or new way?

Does anyone beside fellow staff members deliver professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Do you attend professional development activities off of your school
campus?

Do you effectively implement the knowledge and skills that you gain from
professional development activities?
Probing Questions:
• Do you have access to personnel that can reinforce what you learned?
• Do you have an instructional coach and/or peer coach to co-plan and co-
teach?
• How do you know that you are effectively implementing the new
knowledge?

What is your opinion about the way in which personnel are utilized for
professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Do you think the personnel (staff/outside consultants) are effective?
• Do you gain knowledge from the professional development activities?
• Do you think that the knowledge gained through professional development is
translated into increased student learning outcome?

2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?

Who determines how money is spent on professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Are multiple stakeholders involved in the decision-making process?
• What criteria are those decisions based upon?

153
• Are these criteria linked to school goals?
• Was there consensus on the allocation of resources for professional
development?

Does each school have its own budget?
3. How much funding is directed toward professional development and from what
sources do these funds originate?

Do you know how your principal pays for professional development activities?

Do you receive compensation for attending and participating in professional
development activities?
Probing Questions:

• Is there a standard amount of compensation established for teachers?

4. How is professional development used to promote organizational capacity and
student achievement?

How often are professional development activities offered to you?

What strategies are used to build organizational capacity at your school site?
Probing Questions:
• Do you and your grade-level team collaborate horizontally and vertically?
• How often are you given the opportunity to collaborate within the working
day?
• Are your staff meetings used for collaboration and/or professional
development?
• Are you provided with current research pertaining to effective educational
strategies?

Do you have school wide goals to promote student achievement?
Probing Questions:
• What are the school’s goals?
• Who determined these goals?
• Are you knowledgeable about these goals?
• Are these goals aligned with professional development?
• Are professional development activities specifically designed to advance
the learning of struggling, at-risk student?

154
Is professional development strategically linked to student learning outcomes?
Probing Questions:
• Who determines professional development needs for your staff?
• Is professional development aligned with the standards based curriculum?
• Does professional development focus on research-based instructional
strategies?
• Do your students take benchmark assessments?
• Are these assessment outcomes utilized to drive professional development?
• Do you utilize technology to access data to assist you in identifying learning
gaps for your students?

Do you think that skill-based pay could add to the organizational capacity of the
school?

155
Outside Professional Development Provider Interview Guide

1. How are personnel used for the delivery of professional development?

Describe the way in which staff is utilized for professional development in your
company.
Probing Questions:
• Do school/district personnel have access to your professional development
consultants?
• How are the consultants utilized for professional development?
• How are district level personnel utilized in the design and implementation
of professional development activities with your company?
• Do you use personnel in an inventive or new way?

What is your opinion about the way in which personnel are utilized for
professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Do you think the personnel (staff/outside consultants) are effective?
• Do you gain knowledge from the professional development activities?
• Do you think that the knowledge gained through professional development is
translated into increased student learning outcome?

2. How are resource allocation decisions for professional development
determined?

Who decides how resources are utilized for professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Are multiple stakeholders involved in the decision-making process?
• What criteria are those decisions based upon?
• Are these criteria linked to district goals?
• Was there consensus on the allocation of resources for professional
development?

Does each school have its own budget?

3. How much money does the district budget for professional development
resources from your company?

Do you have a district budget for professional development?
Probing Questions:
• Are there multiple funding sources used for professional development?

156
• What funding source(s) do you think they utilize for professional
development?
• Do you know how much money does the district dedicate in total to
professional development?
• In your opinion, how much money should be dedicated to professional
development?

4. How is professional development used to promote organizational capacity and
student achievement?

How often does your company provide professional development opportunities
for the district?
Probing Questions:
• Are opportunities for professional development standard across the district?

Probing Questions:
• Does your staff collaborate with district administrators?
• With whom do you and your staff collaborate with?
• How do you and/or your staff have the opportunity to collaborate within the
working day with the district?
• Does your staff have collaboration meetings with the district
administrators?
• Do you provide your staff and districts you work in with current research
pertaining to educational issues?

Do you have company goals to promote student achievement?
Probing Questions:
• What are the company’s goals?
• Are all districts that contract with you knowledgeable about these goals?
• Who determined these goals?
• Are these goals aligned with professional development?

Do you strategically link professional development activities to student learning
outcomes?
Probing Questions:
• How do you determine professional development needs for
districts/schools?
• Is professional development aligned with the standards based curriculum?
• Does professional development focus on research-based instructional
strategies?

157
• Are professional development activities specifically designed to advance
the learning of struggling, at-risk student?
• Do students in the districts you work with take benchmark assessments?
• Are these assessment outcomes utilized to drive professional development?
• Do you and/or personnel utilize technology to access data to assist you in
identifying learning gaps for districts and students?

Do you observe teachers effectively implementing the knowledge and skills
gained through professional development activities?

Do you think that skill-based pay could add to the organizational capacity of the
schools and district?

158
Appendix B

Document Review Guide

Title of
Document

Date

Type of
Document

Author/Decision-
Maker

Location of
Source

How closely is
the document
related to the use
of personnel for
professional
development?

How closely is
the document
related to
funding sources
and resource
allocation for
professional
development?

Documents
reflecting
relationship
between
professional
development and
organizational
capacity/growth?

Linkages stated
within document
to improve
student
achievement

Reflections

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of the study was to investigate how an identified school within a centrally managed school district allocates adequate resources toward professional development programs to increase student achievement. The study examined the schools' resource allocation, including human capital and determined where the funding originates. Furthermore, the evaluation process was used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the schools professional development programs as they compare to the evidence-based model professional development model in relation to student achievement.

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