As the second largest school district in New Mexico, Las Cruces Public Schools looked for a research-based, high-quality professional development program. However, due to budget constraints and their remote location, travel to conferences or bringing in a presenter wasn't cost-effective. Find out how PD 360 filled all of their requirements with a PD program that could address individualized questions and concerns.

1. Case Study
HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA
School Improvement Network
Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY
ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO
Large, Remote New Mexico
COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD
HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA
Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTYELL
District Expands ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY
Instructional Strategies
ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO
COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD HENRICO COUNTY ARTESIA Lamesa ISD
LAS CRUCES PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NEW MEXICO
“Teacher days are so intensive and packed bell-to-bell
that taking professional development in small doses
is much better for them. It becomes a positive experi-
ence when they can schedule their own time.” • Selecting a cost effective solution with “big-bang-for-
the-buck” results
Martha A. Trost
Technology Staff Development Specialist • Serving a large English Language Learner population
Las Cruces Public Schools, NM
• Overcoming elevated school poverty levels
DISTRICT PROFILE
SOLUTION
Las Cruces Public Schools (LCPS) is located in southern
New Mexico, 45 miles north of the U.S. – Mexico border. The solution Ms. Geery discovered for the district is PD
It is the second largest school district in New Mexico 360, School Improvement Network’s online, on-demand
with 39 schools serving approximately 25,000 students. professional development for teachers. Accessible
It offers a student-centered learning environment that through the Internet, PD 360 provides individual support
cultivates character, fosters academic excellence, and to educators with hundreds of indexed video segments
embraces diversity. that address individualized questions and concerns.
FOCUS
ABOUT PD 360
The LCPS Professional Development Center strives to
PD 360 is the leading on-demand professional learning
provide research-based, data-driven, high quality profes-
resource for educators with over 600,000 subscribers.
sional development (PD) based on National Staff Devel-
Teachers, administrators, professional learning commu-
opment Council standards to ensure that all staff meet
nities, coaches, etc., have access to over 1,400 indexed
the New Mexico competencies and support high aca-
and searchable video segments that present real, best-
demic achievement for all students. To accomplish these
practice classroom examples. Each segment includes
goals, Betsy A. Geery, Professional Development Center
content from respected educational experts such as
Coordinator at Las Cruces Public Schools, identified its
Michael Fullan, Rick DuFour, Doug Reeves, Rick Stig-
PD concerns as:
gins, and many others. PD 360 can be used to create a
• Travel to conferences and workshops severely cur- structured learning experience for an individual teacher,
tailed because of budget constraints professional learning community, or entire school. It
bridges the gap between training and classroom imple-
• LCPS’s remote location necessitates local PD mentation with job-embedded follow-up, tracking, and
reflection tools. PD 360 also gives educators access to
• Identifying job-embedded, quality, online curriculum an online community of teaching professionals that al-
lows interaction and collaboration either within a district
• Finding a program that enables administrators to
or across the United States and around the world. See a
monitor use
demonstration at www.pd360.com.
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

2. DRIVING USAGE AND IMPLEMENTATION > English Language Learners
Located in the southwestern United States, LCPS has
many families who predominately speak Spanish. With in-
Ms. Geery and Martha A. Trost, Technology Staff De- creasingly high academic standards for all students, it is
velopment Specialist at LCPS, have accomplished an more important than ever that teachers know how to be
outstanding introduction of PD 360 to the educators as effective with English Language Learners (ELL). PD 360
well as encouraging its usage in their first year of imple- has excellent content for implementing strategies and
mentation (2009-10). practices that actively involve ELL students in learning.
> Two Step Introduction to PD 360 “A large ELL population brings with it the requirement
to address specific learning needs. PD 360 certainly
• A trainer from School Improvement Network is one of our main resources to help our teachers
came to LCPS to instruct two trainers for each increase their skills and knowledge to meet that need.
school PD 360 has very strong content in Instructional Strate-
gies for the English Language Learner to help our
• LCPS Trainers included the site-based “PD teachers engage every student and ensure their high
Teachers” for each school and either an Assistant academic achievement.”
Principal or Lead Teacher school-site trainers
trained all teachers in each school Betsy A. Geery
Professional Development Center Coordinator
> 183rd Professional Development Day Las Cruces Public Schools, NM
One requisite “day” of PD in addition to the 182 contrac-
tual school days is required by LCPS for its entire certi-
fied staff. Many teachers use PD 360 to fill requirements
BENEFITS
as aligned with district/school goals. The module criteria
require the PD to:
• Be directly related to the school’s/district’s LCPS is experiencing many advantages as part of having
Educational Plan for Student Success (EPSS) the PD 360 package.
• Be a minimum of 6.5 hours in duration (can be > Accessibility/User Capacity
spread out over time and must be completed Because PD 360 is an online and on-demand solu-
outside of the contractual day/time) tion, teachers in the system can access it anytime and
anywhere they have the Internet. They can log on at
• All costs associated with the training must be home as well as at work, which encourages teachers to
supported by the employee take charge of their learning on their own time schedule.
Educators have unlimited access to PD 360 and can view
• Become a part of the employee’s Professional segments and programs as many times as they wish and
Development Plan (PDP) as often as they need.
• Be directly related to the needs of the students “Educator attitude is so much better when they don’t
served have to be locked into a schedule. With PD 360, they
can choose the “what” and “where” of their profes-
• Must be completed by April 1 with all sional development and take it in pieces.”
documentation submitted
Betsy A. Geery
> Professional Development Plan Professional Development Center Coordinator
Every teacher has a yearly evaluation with their principal Las Cruces Public Schools, NM
when they decide together which modules will be worked
on in the coming year. This information becomes a part
of the teacher’s evaluation process. > Cost Effective
PD 360 has been very cost-effective for LCPS. The
> Professional Learning Communities (PLC) expenditure is much less than traditional PD and can be
PD 360 strengthens Professional Learning Communi- purchased with a variety of funding sources available to
ties in LCPS. The PLC can watch a video segment from districts and schools, including Title I, II, III, IV, V, VII, state
PD 360 and discuss how to apply the practices in their funds, foundation funds, federal and state grant monies,
classrooms. The accompanying digitized Facilitator math funds, reading funds, technology funds, etc.
Guides provide group activities, discussion questions,
lesson plans, and graphic organizers. Many include > Customizable Content
handouts that can be printed on-demand. LCPS administrators can customize PD 360 to align with
state, district, and school requirements and initiatives
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

3. in the coming year. As teachers and administrators use them. Ms. Geery no longer has the frustration of not
these aligned segments, they can actually see what the sending everyone to conferences because of the high
standards and best practices look like when implement- costs associated with them. Now educators do not have
ed in real classrooms. to wait to attend workshops and conferences yet can
learn from the best authorities.
> Common Language and Practice/Focus Objectives
PD 360 usage encourages consistency in a common > Research Based and Best Practices
language and practice. The Focus Objectives support a PD 360 programs are always research-based and
more efficient, focused commonality with all educators classroom-proven, dealing with nearly every educational
in the district and an ongoing collective vision. initiative of the past two decades. Each program shows
real classrooms from around the country using the best
> Differentiated PD Learning teaching practices.
A differentiated approach to PD is needed to meet the
diversity of teacher needs. Professional development > Student Achievement
should not be a one-shot, one-size-fits-all event, but Professional development for teachers is key to improving
rather an evolving process of reflection and growth that classroom instruction and student achievement. When
is sustained in communities of practice and focused on teachers are experiencing focused and sustainable
job-embedded responsibilities. professional development, students benefit from better
classroom instruction and improved test scores.
> Elevated Educator Enthusiasm
LCPS staff and teachers have been very positive about > Excellent Training Support
PD 360 and have given excellent feedback. Their usage When LCPS purchased PD 360, it also received training
has exceeded all expectations and been very high in the from a qualified PD 360 expert who came to the district
first year of implementation and they expect even more and trained educators in the many ways it could make
this coming year. The response from the high schools professional development more effective.
has been especially good concerning academic initiatives.
“Training support has been great. Trainer Ted Haynie
“Teachers really enjoy what PD 360 is delivering. They came to us and was so good with the teachers. He
love the ease and accessibility. We are anticipating made it easy to get people on PD 360 and using it.”
usage to continue growing as teachers learn what is
available to them.” Martha A. Trost
Technology Staff Development Specialist
Martha A. Trost Las Cruces Public Schools, NM
Technology Staff Development Specialist
Las Cruces Public Schools, NM
> Vast Library of Content/Search Ability
LCPS educators can immediately find the help they need
> Individual Accountability in the 1400 fully-indexed, video learning segments that
With PD 360, teachers are responsible for their own address the most pertinent topics and have easy search
professional growth and administrators can ensure that ability. And PD 360 is always adding more programs that
it happens consistently with PD 360’s integrated track- are up-to-date and applicable.
ing, reporting, and follow-up. This strengthens teacher
commitment which translates into positive changes in > User Friendly
the classroom. From easy navigation to versatile uses, every aspect of
PD 360 is designed with educators in mind.
> Interactive Learning Communities
PD 360 Learning Communities allow LCPS teachers to
communicate and collaborate with each other. Through
it, they can present each other with implementation “We reviewed several on-demand, online professional
ideas, participate in discussion forums, upload lesson development sources. PD 360 was the most user
plans, and share Web links to helpful resources. friendly, with greater depth, and higher quality.”
Educators can share best practices, learn from one
Betsy A. Geery
another, and eliminate classroom isolation regardless of Professional Development Center Coordinator
location. Learning Communities can be created as public Las Cruces Public Schools, NM
or private domains.
> Real Experts
Over 120 respected education experts are available
at each LCPS teacher’s fingertips whenever they need
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153

4. ABOUT SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT NETWORK
The School Improvement Network is the leading provider
of teacher education and teacher training, specializing in
on-demand, research-based professional development
anytime, anywhere. As the home of The Video Journal
of Education, PD 360, and the Leadership and Learning
Framework, School Improvement Network’s education
training resources focus on the most relevant topics,
such as classroom management. The resources also
feature top experts such as Michael Fullan and Doug-
las Reeves, and show how to put theory into practice.
With its focus on long-term improvement, sustainability,
and greater internal capacity, the School Improvement
Network helps its clients close achievement gaps, meet
high standards and increase student learning for both
elementary education and secondary education.
To learn more about School Improvement Network’s dy-
namic resources, visit www.schoolimprovement.com.
To read more case studies, scan this QR
code with a smartphone or visit www.
schoolimprovement.com/casestudies
www.schoolimprovement.com | www.PD360.com | 800.572.1153