PD News
Spring Fling Education Conference -- workshops posted, registration opening soon
WOTL – The Where of Teaching and Learning – research participation opportunity
WOTL – The Where of Teaching and Learning – research participation opportunity
PGDTA PD Funding forms*new* Individual and Special Projects Pro-D Funding Application Form (requires that you are logged in to your Microsoft 365 Account)
*new* PD Post-Conference/Event Report PGDTA Pro-D Policies and Procedures Spring Fling PresentersEducation Bonus (SD57)PGDTA Members can apply for a variety of funding categories through the "Ed Bonus" process
Ed Bonus Process Ed Bonus Funding Application Pro-D LinksThe Professional Development Lens
BCTF Professional Development Resources About your Pro-D Coordinator SD57 District Learning Commons SD57 Learning & Innovation Grants Local Specialist Associations |
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19th Annual SPRING FLING
BCTF North Central Zone Educational Conference Prince George Secondary School April 28th, 2023 http://edfling.ca – information https://edfling.ourconference.ca – workshops and registration |
What is the Pro-D Fund?
In a nutshell: PD Funds can be accessed every 2nd year by teachers for conference travel, and also support local PD events, mentorship, individual and group projects, Local Specialist Associations, and an annual conference.
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The Details: The PGDTA Professional Development Fund is set up to assist SD57 teachers in meeting their professional development goals. Some of this money is spent on out-of-district conference travel and hosting an annual multi-district educational conference. The rest is spent on a variety of local workshops, inquiry projects, local specialist associations, and school-based Pro-D events.
The PD Fund comes from an allocation of $150 per teacher (F.T.E.) paid, by contract, from School District 57. Balances in the fund carry over from year-to-year. Additional funds come from the PGDTA itself, and contributions from BCTF locals that participate in the Educational Spring Fling Conference. |
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The PD Fund is administered by a "PD Fund Administrator" or PD Coordinator with the support of a PD Committee. These and other PD roles are explained below. For more information, contact the PD Fund Administrator at gthielmann@sd57.bc.ca.
About PGDTA Professional Development Roles
What do the PD Reps (usually one one per school) do?
- help plan or organize PD events for your school alongside your staff
- connect staff members to PD literature, strategies, opportunities
- sit on or chair a school PD committee
- help teachers interpret the PD Lens
- connect with other PD reps to share stories and plan mutual events
- help build teacher-directed inquiry and collaboration
- be a school-based leader and advocate for high-quality, autonomous, and enjoyable PD
What does the PD Committee (8 elected members) do?
- review decisions and use of the fund by the PD Fund Administrator
assist in making difficult decisions (e.g. expensive or unusual application for PD travel) - gather ideas for PD events and help promote PD events in the district
- advocate for high quality, autonomous professional development
- assist with or share the duties of the PD Chair (see below)
- often double as the Zone Conference Organization Committee (many duties need filling around the Zone Day itself)
- model professional conversation and lifelong learning for others
What are the duties of the PD Chair (volunteer position, elected by PD Committee)?
PD Leadership
PD Leadership
- facilitate PD committee meetings and monitor action items
- provide input on the use of the PD Fund, e.g. budget priorities
- coordinate PD Rep Training once a year (or every other year)
- one of the representatives of the PGDTA at the BCTF Summer Conference
- act as a contact for PD news and issues coming from the BCTF, PGDTA, SD57, and the Ministry of Education
- share news about local and provincial PD events taking place, especially on PD days
- remind and assist PGDTA members about professional responsibilities related to PD
- attend and participate in PGDTA executive meetings and Staff Rep Assemblies
- advise school district via board office staff as necessary about PD issues
- agendas and minutes for PD Committee meetings
- pass on information to PD Reps
- keep up with emails that come and go related to professional issues specific to BCTF PD Chair and Committee (50-100 per month)
What does the PD Fund Administrator (paid position, elected at PGDTA AGM) do beyond the PD Chair duties?
Applications
Applications
- build and maintain appropriate forms and information for easy access by PGDTA members
- collect and process applications for Out-of-town funding, In-town funding, Special Project funding
- make decisions on applications (e.g flights and hotels, conference legitimacy and fee structure, etc.), based on fact-checking, web search, and phone/email
- use "Credit Claim Admin" to authorize TTOCs
- administer the PD Fund -- budget allocation (e.g. travel-based vs local opportunities, individual vs group events, conferences)
- database maintenance, record keeping and archival
- process expense reports in coordination with SD57 Finance Dep’t and follow-up on disputes regarding reimbursement
- prepare content for reports as needed for the PD Chair (e.g. for PD committee meetings, PGDTA AGM, etc.)
- dialogue with teachers, principals, and others about PD events, issues, and opportunities (e.g. negotiate shared release time or cost-sharing for special projects)
- coordinate the annual multi-district Spring Fling North Central Zone Educational Conference -- this is a significant yearly project that requires 100s of hours of work over many months
- help schools and families of schools plan PD events (arrange speakers, venues, etc., occasionally facilitate, too) -- e.g. Robson Valley Mini-conference
- promote and support growth of Local Specialist Associations (LSAs)
- occasional school visits to check in with staff about PD needs
- collaborate with Curriculum & Instruction Dep’t on shared projects -- Learning Partners, Mentorship Program, other events as necessary, this relationship ensures that there is a minimum of overlap between the kinds of professional learning opportunities in the district
- collaborate with Aboriginal Education Dep’t on shared projects -- e.g. PALS training, grant promotion, shared costs & organization for speakers & workshops
- collaborate with the District Learning Commons in order to compliment their work with matching PD opportunities
- liaison with other organizations with an interest in PD, e.g. UNBC (Below Zero workshop), NOII (AESN grants), AIM (Language Learning workshops), ActiveSchools (PD workshops), SetBC, Play is the Way, BCTF Provincial Specialist Associations
- work with the PGDTA Exec and SD57 Senior Administration on District Calendar recommendations as they relate to PD days
- grind through the emails that come and go related to PD events, conferences, district collaborations, and especially back-and-forth with teachers inquiring about or trying to access the PD Fund and questions/business related to the Zone Conference (400-500 per month, some of which are quick fixes and responses, some of which require research and action items)
- call for presenter cycle (Zone Conference) and vendor organization for Educational Marketplace
- use "PD Reg Admin" to create and edit workshop events, and the GiftTool system for the Zone Conference
- maintain social media and web presence to communicate and celebrate professional learning opportunities and reflections
- position is seconded to PGDTA and provided a work space at the PGDTA building
- PGDTA president, 1st VP, and office manager are sounding boards for application of PGDTA policy re: Pro-D and also frame and monitor a work-day structure... e.g. the current PDFA is seconded from a morning position at a secondary school and reports to the PGDTA the office from 12:45-4:30 each day
- PGDTA follows all Board Office Finance procedures when dealing with monies, forms, and transactions involving the Board-held Pro-D Fund. For all other monies (e.g. the portion allotted for Pro-D by the PGDTA), PGDTA accounting procedures are followed under the supervision of the office manager and also the PGDTA Treasurer. Both groups, naturally, are subject to annual audits and have requirements for record keeping which the PDFA must follow
- PDFA is elected each year at the PGDTA AGM
- PD Committee shares responsibility for key decisions and reviews the work of the PDFA at 5-6 meetings per year
What is the history of the Pro-D Fund Administrator Position?
The PD Fund Administrator (PDFA) position was created in the 1990s in order to provide direct PGTDA oversight of the PD Fund and to eliminate inefficiency related to complicated application processes that required both record keeping and decision making. What started as a job centered around the application process and fund management has grown to include dimensions of professional development leadership and coordination with other groups in the district including Curriculum & Innovations and Indigenous Education.
The Fund used to be managed by a steering committee of eight with equal representation from board and PGDTA appointed members. In reality, this was cumbersome -- the tasks involved in approval/deliberation on PD requests and the paperwork involved were arduous when spread between multiple individuals and involved back-and-forth between each step of the application process. At first the Board and PGDTA agreed to change the "Steering Committee" to two people -- an administrator and a teacher (the Pro-D Committee Chair), with clerical support from a board office staff person. This, too, was unworkable and resulted in duplication of efforts and disagreement over Fund use. Finally, in 1995-96, the Board and PGDTA mutually agreed that the Fund would be managed solely by the PGDTA and the Board would fund a half-time position to take the lead instead of a steering committee. The negotiation for this agreement was done by Carolyn Rowland, the local vice-president at the time. The words "steering committee" have remained in the collective agreement to this day, but the description was dropped in 1995-96 as the "steering committee" was now one person, and the nature and funding of the PDFA was described in various correspondence between the PGDTA and the Board. At this time the PGDTA revised and developed policy around both the Fund and the Fund Administrator in order to ensure the Fund was used fairly and efficiently. Thus the PDFA position was born, with Bob Tavernor the first to be elected for this job by the PGDTA. Bob was instrumental in designing this unique approach, and indeed had the PDFA support increased to a three-quarter position in his second year in order to match the work that was required.
The second PDFA was Sharel Warrington, who expanded the "administration" role to include more PD leadership in the district, including the expansion of the conference capacity on the spring District PD Day. She later went on to become a school trustee, serving for five terms, including a term as board chair. Next, in the mid-2000s, Deborah Vandal had the position. She devoted much time to consolidating the paperwork and records into a a digital database, and was able to free up time to build the annual District Educational Conference into a multi-district Zone Conference. This “Educational Spring Fling” conference celebrated its tenth year in 2014 and drew about 900 educators from SD 27, 28, and 91 in addition to our own. These other districts do not have the numbers or PD Fund allowances to pull off this kind of event, and so they draw benefit from the progressive set-up for coordinated use of PD Funds that we have built in SD57. While there is some help in planning and many volunteers who come together in the days leading up to the conference, the coordination of this event has rested with the PDFA.
Kim Rutherford was the fourth teacher in the PDFA position, serving for four and a half years (2009-2013) and continuing to organize a great conference alongside the other duties of elected PDFA and voluntary PD Chair. It was during his tenure (and the PGDTA presidency of Linda Naess) that new partnerships were formed with Curriculum and Instruction for the support of a Mentorship program. In 2010, in the wake of district-wide cutbacks and declining numbers of teachers, the PDFA position was reduced back to half-time from a three-quarter time position. The duties remained about the same, but there was less time and slightly less money to work with -- due to fewer numbers of teachers in the district. Kim developed and left a legacy of strong support for teacher-led PD and the fair, effective use of funds.
There were challenges to the PDFA position in the form of school district cutbacks; attempts were made to reduce or eliminate the support for this position in 2013-4 and again in 2014-15, but school boards were convinced of the importance of the work done by the PDFA and voted to sustain this position, in no small part to a letter-writing campaign from teachers whose professional development had benefited from the level of coordination we have in our district. For now it remains a half-time secondment from the school district to the PGDTA for the task of coordinating teacher Pro-D and administering the Fund. This arrangement is relatively unique in the province, and shows the support and commitment that our school district has for the development of its staff.
By contract, our PD Fund is filled with an allocation of $150 per F.T.E. teacher. Additionally, the PGDTA receives other monies coming in during the Zone Conference from CUPE ($2000), Admin/PGPVPA ($500), as well as participating Teacher Associations from SD27, 28, 91 when their Zone Pro-D day aligns with ours ($50 for each participating teacher), and private schools (usually 10-20 individuals attending). The PGDTA also contributes annually towards Pro-D with a $7500 budget allocation. These funds mainly offset the travel and fees for our out-of-district presenters at the Zone Conference, support our local specialist associations, and allow TTOCs to attend the new teacher conference. The PGDTA also assumes all office costs associated with the PDFA (e.g. computer, copying, mail). As a total budget, including the PDFA position, we are working with less $-per-member than other districts outside of the Lower Mainland (where travel costs are negligible), but we have managed to do more with less. Our system of pooling resources to support more substantial applications (albeit fewer and longer in-between) is the envy of other districts and allows an unprecedented level of support for rural communities. There are many different ways of distributing and administering Pro-D Funds around the province, but the model we use has served us well. We can be proud of the tradition of teacher-led PD in SD57, for cooperation with School District staff and administrators, and successful partnerships with the Curriculum & Instruction (Learning Innovations) Department and the Aboriginal Education Department. The success of our Pro-D set-up is a perk for new teachers in our district and an incentive for employment here.
The current PD Administrator, first elected in 2013, is Glen Thielmann, Who taught at College Heights Secondary from 1996-2004 and D.P. Todd Secondary from 2004-2018. He has also been a support teacher for Humanities curriculum and has been borrowed by the University of Northern British Columbia to work in their teacher education program and liaise with the school district. The PD role continues to evolve, balancing the administration of the PD Fund with support for diverse professional learning in the form of workshops, conferences, mentorship, and effective communication between teachers and between educational stakeholders. The PDFA position is ongoing evidence of the value in collaboration between the Teachers' Association and past & present School Boards, and has allowed SD57 to be a provincial leader in the way it supports the professional development of its teachers.
In 2018, the PGDTA membership approved a policy change that combined the role of PD Chair and PD Fund Administrator. While this has been the de facto policy for some time, it is now codified in recognition that these roles belong together and should be secured via a single election alongside other table office and executive positions rather than separate votes.
In 2022, the provincial government concluded contract negotiations with the BCTF that resulted in an agreement to provide a base level of PD funding for every district/local in the province. Taking effect July 2024, districts will fund professional development at no less than 0.20% of the Category 6 maximum step in each district, multiplied by the total teacher FTE (as of September 30 of the previous year). This language allows professional development funding to be linked to salary increases. For the PGDTA, this will result in an initial increase to about $200/FTE from the current allocation of $150/FTE.
The PD Fund Administrator (PDFA) position was created in the 1990s in order to provide direct PGTDA oversight of the PD Fund and to eliminate inefficiency related to complicated application processes that required both record keeping and decision making. What started as a job centered around the application process and fund management has grown to include dimensions of professional development leadership and coordination with other groups in the district including Curriculum & Innovations and Indigenous Education.
The Fund used to be managed by a steering committee of eight with equal representation from board and PGDTA appointed members. In reality, this was cumbersome -- the tasks involved in approval/deliberation on PD requests and the paperwork involved were arduous when spread between multiple individuals and involved back-and-forth between each step of the application process. At first the Board and PGDTA agreed to change the "Steering Committee" to two people -- an administrator and a teacher (the Pro-D Committee Chair), with clerical support from a board office staff person. This, too, was unworkable and resulted in duplication of efforts and disagreement over Fund use. Finally, in 1995-96, the Board and PGDTA mutually agreed that the Fund would be managed solely by the PGDTA and the Board would fund a half-time position to take the lead instead of a steering committee. The negotiation for this agreement was done by Carolyn Rowland, the local vice-president at the time. The words "steering committee" have remained in the collective agreement to this day, but the description was dropped in 1995-96 as the "steering committee" was now one person, and the nature and funding of the PDFA was described in various correspondence between the PGDTA and the Board. At this time the PGDTA revised and developed policy around both the Fund and the Fund Administrator in order to ensure the Fund was used fairly and efficiently. Thus the PDFA position was born, with Bob Tavernor the first to be elected for this job by the PGDTA. Bob was instrumental in designing this unique approach, and indeed had the PDFA support increased to a three-quarter position in his second year in order to match the work that was required.
The second PDFA was Sharel Warrington, who expanded the "administration" role to include more PD leadership in the district, including the expansion of the conference capacity on the spring District PD Day. She later went on to become a school trustee, serving for five terms, including a term as board chair. Next, in the mid-2000s, Deborah Vandal had the position. She devoted much time to consolidating the paperwork and records into a a digital database, and was able to free up time to build the annual District Educational Conference into a multi-district Zone Conference. This “Educational Spring Fling” conference celebrated its tenth year in 2014 and drew about 900 educators from SD 27, 28, and 91 in addition to our own. These other districts do not have the numbers or PD Fund allowances to pull off this kind of event, and so they draw benefit from the progressive set-up for coordinated use of PD Funds that we have built in SD57. While there is some help in planning and many volunteers who come together in the days leading up to the conference, the coordination of this event has rested with the PDFA.
Kim Rutherford was the fourth teacher in the PDFA position, serving for four and a half years (2009-2013) and continuing to organize a great conference alongside the other duties of elected PDFA and voluntary PD Chair. It was during his tenure (and the PGDTA presidency of Linda Naess) that new partnerships were formed with Curriculum and Instruction for the support of a Mentorship program. In 2010, in the wake of district-wide cutbacks and declining numbers of teachers, the PDFA position was reduced back to half-time from a three-quarter time position. The duties remained about the same, but there was less time and slightly less money to work with -- due to fewer numbers of teachers in the district. Kim developed and left a legacy of strong support for teacher-led PD and the fair, effective use of funds.
There were challenges to the PDFA position in the form of school district cutbacks; attempts were made to reduce or eliminate the support for this position in 2013-4 and again in 2014-15, but school boards were convinced of the importance of the work done by the PDFA and voted to sustain this position, in no small part to a letter-writing campaign from teachers whose professional development had benefited from the level of coordination we have in our district. For now it remains a half-time secondment from the school district to the PGDTA for the task of coordinating teacher Pro-D and administering the Fund. This arrangement is relatively unique in the province, and shows the support and commitment that our school district has for the development of its staff.
By contract, our PD Fund is filled with an allocation of $150 per F.T.E. teacher. Additionally, the PGDTA receives other monies coming in during the Zone Conference from CUPE ($2000), Admin/PGPVPA ($500), as well as participating Teacher Associations from SD27, 28, 91 when their Zone Pro-D day aligns with ours ($50 for each participating teacher), and private schools (usually 10-20 individuals attending). The PGDTA also contributes annually towards Pro-D with a $7500 budget allocation. These funds mainly offset the travel and fees for our out-of-district presenters at the Zone Conference, support our local specialist associations, and allow TTOCs to attend the new teacher conference. The PGDTA also assumes all office costs associated with the PDFA (e.g. computer, copying, mail). As a total budget, including the PDFA position, we are working with less $-per-member than other districts outside of the Lower Mainland (where travel costs are negligible), but we have managed to do more with less. Our system of pooling resources to support more substantial applications (albeit fewer and longer in-between) is the envy of other districts and allows an unprecedented level of support for rural communities. There are many different ways of distributing and administering Pro-D Funds around the province, but the model we use has served us well. We can be proud of the tradition of teacher-led PD in SD57, for cooperation with School District staff and administrators, and successful partnerships with the Curriculum & Instruction (Learning Innovations) Department and the Aboriginal Education Department. The success of our Pro-D set-up is a perk for new teachers in our district and an incentive for employment here.
The current PD Administrator, first elected in 2013, is Glen Thielmann, Who taught at College Heights Secondary from 1996-2004 and D.P. Todd Secondary from 2004-2018. He has also been a support teacher for Humanities curriculum and has been borrowed by the University of Northern British Columbia to work in their teacher education program and liaise with the school district. The PD role continues to evolve, balancing the administration of the PD Fund with support for diverse professional learning in the form of workshops, conferences, mentorship, and effective communication between teachers and between educational stakeholders. The PDFA position is ongoing evidence of the value in collaboration between the Teachers' Association and past & present School Boards, and has allowed SD57 to be a provincial leader in the way it supports the professional development of its teachers.
In 2018, the PGDTA membership approved a policy change that combined the role of PD Chair and PD Fund Administrator. While this has been the de facto policy for some time, it is now codified in recognition that these roles belong together and should be secured via a single election alongside other table office and executive positions rather than separate votes.
In 2022, the provincial government concluded contract negotiations with the BCTF that resulted in an agreement to provide a base level of PD funding for every district/local in the province. Taking effect July 2024, districts will fund professional development at no less than 0.20% of the Category 6 maximum step in each district, multiplied by the total teacher FTE (as of September 30 of the previous year). This language allows professional development funding to be linked to salary increases. For the PGDTA, this will result in an initial increase to about $200/FTE from the current allocation of $150/FTE.