Professional Development

A hallmark of the teaching experience at The Philadelphia School is the school’s commitment to professional development. We feel strongly that students learn best when the adults in the community model the excitement and energy around learning. The Philadelphia School dedicates significant resources in support of an innovative and meaningful professional development program for all employees.

Much of our professional development occurs in our time together as a faculty and staff. We have weekly meetings to further conversations about best practices and progressive education. Members of our staff, with the occasional support of outside experts, facilitate these meetings. TPS staff has worked with Dr. Michael Thompson, discussing the social lives of children, and with Dorel Shanon, focusing on strategies for strong teaming across the school.

Teachers also may apply for funding to pursue interests and new learning. Each year we fund grants to allow teachers to participate in many professional development opportunities. A sampling of recent professional development work includes travel to other schools, including schools in six different states by different groups of teachers, attendance at the NAIS conference and the People of Color conference, a teacher-exchange with New City School in St. Louis, and participation in workshops on teaching mathematics, poetry, writing skills, and multicultural education.

To help coordinate our professional development program, a group of faculty members serves on a Professional Development and Evaluation Committee (PD&E). A four-year cycle has been developed, whereby every faculty member is encouraged to engage fully in four different aspects of professional development – peer observation; visits to other schools, including public, private, and charter, to learn more about teaching and learning; inquiry and research; and formal evaluaton, using a system that includes self-evaluation, observation in the classroom, and written feedback. The PD&E system is tailored to meet the needs of teachers and serves our institutional goal to support innovation and learning as professionals.