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Professional Development

Dear Staff Members:

Professional development is a coordinated set of planned learning activities for both teachers and administrators. Professional development is based on research and is guided by district needs related to Arkansas State Standards and best practices. Professional development will result in individual, schoolwide and system-wide improvement. Approved professional development will be linked to the district and each school's improvement plan (ACSIP). All professional development shall be "best practices" based, subject-specific and site-specific whenever possible.

All staff members must strive to be aware of current trends and the many changing issues in education. Your professional development will:

1. Reflect when possible, the results of the annual Professional Development Needs Survey.

2. The staff will be knowledgeable of current research and practices.

3. Professional development will reflect best available research and practices.

4. Professional Development will support the effective use of technology in classroom instruction, student learning, and educational support services within the Genoa Central School Disftict.

5. Professional development is designed to enable all children to meet state student performance standards.

6. All  professional development will meet the criteria of ESSA and  shall be aligned to the standards developed by the State Board  of Education.

Professional Development Hour Requirements

Professional Development (60) is required by all Certified Staff. The emphasis of all professional development training is to provide teachers with the necessary tools to raise student achievement.

According to the Rules for Professional Development, each educator is required to obtain a minimum of 36 hours of professional development each year for license renewal. GCSD requires 60 hours of Professional Development for all contracted certified educators. The 60 hours of required professional development include but are not limited to:

  • PD completed Outside the Teacher Workday/Work Year
  • Max of 6 hours on Arkansas IDEAs

How to Apply for Outside Professional Development Credit

  1. Get pre-approval for your event- minimum of two weeks prior to attending.
    • Complete the Professional Development Pre-Approval form
    • Be sure your pre-approval form is signed
  2. Attend requested session.
  3. At session collect an agenda and certificate of attendance (if no certificate is given, collect a copy of the sign-in sheet)
  4. Keep a copy of all documentation for your records.
  5. Do not send in duplicate documentation.
  6. You will add to your escWorks shoebox.

All credit taken outside of GCSD will be shown as “outside” in your escWorks shoebox.

Using Esc Works 

At Genoa Central School District, it is the responsibility of each teacher to log in to escWorks (referred to as escWorks account or escWorks Shoebox), register for each event they plan to attend, update their login information to reflect changes in location, keep track of their shoebox account periodically, and inquire about any discrepancies in their account annually.

escWorks Instructions: Manage Your Shoebox

Professional Development Verification

If you request a License Renewal Verification from the Professional Development department, it is the responsibility of the licensed educator to check the status of their hours for the last five (5) school years. This is to ensure that the licensed educator is aware of any shortages of the standard requirement of sixty (60) hours in each of the past years. It is also their responsibility to establish when and why the discrepancy took place.